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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
It was amazing novel that I lost two nights of no sleep reading this ebook. It is so well written and Belinda’s a heroine I enjoyed reading about.
Well, it had a great start, but then it was clearly going where it shouldn't have. I can't get over Hervey's behaviour towards Virginia/Rachel. The thing with Vincent's gambling was sudden and short. What about other people Luttridge fleeced? Belinda deserves better.
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Jane Austen read Edgeworth's novels and mentions 'Belinda' in her novel, Northanger Abbey. This was a fascinating read as far as study of the times and manners, roles and expectations of women, a surprising recognition of gambling as an addiction, but lacking in tension and difficult for me to engage with the characters. I liked Belinda as a character, but she was too perfect, no flaws. Clarence Hervey was flawed and more interesting as a character. I felt empathy for the women who are so constricted by their societal roles that the highlight of their lives was the search for the perfect partner. Some women led purposeful lives after their marriage, but even then, that purpose seemed to be driven by the search for the perfect partner for a sister, friend, niece, granddaughter, cousin, and so on. Lady Delacour was a very flawed, multi-faceted character and therefore most interesting. She believes she is dying because a quack doctor has told her so (she has an old wound that seemingly has not healed properly). She carries on with other men . . . it seems to be all flirting, frolicking, and partying under her husband's nose; Lord Delacour drinks incessantly. Lady Delacour has a transformation and Edgeworth makes it credible. Belinda is a paradigm of virtue; she is absolutely flawless in the face of adversity. She is not an unlikable character; she just doesn't seem real. No doubt, many young women reading Edgeworth's novel during the Regency and Victorian eras would have loved Belinda. I'm not judging them. I might have liked it more as well is I had lived during that time period. Today, women can have careers, interests, hobbies, and Goodread accounts. Yes, we've even moved beyond bringing home the bacon and frying it up in a pan. Remember the 1979 Enjoli perfume 'I'm a Woman' commercial. The Enjoli woman was a 24 hour woman who never let her man forget he was a man, all while making money and being Suzy homemaker in the kitchen.
Clarence Hervey is Belinda's primary love interest, a man about town, well-fashioned, and one of Lady Belacour's ardent admirers. As another man shows up to create tension, and Clarence Hervey's situation (does he have a mistress?) becomes public, I became engaged enough to finish this novel. This was a challenging read for me; my heart was not in it. I'm not sure if it was the focus on romance or Belinda's flawless character, or perhaps my aggravation with Clarence Hervey's situation. The pacing was uneven, but Edgeworth drew her character's skillfully and manipulated her plot expertly, so I cannot give her less than 3 stars.
Maria Edgeworth, according to Wikipedia, was the most read author during the first decade of the 19th century. Her father was Richard Edgeworth, who eventually fathered twenty-two children with four wives. She developed a strong bond with her father who educated her in law, literature, Irish economics, politics, and science. The style of her novels is morally and socially didactic of which 'Belinda' is a good example. There is a lesson of the highest level of womanly behavior capable of being achieved at the heart of Belinda. Always calm, unruffled, the eye in the center of the storm, and in this particular story, maintaining the light of love for the heroic man she claims in her heart, but not publicly before he announces his love. The man must lead. Everything, always proper.
Clarence Hervey is Belinda's primary love interest, a man about town, well-fashioned, and one of Lady Belacour's ardent admirers. As another man shows up to create tension, and Clarence Hervey's situation (does he have a mistress?) becomes public, I became engaged enough to finish this novel. This was a challenging read for me; my heart was not in it. I'm not sure if it was the focus on romance or Belinda's flawless character, or perhaps my aggravation with Clarence Hervey's situation. The pacing was uneven, but Edgeworth drew her character's skillfully and manipulated her plot expertly, so I cannot give her less than 3 stars.
Maria Edgeworth, according to Wikipedia, was the most read author during the first decade of the 19th century. Her father was Richard Edgeworth, who eventually fathered twenty-two children with four wives. She developed a strong bond with her father who educated her in law, literature, Irish economics, politics, and science. The style of her novels is morally and socially didactic of which 'Belinda' is a good example. There is a lesson of the highest level of womanly behavior capable of being achieved at the heart of Belinda. Always calm, unruffled, the eye in the center of the storm, and in this particular story, maintaining the light of love for the heroic man she claims in her heart, but not publicly before he announces his love. The man must lead. Everything, always proper.
I didn't think it was interesting enough to hold my attention. Just a bit too irrelevant. My tastes have changed to more current and realistic reads. The three chapters on Lady Delacour's history were mostly her talking about how great she is. I got really bored and DNF'd. I have now tried twice to read this. I give up.
rep: mixed-race Jamaican British li, Jamaican side character
(i unfortunately read the edited version, but am on a mission to rectify that)
belinda is literally an angel walking on earth, and could do no wrong, which sometimes is trying to read, but she just seems like the personification of patience instead of a mary sue.
the way this novel talks about women's right to choose a partner & to be able to learn their true character before making a decision; about breast cancer and how it impacts a person's life, especially when combined with 'doctors' who are just there to make some money; about not listening to gossip and instead trying to find out the truth... so much is going on here, and it's all delicious. and the writing is honestly good and funny a lot of the time.
on the other hand, a lot of things is irritating, tho most of them can be ascribed to the time this was written in. the love interest constantly judges the mc and needs proof of her good character, instead of, you know, just giving her a benefit of a doubt. the author also set out to write a moral tale & not a novel, and it’s very visible; so many instances of lectures, of characters doing what is the best thing to do instead of what they’re likely to do.
and yes, the second half is somewhat chaotic, to say the least. and the whole thing with virginia? “it’s very easy to condemn from our vantage point in history. and so we condemn! wholeheartedly!” like, i understand it was there to talk about rousseau’s philosophy & i’m glad it at least ended the way it did, but it was still a gross plot line. and the sudden reveal of a certain someone's gambling addiction? truly what the fuck!! the ending itself isn't very satisfactory either but alas
(i unfortunately read the edited version, but am on a mission to rectify that)
belinda is literally an angel walking on earth, and could do no wrong, which sometimes is trying to read, but she just seems like the personification of patience instead of a mary sue.
the way this novel talks about women's right to choose a partner & to be able to learn their true character before making a decision; about breast cancer and how it impacts a person's life, especially when combined with 'doctors' who are just there to make some money; about not listening to gossip and instead trying to find out the truth... so much is going on here, and it's all delicious. and the writing is honestly good and funny a lot of the time.
on the other hand, a lot of things is irritating, tho most of them can be ascribed to the time this was written in. the love interest constantly judges the mc and needs proof of her good character, instead of, you know, just giving her a benefit of a doubt. the author also set out to write a moral tale & not a novel, and it’s very visible; so many instances of lectures, of characters doing what is the best thing to do instead of what they’re likely to do.
and yes, the second half is somewhat chaotic, to say the least. and the whole thing with virginia? “it’s very easy to condemn from our vantage point in history. and so we condemn! wholeheartedly!” like, i understand it was there to talk about rousseau’s philosophy & i’m glad it at least ended the way it did, but it was still a gross plot line. and the sudden reveal of a certain someone's gambling addiction? truly what the fuck!! the ending itself isn't very satisfactory either but alas
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Edgeworth described this as a moral tale rather than a novel, but it captivates and entertains regardless. The characters are realistic and the dialogue is wonderful.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Terminal illness, Classism
Minor: Antisemitism
Abandonado al 20% esta bien escrito, pero se me está haciendo muy pesado, me costaba mucho, y no me llegaban los personajes, ni la historia, asi que, me planto con el, quizas en otra ocasión.
I really enjoyed reading this 1802 novel by Maria Edgeworth. The print in this book is very small and tight, so it could be straining on the eyes at times, but I ended up becoming very engaged in the plot, and so I overcame my dislike of the font size in order to continue reading.
This novel is more an examination of society than it is a book about romance, although romance (with two different men) is still an important part. The main character Belinda learns about how the happiest people can actually be the saddest behind closed doors, and how it is important to marry for happiness rather than wealth. (Of course, she is lucky that she has people willing to house her for no fee. But I digress). There is a strong moral through the book encouraging domestic happiness and simple manners over artifice and partying. While I think this is a good moral, I think it looses some of its meaning, as the "good" people often seem too good to be true. Lady Anne Percival, who is shown as being the perfect woman with perfect manners and domestic bliss, has no true faults. And alongside this, the main character Belinda also does not seem to be a true person either. There is a lot of talk of how women should behave, and while it is rightfully stated that women should have some level of education and not be ignorant, and that they shouldn't put on "airs," the book also seems to praise women delicateness, sensibility, and good manners. However, no woman can have perfectly good manners all the time, so I think expecting women to is just a different kind of "airs." I think women still suffer from this today. How many women still struggle with saying no? (I, unfortunately, am one of them.)
I found the entire plotline surround Lady Delacour to be very interesting. Her feud with her husband as well as her problems with her health were very engaging to me. As she began to change and become a better person, I really felt her growth and it was very rewarding.
Finally, I won't say much as it goes into spoiler territory, but Virginia was treated most horribly. I felt like the ending with her was just handwaved away. It should have been expressed more clearly that she had been treated wrongly.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and I would highly recommend it to people interested in 18th/19th century literature that is focused around women and society. As one note, there was some racism in this book. There was one scene that was mildly insulting to Jews. It last only one page, and the insult was referring to the character only as "Jew" and having them be a moneylender who was charging very high interest. There was also a character of black descent, named Juba. While he was described as being a good person with a kind personality, and he ended up marrying a white girl, there were also times when his ignorance was pointed out, and some characters (who we weren't supposed to like) did not speak well of him. I did think it was good how the mixed marriage was celebrated.
This novel is more an examination of society than it is a book about romance, although romance (with two different men) is still an important part. The main character Belinda learns about how the happiest people can actually be the saddest behind closed doors, and how it is important to marry for happiness rather than wealth. (Of course, she is lucky that she has people willing to house her for no fee. But I digress). There is a strong moral through the book encouraging domestic happiness and simple manners over artifice and partying. While I think this is a good moral, I think it looses some of its meaning, as the "good" people often seem too good to be true. Lady Anne Percival, who is shown as being the perfect woman with perfect manners and domestic bliss, has no true faults. And alongside this, the main character Belinda also does not seem to be a true person either. There is a lot of talk of how women should behave, and while it is rightfully stated that women should have some level of education and not be ignorant, and that they shouldn't put on "airs," the book also seems to praise women delicateness, sensibility, and good manners. However, no woman can have perfectly good manners all the time, so I think expecting women to is just a different kind of "airs." I think women still suffer from this today. How many women still struggle with saying no? (I, unfortunately, am one of them.)
I found the entire plotline surround Lady Delacour to be very interesting. Her feud with her husband as well as her problems with her health were very engaging to me. As she began to change and become a better person, I really felt her growth and it was very rewarding.
Finally, I won't say much as it goes into spoiler territory, but Virginia was treated most horribly. I felt like the ending with her was just handwaved away. It should have been expressed more clearly that she had been treated wrongly.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and I would highly recommend it to people interested in 18th/19th century literature that is focused around women and society. As one note, there was some racism in this book. There was one scene that was mildly insulting to Jews. It last only one page, and the insult was referring to the character only as "Jew" and having them be a moneylender who was charging very high interest. There was also a character of black descent, named Juba. While he was described as being a good person with a kind personality, and he ended up marrying a white girl, there were also times when his ignorance was pointed out, and some characters (who we weren't supposed to like) did not speak well of him. I did think it was good how the mixed marriage was celebrated.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
I had no idea what to expect - I have rarely read Victorian novels before, sans Sense and Sensibility - but I really enjoyed this charming story. Belinda would be a Mary-Sue, and she does do no wrong, but she is humble enough that she comes across as likeable, not insufferable. It is definitely straight out of the Austen vein in construction, but definitely an enjoyable read - and one of my favourites I've read for a long time.