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heather_freshparchment's review against another edition
2.0
2.5. There were witty moments and I loved the diversity in this book, but the diversity wasn't handled as well as it could have been (19th-century norms). By halfway through, the twists and turns became outlandish, the ending was too ambiguous, and I found that I just didn't care about any of the characters anymore.
hartsea's review against another edition
4.0
Lady Delacour forever! There's a duel between two women dressed in men's clothes, and the witty and fun Lady Delacour doesn't die at the end. I mostly couldn't give it five stars because I never warmed to Clarence as Belinda's love interest. It's also drags a bit at times.
notafraidofvirginiawoolf's review against another edition
3.0
This started out as a could-not-put-down sort of read and then, about 200 or so pages in, got bogged down because everyone is incessantly having to EXPLAIN themselves. One can't help but wish that these people would leave some of their motives to be inferred rather than unburdened in such length. I finished it, but I cannot say that I wished for more. Less exposition and more story, I think, are in order.
petrauusimaa's review against another edition
3.0
Maria Edgeworth was contemporary to Jane Austen and I have to admit that besides from Austen, I haven't read novels before Victorian era before this month. I didn't have a lot of luck with Ann Radcliffe, but Belinda by Maria Edgeworth was definitely a delightful surprise. It is a romantic comedy of its' time, following Belinda who is courted by two rich men. She has been sent to London to stay with Lady Delacour who is definitely one of the best characters in this book. I both love and hate her; she made me at times very angry but I also pitied her many times throughout the novel. However, I would have loved to learn more about our male heroine, Belinda. She seems the typical heroine of romantic comedy; naive and can't decide her mind. I really wish she would have grown by the end but I ended up finding her character a bit meek even in the end. I enjoyed Edgeworth wit and bluntness so much and I can definitely see how she has influenced Jane Austen at her work. This is a perfect summer read filled with little bit of scandal and a lot of drama. Definitely recommend it.
clawsberdej's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed this novel and found the characters with the plot interesting. Belinda is a rational and strong woman, definitely ahead of her time. However after a while, Belinda's rationality got annoying to me - she seemed to only act on rationality and never indulge or admit to passions and feelings, which made her seem cold and unfeeling, though this isn't the case. By the end, I was disappointed that she didn't seem to grow or change at all, she was the same bland (not sure bland is quite the right word) character who still couldn't express her feelings. The ending really disappointed me- it seemed rushed and I didn't like that Lady Delacour seemed to narrate much of it - and this is the reason for the 3 stars rather than 4. Every female in this novel seemed to be extreme or over dramatic in their characterization: Belinda was too rational and didn't have much balance between passion and rationality, Lady Delacour was only passionate and "out there," with little sense, Freke was an antagonistic woman, Luttridge was a liar and deceiver the whole way through, Virginia was so innocent and pure to the point of being a little crazy, etc.. The characters didn't seem to have much balance, they were all portraying stereotypes in the extreme.
pixieauthoress's review against another edition
4.0
Read for EN4363: Romantic Writing and Women.
Given that most of the novels so far on this course have been rather depressing in nature or badly edited, this was a very pleasant surprise. Maria Edgeworth's writing is far more similar to that of Frances Burney than Mary Wollstonecraft or Mary Hays. I tried to read this book in 50 page chunks in order to finish it in time for my tutorial, but I probably could have finished it earlier as it was a relatively easy read.
My main reasons for not rating this book higher stem from the characterisation of Belinda and Clarence. As others have commented, Belinda was a bit too much of a Mary Sue in that she always did what was right and moral and never made any mistakes. One reviewer compares her to Jane Bennett from Pride and Prejudice, and I agree with this comparison. It seemed, to me, that Belinda was more the vehicle for telling a story about Lady Delacour and polite society at the turn of the nineteenth century. The novel wasn't so much about Belinda as it was those around her.
I never really warmed up to Clarence, except many in the last chapter of the novel. Initially he seemed too sure of himself and cocky, but most of my dislike of him stems from his treatment of Virginia. He's obviously a very idealistic young man, but I struggled to admire a "hero" who attempted to create the perfect woman for him. I wish he'd admitted how wrong his actions were earlier than the final pages of the novel, because as it is, I struggled to be happy for him and Belinda based on his past actions.
Ultimately, this was a very entertaining read which provided plenty to think about regarding propriety and woman's place in late eighteenth/early nineteenth century society. It's probably the most enjoyable novel so far on this course. That said, it's definitely not just for students of literature; I'd highly recommend this novel to fans of Frances Burney, and maybe even Jane Austen. 4*
Also, if you plan to read this novel, make sure you read the 1801 or 1802 text, as the 1810 was highly censored by Edgeworth's father and took out several interesting sections relating to issues of race. For footnotes, I definitely recommend the 2009 Oxford World Classics edition.
Given that most of the novels so far on this course have been rather depressing in nature or badly edited, this was a very pleasant surprise. Maria Edgeworth's writing is far more similar to that of Frances Burney than Mary Wollstonecraft or Mary Hays. I tried to read this book in 50 page chunks in order to finish it in time for my tutorial, but I probably could have finished it earlier as it was a relatively easy read.
My main reasons for not rating this book higher stem from the characterisation of Belinda and Clarence. As others have commented, Belinda was a bit too much of a Mary Sue in that she always did what was right and moral and never made any mistakes. One reviewer compares her to Jane Bennett from Pride and Prejudice, and I agree with this comparison. It seemed, to me, that Belinda was more the vehicle for telling a story about Lady Delacour and polite society at the turn of the nineteenth century. The novel wasn't so much about Belinda as it was those around her.
I never really warmed up to Clarence, except many in the last chapter of the novel. Initially he seemed too sure of himself and cocky, but most of my dislike of him stems from his treatment of Virginia. He's obviously a very idealistic young man, but I struggled to admire a "hero" who attempted to create the perfect woman for him. I wish he'd admitted how wrong his actions were earlier than the final pages of the novel, because as it is, I struggled to be happy for him and Belinda based on his past actions.
Ultimately, this was a very entertaining read which provided plenty to think about regarding propriety and woman's place in late eighteenth/early nineteenth century society. It's probably the most enjoyable novel so far on this course. That said, it's definitely not just for students of literature; I'd highly recommend this novel to fans of Frances Burney, and maybe even Jane Austen. 4*
Also, if you plan to read this novel, make sure you read the 1801 or 1802 text, as the 1810 was highly censored by Edgeworth's father and took out several interesting sections relating to issues of race. For footnotes, I definitely recommend the 2009 Oxford World Classics edition.