In my previous post, I voiced my disappointment of a Kindle book about Michelle Obama, which turned out to be not a book, but a summary of her biography, nothing more than an extended article you would expect to find in a magazine (only without the pictures), and that I thought this too higly priced.
Well, that can certainly not be said about the book I finished reading last night: "A Fair Barbarian", by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
The Kindle edition is free, and since I have made it a habit to browse the free eBooks on the Kindle store website, I came across this one and did not have to think twice about downloading it. Until then, I only had known one book by this author; "The Secret Garden" (which I love!!), and of course I'd watched the film adaptations of her books "Little Lord Fountleroy" and "A Little Princess" (my first encounter with Shirley Temple) several times when I was a child.
My impression was, therefore, that Mrs. Burnett had written children's books only, but that is not true. A quick look at her wikipedia entry shows a long (and not exhaustive) list of books, published from 1877 to 1922, and by no means all of them were written for children.
"A Fair Barbarian" was published in 1881, when the author was 32 years old. It is, I think, aimed at young ladies, and if you have ever read any of the highly entertaining Georgette Heyer novels, you will enjoy the "Fair Barbarian", which may well have served as an inspiration to that later author.
The setting of this book is Slowbridge, an English village which prides itself on the modesty of its young ladies - all dressed in white muslin gowns made by Miss Chickie, the village taylor, who adapts the more fashionable styles from London and Paris to the requirements of Slowbridge's strict rules about what is deemed decent attire for a lady. The whole village is, it seems, socially under one particular lady's authority; whoever she does not invite to her tea parties, is not invited by anyone else, but if she starts the round by inviting someone to her house, everyone else follows suit.
One of the lesser mortals living in the village, an elderly lady on her own, receives a surprise visit: her niece (whom she had not even known existed, let alone met before) arrives on her doorstep with five huge trunks, fresh from the US, and announces that she is here to stay - at least until her father, the elderly lady's brother (whom she has not set eyes on for many years) has successfully dealt with a business emergency back home and can join her in England.
This newcomer, Octavia Bassett, causes quite the metaphorical whirlwind in the quiet, modest village; her clothes (not the demure gowns of white muslin the other young ladies wear, but dresses that "fit like a glove", plus - imagine that! - diamonds dangling from her ears and on her fingers, in full daylight and without being married!), her hair style, her general demeanour and frank, open manner of speaking to anyone, regardless of their position in the social hierarchy of the village - all that is cause for plenty of gossip from the elderly generation and much admiration from the younger.
What changes in the villagers' hearts and minds Miss Octavia manages to bring about - without even consciously doing anything to achieve this - and a glimpse of what her and her new friends' future lives may look like, is told in a most entertaining manner; some bits are rather predictable, while others aren't, but even the predictable bit does not diminuish the pleasure of reading this charming story.
I shall definitely look for more of her work in Amazon's Kindle store.
Hello Meike:
ReplyDeleteWe are somewhat gratified to read this post and to learn that, following your previous disappointment, you are now reaping some of the benefits of your kindle.
Like you, we much enjoyed 'The Secret Garden' as children but had never thought to read anything else by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The pleasure you have had from reading 'A Fair Barbarian' clearly comes through in your review.
Hello Jane and Lance,
DeleteAs for the benefits of my kindle - well, I had it with me for yesterday's trip to the office (a two-hour train ride one way, done once a month) and was looking forward to some quiet reading time. About halfway through the trip, the ticket inspector appeared, and I put the kindle aside for a minute or two. When I picked it up again, it was "frozen", and for the rest of the trip, I was without anything to read, which was worse on the way back, because by then, I was also very very hungry and could not even distract myself with a book.
At home, I connected the kindle to my computer and did a reset, and it seems to be fine again; no idea what happened there, but it was a shame since of course I had not brought any other book or magazine with me.
Sounds really good! And how good is it that Kindle's free books service is giving extra life to these old out of copyright works that would otherwise wither at the back of a library stack?
ReplyDeleteExactly my thoughts, Macy! It is like receiving that crate full of books all over again; some of its contents would have never been my personal choice from the library shelves, but I am glad I discovered some different authors and learnt more about those I thought I knew.
DeleteOld books being revisited has to be a Good Thing. I always enjoy it when someone upsets the regarded norms. In theory that is. When my regarded norms are upset I tend to be a little less happy. It's the difference between what we generally think we believe academically and what our emotions tell us.
ReplyDeleteIt depends, I think, on what those regarded norms are and how they are being upset. When someone is simply being rude and inconsiderate, said upsetting of norms is neither funny nor cool or refreshing.
DeleteYes. I agree with you absolutely. When I was young going to church sans hat for a female was absolutely not done. My mother didn't like hats so never wore one. The rest got over it! I'm told (though I haven't seen or read anything here in NZ about it) that someone didn't wear a hat at Prince Andrew's wedding and caused quite a stir. As if it mattered.
DeleteMy local library doesn't stock this, and I don't have kindle. :(
ReplyDeleteHello Claudia, I am not sure but I think this is the first time I see you here? Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment!
DeleteI've read many of her works, for children and adults, but never this one. I'll have to read it now! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteIt truly was a delightful read, Kristi, I hope you'll like it, too. There are several more of her works on my Kindle now, and I am looking forward to reading those as well.
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