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krep___'s review against another edition
3.25
One of H.G. Wells non-SF works. A story of young, ill-advised romance that derails Mr. Lewisham's ambitious plans for his future and the degenerative spiral into misery that follows. No fairy tale, this one. Ups and downs, but almost all downs, so this book is not fun and just feels unusual. The characters all quite real but with uniformly weak personalities. There is a fascinating interlude in the middle in which Lewisham's father-in-law, an incorrigible con-man preying on the spiritualism community, discourses and builds a surprisingly convincing case for lying and cheating as the only proper and sensible conduct for intelligent people in this world. The underlying social commentary varies in subtlety but pervades at some level throughout, as is typical of Wells's works.
sammy_'s review against another edition
4.0
A nice short read. I’ve never read any HG Wells as I’m not a sci-fi fan, but this one is actually a love story/coming of age story and not sci-fi at all. This is the story of Mr Lewisham, a promising science student with a 5 year plan, which goes awry when he falls in love. Nice and pacey for a Victorian novel, with some good perspectives on best laid plans, and our hopes and dreams as adolescents versus the later reality, which actually hit you as spot on even today!
beccakatie's review against another edition
3.0
I do enjoy reading H.G. Wells, especially his novels which break away from science fiction, the genre he is more known for. I feel that this book offered an interesting examination and representation of the realities of love and marriage. However romantic and idealistic the characters want to be, real life always gets in the way. Wells portrays their struggles well, with the reader able to understand and compare their own experiences to those of Mr and Mrs Lewisham.
However, the characters themselves grated on me, and that reduced my enjoyment of the book. Lewisham is so wrapped up in himself, and, as a result treats other people, particularly the two women badly. These women seem very two-dimensional, with very little personality or life outside of their relationships with Lewisham. Their lives and emotions appear to revolve solely around him, despite Ethel's complicated family history and Miss Heydinger's academic achievements and ambitions, both of which I could have read more about.
Overall, whilst the plot looks to make important points regarding truth and poverty, the characters, and aspects of the plot limit this due to the direct impact these issues have. With characters and a relationship that does not feel built up or established in the same way Lewisham's academic career and concerns over spiritualism are, there are, on the whole, times that the storyline of this text is weak.
However, the characters themselves grated on me, and that reduced my enjoyment of the book. Lewisham is so wrapped up in himself, and, as a result treats other people, particularly the two women badly. These women seem very two-dimensional, with very little personality or life outside of their relationships with Lewisham. Their lives and emotions appear to revolve solely around him, despite Ethel's complicated family history and Miss Heydinger's academic achievements and ambitions, both of which I could have read more about.
Overall, whilst the plot looks to make important points regarding truth and poverty, the characters, and aspects of the plot limit this due to the direct impact these issues have. With characters and a relationship that does not feel built up or established in the same way Lewisham's academic career and concerns over spiritualism are, there are, on the whole, times that the storyline of this text is weak.
lbrex's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Beyond _Ann Veronica_, this was one of the first realist novels by Wells that I had read, and I found it thoroughly enjoyable and interesting. Lewisham, a hard working student training to become a biology teacher, falls in love with Ethel Henderson, a woman whose only employment involves cheating people in spiritualist seances. He nobly wants to "rescue" her from this doubtful career and from the influence of her unethical stepfather, but his noble goals only go so far when he is faced with the realities of beginning adult life. Though much of the book is focused on a working-class white British intellectual attempting to make a life for himself despite prejudice and economic hardship, there is something here that many readers will find interesting, as it considers the disillusionment and compromises that come with the the transition from student life to work life. Wells's prose here is top notch--if this sounds at all interesting to you, you should check it out!
soapyporridge's review
challenging
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
ldjdbooks's review
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
latepaul's review
3.0
I'm not really sure why I started reading this book a couple of weeks ago. I have it because a bought a Wells Collected Works some time back. I guess I was intrigued to read something non-SciFi by him.
Mr Lewisham is an ambitious young teacher who has grand plans for his future. Indeed he has written up a Plan or Schema as he calls it and has committed himself to daily study to improve himself.
We follow him as he moves to London and becomes a student. He also gets married and the later part of the novel is about how his naive beliefs about himself and the world survive this transition. (mild spoiler: they don't).
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised but like Turnabout that I read recently, this has some old-fashioned language and references that I just didn't get. But the human emotions were still apparent. Especially the self-deception, or the way in which naivety turned to anger and then acceptance.
I did enjoy it quite a bit but I felt that it wasn't up there with his great books. Also about the ending:he has a choice of two women: an intellectual peer (who nonetheless sees herself as being the person who will spur him on to great things, and a woman who he met much earlier but who he is attracted to. He marries the later. I was somewhat disappointed with that. It was like the message of the book was that a wife may not match your high expectations but love, comfort, sweetness etc are more important. But it was probably a bit much to expect such an old book to be more progressive.
Mr Lewisham is an ambitious young teacher who has grand plans for his future. Indeed he has written up a Plan or Schema as he calls it and has committed himself to daily study to improve himself.
We follow him as he moves to London and becomes a student. He also gets married and the later part of the novel is about how his naive beliefs about himself and the world survive this transition. (mild spoiler: they don't).
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised but like Turnabout that I read recently, this has some old-fashioned language and references that I just didn't get. But the human emotions were still apparent. Especially the self-deception, or the way in which naivety turned to anger and then acceptance.
I did enjoy it quite a bit but I felt that it wasn't up there with his great books. Also about the ending:
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