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Available
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Publication
Penguin Classics (1996), Edition: New, Paperback, 512 pages
Description
Classic Literature. Fiction. Romance. Humor (Fiction.) HTML: Through a fortuitous series of events, brave Ethelberta has risen from a humble family background to marry well, travel the world, and emerge as a popular poet and author. Will she be able to overcome her lower-class roots and make her way in the world when her husband's untimely demise leaves her wholly in charge of her own fortune?.
User reviews
LibraryThing member LyzzyBee
(Kindle)
A lesser-known work, published between “Far From the Madding Crowd” and “The Return of the Native” (and read late because I didn’t fancy it but then couldn’t bear to miss one of the books as I’ve joined Ali’s scheme to read them all in order!). Enjoyable and with a plot that
Somebody in the family must take a practical view of affairs, or we should all go to the dogs.
But Hardy also seems bitter about women’s methods of negotiating these minefields, which is interesting, and I wonder where this comes from. He is very perceptive about male-female relations, for example:
New love is brightest, and long love is greatest; but revived love is the tenderest thing known upon earth.
‘We don’t need to know a man well in order to love him. That’s only necessary when we want to leave off.’
Not the lovers who part in passion, but the lovers who part in friendship, are those who most frequently part forever.
And also on life in general: I loved this little point:
‘The deuce, the deuce!’ he continued, walking about the room as if passionately stamping, but not quite doing it because another man had rooms below.
There are also some interesting points made about the cult of celebrity which seem quite modern. The novel gets quite gothic towards the end, with chases, near-shipwrecks and horrible surprises, but holds the attention. Surely, though, the chilling quotation:
But ten of us are so many to cope with. If God Almighty had only killed off three-quarters of us when we were little, a body might have done something for the rest.
surely presages the horrors of Jude? Anyway, I am glad I read this, for completeness’ sake, and it was an interesting read on its own merits.
A lesser-known work, published between “Far From the Madding Crowd” and “The Return of the Native” (and read late because I didn’t fancy it but then couldn’t bear to miss one of the books as I’ve joined Ali’s scheme to read them all in order!). Enjoyable and with a plot that
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can be engaging and fast-paced. Widowed young, Ethelberta must use all her resources to support her ailing mother and nine siblings, while her father supports himself in a job as a butler. In some ways, this is a very feminist book, highlighting with some sympathy the plight of the unsupported female who must maintain her delicate reputation. In Ethelberta’s case, this involves distancing herself from her family in appearance, while remaining close to them in fact, and negotiating her way around a quartet of suitors, making the right choice for economics and her family:Somebody in the family must take a practical view of affairs, or we should all go to the dogs.
But Hardy also seems bitter about women’s methods of negotiating these minefields, which is interesting, and I wonder where this comes from. He is very perceptive about male-female relations, for example:
New love is brightest, and long love is greatest; but revived love is the tenderest thing known upon earth.
‘We don’t need to know a man well in order to love him. That’s only necessary when we want to leave off.’
Not the lovers who part in passion, but the lovers who part in friendship, are those who most frequently part forever.
And also on life in general: I loved this little point:
‘The deuce, the deuce!’ he continued, walking about the room as if passionately stamping, but not quite doing it because another man had rooms below.
There are also some interesting points made about the cult of celebrity which seem quite modern. The novel gets quite gothic towards the end, with chases, near-shipwrecks and horrible surprises, but holds the attention. Surely, though, the chilling quotation:
But ten of us are so many to cope with. If God Almighty had only killed off three-quarters of us when we were little, a body might have done something for the rest.
surely presages the horrors of Jude? Anyway, I am glad I read this, for completeness’ sake, and it was an interesting read on its own merits.
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LibraryThing member thorold
The hand of Ethelberta is a fairly early Hardy novel, which appeared two years after Far from the madding crowd. He classed it as one of his "novels of ingenuity" and as a "comedy in chapters", both of which give a strong hint that we're not in the world of grim, arbitrary rural tragedy that
Ethelberta is a clever, enterprising, young woman from a working-class background who has risen in the world by a series of accidents that would easily fill a three-volume novel in themselves, but which Hardy summarizes in a couple of paragraphs on the opening page. Unfortunately, she has acquired social standing without very much money to back it up, so she has to use all her ingenuity to earn enough to support her many siblings. She finds a niche for herself as a professional story-teller, but the novelty value of this is clearly going to be short-lived, so it's a case of maximising the opportunities her various suitors present. If possible, without hurting that very nice young musician who will never have enough money to marry her.
The plot frequently requires the complex mechanisms of French farce (not Hardy's greatest skill as a novelist) and at a couple of points drifts into a parody of bad-baronet-style melodrama so good that it's hard to realise that it is meant to be funny. Which probably explains why this isn't one of Hardy's better-known books. But what does make it interesting is his careful analysis of the pain and misunderstanding that can be caused by the rigidity of a framework for social relations based on the assumption that a person's "class" is immanent and invariable, whilst in reality, late-Victorian society provided more opportunities than ever before for people to move up and down the social ladder.
The key scene in the book is a dinner-party where the Doncastles have invited Ethelberta to meet Lord Mountclere, without being aware that Ethelberta is actually the daughter of their tactful and efficient butler. Hardy resists the temptation to produce a big revelation here, but allows us to appreciate the pain that father and daughter must both be feeling as she sits there whilst he pours her wine and neither of them can afford to give any acknowledgement of their relationship. And, of course, to make his middle-class readers pause for a moment and wonder if it's possible that some of their own servants might be human beings with private joys and sorrows...
Reading this directly after Trollope made me realise what a wonderfully three-dimensional view of society Hardy has. He's a writer who can't describe the presence of a jug of milk on a table without wondering about all the people who were involved in getting it there, and in many cases telling us something about them as individuals.
The landscape is always important in Hardy as well, of course - in this case much of the action takes place around Swanage, Corfe Castle and Bournemouth, and it always feels as though you'd have little difficulty following the journeys by land and sea he describes, if you could only find an 1870s map.
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readers of Tess or Jude might expect from a Hardy novel. But neither are we in the bucolic world of Under the greenwood tree - this is a social comedy of ambition and class-differences, very much part of the modern world of 1870s Britain (almost in HG Wells country), even if the plot sometimes seems to owe more than a little to Moll Flanders... Ethelberta is a clever, enterprising, young woman from a working-class background who has risen in the world by a series of accidents that would easily fill a three-volume novel in themselves, but which Hardy summarizes in a couple of paragraphs on the opening page. Unfortunately, she has acquired social standing without very much money to back it up, so she has to use all her ingenuity to earn enough to support her many siblings. She finds a niche for herself as a professional story-teller, but the novelty value of this is clearly going to be short-lived, so it's a case of maximising the opportunities her various suitors present. If possible, without hurting that very nice young musician who will never have enough money to marry her.
The plot frequently requires the complex mechanisms of French farce (not Hardy's greatest skill as a novelist) and at a couple of points drifts into a parody of bad-baronet-style melodrama so good that it's hard to realise that it is meant to be funny. Which probably explains why this isn't one of Hardy's better-known books. But what does make it interesting is his careful analysis of the pain and misunderstanding that can be caused by the rigidity of a framework for social relations based on the assumption that a person's "class" is immanent and invariable, whilst in reality, late-Victorian society provided more opportunities than ever before for people to move up and down the social ladder.
The key scene in the book is a dinner-party where the Doncastles have invited Ethelberta to meet Lord Mountclere, without being aware that Ethelberta is actually the daughter of their tactful and efficient butler. Hardy resists the temptation to produce a big revelation here, but allows us to appreciate the pain that father and daughter must both be feeling as she sits there whilst he pours her wine and neither of them can afford to give any acknowledgement of their relationship. And, of course, to make his middle-class readers pause for a moment and wonder if it's possible that some of their own servants might be human beings with private joys and sorrows...
Reading this directly after Trollope made me realise what a wonderfully three-dimensional view of society Hardy has. He's a writer who can't describe the presence of a jug of milk on a table without wondering about all the people who were involved in getting it there, and in many cases telling us something about them as individuals.
The landscape is always important in Hardy as well, of course - in this case much of the action takes place around Swanage, Corfe Castle and Bournemouth, and it always feels as though you'd have little difficulty following the journeys by land and sea he describes, if you could only find an 1870s map.
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LibraryThing member gypsysmom
I quite enjoyed this fifth book written by Thomas Hardy. Although, If his name had not been on the title page I'm not sure I would have figured it was his. It seemed, at times, too whimsical for Hardy. There's a scene that reminded me so much of an English comedy (think Fawlty Towers) that I
Berta Chickerel, daughter of a butler, manages to rise above her station by marriage but her young husband soon dies. His mother, Lady Petherwin, treats Ethelberta to the best in life but she has to hide her humble origins. After Lady Petherwin dies Ethelberta continues to appear as a lady of quality and soon she is sought after by a number of suitors. Lord Mountclere is certainly the most noble of those but also the oldest. And it seems like he has ulterior motives for trying to win Ethelberta's hand. When Ethelberta finally gives in to his entreaties he sets the date of marriage in just a few days. Then ensues a cross-country chase by Ethelberta's father, brother and the Lord's brother in an effort to stop the marriage that is worthy of a silent film melodrama. Will they be in time to stop the marriage? Will Ethelberta stay married to Lord Mountclere? What is Lord Mountclere's shady past? The answers are in the last few chapters of the book.
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laughed out loud. On the other hand, there are some wonderful descriptions of scenes that, I think, could only have been written by Hardy.Berta Chickerel, daughter of a butler, manages to rise above her station by marriage but her young husband soon dies. His mother, Lady Petherwin, treats Ethelberta to the best in life but she has to hide her humble origins. After Lady Petherwin dies Ethelberta continues to appear as a lady of quality and soon she is sought after by a number of suitors. Lord Mountclere is certainly the most noble of those but also the oldest. And it seems like he has ulterior motives for trying to win Ethelberta's hand. When Ethelberta finally gives in to his entreaties he sets the date of marriage in just a few days. Then ensues a cross-country chase by Ethelberta's father, brother and the Lord's brother in an effort to stop the marriage that is worthy of a silent film melodrama. Will they be in time to stop the marriage? Will Ethelberta stay married to Lord Mountclere? What is Lord Mountclere's shady past? The answers are in the last few chapters of the book.
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LibraryThing member ritaer
couldn't finish, just did not pull me in
LibraryThing member brakketh
Very enjoyable read and loved the opportunistic character of Ethelberta.
LibraryThing member PhilSyphe
“The Hand of Ethelberta” may be considered the runt of Hardy’s litter, but that doesn’t mean it should be avoided.
This is light fiction with some good comedy blended in. I like moments such as when Picotee – Ethelberta’s sister, and my favourite character – criticises a man for
So while this isn’t a Hardy masterpiece, it does show this great author’s versatility as a writer.
This is light fiction with some good comedy blended in. I like moments such as when Picotee – Ethelberta’s sister, and my favourite character – criticises a man for
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laughing like this: “Hee, hee, hee!”So while this isn’t a Hardy masterpiece, it does show this great author’s versatility as a writer.
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LibraryThing member jon1lambert
The Hand of Ethelberta is very different from other novels I have read by Thomas Hardy. It is quite long for a start, and it seems to me to resemble a Charles Dickens novel, much of it set in London. It concerns Ethelberta who is the dominant figure of the family, a very strong and determined woman
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who nevertheless gets tangled up in her love life and on one occasion says 'I wish I were a man'. Some of the book and the antics of the family, supporting or not supporting Ethelberta, reminded me of the Nickelbys. The extended family is removed from Wessex to London in order to keep them together and to be able to support Ethelberta as the breadwinner. She makes her living first by poetry and then recitations and public storytelling. There is a lot of banter among the family members and lots of humour associated with Ethelberta’s various suitors. Characters such as Neigh and Ladywell are wooden but the main suitor, Christopher Julian, is not. There are the usual unexpected meetings, misunderstandings and cases of mistaken identity. Messages are sent and intercepted and just as the end approaches there is a trick in the tail. However, the situation is retrieved and a sequel chapter at the end ensures that most characters are more or less happy. In many respects Ethelberta is like Bathsheba Everdene in Far from the madding crowd. Sometimes she acts on impulse only to regret the consequences. Hardy provides hundreds of wonderful turns of phrase, for instance, 'she'd rather hear thunder than her singing.' Picotee, one of Ethelberta's sisters, is endearing and would certainly win a supporting character award. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kristelh
This is not your usual Thomas Hardy because it is more lighthearted. The novel is considered a novel of comedy. Ethelberta is the main character with humble beginnings. A governess who marries well only to become a widow within weeks of marriage. Then she is pursued by four men seeking her hand in
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marriage. Lighthearted and happy endings are not what I've grown to expect from Hardy. Rating 3.2 Probably does not need to be on the 1001 list. Show Less
LibraryThing member burritapal
This "comedy" started out so slow, that I was tempted to abandon it. It finally started picking up about Midway through. The comedy is the ridiculousness of the social classes in England, especially at the time of the setting (19th century). Deciding to marry for money to maintain the huge family
For a "comedy, written between books," (Hardy's description), it's not bad.
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that her mother and father have procreated, and are helpless to support, ethelberta pretends to be of the society class of London, and draws the intentions of an old nobleman. This guy is a ne'er-do-well, on his fifth wife, and keeps a mistress on his property, though ethelberta doesn't know it. The nobleman's brother and Ethelberta's brother Sol, upon finding out about the hushed, rushed marriage, try to stop it before the nuptials are declared, and the provoking scenes when they struggle through the countryside,nature throwing up roadblocks at every turn, is a gripping one. For a "comedy, written between books," (Hardy's description), it's not bad.
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LibraryThing member nordie
Read as part of the Hardy group.
I'm going to have to call this book quits without finishing. Got most of the way through, got distracted by about 8 other books, and have had difficulty getting back into it. Another time, and I might complete it.
It was...ok. The first (and I think only) Hardy book
She finds herself in the position of 3 men wanting to marry her - with her already having given up the apparent love of her life when she got married the first time.
"A comedy in chapters" is a little difficult to understand - perhaps from this distance it's not possible to see the humour. There is a little farce in having three men in Ethelbertha's house at the same time, all wanting her hand in marriage.
Unfortunately I got little further than this point. Whenever I attempt to read more, I find it difficult to get through a few pages at a time, so now to give up.
I'm going to have to call this book quits without finishing. Got most of the way through, got distracted by about 8 other books, and have had difficulty getting back into it. Another time, and I might complete it.
It was...ok. The first (and I think only) Hardy book
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to be set primarily "in town" (London) rather than in Wessex. Ethelbertha is the toast of the town, having produced a book of poems and then reciting her own stories in the fashionable salons around town. Most people dont realise she is the daughter of a butler, and the servants in her house are her mother and siblings. She finds herself in the position of 3 men wanting to marry her - with her already having given up the apparent love of her life when she got married the first time.
"A comedy in chapters" is a little difficult to understand - perhaps from this distance it's not possible to see the humour. There is a little farce in having three men in Ethelbertha's house at the same time, all wanting her hand in marriage.
Unfortunately I got little further than this point. Whenever I attempt to read more, I find it difficult to get through a few pages at a time, so now to give up.
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Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1876
Physical description
512 p.; 7.8 inches
ISBN
0140435026 / 9780140435023