Date Started: 10/27/11
Date Finished: 11/10/11
One-Word Summary: Victorian
I'm not sure if it is evidenced by this blog but I really enjoy Victorian writing. There is an elegance to novels written in the 1800s, and they're so detailed that they transport you to a world (most often London!) that time has passed by. I find these books mesmerizing. So this contemporary book, written in the style of the 19th Century, immediately piqued my interest.
So first things first: talk about a build up! This book takes forever to get to the climax and wow, a lot of footnotes along the way. Note: I don't mind footnotes, but had I known there were so many, I would have preferred to read the book in printed form rather than on my Kindle. We start at the end: Edward Glyver Glapthorn Duport has killed an innocent man, all to find out if he has what it takes to kill his enemy, Phoebus Daunt. So we are initially presented with a very unlikeable narrator. But as we learn his story and the injustices heaped upon him, we come to sympathize with him. I found myself hoping against hope that he wouldn't go through with the killing presented in the first page of the book. Obviously he does. The book takes us on the path that brings him to that point and then goes further. We learn how Phoebus got Edward kicked out of school, thus shattering his hopes for a career in academia, how he conspired with the woman Edward would ultimately fall in love with (Ms. Carteret) to steal all proof that Edward was actually the Duport heir and how Edward came to be placed away from his family in the first place. All of this ultimately results in deceit and death in London and Evenwood.
I thought this was an amazing book, well-written, well-researched, with an engaging plot. It will appeal more to people who like this style of writing and don't mind waiting for an ending that is well-worth the read.
No comments:
Post a Comment