Clarissa by Samuel Richardson - The End!

Throughout 2012 I've been participating in the year long group read of Clarissa hosted by JoAnn @ Lakeside Musing and Terri @ Tip of the Iceberg .

To say the least, it has been an interesting reading experience and I'd like to thank JoAnn and Terri for providing the incentive to not only attempt this novel but to actually finish it. Without the group commitment I doubt I would have got much further than April.

 First published in 1748, Clarissa is an epistolary novel composed of 537 letters dated from January 10th through to December 18th and the plan was to read the letters around their corresponding dates. By April this proved to be impossible as so many of the letters were undated or arrived days after they were written.

Below are my thoughts from the first part of the year. I stopped writing monthly posts after June through fear of giving away too much of the story and making endless complaints about the boring parts.

Clarissa in January
Clarissa in February
Clarissa in March
Clarissa in April
Clarissa in June

It isn't easy reading but if you can get through the frustrations of all the unnecessary, long-winded rambling and tedious repetition this tragic tale really grabs at the emotions as well as offering an interesting look at 18th century social attitudes.

Tough going but worthwhile in the end!

Clarissa in February

JoAnn @ Lakeside Musing and Terri @ Tip of the Iceberg are hosting a year long group read of Clarissa by Samuel Richardson.
Clarissa is an epistolary novel composed of 537 letters dated from January 10th through to December 18th. The plan is to read the letters around their corresponding dates.  
Two months gone and we still have only read 11 letters which means sometime soon we're going to be swamped in a deluge of correspondence. February's letters didn't begin until the 20th - it was a long wait! 


Clarissa spent three weeks with Anna before being very suddenly collected and brought home because her family had learned that Lovelace had been calling on the Howes. She writes to Anne of the cold, accusing reception she received on her return and worst of all "They have found another lover for me; an hideous one! -- Yet he is encouraged by every body." 
Mr Harlowe is adamant that he 'will be obeyed' and is deaf to Clarissa's pleas to be heard. 


That women had no voice in matters like this is clearly revealed in Clarissa's letters. Her mother and aunt are too intimidated to even open their mouths and although Clarissa is still young enough to try no one listens. The whole nasty situation has been orchestrated by James who definitely has a voice and it is Mr Harlowe's behaviour that I find most appalling in allowing himself to be so influenced by his son.  

Clarissa is forbidden to go out, have visitors or even correspond until she agrees to marry Mr Solmes but in her last letter lays out a plan to Anna as to how they can secretly write to each other.

The final letter is Anna's reply and I do like the way Samuel Richardson is able to convey a very different personality in the tone of the writing. Anne sounds a lighter and brighter girl - her thoughts often way ahead of her pen as she dashes from one thing to another. I sense she is loving the drama of being part of a romantic intrigue which is only natural if everyday life is rather dull. She's also perceptive enough to see that Clarissa's feelings for Lovelace go deeper than she realises ....and warns her...

"But, O my friend, depend upon it, you are in danger. Depend upon it, whether you know it or not, you are a little in for't. Your native generosity and greatness of mind endanger you: all your friends, by fighting against him with impolitic violence, fight for him, And Lovelace.... (has seen)....it doing for him more effectively than he could do it for himself."

 Looking forward to March and hopefully there will be more letters to read next month.

  

Review: Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran

Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Quercus, 2011
448p



Marie Grosholtz (later to be Mme Tussaud)is a determined young businesswoman, eager to see her family's waxwork museum  succeed and keep them safe and secure in a city whose people are suffering from poverty and hunger.
Her gift for modelling faces in wax brings her to Versailles, where she will teach the king's sister, Madame Elizabeth, her skill. But the coming revolution will place Marie, her family and all of Paris in grave danger.
As the monarchy is overthrown and the horror of the guillotine becomes a fixture in French life, Marie is expected to show her patriotism by making death masks from the severed heads of every key figure killed as the Reign of Terror begins and France enters its darkest time.


I wasn't sure how much I would like this book as many years ago I rather overdosed on Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution and tend to avoid this time period now. But once again Michelle Moran has written a very fine historical novel which kept me enthralled from page one and I really enjoyed it!

Like most people I could equate Madame Tussaud with the 18th century and waxworks but not much else and what a fascinating woman she was and what an incredible life she lived. She is the perfect choice of subject to have as a central character in a book about the French Revolution allowing the reader to see the perspectives of both sides of the conflict.
As an ordinary Parisian Marie was one of the people but her artistic talent and the family's waxwork museum brought growing renown and it was there that her uncle held a salon where the revolutionary leaders would gather - names like Lafayette, Robespierre and Marat that would later become infamous and all providing subjects for Marie's work.

Teaching Madame Elizabeth took her to Versailles where she was able to observe the aristocracy and meet the royal family but trying to maintain a loyalty to two sides isn't easy as Marie and her family would discover.

It's hard to imagine what living in the midst of such horror and the daily fear of death would be like and what Marie had to do to survive was so gruesome it's beyond imagining. She must have been a very strong woman.

The book focuses on the years between 1788 -  1795 but I did appreciate the author adding an historical note which explained the later lives of the main characters. As always , Michelle Moran provides lots of extras - maps, a timeline and a list of characters in the front and notes and glossary at the back - everything to enhance the reading experience.

Recommended to all historical fiction lovers!

Historical Fiction Challenge

Review: Daughter of Siena by Marina Fiorato

Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: John Murray,2011
380p

Passion and intrigue!


Siena, 1723 ........once a republic the city is governed by the widow of one of the last of the great Medici family, Duchess Violante Beatrix, but there is intrigue and treachery brewing as several contrade leaders plot to overthrow her and restore the Council of Nine.

Siena is unique in its division into seventeen contrade , or areas, each with its own bright colours and shields and twice a year the rivalry between them reaches a peak with the running of the.........

The Palio

                                         
Siena's famously dangerous and hard-fought horse race . This vibrant and exciting setting provides the background for the story of Pia, daughter of the leader of the Civetta contrade. To consolidate his position with the plotters her father has arranged her marriage to the son of the head of the powerful Eagle contrade , a violent young man she loathes. As she takes her place to watch the Palio she prays for something to save her from her fate. And then into the piazza rides an unknown horseman............

The Daughter of Siena is one of those books that falls midway between serious historical fiction and historical romance and a perfect choice for a quiet wet weekend's entertainment. I loved the history - of Siena , the Duchess Violante, the Palio and the horses and when you add romance and dastardly plots to the mix the result is a book with never a dull moment.
Enjoyed it immensely!

Review: Savage Lands by Clare Clark

Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Harvill Secker, 2010
375p


It is 1704 and, in the swamps of Louisiana, France is clinging to its new colony with less than two hundred men. Elisabeth Savaret is a 'casket girl', one of twenty three young women sent from Paris to marry men who are complete strangers. With little expectation of happiness Elisabeth is lucky and falls passionately in love with her husband, the ambitious infantryman, Jean-Claude Babelon.

 Auguste is a young ship's boy who is left to grow up in a Native American village , learning their ways and language so as to act as a go-between, and he becomes close to Jean-Claude who visits frequently on trading missions.

When both Elisabeth and Auguste find their love challenged by Jean-Claude's duplicity, the consequences are devastating.

Clare Clark's descriptive prose is lush and rich in detail; the physical landscape and the harsh realities of everyday survival for the colonists is brought vividly to life.
" .........the spiders, and the alligators and the snakes and the tormenting mosquitoes, the coarse oily slabs that passed for bread and milk that cost fifty sols a jug,..........the rough men and the whores and the half-naked savages and the soldiers so drunk that they fell against you in the street, the boils and the sores that would not heal, the cabin with its straw mattress that would hardly have sufficed for a shepherd, the sun that beat down so powerfully at midday that it could strike a man dead, the savages with their tattoos and their devilish magic and their taste for human flesh."

It's an historical background full of imagery but at times it becomes too much and I only wish as much attention had been given to the development of the characters . I never felt emotionally invested in any of them which considering the dark themes of obsessive love and betrayal throughout the book is surprising. I wanted insight into Elisabeth and to understand why she made some of the choices she did but it never happened.

I enjoyed this book for the history but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who likes a well constructed story line , well developed characters and informative dialogue.

Royal Reviews Historical Fiction Challenge
Year of The Historical Challenge

Review: Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer

Today I'm welcoming Georgette Heyer to Tell me A Story as part of the Classics Circuit March Tour.

Faro's Daughter

First published in 1941 and this image is the original cover.

Miss Deborah Grantham helps her aunt run a gambling house, an occupation for a young lady that is not looked on with approval by aristcratic ladies. Particularly if , like Lady Marblethorpe, they have young, susceptible and marriageable sons . Poor Lady M. falls into a fit of conniptions when she discovers that the young Lord M. has not only fallen head over heels for Miss Grantham but is determined to make her his wife.

She calls upon her nephew for help . Enter Max Ravenscar, he of " lean, harsh-featured countenance with an uncompromising mouth and extremely hard grey eyes". Not a man to be trifled with and absolutely confident that a monetary offer will be sufficient incentive to send Miss Grantham on her way. He is soon to discover that Deborah is no shrinking miss but a feisty Amazonian : he has met his match and the stage is set for a very funny battle of wits between two very strong minded and determined people.

The story is full of action and moves along at a cracking pace. There are mishaps and miscommunications, elopements, kidnappings, and humour aplenty and at only 278 pages makes for a quick and entertaining read.

**********

Georgette Heyer's books are a great deal more than simple, lighthearted romps through the Regency world.

She was a meticulous researcher and went to much effort to ensure the setting and time period of her books was portrayed with accuracy. While on the surface they may seem similar each book will reveal it's own snippets of historical knowledge and a little something that makes it unique.

In Faro's Daughter she ventures out of her normal Regency speech and introduces an Irish dialect - obviously she wasn't comfortable doing this as it's the only time an Irishman appears in her books.

Faro's Daughter is also set in an earlier time - pre Regency 1790's. The alert reader will realise this on the very first page when Lady Marblethorpe regards her nephew's fashionable cropped hair with a shudder.

She ..." belonged to an older generation, and herself continued to make free use of the pounce-box, in spite of Mr Pitt's iniquitous tax on hair-powder.."

The original cover also brings the earlier era to one's attention. Georgette Heyer was very particular about the covers for her books and worked closely with her illustrator's to ensure they met her high standards of accuracy. If you look at the dress the young woman is wearing you can see , that although the waistline is slightly lifted and the skirt is not as full as earlier , it has not yet reached the very clinging, highwaisted style that is associated with later Regency years.

As much as I applaud Sourcebooks efforts in republishing the books I do not think Georgette Heyer would be at all pleased with their covers and it's a pity they haven't paid as much attention to period detail as she did.

Obviously the dress is totally wrong but even worse , why is this young woman playing a harp? Unless I missed something the instrument is not even mentioned.

In fact, Deborah makes it quite clear...

" I have no accomplishments. I do not sing, or play upon the pianoforte, or paint in watercolours".

Very nice though to see these delightful books continuing to draw a following. I'm not a great reader of romance but when I do want to sit back , relax and be entertained, laugh and learn a little history , a Georgette Heyer is perfect!

Historical Tapestry ABC Historical Fiction Challenge.

H is for Heyer.

Review: Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill

Challenge 4: Prize Winner Book

Pick one of the major literary awards from the list below. Click on the link for the award you picked. You will find a brief description of the award and links to past winners. Pick one of the past winners, read the book and write about it.


From the list I chose The Commonwealth Writer's Prize and selected the 2008 winner , Canadian author Lawrence Hill - The Book of Negroes. This book is also published as  Someone Knows My Name which was the title of the book I read.

The novel begins in London in 1802. Aminata Diallo is an old woman who has been brought to England by the Abolitionists who wish to use her life experiences as evidence in their fight against the slave trade. Aminata insists on writing her own story.

Born in 1745 , she was the daughter of Muslim parents living in the village of Bayo in West Africa. Her father teaches her to read and write from the Qu'ran and she accompanies her mother and learns the art of midwifery - catching babies. These skills were to stand her in good stead in the years to come for at the age of 11 Aminata is captured by slave traders, witnesses the death of her parents ,and begins the long , brutal journey into slavery.

We are the travelling peoples she will say and her life journey will be one of constant movement. Surviving the appalling sea voyage on the slave ship she is sold to a plantation owner.........then later sold again to a Jewish businessman in Charles Town. Eventually she escapes to freedom in New York where she is working for the British at the time of the War of Independence and as they finally withdraw she joins other freed slaves being sent to Nova Scotia with the promise of land and a better life. Promises that would never eventuate and a decade later Aminata takes the opportunity offered by the Abolitionists and becomes part of the Sierra Leone Resettlement programme. Returning to Africa takes her one step closer to fulfilling her lifelong dream of one day going home to Bayo. Her final voyage takes her across the sea again to London where she will become a djeli, a storyteller .

Aminata is a survivor........a woman with a strong inner spirit and enormous courage. She suffers a lifetime of degradation , poverty and the heartache of losing everything she loves but always she fights on. She never stops educating herself or reaching out to help others improve their lives. Wherever she goes she delivers babies and teaches others to read and write.

The Book of Negroes is an actual historical document recording the names of black people emigrating from New York. In the story Aminata is the one recording the names:

" .......I loved the way people followed the movement of my hand as I wrote down their names and the way they made me read them aloud when I was done. It excited me to imagine that fifty years later, someone might find an ancestor in the Book of Negroes and say "That was my grandmother".

To have a name is to have an identity...........without the skills to read or write that identity is easily lost as the slave owners were well aware. Literacy is a strong theme throughout the book.

Lawrence Hill writes in a beautifully simple and direct way which makes for easy reading yet the book has enormous depth and pulls the reader in on an emotional level. I found it powerful and engrossing reading and it has my highest recommendation.