Please link your reviews for your Romance Classic here. This is only for the Romance Classic category. It can have a happy or sad ending, but their must be a strong romantic element to the story.
If you do not have a blog, or somewhere public on the internet where you post book reviews, please write your mini-review/thoughts in the comments section. If you like, you can include the name of your blog and/or the title of the book in your link, like this: "Karen K. @ Books and Chocolate (Gone with the Wind)."
Loved reading Anna Karenina for my Romance Classic
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ReplyDeleteVery interesting reading The Price of Salt, a lesbian romance from 1952 by Patricia Highsmith, and the book the movie, Carol, was based on.
ReplyDeleteJust finished Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell. I didn't love it as much as I loved Wives and Daughters, but still a very good read. At the core of the story is the love triangle between Sylvia Robson, her cousin (I know, different times, ugh) Philip Hepburn, and sailor and alleged rogue Charley Kinraid. Sylvia is a compelling female protagonist: Within giving away spoilers, she begins the novel as a teenager who is stubborn, opinionated, and kind, but also somewhat impetuous and a spoiled only child. Horrible, unfair things that happen to people she loves and that are beyond her control render her more subdued and passive. But, unlike other novels of the late 18th/early 19th centuries, Gaskell's narrative casts this transformation as a reaction to injustice, not as a "goal" for a "good" domestic Christian woman to achieve. By the novel's end, which I did not totally love, Sylvia has at least become unafraid to assert herself and rightfully call out people who have wronged her, even if she is also more worn down by what she has suffered in her life. Most importantly, she declares to her female friends whom she knows have been judging her for her actions: "It's for noane to say whether I'm vixen or not, as doesn't know th' past things as is buried in my heart."
ReplyDeleteThe other two members of the love triangle also are treated with relative nuance. Philip makes a choice central to the novel's plot that is portrayed as morally complex, and, while in some cases he behaves downright priggishly, in others he is sympathetic as a person who idolizes another who does not love him back, and blinds himself to reality in the service of getting what he thinks he wants -- which is a character flaw, but one with which I think many modern readers could still empathize. We don't get as much of Kinraid's perspective, but Gaskell leaves equally ambiguous whether he is simply the prototypical "rogue" so common to novels of that period or whether he genuinely loves Sylvia.
Finally, what really makes the novel an engaging read are the secondary characters, including the town of Monkshaven (apparently based on Whitby, England). For example, Sylvia's father is an irascible blowhard who provides a fair amount of comic relief, as does Alice Rose, Philip's Quaker landlady. Also, given the number of real-life places Gaskell apparently references in the book, I'm definitely putting a book-related tour through Whitby on my bucket list.
And with apologies for replying to my comment, but I meant to add and think it is important to do so, that Philip truly is a flawed character, and not simply the longsuffering but virtuous male who is there to "save" Sylvia from the rogue (a trope common in many late 18th century/early 19th century novels that were preoccupied with the morals of women). For anyone who has read (and, if you're like me, rolled your eyes while reading) novels of that period with male characters who fell into that trope, I wanted to be sure to note that I think Philip at times fancies himself as being in that role, but the novel is set up in a way that it ultimately undermines his self-perception in that regard.
DeleteAdded a link for Doctor Zhivago.
ReplyDeleteRe Pride and Prejudice: I'm with Amber - Jane is too perfect. I think Austen gets rather fed up with Jane, too.
ReplyDeleteDone! I read Shirley by Charlotte Bronte. She could write a great romance.
ReplyDeletePersuasion by Jane Austen. She never disappoints. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with reb: Jane Austen never disappoints. (I also read Persuasion.)
ReplyDeleteVanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray. Loved it!
ReplyDeleteArabella by Georgette Heyer - Writing years after Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer is a master of historical romance set in the Regency period. Her stories, however, seem much shorter in pages and time than Austen's. The story of Mr. Beaumaris and Arabella Tallant reminds me a bit of the story of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett in that initially there was a dislike, certain preconceived notions, and a lack of communication. Arabella reacts to comments she overhears by stating that she is wealthy. She fails to consider what might happen to her claims. Though Mr. Beaumaris realizes why she has made this claim and knows it is not true, he fosters this rumor. As a result, Miss Tallant is extremely popular among those young men seeking a fortune rather than love. To complicate Arabella's life in London, her brother Bertram appears and like so many young men on their own for the first time begins to self-destruct. Mr. Beaumaris is a delightful character and so amenable to most of Arabella's soft heartedness.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I just wanted to say that I loved reading Alcott for this category. Second. I would like to apologize for accidentally posting twice. Please forgive my severe lack of computer skills.
ReplyDeleteThe Song of the Lark by Willa Cather is a wonderful book to bury your self in. The rounded characters and profound sense of place and time are the mark of a justifiably lauded writer. What can I read next that won't seem thin by comparison?
ReplyDeleteLove's Labours Lost by Shakespeare - Ferdinand, the King of Navarre and his friends, Biron, Longaville, and Dumain, vow a life of scholarship for three years forsaking even conversation with women. The Princess of France and her attendant ladies, Rosaline, Maria, and Katherine, are refused entry to Navarre when they arrive. They decide to force the men to break their vows. Each man in his turn falls prey to the ladies. However, the ladies do not allow themselves to be so easily charmed. When the gentlemen disguised as Russians pursue the ladies, the ladies confuse them by donning disguises as well. They exchange witticisms while anticipating a show prepared by the subplot characters, who mimic the concerns of the main characters. The show is interrupted by the announcement of the Princess's father's death. A one year's abstinence is imposed on the men before they will be allowed to consummate their loves. The subplot concerns Spaniard Don Armado in pursuit of the country girl Jaquenetta. His rival in love is the "clown" Costard, and together with a schoolmaster, Holofernes, and his associate, Nathaniel, they all present a burlesque at the end of the play. Subplots are quite common in Shakespeare's works. This is one of Shakespeare's lesser known plays.
ReplyDeleteJust entered Persuasion - which makes 6 categories complete for me!
ReplyDeleteJust Linked 'My Love Must Wait: the Story of matthew Flinders (1941)
ReplyDeleteI had planned on reading a Shakespeare play for this category, but I happened to read Beren & Luthien first (newly published but written before the cutoff date). Maybe I will do a Shakespeare romance next year. Now I just need to read: 20th c novel, classic with an animal in the title, & classic by a woman.
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading The Annotated (by David M. Shaphard) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. After reading this indescribable book, I am ashamed that I have only now (under duress of reading a Romance Classic in this challenge - haha) "tackled" this book. Although I reviewed it at Goodreads, I cannot say enough about how wonderful Austen's writing is or her character development. Truly a Classic that has and will continue to withstand the test of time. (stampartiste)
ReplyDeleteI read that book for the first time this year too, and I absolutely loved it!!! (and had to finish it quickly because I didn't know how it would end! lol)
DeleteI read Edmund Spencer's epic romance written in verse, The Faerie Queene, (Only, I read the annotated version of Book 1, Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves!) and it was delicious!!!!
ReplyDeleteJust finished Northanger Abbey. Still slogging through Curiosity Shop. If I don't make much headway in the next couple of days, I'm swapping it for Christmas Carol.
ReplyDeleteI read The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer. I do like a good Georgette Heyer Regency romance. :)
ReplyDeleteNot sure I did the linking thing right the first time, so here's a second try -- from a previous post:
ReplyDeleteJust finished Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell. I didn't love it as much as I loved Wives and Daughters, but still a very good read. At the core of the story is the love triangle between Sylvia Robson, her cousin (I know, different times, ugh) Philip Hepburn, and sailor and alleged rogue Charley Kinraid. Sylvia is a compelling female protagonist: Within giving away spoilers, she begins the novel as a teenager who is stubborn, opinionated, and kind, but also somewhat impetuous and a spoiled only child. Horrible, unfair things that happen to people she loves and that are beyond her control render her more subdued and passive. But, unlike other novels of the late 18th/early 19th centuries, Gaskell's narrative casts this transformation as a reaction to injustice, not as a "goal" for a "good" domestic Christian woman to achieve. By the novel's end, which I did not totally love, Sylvia has at least become unafraid to assert herself and rightfully call out people who have wronged her, even if she is also more worn down by what she has suffered in her life. Most importantly, she declares to her female friends whom she knows have been judging her for her actions: "It's for noane to say whether I'm vixen or not, as doesn't know th' past things as is buried in my heart."
The other two members of the love triangle also are treated with relative nuance. Philip makes a choice central to the novel's plot that is portrayed as morally complex, and, while in some cases he behaves downright priggishly, in others he is sympathetic as a person who idolizes another who does not love him back, and blinds himself to reality in the service of getting what he thinks he wants -- which is a character flaw, but one with which I think many modern readers could still empathize. We don't get as much of Kinraid's perspective, but Gaskell leaves equally ambiguous whether he is simply the prototypical "rogue" so common to novels of that period or whether he genuinely loves Sylvia.
Finally, what really makes the novel an engaging read are the secondary characters, including the town of Monkshaven (apparently based on Whitby, England). For example, Sylvia's father is an irascible blowhard who provides a fair amount of comic relief, as does Alice Rose, Philip's Quaker landlady. Also, given the number of real-life places Gaskell apparently references in the book, I'm definitely putting a book-related tour through Whitby on my bucket list.