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lawrenceevalyn's review against another edition
5.0
Oh man. This was SO GOOD. So good!!! I can't believe I'd been putting it off for so long because I thought it was going to be a slog -- I should have trusted Jane Austen. I really enjoyed all the characters here, and the delicate balance of narrative suspense and realism. Belinda won my heart in a very similar way to Evelina, but without the distracting subplot. I wish I had friends to gossip about the ending with!
EDIT: I've just discovered that the librivox recording is based off of the 1810 edition of the text, in which Edgeworth edited out an interracial marriage. Now I need to read the 1801 to compare!
EDIT: I've just discovered that the librivox recording is based off of the 1810 edition of the text, in which Edgeworth edited out an interracial marriage. Now I need to read the 1801 to compare!
blankgarden's review against another edition
4.0
My review: https://theblankgarden.com/2019/03/14/review-belinda-maria-edgeworth/
saralynnburnett's review against another edition
5.0
A VERY funny book about a young woman coming of age in (ridiculous) London society.
blankgarden's review against another edition
4.0
My review: https://theblankgarden.com/2019/03/14/review-belinda-maria-edgeworth/
bloodhoney's review against another edition
4.0
I am wholly discontented with the ending. First, it is unutterably creepy that Clarence Hervey basically kidnaps a young virginal girl to bring her up in his way of thinking. Is it feminist to realize at the last second that airhead girls don't make good wives and he would rather marry a woman he can talk to and respect? Yes. Is it still super creepy? YES. Belinda should have run into the arms of her other lover, Mr. Vincent. Is Mr. Vincent a gambler? Yes. Is he guilty of being a slave owner? Yes. HOWEVER, Mr. Vincent's dubious racial background ("Creole" sometimes means half-black, and with God as my witness I want to live in a world where people recognize Heathcliff and Mr. Vincent are NOT WHITE) means a marriage between an English lady and a mixed-race man. Which is about as amazing as the marriage between Juba, the Jamaican slave, and the white maid that IS ACTUALLY CANON (no takebacksies, Edgeworth, you'll rip this marriage from my cold dead hands).
Moral: All of the men in this book (Mr. Percival excepted) are horrible choices, and Belinda should have scorned all of them and lived alone writing philosophy and bantering with Lady Delacour.
Moral: All of the men in this book (Mr. Percival excepted) are horrible choices, and Belinda should have scorned all of them and lived alone writing philosophy and bantering with Lady Delacour.
samchase112's review against another edition
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.
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