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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I think a more apt title would be "Lady Delacour" as she has 90% of the dialogue and is the one to actually receive character development. I didn't like Clarence. He disregards the wishes of a dying elderly woman (whilst pretending he isn't in some way, though I do realise she isolated her grandchild) for his own gain. He kidnaps a vulnerable 17 year old (and the elderly woman's friend seem completely fine with him taking her as his 'pupil') for the purpose of grooming her into his ideal of what HIS wife should be, and fecking RENAMES HER to Virginia because he thinks the name Rachel is ugly. Rachel's father thinks nothing of Clarence changing his daughter's name. Rachel also agrees with everything Clarence says or does. Years later, he damages her reputation and she's framed like his mistress. He's bummed about having to actually marry her now, given he now likes the blank wall of a character that is Belinda (correction: she's not a character, but a device.) It reads more like a dramatic play that a proper story and everyone thinks Clarence is such a great perfect fecking guy who good at everything. It end so conveniently and all the problems are ended in the very final chapter (not to mention the racist depictions of certain characters). I found myself more interested in Lady Delacour's relationship with her husband.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Okay. At this point, I honestly just don't have the time or energy to finish this book. I'm looking forward to where it goes, and definitely want to continue reading it at some point, but at the moment I have way too much to read and don't want this just sitting on my currently reading shelf. The writing style is bothering me, and I actually wish I had an audiobook version to follow along to. Oh well, I'll just have to wait a while before I'm able to pick this back up again.
Maybe closer to 3.5 stars with funny moments. Well written and the reason I’ll look for more pieces to read.
I was bored. Jane Austen may have like Edgeworth but Edgeworth is no Jane Austen.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism
Minor: Child death
I was getting into it by the second part, but I did not care for a good bit of the third part. I found that my class readings about this book made it far more interesting and thought-provoking. Also Lady Delacour was a slay
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2024 reread:
Rereading this book for my dissertation was a true pleasure! I wholeheartedly give it five stars!
If possible, I like Lady Delacour even better, especially towards the end. She is just so witty and funny!
And all the metatextuality, I am so here for it!
Original review:
Can somebody please remind me why have we exactly discarded with didactic fiction? Oh, yes of course, under the pretense that these books are preachy, stuffy and insufferably stuck-up. Well, I beg to differ.
This novel has been a real pleasure to read, and (I know, shocker) actually made me think about how I see romantic relationships, the process of finding a partner, and about how humans should treat each other in general. Now, I do not see everything as the writer of this novel did (taking into account that a good 200 years have passed since the publication of her book), yet I still gleaned some valuable pieces of wisdom from her. And I defy any critic or actually stuck-up modern reader to tell me that because a book does not cater to our modern-day sensibilities and tastes, it is therefore bad and should not be read. As Lady Delacour, I would laugh full in their faces.
As for the story itself, I was glued to it as a soap-opera addict is glued to the screen. Very engaging and full of delightful, if not totally unexpected, twists. The character of Lady Delacour was drawn admirably and she was without a doubt the most likable and most believable out of all the characters.
And the ending... The ending was a delicious piece of metatextuality, which totally intrigued my scholarly side!
5 brilliant, blinding stars for my thorough enjoyment of this novel!
Rereading this book for my dissertation was a true pleasure! I wholeheartedly give it five stars!
If possible, I like Lady Delacour even better, especially towards the end. She is just so witty and funny!
And all the metatextuality, I am so here for it!
Original review:
Can somebody please remind me why have we exactly discarded with didactic fiction? Oh, yes of course, under the pretense that these books are preachy, stuffy and insufferably stuck-up. Well, I beg to differ.
This novel has been a real pleasure to read, and (I know, shocker) actually made me think about how I see romantic relationships, the process of finding a partner, and about how humans should treat each other in general. Now, I do not see everything as the writer of this novel did (taking into account that a good 200 years have passed since the publication of her book), yet I still gleaned some valuable pieces of wisdom from her. And I defy any critic or actually stuck-up modern reader to tell me that because a book does not cater to our modern-day sensibilities and tastes, it is therefore bad and should not be read. As Lady Delacour, I would laugh full in their faces.
As for the story itself, I was glued to it as a soap-opera addict is glued to the screen. Very engaging and full of delightful, if not totally unexpected, twists. The character of Lady Delacour was drawn admirably and she was without a doubt the most likable and most believable out of all the characters.
And the ending... The ending was a delicious piece of metatextuality, which totally intrigued my scholarly side!
5 brilliant, blinding stars for my thorough enjoyment of this novel!