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A review by melindamoor
Miss Marjoribanks by Mrs. Oliphant (Margaret)
5.0
This book is GENIUS! :)))))) (and you can download the free kindle version from https://www.gutenberg.org )
“As she stepped into the steamboat at Dover which was to convey her to scenes so new, Lucilla felt more and more that she who held the reorganisation of society in Carlingford in her hands was a woman with a mission.”
Admirers (Critics) of Emma Woodhouse, do come and meet Miss Lucilla Marjoribanks, heroine of this brilliantly written, classic novel, described by some critics as the "spiritual grand-daughter" or Victorian counterpart of Austen's notorious matchmaker! She deserves to be mentioned in line with the best comic heroines.
Literary critic Q.D. Leavis calls the author, Mrs Oliphant, the "missing link" between Jane Austen and George Elliot and also points out some late parallels between her and [a:Edith Wharton|16|Edith Wharton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1484512230p2/16.jpg] and especially her novel [b:The Custom of the Country|26950|The Custom of the Country|Edith Wharton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386922530l/26950._SY75_.jpg|2536975].
Lucilla, armed with a natural-born good sense and the useful knowledge of political economy acquired in the school Mount Pleasant, sets forth for her very provincial hometown, Carlingford.
Her aims are:
#1 "to be a comfort to poor papa", the widowed doctor, who does not seem to relish his good fortune to be pampered and cared for by his daughter, but allows her nevertheless to take charge.
#2 to conquer and reform society (with perfect goodwill, good intentions and with much talent, with well-wishers and antagonists, expected or unexpected suitors along her way).
Lucilla, self-destined mover and shaker, matchmaker and organiser, though deciding that at this point in life she is not interested in suitors, is very well able to discern who might be eligible for her candidates as well for herself. Though unlike Emma or Dorothea Brooke, she is no self-deceiver, but has both insight, tactical skills and social influence. Her rule as undisputed "queen of Carlingford" lasts a decade with only minor interruptions, like a series of failed marriage proposals.
The first two volumes of the novel are concerned with Lucilla's organization of society, by the third volume she desires a greater scope for her powers and so turns to politics, campaigning for the future M.P. of Carlingford.
She brilliantly manages to turn the tides even of her apparent "downfall" & seemingly reduced circumstances. Her final marriage & moving to a different parish close to Carlingford provides her with even more possibilities and an even larger scope of authority.
“Then there rose up before her a vision of a parish saved, a village reformed, a county reorganised, and a triumphant election at the end, the recompense and crown of all, which should put the government of the country itself, to a certain extent, into competent hands.”
Lucilla's story is told with a most delightful irony & and an austenesque anti-sentimentalism capturing Victorian provincial society and its different characters with subtle, but critical insight. The irony is also twofold, or it seems so. On one hand it seems to be aimed at Lucilla herself, but as we go on we realise that it is society itself that becomes the main object of irony.
First the readers themselves -along with other members of Lucilla's circle of family and friends-are led to treat her with some mild condescension maybe even exasperation, but gradually we are to realise that this is far from being the case and slowly but surely she is winning our appreciation and sympathy.
Lucilla is a true, but also magnanimous and beneficiary mastermind who, as a woman, must hide herself behind the Victorian conventionalism & norms to achieve her goals. She is perfectly aware of her limitations as a woman, but manages to turn this to her advantage brilliantly.
“At first, I always make it a point to give in to the prejudices of society. That is how I have always been so successful. I never went in the face of anybody's prejudices. Afterwards, you know, when one is known ....”
“As she stepped into the steamboat at Dover which was to convey her to scenes so new, Lucilla felt more and more that she who held the reorganisation of society in Carlingford in her hands was a woman with a mission.”
Admirers (Critics) of Emma Woodhouse, do come and meet Miss Lucilla Marjoribanks, heroine of this brilliantly written, classic novel, described by some critics as the "spiritual grand-daughter" or Victorian counterpart of Austen's notorious matchmaker! She deserves to be mentioned in line with the best comic heroines.
Literary critic Q.D. Leavis calls the author, Mrs Oliphant, the "missing link" between Jane Austen and George Elliot and also points out some late parallels between her and [a:Edith Wharton|16|Edith Wharton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1484512230p2/16.jpg] and especially her novel [b:The Custom of the Country|26950|The Custom of the Country|Edith Wharton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386922530l/26950._SY75_.jpg|2536975].
Lucilla, armed with a natural-born good sense and the useful knowledge of political economy acquired in the school Mount Pleasant, sets forth for her very provincial hometown, Carlingford.
Her aims are:
#1 "to be a comfort to poor papa", the widowed doctor, who does not seem to relish his good fortune to be pampered and cared for by his daughter, but allows her nevertheless to take charge.
#2 to conquer and reform society (with perfect goodwill, good intentions and with much talent, with well-wishers and antagonists, expected or unexpected suitors along her way).
Lucilla, self-destined mover and shaker, matchmaker and organiser, though deciding that at this point in life she is not interested in suitors, is very well able to discern who might be eligible for her candidates as well for herself. Though unlike Emma or Dorothea Brooke, she is no self-deceiver, but has both insight, tactical skills and social influence. Her rule as undisputed "queen of Carlingford" lasts a decade with only minor interruptions, like a series of failed marriage proposals.
The first two volumes of the novel are concerned with Lucilla's organization of society, by the third volume she desires a greater scope for her powers and so turns to politics, campaigning for the future M.P. of Carlingford.
She brilliantly manages to turn the tides even of her apparent "downfall" & seemingly reduced circumstances.
Spoiler
Her father's death leaving her relatively poor, she marries her cousin Tom, whose proposal she rejected at the very beginning of the novel.“Then there rose up before her a vision of a parish saved, a village reformed, a county reorganised, and a triumphant election at the end, the recompense and crown of all, which should put the government of the country itself, to a certain extent, into competent hands.”
Lucilla's story is told with a most delightful irony & and an austenesque anti-sentimentalism capturing Victorian provincial society and its different characters with subtle, but critical insight. The irony is also twofold, or it seems so. On one hand it seems to be aimed at Lucilla herself, but as we go on we realise that it is society itself that becomes the main object of irony.
First the readers themselves -along with other members of Lucilla's circle of family and friends-are led to treat her with some mild condescension maybe even exasperation, but gradually we are to realise that this is far from being the case and slowly but surely she is winning our appreciation and sympathy.
Lucilla is a true, but also magnanimous and beneficiary mastermind who, as a woman, must hide herself behind the Victorian conventionalism & norms to achieve her goals. She is perfectly aware of her limitations as a woman, but manages to turn this to her advantage brilliantly.
“At first, I always make it a point to give in to the prejudices of society. That is how I have always been so successful. I never went in the face of anybody's prejudices. Afterwards, you know, when one is known ....”