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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
A leisurely paced Gothic classic. Pastoral scenery, odd goings-on, witty banter, chilling atmosphere...this book really has a bit of everything! I think the writing is still very fresh almost 150 years later.
When Maud Ruthyn's loving but remote father dies, she is placed in the "care" of her Uncle Silas. True to form, she has inherited quite a bit of property and money and if she dies before reaching her majority guess who gets to scoop the pot? Good ol' Uncle Silas. She's been put under the thumb of an intimidating and kindof nutty French governess and we learn that Silas has been involved in a previous mysterious death. He is a small menacing presence rather than a large, overbearing villain. The whole household under Silas, including his ghastly son, are on the weird and threatening side and Maud feels danger from nearly every direction. Fortunately, she makes a few steadfast friends among her father's household servants and a cousin Lady Knollys (Monica) who see her through the worst of her trials. She undergoes frights and threats and there is a final midnight attempt on her life which lends itself to explaining the earlier death.
Of course, Maud Ruthyn tells her story of Gothic horror from a place of safety, years later after she is married to the charming Lord Ilbury. Having her tell the story in the first person takes quite a bit of the suspense away. I mean, if Maud can tell us this story we know she survives her ordeal, right? I'm afraid that the suspense just didn't hold me as well as it might have done if this had been told from a different perspective and there had been any possibility of doubt about the outcome. Le Fanu did his best to give the reader proper Gothic shivers and (when one could forget who was telling the story) was fairly successful. An interesting Victorian thriller with an air of mystery and suspense, though for preference, I would take his shorter ghost stories over this longer novel.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
Of course, Maud Ruthyn tells her story of Gothic horror from a place of safety, years later after she is married to the charming Lord Ilbury. Having her tell the story in the first person takes quite a bit of the suspense away. I mean, if Maud can tell us this story we know she survives her ordeal, right? I'm afraid that the suspense just didn't hold me as well as it might have done if this had been told from a different perspective and there had been any possibility of doubt about the outcome. Le Fanu did his best to give the reader proper Gothic shivers and (when one could forget who was telling the story) was fairly successful. An interesting Victorian thriller with an air of mystery and suspense, though for preference, I would take his shorter ghost stories over this longer novel.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
A pretty straightforward gothic novel: spooky with lots of shady characters. Just not as good as I had hoped.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
•Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu, 2000, Penguin Classics, originally published 1864
Young, naïve, and eager to please, Maud Ruthyn lives a very sheltered life--but she’s no stranger to horror, mystery, and suspense. She’s in awe of her aristocratic father, her manor home is secluded deep in the English countryside, and her lonely lifestyle has made her sensitive and superstitious. But it’s her new governess, Madame de la Rougierre, who really makes Maud nervous. Madame is a strange, freakish woman with a secretive past who delights in terrifying, bullying, and spying on Maud. Thanks in part to her one true ally, her cousin Lady Knollys, Maud is eventually freed from Madame’s tyranny—only to be plunged into an even darker and more disturbing life with her mysterious (and maybe murderous) Uncle Silas. The suspense builds as mysteries pile up and sinister forces surround Maud until she is little more than utterly helpless. Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) grew up in Ireland listening to folktales, myths and darkly Gothic tales. His early writings were ghost stories; he even wrote a chilling novella about a vampire, Carmilla. But to maximize his appeal to English audiences, Le Fanu toned it down and turned his penchant for horror into the sensational—with a touch of the supernatural thrown in for good measure. Uncle Silas’ unique blend of ghostly, Gothic, and Sensational styles makes it a suspenseful psychological thriller that’s way ahead of its time.
Young, naïve, and eager to please, Maud Ruthyn lives a very sheltered life--but she’s no stranger to horror, mystery, and suspense. She’s in awe of her aristocratic father, her manor home is secluded deep in the English countryside, and her lonely lifestyle has made her sensitive and superstitious. But it’s her new governess, Madame de la Rougierre, who really makes Maud nervous. Madame is a strange, freakish woman with a secretive past who delights in terrifying, bullying, and spying on Maud. Thanks in part to her one true ally, her cousin Lady Knollys, Maud is eventually freed from Madame’s tyranny—only to be plunged into an even darker and more disturbing life with her mysterious (and maybe murderous) Uncle Silas. The suspense builds as mysteries pile up and sinister forces surround Maud until she is little more than utterly helpless. Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) grew up in Ireland listening to folktales, myths and darkly Gothic tales. His early writings were ghost stories; he even wrote a chilling novella about a vampire, Carmilla. But to maximize his appeal to English audiences, Le Fanu toned it down and turned his penchant for horror into the sensational—with a touch of the supernatural thrown in for good measure. Uncle Silas’ unique blend of ghostly, Gothic, and Sensational styles makes it a suspenseful psychological thriller that’s way ahead of its time.
I have to admit, this is a book I picked up because I loved the cover. And I was justly rewarded! Lesson learned: always judge a book by its cover, at least before you read it.
Uncle Silas almost feels like a cross between an Edgar Allen Poe and Jane Austen novel. This is a book with a constant and deep sense of foreboding, while the plot is driven by a young heiress' attempt to integrate into society (kind of). In reality, her desires to be part of bourgeois society are deflected by her sickly Uncle Silas and her inability to stick up for herself. What makes this book great is not just the atmosphere, but that there is very real character development for a number of characters.
It's not clear to me why this isn't more well-known by literary types. It has everything you would want; strong female characters (good, evil, in-between), strong character development, reflection on society and one's place in it, and large pieces of plot that are only indirectly explained. It's definitely worth reading.
Uncle Silas almost feels like a cross between an Edgar Allen Poe and Jane Austen novel. This is a book with a constant and deep sense of foreboding, while the plot is driven by a young heiress' attempt to integrate into society (kind of). In reality, her desires to be part of bourgeois society are deflected by her sickly Uncle Silas and her inability to stick up for herself. What makes this book great is not just the atmosphere, but that there is very real character development for a number of characters.
It's not clear to me why this isn't more well-known by literary types. It has everything you would want; strong female characters (good, evil, in-between), strong character development, reflection on society and one's place in it, and large pieces of plot that are only indirectly explained. It's definitely worth reading.
A slow-moving thriller with lots of intangible fears and a consistent dark and gothic atmosphere.
This book was way longer than it needed to be. A lot of filler. Didn’t pick up until 75% of the way through.
I absolutely loved this book. I found it almost mesmerizing and was completely drawn into the gothic setting and the ominous atmosphere. The story was riveting and the characters expertly drawn. Masterful.
The plot in a nutshell: "Title character tries to get ahold of his niece's money. He fails."
If I've learned one thing from reading this, it's that Wilkie Collins is the master of the Sensation Fiction genre. LeFanu, not so much. Barely at all, really.
Wealthy heiress Maude is sent to live with her Uncle Silas after her father dies. She has inherited her father's estate, but if she dies before coming of age, her uncle gets everything. Maude's father made that change to his will because he trusted his brother (he alone also believed Silas innocent of murdering a man to whom Silas owed money).
And then ... not much happens until the end.
I personally couldn't stand Maude. She's weak and helpless, crying and blushing all the time. She's also completely naive. She doesn't realize that Silas is after her money until the very end and she's completely shocked by this revelation.
And let's talk about Silas's plan, shall we? I was expecting a wonderful villain like Count Fosco from The Woman in White. Silas just fails as a bad guy. He tries to marry Maude off to his son (not realizing the son is already married so that plan doesn't work) and then kills the wrong person when Maude's governess is sleeping in her bed. He also wasn't intimidating in the slightest. Maude describes him as sweet and kind so my mental image was of a Mr Magoo type rather than, I don't know, a Hannibal Lecter type. (Now THAT would have been scary!)
The ending was completely rushed. It felt like LeFanu was out of ideas and killed off Silas with an accidental drug overdose, leaving Maude free to marry and get on with her life.
Part 1 started off strong, Part 2 was dull and unnecessary, and Part 3 didn't get interesting until the last 50 pages. Overall, this book could easily have been cut in half.
I was excited to read this because I enjoyed LeFanu's lesbian vampire novel Carmilla, and I love sensation fiction in general, but this one was blah.
If I've learned one thing from reading this, it's that Wilkie Collins is the master of the Sensation Fiction genre. LeFanu, not so much. Barely at all, really.
Wealthy heiress Maude is sent to live with her Uncle Silas after her father dies. She has inherited her father's estate, but if she dies before coming of age, her uncle gets everything. Maude's father made that change to his will because he trusted his brother (he alone also believed Silas innocent of murdering a man to whom Silas owed money).
And then ... not much happens until the end.
I personally couldn't stand Maude. She's weak and helpless, crying and blushing all the time. She's also completely naive. She doesn't realize that Silas is after her money until the very end and she's completely shocked by this revelation.
And let's talk about Silas's plan, shall we? I was expecting a wonderful villain like Count Fosco from The Woman in White. Silas just fails as a bad guy. He tries to marry Maude off to his son (not realizing the son is already married so that plan doesn't work) and then kills the wrong person when Maude's governess is sleeping in her bed. He also wasn't intimidating in the slightest. Maude describes him as sweet and kind so my mental image was of a Mr Magoo type rather than, I don't know, a Hannibal Lecter type. (Now THAT would have been scary!)
The ending was completely rushed. It felt like LeFanu was out of ideas and killed off Silas with an accidental drug overdose, leaving Maude free to marry and get on with her life.
Part 1 started off strong, Part 2 was dull and unnecessary, and Part 3 didn't get interesting until the last 50 pages. Overall, this book could easily have been cut in half.
I was excited to read this because I enjoyed LeFanu's lesbian vampire novel Carmilla, and I love sensation fiction in general, but this one was blah.