Status
Available
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Genres
Collection
Publication
Oxford University Press, USA (1998), Edition: Facsimile, Paperback, 464 pages
Description
Classic Literature. Fiction. Literature. HTML: Flaubert's Madame Bovary is regarded as a masterpiece of nineteenth-century literature. However, that novel hinges on a singularly unsympathetic portrayal of the title character. In this innovative novel, author Mary Elizabeth Braddon gives Mme Bovary a bully pulpit of her own, presenting the same story from the doctor's wife's perspective..
User reviews
LibraryThing member Carole8
Curious book. Quite funny at the start but later turned quite dark.
LibraryThing member pgchuis
George, "the Doctor", visits his friend Sigismund at his lodgings and falls in love with the landlord's daughter, Isabel. Isabel is addicted to novels and seeks to live as a fictional heroine, but nevertheless agrees to marry the prosaic George. Then she meets a rich neighbour, the idle Roland, and
Initially I quite enjoyed this story, and all the scenes featuring Sigsmund and his endless plotting of his trashy instalment novels were entertaining. I also perked up every time the wise and straight-talking Mr Raymond appeared. However, the plot moved very slowly and repetitiously, and then at the end went a little berserk, admittedly with a couple of twists I hadn't anticipated. There was a fair amount of sentimentality and death bed repentance etc - I was skimming to an extreme extent for the last 10%. The very frequent references to the novels Isabel had read and to the characters in them and the ways said characters suffered or loved etc became extremely tiring and was a much overdone device.
Apart from the slow pace and the Victorian mawkishness, my main problem was that Isabel was so completely stupid, helpless, passive and naive, and that I did not believe for a moment that Roland would have felt anything more than a passing attraction to her. She would have driven him mad after 5 minutes. Also, why did Isabel and George not have a baby, or at least express concern that they had not?
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begins a very romantic dalliance with him.Initially I quite enjoyed this story, and all the scenes featuring Sigsmund and his endless plotting of his trashy instalment novels were entertaining. I also perked up every time the wise and straight-talking Mr Raymond appeared. However, the plot moved very slowly and repetitiously, and then at the end went a little berserk, admittedly with a couple of twists I hadn't anticipated. There was a fair amount of sentimentality and death bed repentance etc - I was skimming to an extreme extent for the last 10%. The very frequent references to the novels Isabel had read and to the characters in them and the ways said characters suffered or loved etc became extremely tiring and was a much overdone device.
Apart from the slow pace and the Victorian mawkishness, my main problem was that Isabel was so completely stupid, helpless, passive and naive, and that I did not believe for a moment that Roland would have felt anything more than a passing attraction to her. She would have driven him mad after 5 minutes. Also, why did Isabel and George not have a baby, or at least express concern that they had not?
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Language
Original publication date
1864
Physical description
464 p.; 7.56 inches
ISBN
0192833014 / 9780192833013