Scan barcode
A review by fadeintodawn
The Buccaneers by Edith Wharton
4.0
Having been badly scarred by the abrupt lack-of-conclusion in Gaskell's Wives and Daughters, I knew I needed to read the version of The Buccaneers with an added ending. I was familiar with the story, having seen the BBC/WGBH miniseries, and looked forward to reading it.
Wharton's style is much lighter than her other works, but with serious issues at stake. In these stories, marriage is not the happy ending on the last page - it is only the beginning. She follows several wealthy young American women who move to England in the hopes of marrying titled gentlemen, whose financial circumstances put them in need of "new money." This did happen in real life, and some of the stories imitate those of historical figures, with Conchita Closson standing in for Consuela Vanderbilt. The characters may live in a strict social world, but the rules are only followed on the surface. Culture clash between America and Europe is inevitable, and there are also schemes, betrayals, affairs, rivalries, and ambitions for power.
The characters do not develop a great deal, though we mostly see insights into Nan and her governess, Miss Testvalley. Nan St. George is a dreamer and romantic, trying to reconcile her childish imagination to the responsibilities and disappointments of adult life in a confining society. Miss Testvalley is practical, yet proud of her poetic lineage (being a favorite relative of Dante Gabriel Rossetti) and determined to see Nan happy. Nan's first meeting with the Duke of Tintagel is in some romantic ruins in Cornwall - a scene which (understandably) overwhelms them both in sentiment and leads to their marriage, though the ruins are clearly more symbolic of their compatibility. Nan is unprepared for the social hierarchies and duties of an English Duchess, and the Duke's cold personality (and devotion to his mother) push her away.
The last few chapters felt a bit over sentimental and, for lack of a better word, "modern" in tone. Otherwise, the added chapters feel close enough to Wharton's style to avoid becoming a distraction. If you enjoy 19th century dramas, and enjoy some soap opera style relationships, I would highly recommend The Buccaneers.
Wharton's style is much lighter than her other works, but with serious issues at stake. In these stories, marriage is not the happy ending on the last page - it is only the beginning. She follows several wealthy young American women who move to England in the hopes of marrying titled gentlemen, whose financial circumstances put them in need of "new money." This did happen in real life, and some of the stories imitate those of historical figures, with Conchita Closson standing in for Consuela Vanderbilt. The characters may live in a strict social world, but the rules are only followed on the surface. Culture clash between America and Europe is inevitable, and there are also schemes, betrayals, affairs, rivalries, and ambitions for power.
The characters do not develop a great deal, though we mostly see insights into Nan and her governess, Miss Testvalley. Nan St. George is a dreamer and romantic, trying to reconcile her childish imagination to the responsibilities and disappointments of adult life in a confining society. Miss Testvalley is practical, yet proud of her poetic lineage (being a favorite relative of Dante Gabriel Rossetti) and determined to see Nan happy. Nan's first meeting with the Duke of Tintagel is in some romantic ruins in Cornwall - a scene which (understandably) overwhelms them both in sentiment and leads to their marriage, though the ruins are clearly more symbolic of their compatibility. Nan is unprepared for the social hierarchies and duties of an English Duchess, and the Duke's cold personality (and devotion to his mother) push her away.
The last few chapters felt a bit over sentimental and, for lack of a better word, "modern" in tone. Otherwise, the added chapters feel close enough to Wharton's style to avoid becoming a distraction. If you enjoy 19th century dramas, and enjoy some soap opera style relationships, I would highly recommend The Buccaneers.