While researching for this review, I came across this review, which sums up very well what I would have told you about the book myself.
For those of you who do not wish to follow links leading elsewhere, here is my brief summary of this (relatively short) novel:
Young Betty grows up an orphan with her strict stepfather, a vicar in rural England in Edwardian times. She dreams of being an artist, and one day, while she is out sketching, happens to come across a man who really is an artist. Predictably, the two of them embark on something we today would certainly not call an affair (they never even kiss or hug), but what was deemed improper from society's point of view back then.
Her stepfather finds out, and to make Betty forget the man (Vernon), he sends her to Paris, where she is to study art. In Paris, very predictably, she runs into the man again. And when the lady who is supposed to chaperon her dies, Betty grabs the chance to take her life into her own hands without anyone back home knowing about it.
She has enough money (originally intended for the chaperone) to rent her own rooms and does indeed study art, making friends among her fellow students, and meeting Vernon regularly for meals. The two of them think they are in love with each other, but neither tells the other what they believe to be feeling. There are another woman and another man to complicate matters, leading to Vernon leaving Paris, and Betty going away, too.
Still, nobody at home knows about any of this, but finally, Betty's aunt and her stepfather decide to go visiting the girl in Paris, where they find out that she never lived with the chaperone and spent the past months all on her own.
They follow Betty, who finally learns the truth about her stepfather, and returns to England with him. She does get married to the man who loves her in the end, but I must admit that the "happy ending" left me quite flat; I never cared for Betty throughout the book, or for any of the men. The character I felt most for was her stepfather, and you just have to like the aunt.
My free ebook version came without illustrations, but I found the illustrated one at Project Gutenberg, and am nicking two of the pictures for this review.
Do not read it if you expect a typical Edith Nesbit book; the Edith I love shows herself in only very few instances in this story. Still, it makes an interesting picture of life for a young woman in Edwardian times, and how that life (and that of those around her) was restricted in so many ways by society's conventions.
Yes, this is the kind of novel I would like. I like romantic novels, especially the ones set in the Edwardian times. As usual, you gave an excellent summary of the book. I would have gone around the bush for three hours without saying anything to the point. But that's the Italian language. When I worked in New York, my Italian boss would dictate a very long letter for hours, and I would translate it into English in 5 minutes. He was always amazed!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it great that languages have so much their own character? I love that!
DeleteIn German, we love very long words. I often think about how much easier something could be expressed in English, when I read some of the very complicated sentences my customers use in German.
No, not the sort of book I’d go for, to judge by your review.
ReplyDeleteBut you have to tell me where you find your free books. I have a site too (FreeBooks) but most of the books available are either the classic,which are free in many places, or rubbish which I delete after the first ten pages.
My free ebooks are almost all from Amazon. I simply go to the Amazon website, put the search filter on "Kindle Shop" and "sort by price" and make sure it shows the lowest prices first, which means you'll get tons of ebooks shown with their price at 0,00 €.
DeleteAs you know from my reviews, you can't avoid there being a lot of rubbish in between, but every now and then, I do come across a really good read, and this method has broadened my literary horizon quite a bit.
If I were to send you a copy of my book which I published through Lulu would you read it for me?
ReplyDeleteHello Munir, that depends on the subject. If it is a matter that I am interested in, I'd certainly be happy to read and review your book.
DeleteI went and read that review that you gave us. Gasp, gasp and gasp! It was amusing but I find your reviews much more to my liking. Even if I am never likely to read these works of fiction, I find your reviews very interesting!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kay! Yes, the "gasping" review was a bit longer than mine, and more detailed for that. I found it interesting that the author of that review noticed some of the same things as I did; it's not always the case when two people read the same book.
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