Scan barcode
laerkelikesreading's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
stagasaurus's review against another edition
4.0
This really surprised me. I'm on a mission to read all Alcott's books and I'm enjoying seeing her development as a writer. This is totally different theme-wise to anything of hers I've read but the language is almost identical.
I feel like Alcott read all of Jane Austen, Jane Eyre and Vanity Fair and then wrote her own "English Novel". She borrows from all of these.
Jean Muir is an interesting character and I wasn't expecting the ending we got. I really thought it was going to be another dead girl and a moral lecture but she gets away with it and I loved that. It really reminded me of Vanity Fair in that way - there are no real heroes in this story.
The Englishness slips a bit. At one point the idle Englishman's dialogue slides into some American phrasing. Also, you can't get married in your house in Britain. The building as well as the person marrying you has to be registered. In 1836 they expanded that to include synagogues and some other religious buildings but not houses. A special licence could be got so you could marry in a church that you didn't live near but that's about it.
I would love to have been there on Sir John and Jean's wedding night when the "elderly" uncle discovers he has married *shock horror* a thirty year old and not a nineteen year old.
I feel like Alcott read all of Jane Austen, Jane Eyre and Vanity Fair and then wrote her own "English Novel". She borrows from all of these.
Spoiler
Gerald says he loves Jean "in spite of himself" and calls her a witch for fascinating him. The first chapter is a brilliant hook.Jean Muir is an interesting character and I wasn't expecting the ending we got. I really thought it was going to be another dead girl and a moral lecture but she gets away with it and I loved that. It really reminded me of Vanity Fair in that way - there are no real heroes in this story.
The Englishness slips a bit. At one point the idle Englishman's dialogue slides into some American phrasing. Also, you can't get married in your house in Britain. The building as well as the person marrying you has to be registered. In 1836 they expanded that to include synagogues and some other religious buildings but not houses. A special licence could be got so you could marry in a church that you didn't live near but that's about it.
I would love to have been there on Sir John and Jean's wedding night when the "elderly" uncle discovers he has married *shock horror* a thirty year old and not a nineteen year old.
lamusadelils's review against another edition
2.0
Esperaba más, creo.
De niña me gustaban mucho los libros de Alcott y he vuelto a leer fragmentos de sus obras ya adulta, encontrando que a pesar de las constricciones de sus tiempos plasmó ideas mucho más progresistas de lo que parecen a simple vista.
Sabía que había escrito otras cosas, pero nunca me había dado la oportunidad de leerlas, así que al fin me decidí por esta colección de thrillers y no me dejaron buen sabor de boca.
Se nota bastante que a pesar de ser buena escritora, estas historias no le apasionan igual. Se sienten planas y anticuadas.
De niña me gustaban mucho los libros de Alcott y he vuelto a leer fragmentos de sus obras ya adulta, encontrando que a pesar de las constricciones de sus tiempos plasmó ideas mucho más progresistas de lo que parecen a simple vista.
Sabía que había escrito otras cosas, pero nunca me había dado la oportunidad de leerlas, así que al fin me decidí por esta colección de thrillers y no me dejaron buen sabor de boca.
Se nota bastante que a pesar de ser buena escritora, estas historias no le apasionan igual. Se sienten planas y anticuadas.
mjtal's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
marinact22's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
janlc's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
3.0
Sproget er lidt krinklet - man kan godt mærke at den er skrevet i 1800-tallet, og historien bliver lige lovlig vel forklaret til sidst.
Men undervejs er det en god fortælling, og der er lidt at tale om bagefter:
Hvor meget af ens handlinger kan undskyldes med ens vilkår?
Men undervejs er det en god fortælling, og der er lidt at tale om bagefter:
Hvor meget af ens handlinger kan undskyldes med ens vilkår?
saycheeze37's review against another edition
4.0
Started out really slow for me. Almost gave up on it, but so glad I didn't. Such a great story!
ririkolyana's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I recently reread this novella through a Gothic Lit independent study focusing on the Gothic home and Gothic body and I wanted to up my original score a little bit. I think this novella really shines if taken in conversation with other governess novels of its time. In many ways, this is a direct reply to works like Jane Eyre and Lady Audley's Secret, both governess novels about the socially mobile poor and their relationships with men. I also get a bit of Fosco from The Woman in White vibes from Jean, re: working with a system and exploiting expectations.
oldsoulnewbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dawntin's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This story was a bit difficult to get into and sometimes it was hard to distinguish between the characters. The drama was funny though. Jean Muir really girlbossed her way into the Coventry family.