Deerbrook Harriet Martineau 9781544611594 Books
Download As PDF : Deerbrook Harriet Martineau 9781544611594 Books
Every town-bred person who travels in a rich country region, knows what it is to see a neat white house planted in a pretty situation,—in a shrubbery, or commanding a sunny common, or nestling between two hills,—and to say to himself, as the carriage sweeps past its gate, “I should like to live there,”—“I could be very happy in that pretty place.” Transient visions pass before his mind’s eye of dewy summer mornings, when the shadows are long on the grass, and of bright autumn afternoons, when it would be luxury to saunter in the neighbouring lanes; and of frosty winter days, when the sun shines in over the laurustinus at the window, while the fire burns with a different light from that which it gives in the dull parlours of a city. Mr Grey’s house had probably been the object of this kind of speculation to one or more persons, three times a week, ever since the stage-coach had begun to pass through Deerbrook. Deerbrook was a rather pretty village, dignified as it was with the woods of a fine park, which formed the background to its best points of view. Of this pretty village, Mr Grey’s was the prettiest house, standing in a field, round which the road swept. There were trees enough about it to shade without darkening it, and the garden and shrubbery behind were evidently of no contemptible extent. The timber and coal yards, and granaries, which stretched down to the river side, were hidden by a nice management of the garden walls, and training of the shrubbery.
Deerbrook Harriet Martineau 9781544611594 Books
My partner thought I was reading Game of Thrones I was so engrossed in reading this novel. Even though it was hard at times to accept that anyone could be as good as Mr. Hope or as evil as Mrs. Dowland, it was still a wonderful read. With those two characters on either end of the spectrum, the other characters were so well developed and diverse in their qualities, that it was really enjoyable reading about their lives.I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys Victorian novels and anyone who can endure some really difficult and challenging events for the most favorable characters.
I rated this novel so highly because I really enjoyed it and couldn't put it down all week until it was finished.
Product details
|
Tags : Deerbrook [Harriet Martineau] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Every town-bred person who travels in a rich country region, knows what it is to see a neat white house planted in a pretty situation,Harriet Martineau,Deerbrook,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1544611595,General,HistoryGeneral,SOCIAL SCIENCE General,Social Science,Sociology
People also read other books :
- The Unseen edition by DC Juhasz Richard Peppers Literature Fiction eBooks
- Jason Willow Face Your Demons edition by Gareth Mottram Children eBooks
- The Other Woman edition by Rose Rancourt Literature Fiction eBooks
- World of NatureCommon Insects Robbi Drake Rebecca Moore
- No Bad Days A Fisher Brothers Novel Volume 1 J Sterling 9781945042065 Books
Deerbrook Harriet Martineau 9781544611594 Books Reviews
This precursor of elegant Victoriana of the Bronte Sisters and Jane Austen, is an accurate portrayal of 19th century manners and the damage inflicted by carefully injected gossip. In the village of Deerbrook, two families are in constant rivalry, the Grey's and the Rowland's, each vying for the highest social standing, the best regard of their neighbors. But when the Misses Ibbotson come to the Grey's after the death of their father, the delicate status quo is disturbed. By far the most eligible bachelor, Mr. Edward Hope, the local physician, is drawn to both the sisters, but marries Hester, who remains innocent of his affections for Margaret. For her part, Margaret cares only for her sister's happiness and has set her affections on another gentleman, Philip Enderby, brother of the formidable Priscilla Rowland.
When Enderby announces his engagement to Margaret Ibbotson, his sister's wrath is incurred, as Mrs. Rowland considers her family superior to the Grey's, and by relation, the newly married Hester and Edward Hope. Using her considerable resources, an active imagination, warped sense of injustice and acid tongue, Mrs. Rowland contrives to interfere with Dr. Hope's good name, as well as Margaret's impending marriage. Wrapped in the convoluted morals of their restricted society, Margaret, Hester and Edward Hope struggle to maintain their position, while undermined daily by cruel and insidious gossip. Priscilla Rowland is merciless in her endeavors, too often successful in her malicious interference, setting the stage for good to triumph over evil, as it must in any Victorian drama.
Only after considerable heartbreak and noble stoicism do the wronged characters find a measure of peace, although, as morally superior individuals, they turn their sacrifices into successes. The sisters and Edward Hope join forces in facing down their altered circumstances, Mr. Enderby caught in the middle by his love for Margaret and his trust in his sister's motives. With matchmaking and courtship as the central theme, Martineau indulges in the philosophical and social discourse common to the era, a middle-class existence in contrast to Dickens' later attention to the disenfranchised. The women in the novel are restricted by their own futures; only marriage can save one from spinsterhood or the quiet life of a governess. Yet the men are just as constrained in Deerbrook, the women controlling their serenity n the home front.
This is a society of esoteric discourses, lengthy conversations on the meaning of life and ritualistic behavior concealing subtle relationships and formal, tentative understandings, a mannered mating dance. Mrs. Rowland's gossip sweeps the story along, the scold's denouement all the more satisfying when it finally occurs. Amid the chaos, backbiting, broken commitments and the Hope's loss of fortune, the plague, the great leveler, descends upon Deerbrook to teach the harshest lesson of all, death striking randomly in the village with no concern for wealth or position. This pastoral countryside, for all its fine manners and pretensions, is a cauldron of discontent and unhappiness until wrongs are set right and love prevails. Luan Gaines/2005.
The beautiful Hester and her sweet tempered sister Margaret are forced to leave their beloved Birmingham to live with cousins in Deerbrook. Although everyone is kind and sympathetic, the sisters realize that their private lives are subject to speculation, gossip and even slander. In this small close knit community they encounter the ignorance of the poor, the snobbery of the well-to-do, and matchmaking of busybodies. Loving the countryside as they do the sisters decide to stay comforting and encouraging each other. Hester's emotional distress is aggravated by jealousy of Margaret's attachment to her friend, Maria who is the private tutor for the children of the Grey and Rowland families. The ups and downs of the families, the reversal of the fortunes of Edward Hope after his marraige to Hester, the slanderous conniving of the female villain, the reneging of an offer of marriage by the love of Margaret's life, an epidemic that takes the lives of poor and rich, all make this an engaging book. Kindness, morality, justice, and forgiveness are strong themes in the book and although the sisters endure much hardship and misfortunes, they never respond in kind to their tormentor. They are rewarded with blessings returned to them tenfold for their patient and forgiving spirits. The idea of loving one woman and marrying another out of duty and respect is perhaps not so unusual but living with both surely requires a character such as Dr Hope is portrayed by the author.
This book was quite a find. A bit overly philosophical perhaps, with a few long-winded passages that could have easily cut -- but Martineau is an elegant writer in the tradition of Austen and Eliot.
My partner thought I was reading Game of Thrones I was so engrossed in reading this novel. Even though it was hard at times to accept that anyone could be as good as Mr. Hope or as evil as Mrs. Dowland, it was still a wonderful read. With those two characters on either end of the spectrum, the other characters were so well developed and diverse in their qualities, that it was really enjoyable reading about their lives.
I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys Victorian novels and anyone who can endure some really difficult and challenging events for the most favorable characters.
I rated this novel so highly because I really enjoyed it and couldn't put it down all week until it was finished.
0 Response to "⋙ [PDF] Gratis Deerbrook Harriet Martineau 9781544611594 Books"
Post a Comment