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ivyninareads's review against another edition
3.0
I think I bought this book in 2017? I am absolutely PURGING my physical tbr at the moment. In saying that, I went into this book with absolutely no idea of what I was getting into and was quite pleased to find it to be somewhat of an archive of stories, poems and art from The Yellow Book, a magazine first published in 1894. The history behind the original publication was very intriguing as this magazine was considered very scandalous, hedonistic, overly-decadent and immoral. For me, this meant getting to see what things were considered wildly inappropriate and unprincipled for heightened society at the end of the 19th century.
All in all, this collection was pretty good. There were a couple of parts that were a little slow, but considering that most of the works were quite short, this never really lasted very long. I really loved the artworks in this lil book, I found them to be quite beautiful. The book is a product of it's time so there are a couple of instances of misogyny. However – and quite interestingly – the story that I found to present the most misogyny, which was The Pleasure-Pilgrim, was written by a woman: Ella D'Arcy. And although she may not have been, to me it particularly seemed as though she was using these instances to make comment on what the double standards between men and women were like at the time.
Definitely engaging to read to get a taste of what was hot at the turn of the so-called 'yellow nineties'. Solid three stars. Maybe even a bit more. Maybe like, 3.5 or something :)
All in all, this collection was pretty good. There were a couple of parts that were a little slow, but considering that most of the works were quite short, this never really lasted very long. I really loved the artworks in this lil book, I found them to be quite beautiful. The book is a product of it's time so there are a couple of instances of misogyny. However – and quite interestingly – the story that I found to present the most misogyny, which was The Pleasure-Pilgrim, was written by a woman: Ella D'Arcy. And although she may not have been, to me it particularly seemed as though she was using these instances to make comment on what the double standards between men and women were like at the time.
Definitely engaging to read to get a taste of what was hot at the turn of the so-called 'yellow nineties'. Solid three stars. Maybe even a bit more. Maybe like, 3.5 or something :)
duggireads's review against another edition
2.0
I really liked some elements of this, but overall, it just didn't hold my interest that well. I was pleasantly surprised how many women were included.
gmhmeredith's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Eh, this was fine and some of yh stories had fun twists, but it's wasn't really what I wanted this book to be. I though it would be a little bit more scandalous
urlphantomhive's review against another edition
4.0
I like that Penguin collected in these Little Black Classics a couple of collections which are not, strictly speaking, books. The Yellow Book is one of them, a quarterly magazine with a collection of prose and verse from around the fin-de-siecle.
It was the kind of thing that I would have never selected for myself, but it was a pleasant surprise. There is the struggle to break free of the Victorian period and with it being a collection it was much more fast paced than I anticipated.
Exactly the reason why I wanted to read the Little Black Classics in the first place.
~Little Black Classics #91~
Find this and other reviews on https://urlphantomhive.wordpress.com
It was the kind of thing that I would have never selected for myself, but it was a pleasant surprise. There is the struggle to break free of the Victorian period and with it being a collection it was much more fast paced than I anticipated.
Exactly the reason why I wanted to read the Little Black Classics in the first place.
~Little Black Classics #91~
Find this and other reviews on https://urlphantomhive.wordpress.com
joecam79's review against another edition
3.0
The first volume of the "illustrated quarterly" The Yellow Book went to print in 1894. The declared aim of its "Publishers and Editors" was to create a publication which would be not just a "magazine" but a collectable book - "a book with style, a book with finish". Aubrey Beardsley's appointment as arts editor also gave this publication the frisson of controversy. Beardsley's sojourn in France had brought him close to the "aesthetic movement" and his blank ink drawings, emphasizing the sexual and the grotesque, seemed to ooze a sense of fin-de-siecle decadence. Indeed, the choice of a "yellow cover" was itself a knowing reference to French racy magazines, whose yellow cover warned prospective buyers of their erotic content. The quarterly achieved its peak of notoriety in April 1895, when Oscar Wilde was arrested whilst allegedly carrying a copy. Beardsley, a collaborator of the author, was promptly sacked, but the magazine managed to continue until 1897.
In actual fact, the stories and poems featured in the periodical were rarely as shocking as the cover promised they would be. What was undisputed was their quality and variety - amongst the contributors were leading authors such as John Buchan, H.G. Wells and W.B. Yeats, writing in a variety of styles. Ample space was given to female writers, including Ella D'Arcy and Ethel Mayne (who also served as sub-editors).
A good indication of the "Yellow Book"'s range is given by this selection issued as part of the second wave of Penguin "Little Black Books" - it consists of four stories and four poems accompanied by a smattering of Beardsley drawings. Mrs Ernest Leverson's "Suggestion" is the closest we get to the world of Wilde - its barbed wit and cynical view of marriage and relationships is calculated to shock us with its amorality. It is immediately followed by Arthur Symons's poem "Stella Maris" - an explicit description of a night of love which must have raised several Victorian eyebrows and likely singed them in the process. None of the other pieces are as controversial. John Buchan's supernatural tale "A Journey of Little Profit" is a delightful piece of diablerie, Ella D'Arcy's "The Pleasure-Pilgrim" is a tragicomedy with a bittersweet taste to it, Arnold Bennett's "A Letter Home" is a Maupassant-like slice of realism with a crushingly cruel ending. The collection also includes poems by Katharine de Mattos, Edmund Gosse and a typically dense and metaphor-laden work by W.B.Yeats.
This is an enjoyable compilation which gives a tantalising taste of the cultural phenomenon that was "The Yellow Book". If I give it only three stars, it is because it is difficult to replicate, in a different format, a periodical which gave such great attention to its design and presentation.
In actual fact, the stories and poems featured in the periodical were rarely as shocking as the cover promised they would be. What was undisputed was their quality and variety - amongst the contributors were leading authors such as John Buchan, H.G. Wells and W.B. Yeats, writing in a variety of styles. Ample space was given to female writers, including Ella D'Arcy and Ethel Mayne (who also served as sub-editors).
A good indication of the "Yellow Book"'s range is given by this selection issued as part of the second wave of Penguin "Little Black Books" - it consists of four stories and four poems accompanied by a smattering of Beardsley drawings. Mrs Ernest Leverson's "Suggestion" is the closest we get to the world of Wilde - its barbed wit and cynical view of marriage and relationships is calculated to shock us with its amorality. It is immediately followed by Arthur Symons's poem "Stella Maris" - an explicit description of a night of love which must have raised several Victorian eyebrows and likely singed them in the process. None of the other pieces are as controversial. John Buchan's supernatural tale "A Journey of Little Profit" is a delightful piece of diablerie, Ella D'Arcy's "The Pleasure-Pilgrim" is a tragicomedy with a bittersweet taste to it, Arnold Bennett's "A Letter Home" is a Maupassant-like slice of realism with a crushingly cruel ending. The collection also includes poems by Katharine de Mattos, Edmund Gosse and a typically dense and metaphor-laden work by W.B.Yeats.
This is an enjoyable compilation which gives a tantalising taste of the cultural phenomenon that was "The Yellow Book". If I give it only three stars, it is because it is difficult to replicate, in a different format, a periodical which gave such great attention to its design and presentation.
boopity's review
4.0
I read the short story "A Responsibility" by Harland in this volume. I thoroughly enjoyed the piece especially the language. I found his scientific prose to be an interesting take on understanding people, and became interested in the subtle use of scientific observation and physiognomy displayed in the story. Since it was published in the Yellow Book, the homosexual undertones become much more overt. Overall an easy and lovely read.
joecam79's review against another edition
3.0
The first volume of the "illustrated quarterly" The Yellow Book went to print in 1894. The declared aim of its "Publishers and Editors" was to create a publication which would be not just a "magazine" but a collectable book - "a book with style, a book with finish". Aubrey Beardsley's appointment as arts editor also gave this publication the frisson of controversy. Beardsley's sojourn in France had brought him close to the "aesthetic movement" and his blank ink drawings, emphasizing the sexual and the grotesque, seemed to ooze a sense of fin-de-siecle decadence. Indeed, the choice of a "yellow cover" was itself a knowing reference to French racy magazines, whose yellow cover warned prospective buyers of their erotic content. The quarterly achieved its peak of notoriety in April 1895, when Oscar Wilde was arrested whilst allegedly carrying a copy. Beardsley, a collaborator of the author, was promptly sacked, but the magazine managed to continue until 1897.
In actual fact, the stories and poems featured in the periodical were rarely as shocking as the cover promised they would be. What was undisputed was their quality and variety - amongst the contributors were leading authors such as John Buchan, H.G. Wells and W.B. Yeats, writing in a variety of styles. Ample space was given to female writers, including Ella D'Arcy and Ethel Mayne (who also served as sub-editors).
A good indication of the "Yellow Book"'s range is given by this selection issued as part of the second wave of Penguin "Little Black Books" - it consists of four stories and four poems accompanied by a smattering of Beardsley drawings. Mrs Ernest Leverson's "Suggestion" is the closest we get to the world of Wilde - its barbed wit and cynical view of marriage and relationships is calculated to shock us with its amorality. It is immediately followed by Arthur Symons's poem "Stella Maris" - an explicit description of a night of love which must have raised several Victorian eyebrows and likely singed them in the process. None of the other pieces are as controversial. John Buchan's supernatural tale "A Journey of Little Profit" is a delightful piece of diablerie, Ella D'Arcy's "The Pleasure-Pilgrim" is a tragicomedy with a bittersweet taste to it, Arnold Bennett's "A Letter Home" is a Maupassant-like slice of realism with a crushingly cruel ending. The collection also includes poems by Katharine de Mattos, Edmund Gosse and a typically dense and metaphor-laden work by W.B.Yeats.
This is an enjoyable compilation which gives a tantalising taste of the cultural phenomenon that was "The Yellow Book". If I give it only three stars, it is because it is difficult to replicate, in a different format, a periodical which gave such great attention to its design and presentation.
In actual fact, the stories and poems featured in the periodical were rarely as shocking as the cover promised they would be. What was undisputed was their quality and variety - amongst the contributors were leading authors such as John Buchan, H.G. Wells and W.B. Yeats, writing in a variety of styles. Ample space was given to female writers, including Ella D'Arcy and Ethel Mayne (who also served as sub-editors).
A good indication of the "Yellow Book"'s range is given by this selection issued as part of the second wave of Penguin "Little Black Books" - it consists of four stories and four poems accompanied by a smattering of Beardsley drawings. Mrs Ernest Leverson's "Suggestion" is the closest we get to the world of Wilde - its barbed wit and cynical view of marriage and relationships is calculated to shock us with its amorality. It is immediately followed by Arthur Symons's poem "Stella Maris" - an explicit description of a night of love which must have raised several Victorian eyebrows and likely singed them in the process. None of the other pieces are as controversial. John Buchan's supernatural tale "A Journey of Little Profit" is a delightful piece of diablerie, Ella D'Arcy's "The Pleasure-Pilgrim" is a tragicomedy with a bittersweet taste to it, Arnold Bennett's "A Letter Home" is a Maupassant-like slice of realism with a crushingly cruel ending. The collection also includes poems by Katharine de Mattos, Edmund Gosse and a typically dense and metaphor-laden work by W.B.Yeats.
This is an enjoyable compilation which gives a tantalising taste of the cultural phenomenon that was "The Yellow Book". If I give it only three stars, it is because it is difficult to replicate, in a different format, a periodical which gave such great attention to its design and presentation.
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