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jasminetell's review
5.0
This is a truly haunting book. I first found it at a book sale, and not yet reading it, sent it to a friend as a gift since it was such a pretty book. She was thoroughly enchanted with it and sent it back for me to read. I loved it!
jocelynw's review
5.0
I came across this because of Harriet Beecher Stowe talking shit about it in Pink and White Tyranny:
That sounded more interesting than HBS's moralizing, so once I finished her novelistic diatribe I picked this up. And it was a good call; I adore it; there were times I laughed aloud, times I gasped aloud; the whole story wrung my heart.
I love Nell's surprisingly modern wry sense of humor, her heart completely on her sleeve, how convincingly Broughton has captured all the intensity of late adolescence. Nell's spirited, awkward, unconventional, emotive personality felt delightfully familiar - I could imagine her as a friend; I connected with her as someone who would respond similarly.
I almost fear to pick up anything else by Broughton; it's hard to imagine I could enjoy another like work this much, and I would hate to take the shine from it by surfeiting myself with her writing. I may just let this one sit for a while, digesting - it really got me in the heart, and I can understand why it made a splash, and it surprises me that it's so little known now.
CW: There are anti-Semitic remarks in at least three places that I noted.
The public has already been circumstantially instructed by such edifying books as “Cometh up as a Flower,” and others of a like turn, in what manner and in what terms married women can abdicate the dignity of their sex, and degrade themselves so far as to offer their whole life, and their whole selves, to some reluctant man, with too much remaining conscience or prudence to accept the sacrifice.
That sounded more interesting than HBS's moralizing, so once I finished her novelistic diatribe I picked this up. And it was a good call; I adore it; there were times I laughed aloud, times I gasped aloud; the whole story wrung my heart.
I love Nell's surprisingly modern wry sense of humor, her heart completely on her sleeve, how convincingly Broughton has captured all the intensity of late adolescence. Nell's spirited, awkward, unconventional, emotive personality felt delightfully familiar - I could imagine her as a friend; I connected with her as someone who would respond similarly.
I almost fear to pick up anything else by Broughton; it's hard to imagine I could enjoy another like work this much, and I would hate to take the shine from it by surfeiting myself with her writing. I may just let this one sit for a while, digesting - it really got me in the heart, and I can understand why it made a splash, and it surprises me that it's so little known now.
CW: There are anti-Semitic remarks in at least three places that I noted.
broomgrass's review against another edition
2.0
At first, I welcomed the very conversational and confiding tone; it is markedly different from much of the 18th and 19th century literature I have been reading lately. The text reads like something surprisingly modern; however, the modern texts that it ended up reminding me of were of a sort similar to Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey. No sex scenes or vampires, but a lot of fantasizing and infantile frustration mixed in with a heavy-handed dash of "But what does life MEAN?" and "Agh, I'm so ugly (but really she's not) and live such a hard life (but really, it's not)" and "Let me tell YOU, wise reader, what a long, hard life I've had (she's 22)" A friend described the tone as "written by a teenager," and I think I would agree with that for the most part; a few descriptions and scenes read as genuine and sincere, but for the most part it reads like a Harlequin without the sex or a happy ending.
fineeyes's review against another edition
4.0
Never has a character felt more alive to the reader as much as Nell Lestrange. She is a vibrant character whose words leap off the page with emotion and conviction. Although the prose is somewhat clunky and there are a lot of lengthy passages on religion and life that do not deal directly with the plot, this book is a true gem of New Woman fiction and well worth reading.
nicolemousicos_'s review
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
stephh's review
4.0
Utter madness isn't it *heavy sarcasm*, but for a book published in 1872, this quotation is pretty wild. I've read a lot of 19th century novels over the past few years, and quite a number of the heroines are somewhat lacking in a number of things: independence, a brain, passion and their own opinions to name but a few. Nell in Rhoda Broughton's Cometh Up as a Flower, however is something else - she actually defies feminine stereotypes and scorns the company of other women.
Nell lives alone with her father as her mother died when she was young. Despite their family name being one of high rapport, the Lestranges have gone way down the social ladder in recent years, to an extent that bills are unpaid and Nell's father's health is rapidly declining under economic stress. Nell meets a poor man called McGregor: handsome and flirtatious, he conducts an illicit relationship with her, which is kept a secret from her father. But, when her elder sister Dorothea returns to the family home, things begin to go a bit awry. Is love really worth more than money?
Although this book was written over a century ago, its language is not difficult or burdensome (makes a change for a 19th century novel, right?!). Nell's character is incredibly complex - she has a whole number of ideas concerning the social status of women in England, and has a number of factors which govern her every thought. Her sister Dorothea similarly offers a unique and often perplexing character: driven largely by money, she corrupts everything that is good in the novel and comes across as a true villain. This text really explores what your priorities ought to be when deciding who to marry. It also exposes some harrowing truths about the 'choice' even seemingly independent girls like Nell have concerning marriage. All in all, if you're interested in a look at how advanced first wave feminism could be in literature, this is a great text to go to!
Nell lives alone with her father as her mother died when she was young. Despite their family name being one of high rapport, the Lestranges have gone way down the social ladder in recent years, to an extent that bills are unpaid and Nell's father's health is rapidly declining under economic stress. Nell meets a poor man called McGregor: handsome and flirtatious, he conducts an illicit relationship with her, which is kept a secret from her father. But, when her elder sister Dorothea returns to the family home, things begin to go a bit awry. Is love really worth more than money?
Although this book was written over a century ago, its language is not difficult or burdensome (makes a change for a 19th century novel, right?!). Nell's character is incredibly complex - she has a whole number of ideas concerning the social status of women in England, and has a number of factors which govern her every thought. Her sister Dorothea similarly offers a unique and often perplexing character: driven largely by money, she corrupts everything that is good in the novel and comes across as a true villain. This text really explores what your priorities ought to be when deciding who to marry. It also exposes some harrowing truths about the 'choice' even seemingly independent girls like Nell have concerning marriage. All in all, if you're interested in a look at how advanced first wave feminism could be in literature, this is a great text to go to!
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