What do you think?
Rate this book
The Chronicles of Carlingford #5
Miss Marjoribanks
Returning home to tend her widowed father Dr. Marjoribanks, Lucilla soon launches herself into Carlingford society, aiming to raise the tone with her select Thursday evening parties.
Optimistic, resourceful and blithely unimpeded by self-doubt, Lucilla is a superior being in every way, not least in relation to men.
Optimistic, resourceful and blithely unimpeded by self-doubt, Lucilla is a superior being in every way, not least in relation to men.
512 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1865
About the author
Mrs. Oliphant
941 books157 followersMargaret Oliphant Wilson Oliphant (née Margaret Oliphant Wilson) was a Scottish novelist and historical writer, who usually wrote as Mrs. Oliphant. Her fictional works encompass "domestic realism, the historical novel and tales of the supernatural".
Margaret Oliphant was born at Wallyford, near Musselburgh, East Lothian, and spent her childhood at Lasswade (near Dalkeith), Glasgow and Liverpool. As a girl, she constantly experimented with writing. In 1849 she had her first novel published: Passages in the Life of Mrs. Margaret Maitland which dealt with the Scottish Free Church movement. It was followed by Caleb Field in 1851, the year in which she met the publisher William Blackwood in Edinburgh and was invited to contribute to the famous Blackwood's Magazine. The connection was to last for her whole lifetime, during which she contributed well over 100 articles, including, a critique of the character of Arthur Dimmesdale in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.
Margaret Oliphant was born at Wallyford, near Musselburgh, East Lothian, and spent her childhood at Lasswade (near Dalkeith), Glasgow and Liverpool. As a girl, she constantly experimented with writing. In 1849 she had her first novel published: Passages in the Life of Mrs. Margaret Maitland which dealt with the Scottish Free Church movement. It was followed by Caleb Field in 1851, the year in which she met the publisher William Blackwood in Edinburgh and was invited to contribute to the famous Blackwood's Magazine. The connection was to last for her whole lifetime, during which she contributed well over 100 articles, including, a critique of the character of Arthur Dimmesdale in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 171 reviews
December 29, 2023
This book is GENIUS! :)))))) (and you can download the free kindle version from https://www.gutenberg.org )
“As she stepped into the steamboat at Dover which was to convey her to scenes so new, Lucilla felt more and more that she who held the reorganisation of society in Carlingford in her hands was a woman with a mission.”
Admirers (Critics) of Emma Woodhouse, do come and meet Miss Lucilla Marjoribanks, heroine of this brilliantly written, classic novel, described by some critics as the "spiritual grand-daughter" or Victorian counterpart of Austen's notorious matchmaker! She deserves to be mentioned in line with the best comic heroines.
Literary critic Q.D. Leavis calls the author, Mrs Oliphant, the "missing link" between Jane Austen and George Elliot and also points out some late parallels between her and Edith Wharton and especially her novel The Custom of the Country.
Lucilla, armed with a natural-born good sense and the useful knowledge of political economy acquired in the school Mount Pleasant, sets forth for her very provincial hometown, Carlingford.
Her aims are:
#1 "to be a comfort to poor papa", the widowed doctor, who does not seem to relish his good fortune to be pampered and cared for by his daughter, but allows her nevertheless to take charge.
#2 to conquer and reform society (with perfect goodwill, good intentions and with much talent, with well-wishers and antagonists, expected or unexpected suitors along her way).
Lucilla, self-destined mover and shaker, matchmaker and organiser, though deciding that at this point in life she is not interested in suitors, is very well able to discern who might be eligible for her candidates as well for herself. Though unlike Emma or Dorothea Brooke, she is no self-deceiver, but has both insight, tactical skills and social influence. Her rule as undisputed "queen of Carlingford" lasts a decade with only minor interruptions, like a series of failed marriage proposals.
The first two volumes of the novel are concerned with Lucilla's organization of society, by the third volume she desires a greater scope for her powers and so turns to politics, campaigning for the future M.P. of Carlingford.
She brilliantly manages to turn the tides even of her apparent "downfall" & seemingly reduced circumstances. Her final marriage & moving to a different parish close to Carlingford provides her with even more possibilities and an even larger scope of authority.
“Then there rose up before her a vision of a parish saved, a village reformed, a county reorganised, and a triumphant election at the end, the recompense and crown of all, which should put the government of the country itself, to a certain extent, into competent hands.”
Lucilla's story is told with a most delightful irony & and an austenesque anti-sentimentalism capturing Victorian provincial society and its different characters with subtle, but critical insight. The irony is also twofold, or it seems so. On one hand it seems to be aimed at Lucilla herself, but as we go on we realise that it is society itself that becomes the main object of irony.
First the readers themselves -along with other members of Lucilla's circle of family and friends-are led to treat her with some mild condescension maybe even exasperation, but gradually we are to realise that this is far from being the case and slowly but surely she is winning our appreciation and sympathy.
Lucilla is a true, but also magnanimous and beneficiary mastermind who, as a woman, must hide herself behind the Victorian conventionalism & norms to achieve her goals. She is perfectly aware of her limitations as a woman, but manages to turn this to her advantage brilliantly.
“At first, I always make it a point to give in to the prejudices of society. That is how I have always been so successful. I never went in the face of anybody's prejudices. Afterwards, you know, when one is known ....”
“As she stepped into the steamboat at Dover which was to convey her to scenes so new, Lucilla felt more and more that she who held the reorganisation of society in Carlingford in her hands was a woman with a mission.”
Admirers (Critics) of Emma Woodhouse, do come and meet Miss Lucilla Marjoribanks, heroine of this brilliantly written, classic novel, described by some critics as the "spiritual grand-daughter" or Victorian counterpart of Austen's notorious matchmaker! She deserves to be mentioned in line with the best comic heroines.
Literary critic Q.D. Leavis calls the author, Mrs Oliphant, the "missing link" between Jane Austen and George Elliot and also points out some late parallels between her and Edith Wharton and especially her novel The Custom of the Country.
Lucilla, armed with a natural-born good sense and the useful knowledge of political economy acquired in the school Mount Pleasant, sets forth for her very provincial hometown, Carlingford.
Her aims are:
#1 "to be a comfort to poor papa", the widowed doctor, who does not seem to relish his good fortune to be pampered and cared for by his daughter, but allows her nevertheless to take charge.
#2 to conquer and reform society (with perfect goodwill, good intentions and with much talent, with well-wishers and antagonists, expected or unexpected suitors along her way).
Lucilla, self-destined mover and shaker, matchmaker and organiser, though deciding that at this point in life she is not interested in suitors, is very well able to discern who might be eligible for her candidates as well for herself. Though unlike Emma or Dorothea Brooke, she is no self-deceiver, but has both insight, tactical skills and social influence. Her rule as undisputed "queen of Carlingford" lasts a decade with only minor interruptions, like a series of failed marriage proposals.
The first two volumes of the novel are concerned with Lucilla's organization of society, by the third volume she desires a greater scope for her powers and so turns to politics, campaigning for the future M.P. of Carlingford.
She brilliantly manages to turn the tides even of her apparent "downfall" & seemingly reduced circumstances. Her final marriage & moving to a different parish close to Carlingford provides her with even more possibilities and an even larger scope of authority.
“Then there rose up before her a vision of a parish saved, a village reformed, a county reorganised, and a triumphant election at the end, the recompense and crown of all, which should put the government of the country itself, to a certain extent, into competent hands.”
Lucilla's story is told with a most delightful irony & and an austenesque anti-sentimentalism capturing Victorian provincial society and its different characters with subtle, but critical insight. The irony is also twofold, or it seems so. On one hand it seems to be aimed at Lucilla herself, but as we go on we realise that it is society itself that becomes the main object of irony.
First the readers themselves -along with other members of Lucilla's circle of family and friends-are led to treat her with some mild condescension maybe even exasperation, but gradually we are to realise that this is far from being the case and slowly but surely she is winning our appreciation and sympathy.
Lucilla is a true, but also magnanimous and beneficiary mastermind who, as a woman, must hide herself behind the Victorian conventionalism & norms to achieve her goals. She is perfectly aware of her limitations as a woman, but manages to turn this to her advantage brilliantly.
“At first, I always make it a point to give in to the prejudices of society. That is how I have always been so successful. I never went in the face of anybody's prejudices. Afterwards, you know, when one is known ....”
March 24, 2021
What a woman!
So say the residents of the village Carlingford, women and men alike, as they stand by thoroughly impressed by the marvelous Lucilla Marjoribanks, big of frame and hearty of appetite, and all of 19 years of age, as she goes about her business, arranging their social calendars and establishing who's boss, blithely laughing at the idea of marriage - she has more important things to do, such as caring for her widowed father, making sure their living room fabrics bring out the best in her complexion while making just as certain that there is a minimum of drama, malice, and hurt feelings to bother any of her fellow villagers. What a woman! So says her cousin Tom in wonder, helplessly smitten, and so says her protégé Barbara Lake, more venomously, foolishly thinking herself a rival. What a woman! Lucilla herself may say, when considering herself privately, blithely aware that she was born to do good, a bold woman but a subtle one, armed with the knowledge that she certainly knows what's best for her, and for all.
What - a woman? say the residents of the village Carlingford, when considering who should crave the forging of their own destinies. Surely no woman could crave such a thing, not a Barbara Lake with her dark, sultry eyes and her longing for a more comfortable life, nor a Lucilla Marjoribanks, who despite being efficiency personified, would certainly not hope to live a life guided by her own standards, and not those of society. What - a woman? say the citizens of 19th century England, and elsewhere, when considering who should be allowed to vote. Surely no woman would be interested in such manly matters as political representation and the running of government - heaven forfend!
What a woman, says Mrs. Oliphant of Lucilla Marjoribanks, proud of her flawed but always delightful creation, a character that is an exemplar of sympathy towards others, a model of efficiency, a general in a gentle war against any who would control her or otherwise foolishly attempt to get in her way. What a woman, says this reviewer of Mrs. Oliphant, in awe at the author's calm and unfussy style, her dry humor, her deep empathy for her heroine, her charming and sardonic portrait of a village that is just one stop on the journey that is Lucilla's life.
What a woman: all hail Mrs. Oliphant! The bearing of a dowager empress, the rather weary kindness of a saint, the mischievousness of a clever child, and the thoroughly unsentimental heart of a realist that still recognizes the human in us all...
What - a woman? say the residents of the village Carlingford, when considering who should crave the forging of their own destinies. Surely no woman could crave such a thing, not a Barbara Lake with her dark, sultry eyes and her longing for a more comfortable life, nor a Lucilla Marjoribanks, who despite being efficiency personified, would certainly not hope to live a life guided by her own standards, and not those of society. What - a woman? say the citizens of 19th century England, and elsewhere, when considering who should be allowed to vote. Surely no woman would be interested in such manly matters as political representation and the running of government - heaven forfend!
What a woman, says Mrs. Oliphant of Lucilla Marjoribanks, proud of her flawed but always delightful creation, a character that is an exemplar of sympathy towards others, a model of efficiency, a general in a gentle war against any who would control her or otherwise foolishly attempt to get in her way. What a woman, says this reviewer of Mrs. Oliphant, in awe at the author's calm and unfussy style, her dry humor, her deep empathy for her heroine, her charming and sardonic portrait of a village that is just one stop on the journey that is Lucilla's life.
What a woman: all hail Mrs. Oliphant! The bearing of a dowager empress, the rather weary kindness of a saint, the mischievousness of a clever child, and the thoroughly unsentimental heart of a realist that still recognizes the human in us all...
March 31, 2019
My goodreads' friend Melindam recommended this and it was an excellent book. It starts out a little slowly, but then the story evolved so that each new part seems to be an entirely different book. At first it seemed to be a parody in the style of Cold Comfort Farm, in that the title character, Miss Marjoribanks seems to be an insufferable, pompous teenager who has the silly notion after the death of her invalid mother, 'to be a comfort to her poor father.' Her father meanwhile is a self-sufficient pragmatist who sees what she's about, but sends her back to school and himself to his enjoyable solitude.
She then enters a new phase and so does the book when she finishes school and returns home 'to be a comfort to her poor father' and determines to become the ruler of the household. Her father and Nancy (the cook) are pushovers and she begins her career of bringing society to their small, provincial town. Of course, she is a complete success with her self possession and mostly good hearted attempts to entertain everyone and put herself in the best light of course.
After ten years of being the power in her house and her town, she has grown a bit complacent, and so has the reader, when she undergoes an astonishing change of circumstance which truly tests what she's made of for the first time in her life. The last part of the book is the best, because Miss Marjoribanks comes down to earth finally and proved herself as worthy as she always thought she was.
She then enters a new phase and so does the book when she finishes school and returns home 'to be a comfort to her poor father' and determines to become the ruler of the household. Her father and Nancy (the cook) are pushovers and she begins her career of bringing society to their small, provincial town. Of course, she is a complete success with her self possession and mostly good hearted attempts to entertain everyone and put herself in the best light of course.
After ten years of being the power in her house and her town, she has grown a bit complacent, and so has the reader, when she undergoes an astonishing change of circumstance which truly tests what she's made of for the first time in her life. The last part of the book is the best, because Miss Marjoribanks comes down to earth finally and proved herself as worthy as she always thought she was.
January 9, 2022
This is Book #5 in the Chronicles of Carlingford. I’m not sure why I chose to read this particular one...it’s been touted as the most popular of the series. But I like her writing so much that I just ordered the other book in the series. 🙂 🙃
I’m impressed by her writing. This was a lengthy book (479 paperback pages of small print), but I didn’t mind its length. This was originally published in serial form in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, running from February 1865 to May 1866. There are some differences between the magazine version and this Penguin Classics version. I have a suspicion the language is more ‘user friendly’ in the Penguin Classics version.
The book is the story of 19-year-old Lucilla Marjoribanks for two volumes of the book, and then the third volume covers Lucilla when she is 29 years old. She lives with her father for those years (his wife and her mother had died when Lucilla was 15). In her words that she repeats quite often (and I found it to be humorous) ‘the great aim of her life is to be a comfort to dear papa’. She says this and maybe she believes it, but she is also interested in re-arranging the small village’s upper-class to have Thursday evening parties. And since women of that age (19 years) are eligible bachelorettes, that is part of the story line too. But she tells people in Carlingford, as a 19-year-old, that she wants to give at least 10 years of her life to looking after her father, and then maybe she will think of marriage. I won’t say anything about whether that goal is achieved or not.
There are not a ton of characters in this book, so I found it fairly easy to remember to follow them.
I was impressed by Oliphant’s writing and enjoyed it. Some of the characters were full of themselves but this is the upper-class of British society in the 19th century (there were also characters who were ‘lower-class’). Them being full of themselves could easily be detected through Oliphant’s style of writing.
One message that was serious in this book was how women had next to no rights in that time period in that country. They were excluded entirely from politics – they could not vote. They were subservient to men, and life could be very hard if their husbands died (unless the husband left the women a considerable next egg). In real life, Margaret Oliphant had to write to support herself and her young children, and then as well her alcoholic brother and his children. I guess that was partially a motivator for her prolific writing. I still can’t get over the quantity of her writing. She wrote a heap of novels (looks to me to be close to 100!!!) and a heap of non-fiction including books reviews. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margare...
Prior to being privy to a website of Virago Modern Classics (https://www.virago.co.uk/imprint/lbbg...), I had never heard of her. Another one of those authors whose work got buried...but then happily resurrected by Penguin and by Oxford University Press and by Virago Modern Classics. 🙂 🙃
Reviews:
• Fantastic review...including a snapshot biography of the author: https://exoticandirrational.blogspot....
• http://agirlwalksintoabookstore.blogs...
• https://blbooks.blogspot.com/2015/04/...
I’m impressed by her writing. This was a lengthy book (479 paperback pages of small print), but I didn’t mind its length. This was originally published in serial form in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, running from February 1865 to May 1866. There are some differences between the magazine version and this Penguin Classics version. I have a suspicion the language is more ‘user friendly’ in the Penguin Classics version.
The book is the story of 19-year-old Lucilla Marjoribanks for two volumes of the book, and then the third volume covers Lucilla when she is 29 years old. She lives with her father for those years (his wife and her mother had died when Lucilla was 15). In her words that she repeats quite often (and I found it to be humorous) ‘the great aim of her life is to be a comfort to dear papa’. She says this and maybe she believes it, but she is also interested in re-arranging the small village’s upper-class to have Thursday evening parties. And since women of that age (19 years) are eligible bachelorettes, that is part of the story line too. But she tells people in Carlingford, as a 19-year-old, that she wants to give at least 10 years of her life to looking after her father, and then maybe she will think of marriage. I won’t say anything about whether that goal is achieved or not.
There are not a ton of characters in this book, so I found it fairly easy to remember to follow them.
I was impressed by Oliphant’s writing and enjoyed it. Some of the characters were full of themselves but this is the upper-class of British society in the 19th century (there were also characters who were ‘lower-class’). Them being full of themselves could easily be detected through Oliphant’s style of writing.
One message that was serious in this book was how women had next to no rights in that time period in that country. They were excluded entirely from politics – they could not vote. They were subservient to men, and life could be very hard if their husbands died (unless the husband left the women a considerable next egg). In real life, Margaret Oliphant had to write to support herself and her young children, and then as well her alcoholic brother and his children. I guess that was partially a motivator for her prolific writing. I still can’t get over the quantity of her writing. She wrote a heap of novels (looks to me to be close to 100!!!) and a heap of non-fiction including books reviews. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margare...
Prior to being privy to a website of Virago Modern Classics (https://www.virago.co.uk/imprint/lbbg...), I had never heard of her. Another one of those authors whose work got buried...but then happily resurrected by Penguin and by Oxford University Press and by Virago Modern Classics. 🙂 🙃
Reviews:
• Fantastic review...including a snapshot biography of the author: https://exoticandirrational.blogspot....
• http://agirlwalksintoabookstore.blogs...
• https://blbooks.blogspot.com/2015/04/...
February 18, 2010
Miss Marjoribanks is what you get when you smash Emma together with Persuasion: match-making, mistaken identity, and (of course) marriage. Lucilla Marjoribanks is essentially Emma with more sense, less money, and not as annoying. At 18 she leaves finishing school and returns to her hometown Carlingford, intent on overcoming all obstacles and establishing herself as the central figure of the town's social life. And there are plenty of obstacles along the way: her father's bachelor habits, the shabby wallpaper in the drawing room, the necessity of finding a really flirtatious man to keep things interesting, and a fairly unmanageable cook.
If it all sounds rather trivial, well, that's kind of the point. Carlingford isn't a place with a lot of hustle and bustle--it is small, provincial, and inclusive. It is exactly the kind of place a lot of people live in (even today), where nothing much of importance ever happens, and so the minutiae of daily life take on significance. Gossip about a single dinner can (and does) last for days.
Oliphant's challenge in the novel is maintaining not only a plot, but the reader's interest in such a fictional world. Why should we care about Lucilla's old sofa, and how on earth can you get a 300+ page novel out of that? Well, you begin with a hilariously witty and ironic narrator, and you turn practically the entire thing into a burlesque. Embrace the dullness of Carlingford by transforming the entire novel into a sophisticated joke where narrator and reader agree that life in Carlingford revolves mostly around trivialities that have the potential to become fascinating and entertaining. This is a novel that oozes irony in practically every sentence. Just as a single example, Lucilla is repeatedly described using war metaphors: she conquerors, musters, marshals, defends, attacks, strategizes, and (eventually) wins. The image of plump, conventional, bland Miss Marjoribanks engaging in anything so dirty as war is, quite simply, laugh-out-loud funny, and yet the novel is simply full of language that casts Lucilla as a four star general.
Miss Marjoribanks fits into a long continuum of British novels about the interesting banality of women's domestic lives in small, uninspiring towns. It is a type of novel that begins with Austen and gets reimagined in the mid-nineteenth century by authors like Oliphant and Elizabeth Gaskell. In the 1930s and 40s, Agatha Christie is still writing versions of it in her character Miss Marple. Miss Marjoribanks is a delightful surprise of a Victorian novel--not well known, not taught in survey courses, and eminently enjoyable.
If it all sounds rather trivial, well, that's kind of the point. Carlingford isn't a place with a lot of hustle and bustle--it is small, provincial, and inclusive. It is exactly the kind of place a lot of people live in (even today), where nothing much of importance ever happens, and so the minutiae of daily life take on significance. Gossip about a single dinner can (and does) last for days.
Oliphant's challenge in the novel is maintaining not only a plot, but the reader's interest in such a fictional world. Why should we care about Lucilla's old sofa, and how on earth can you get a 300+ page novel out of that? Well, you begin with a hilariously witty and ironic narrator, and you turn practically the entire thing into a burlesque. Embrace the dullness of Carlingford by transforming the entire novel into a sophisticated joke where narrator and reader agree that life in Carlingford revolves mostly around trivialities that have the potential to become fascinating and entertaining. This is a novel that oozes irony in practically every sentence. Just as a single example, Lucilla is repeatedly described using war metaphors: she conquerors, musters, marshals, defends, attacks, strategizes, and (eventually) wins. The image of plump, conventional, bland Miss Marjoribanks engaging in anything so dirty as war is, quite simply, laugh-out-loud funny, and yet the novel is simply full of language that casts Lucilla as a four star general.
Miss Marjoribanks fits into a long continuum of British novels about the interesting banality of women's domestic lives in small, uninspiring towns. It is a type of novel that begins with Austen and gets reimagined in the mid-nineteenth century by authors like Oliphant and Elizabeth Gaskell. In the 1930s and 40s, Agatha Christie is still writing versions of it in her character Miss Marple. Miss Marjoribanks is a delightful surprise of a Victorian novel--not well known, not taught in survey courses, and eminently enjoyable.
September 16, 2017
I had heard of “Mrs Oliphant” (what a name, by the way!) but this was my first sample of her work, and it was an unexpected pleasure. Miss Marjoribanks isn’t world-shattering, but it’s an intelligent, wry, engaging, quietly subversive, highly readable novel. It’s also very funny at points.
Thematically, Miss Marjoribanks is a reworking of Jane Austen’s Emma in a fuller, blowsier, mid-Victorian idiom (it was published in 1866, exactly half a century after Austen’s novel.) The title character, Lucilla Marjoribanks (pron. Marchbanks), is an Emma Woodhouse-style busybody and matchmaker, devoted daughter to a widowed father and queen of her small, provincial world.
There the resemblance begins to end, however. Dr Marjoribanks is no querulous valetudinarian like Mr Woodhouse; he’s a robust, no-nonsense Scots doctor, who is having none of his daughter’s much-trumpeted life mission of “only wanting to be a comfort to poor papa.” Lucilla is characteristically unfazed by his self-sufficiency, and sets about making herself a comfort to him whether he wants her to or not (“As for poor papa, it is the worse for him if he does not understand, but that does not make any difference to my duty.”)
Another respect in which Lucilla differs from Emma—and from the vast majority of Victorian heroines—is that she is not exactly “handsome.” Refreshingly, Oliphant chooses as her heroine a “large girl”—large of feature, large of stature, and something of a trencherman, like her father. A running joke in the novel is Lucilla's ability to put away a healthy meal even at moments when her emotions are running high.
A Victorian novel in which the heroine enjoys her food and gets through three hundred pages without the faintest need to faint! There seems to be some controversy among academic critics about whether Margaret Oliphant may be regarded as a feminist writer, but I felt she qualified on these grounds alone. In fact, I found it quite hard not to read Miss Marjoribanks as some kind of feminist fable. Oliphant relents towards the end of the novel and lends Lucilla a few scintillas of psychological and emotional depth, but for much of it she’s a kind of cheery, bright-eyed Frankenstein monster, conjured into being by the contradictions between the reality of womanhood and the Victorian ideal.
Lucilla is clearly a woman of great energy and much practical intelligence, with a good grasp of social power dynamics. As a provincial woman of a certain class, however, there is little by way of outlet for her energies, other than “worsted-work” (whatever that is), messing around with her neighbours’ heads, and decorating her drawing room the precise shade of light green she feels flatters her complexion. Oliphant reinforces her point by introducing a whole series of eligible bachelors collectively embodying the various upper-class Victorian career paths that Lucilla’s sex closes off to her: we have a general, an archdeacon tipped as a future bishop, a lawyer who makes his money in India, and no fewer than two prospective MPs.
The critic Q. D. Leavis, who rescued Oliphant from oblivion in the 1960s by republishing this novel, describes Lucilla Marjoribanks as “a triumphant intermediary between [Jane Austen’s] Emma and [George Eliot’s] Dorothea, and ... more entertaining, more impressive, and more likeable than either.” This is provocative stuff if we’re talking about judgments of comparative literary quality (I’m not sure that creating an entertaining and likeable heroine was top of Eliot's agenda in writing Middlemarch…), but there’s some truth in Leavis’s judgment, in thematic terms, at least.
I also like “triumphant” in connection with Lucilla. She is a bit of a triumph as a comic creation. I loved her plan to remain unmarried for ten years, to make sure she gets full use from her newly decorated pale green drawing room, and then to get married at twenty-nine, just before she begins to “go off.”
Thematically, Miss Marjoribanks is a reworking of Jane Austen’s Emma in a fuller, blowsier, mid-Victorian idiom (it was published in 1866, exactly half a century after Austen’s novel.) The title character, Lucilla Marjoribanks (pron. Marchbanks), is an Emma Woodhouse-style busybody and matchmaker, devoted daughter to a widowed father and queen of her small, provincial world.
There the resemblance begins to end, however. Dr Marjoribanks is no querulous valetudinarian like Mr Woodhouse; he’s a robust, no-nonsense Scots doctor, who is having none of his daughter’s much-trumpeted life mission of “only wanting to be a comfort to poor papa.” Lucilla is characteristically unfazed by his self-sufficiency, and sets about making herself a comfort to him whether he wants her to or not (“As for poor papa, it is the worse for him if he does not understand, but that does not make any difference to my duty.”)
Another respect in which Lucilla differs from Emma—and from the vast majority of Victorian heroines—is that she is not exactly “handsome.” Refreshingly, Oliphant chooses as her heroine a “large girl”—large of feature, large of stature, and something of a trencherman, like her father. A running joke in the novel is Lucilla's ability to put away a healthy meal even at moments when her emotions are running high.
A Victorian novel in which the heroine enjoys her food and gets through three hundred pages without the faintest need to faint! There seems to be some controversy among academic critics about whether Margaret Oliphant may be regarded as a feminist writer, but I felt she qualified on these grounds alone. In fact, I found it quite hard not to read Miss Marjoribanks as some kind of feminist fable. Oliphant relents towards the end of the novel and lends Lucilla a few scintillas of psychological and emotional depth, but for much of it she’s a kind of cheery, bright-eyed Frankenstein monster, conjured into being by the contradictions between the reality of womanhood and the Victorian ideal.
Lucilla is clearly a woman of great energy and much practical intelligence, with a good grasp of social power dynamics. As a provincial woman of a certain class, however, there is little by way of outlet for her energies, other than “worsted-work” (whatever that is), messing around with her neighbours’ heads, and decorating her drawing room the precise shade of light green she feels flatters her complexion. Oliphant reinforces her point by introducing a whole series of eligible bachelors collectively embodying the various upper-class Victorian career paths that Lucilla’s sex closes off to her: we have a general, an archdeacon tipped as a future bishop, a lawyer who makes his money in India, and no fewer than two prospective MPs.
The critic Q. D. Leavis, who rescued Oliphant from oblivion in the 1960s by republishing this novel, describes Lucilla Marjoribanks as “a triumphant intermediary between [Jane Austen’s] Emma and [George Eliot’s] Dorothea, and ... more entertaining, more impressive, and more likeable than either.” This is provocative stuff if we’re talking about judgments of comparative literary quality (I’m not sure that creating an entertaining and likeable heroine was top of Eliot's agenda in writing Middlemarch…), but there’s some truth in Leavis’s judgment, in thematic terms, at least.
I also like “triumphant” in connection with Lucilla. She is a bit of a triumph as a comic creation. I loved her plan to remain unmarried for ten years, to make sure she gets full use from her newly decorated pale green drawing room, and then to get married at twenty-nine, just before she begins to “go off.”
September 12, 2018
This was my fifth Oliphant (all the rest also being Carlingford chronicles) and I absolutely loved it. Miss Marjoribanks is certainly Emma-like as so many have pointed out but a much much more likeable version of her and while she does her fair share of match-making (of which she has much better understanding than E), she is also concerned with Carlingford society which it is object in life to arrange, even if it means sacrificing her own interests to an extent. What I loved about her was her ability to rise above petty grudges and even personal feelings and conduct herself with a certain dignity. Yet, Mrs O keeps her very human, it isn't that she doesn't have feelings but that she is able to keep them in check (but that doesn't stop the reader from feeling a little pang of pity for her at times). And it is a delight to see her getting her schemes to work so smoothly and conducting the social politics of Carlingford with such elan.
While I did have an idea towards the middle how things were going to end for her, there was a plot twist that I did not see coming. The second part of her career in Carlingford with the elections was exciting but perhaps not as much as the first section but I loved the way things panned out at the end and found myself wishing that Mrs O had written a further volume with Lucilla's new adventures.
While I did have an idea towards the middle how things were going to end for her, there was a plot twist that I did not see coming. The second part of her career in Carlingford with the elections was exciting but perhaps not as much as the first section but I loved the way things panned out at the end and found myself wishing that Mrs O had written a further volume with Lucilla's new adventures.
March 6, 2021
Readers of Mrs. Gaskell would find themselves in familiar territory here: there are echoes of both Cranford and Wives and Daughters in this gentle tale of female striving in a small Victorian-era society.
Miss Lucilla Marjoribanks (pronounced “Marchbanks”) is the daughter of a successful small-town doctor in the fictional town of Carlingford. Upon her mother’s death when Lucilla was a teenager, she is seized by the ambition to be a comfort to her papa (at least for ten years)—an ambition not particularly shared by her father, who is perfectly happy to lead a bachelor existence. He manages to put off the inevitable for a bit by sending Lucilla back to school and then on a European tour, but at nineteen she returns home to pursue the career she has laid out for herself.
Upon arrival in Carlingford, Lucilla finds her vision for the future must be expanded to embrace the entire town—at least the genteel end of it. It seems Carlingford society has no reigning queen and Lucilla must nobly take up the mantle. If this seems like a bit of arrogance on the part of an unmarried nineteen-year-old, you would be calculating without the straightforward drive (hidden under the most charming of exteriors) and unerring instincts of Miss Marjoribanks. In no time she has taken the town by storm, to the amused resignation of her father.
Of course, it is the job of any young heroine to marry, and much energy is spent by the town in trying to pair her up with this or that eligible parti. It is amusing to watch Lucilla’s bobbings and weavings as she pursues her chosen course in the face of everyone else’s plans for her future. Even she doesn’t know why she makes the choices she does, and sometimes they seem disastrous, but she is not a person to be underestimated.
All this is told in a mildly mock-heroic tone that irritated me at first but came to seem natural as my respect for the heroine grew. The book’s tone is invariably gentle, lightly humorous without any bite to the satire and detached enough to seem a little bloodless at times. It was a charming diversion, though the subtitle “A Romance” is perhaps a stretch, and I enjoyed my time spent in Carlingford.
Miss Lucilla Marjoribanks (pronounced “Marchbanks”) is the daughter of a successful small-town doctor in the fictional town of Carlingford. Upon her mother’s death when Lucilla was a teenager, she is seized by the ambition to be a comfort to her papa (at least for ten years)—an ambition not particularly shared by her father, who is perfectly happy to lead a bachelor existence. He manages to put off the inevitable for a bit by sending Lucilla back to school and then on a European tour, but at nineteen she returns home to pursue the career she has laid out for herself.
Upon arrival in Carlingford, Lucilla finds her vision for the future must be expanded to embrace the entire town—at least the genteel end of it. It seems Carlingford society has no reigning queen and Lucilla must nobly take up the mantle. If this seems like a bit of arrogance on the part of an unmarried nineteen-year-old, you would be calculating without the straightforward drive (hidden under the most charming of exteriors) and unerring instincts of Miss Marjoribanks. In no time she has taken the town by storm, to the amused resignation of her father.
Of course, it is the job of any young heroine to marry, and much energy is spent by the town in trying to pair her up with this or that eligible parti. It is amusing to watch Lucilla’s bobbings and weavings as she pursues her chosen course in the face of everyone else’s plans for her future. Even she doesn’t know why she makes the choices she does, and sometimes they seem disastrous, but she is not a person to be underestimated.
All this is told in a mildly mock-heroic tone that irritated me at first but came to seem natural as my respect for the heroine grew. The book’s tone is invariably gentle, lightly humorous without any bite to the satire and detached enough to seem a little bloodless at times. It was a charming diversion, though the subtitle “A Romance” is perhaps a stretch, and I enjoyed my time spent in Carlingford.
Read
September 4, 2015Greatness, Margaret Oliphant wrote in 1855, is always comparative: there are few things so hard to adjust to as the sliding-scale of fame.
One of many remarkable articles that Oliphant published in the middle of the nineteenth century in the prestigious Blackwoods was about great and not-so-great female authors of her time, and their sad predilection for savage heroes. (Sound familiar?)
Anyway, Oliphant is one of those many women--clever, often ironic, trenchantly observant and seemingly orthodox while gently questioning assumed rules--forced to take to the pen to support families, whose voices might otherwise never have been heard. Well known during their time, then overlooked by male critics afterward when various "influential books" lists were made up for scholars to yawn over, they have nearly been forgotten except for dusty used-book shelves, but now I am glad to say are slowly re-emerging as digitalization becomes more widespread.
Miss Marjoribanks is one of her many novels, leisurely paced and full of minute observations about characters who breathe off the page. The story is a simple one: Lucilla, a big girl, comes home from school intending to be a Comfort to her Papa, who by no means wants a comfort, but he discovers that she, though female, has a good a brain as he does, and is highly entertained to see his daughter take their small, respectable community in hand. One can see the influence here on later writers like Angela Thirkell and Barbara Pym and especially E.F. Benson in his Mapp and Lucia tales.
It's just the sort of book to curl up with on a lazy afternoon, easy to put down and easy to pick up again, gently building to an absorbing finish.
One of many remarkable articles that Oliphant published in the middle of the nineteenth century in the prestigious Blackwoods was about great and not-so-great female authors of her time, and their sad predilection for savage heroes. (Sound familiar?)
Anyway, Oliphant is one of those many women--clever, often ironic, trenchantly observant and seemingly orthodox while gently questioning assumed rules--forced to take to the pen to support families, whose voices might otherwise never have been heard. Well known during their time, then overlooked by male critics afterward when various "influential books" lists were made up for scholars to yawn over, they have nearly been forgotten except for dusty used-book shelves, but now I am glad to say are slowly re-emerging as digitalization becomes more widespread.
Miss Marjoribanks is one of her many novels, leisurely paced and full of minute observations about characters who breathe off the page. The story is a simple one: Lucilla, a big girl, comes home from school intending to be a Comfort to her Papa, who by no means wants a comfort, but he discovers that she, though female, has a good a brain as he does, and is highly entertained to see his daughter take their small, respectable community in hand. One can see the influence here on later writers like Angela Thirkell and Barbara Pym and especially E.F. Benson in his Mapp and Lucia tales.
It's just the sort of book to curl up with on a lazy afternoon, easy to put down and easy to pick up again, gently building to an absorbing finish.
October 31, 2017
My favourite Chronicle of Carlingford so far. A lovely, enjoyable and fun read. Lucilla Marjoribanks is a brilliant character.
December 3, 2015
Resourceful, optimistic, determined, and unflappable, Miss Marjorie Marjoribanks would make a delightful, though perhaps slightly controlling, companion. While staying dutifully--albeit perhaps a bit technically--inside the closely circumscribed boundaries of what is correct and proper behavior for a young Victorian woman, Miss Marjoribanks is able to manage just about every aspect of life in her little town, including politics, even though she can’t, of course, actually vote.
After finishing school and taking a brief tour of the continent, Miss Marjoribanks comes back home to “be a comfort” to her dear papa, a modest and selfless goal she mentions frequently at the most strategic times. Her mother had died a few years back and while her father, the town doctor, finds his life quite complete, Miss Marjoribanks is determined to make it better. She also has a quite a few other things in mind to improve the social life of the town as well, including holding lively and soon beloved Thursday evening gatherings in her father’s drawing room, which she had specially painted in a shade to flatter her complexion (she thinks of everything!).
Miss Marjoribanks decides she’ll continue on this course for 10 years, long enough to make up for papa having had the expense of redecorating the drawing room, before she thinks about getting married. But even Miss Marjoribanks can’t anticipate everything that will happen.
Some readers and reviewers have remarked that Marjorie Marjoribanks is like Jane Austen’s Emma but less irritating, and I concur completely with that sentiment. It’s a long book, and it did drag a little in the middle for me, but the story has a wonderful ending and it’s filled with a variety of spirited, humorous, mostly lovable characters.
My pleasure in this book was greatly enhanced by dialogue with reading partners--Miss Marjoribanks was an April buddy read with the Dead Writers Society on GoodReads and the Reading the Victorian Book Club on BookLikes.
After finishing school and taking a brief tour of the continent, Miss Marjoribanks comes back home to “be a comfort” to her dear papa, a modest and selfless goal she mentions frequently at the most strategic times. Her mother had died a few years back and while her father, the town doctor, finds his life quite complete, Miss Marjoribanks is determined to make it better. She also has a quite a few other things in mind to improve the social life of the town as well, including holding lively and soon beloved Thursday evening gatherings in her father’s drawing room, which she had specially painted in a shade to flatter her complexion (she thinks of everything!).
Miss Marjoribanks decides she’ll continue on this course for 10 years, long enough to make up for papa having had the expense of redecorating the drawing room, before she thinks about getting married. But even Miss Marjoribanks can’t anticipate everything that will happen.
Some readers and reviewers have remarked that Marjorie Marjoribanks is like Jane Austen’s Emma but less irritating, and I concur completely with that sentiment. It’s a long book, and it did drag a little in the middle for me, but the story has a wonderful ending and it’s filled with a variety of spirited, humorous, mostly lovable characters.
My pleasure in this book was greatly enhanced by dialogue with reading partners--Miss Marjoribanks was an April buddy read with the Dead Writers Society on GoodReads and the Reading the Victorian Book Club on BookLikes.
December 29, 2007
With its crackling prose, satirical wit, and profound, if subterranean, reflections on the lives of women, Miss Marjoribanks easily holds its own alongside "greater" Victorian novels. It's Emma meets Middlemarch meets Doctor Thorne meets Queen Lucia. I can't believe I finally managed to stumble on this book (and I'm aleady hungering for more Margaret Oliphant). It's a Christmas miracle.
February 8, 2016
Miss Marhoribanks, Lucilla, as she was christened by her parents, Dr. Marjoribanks and his wife of Carlingsford at the age of 15 loses her mother to illness and decided that the aim of her her life is to be a comfort to her Papa. However Dr. Marjoribanks has a different opinion on this matter and sends Lucilla back to her school after the necessary period of mourning and keeps her there for 3 years and it is not until she is 19 that she actually returns to Carlingford to do her duty and be a comfort to her papa. Her plans include the reorganization of the Carlingford’s society to show them culture, beauty, brilliance and break down the provincial and parochial mindset and cliches!Considering her youth and her recent return to her home, it would have been a daunting task for any weak minded young lady, however Miss Marjoribanks goes about the whole venture with all the clearheaded ability of a born leader and manager as she orders upholstery for the drawing room that enhances her complexion and goes about organizing an “Evening” instead of party dressed in a white dress – “high”. There are vexations that daunt her enterprise – Tom Marjoribank, her penniless cousin who proposes to her and is sent of to India to better his fortunes by an unimpressed Lucilla; Mr. Cavendish the man about town from whom much is expected including becoming a member of the Parliament and marrying Lucilla to improve his candidature, but who instead is infatuated with the drawing masters pretty but absolutely unpleasant daughter Barbra Lake and the Archdeacon who has a a bone to pick with Mr. Cavendish stemming from a shared past! But Lucilla sees everything through with wit, grace and magnanimity, arranging matters and forcing things to the right conclusion for the betterment of all society even though, there are times that the society does seem ungrateful to her for all her efforts. Trial finally comes Lucilla’s way when her father Dr. Marjoribanks passes away, the circumstances she always took for granted change overnight and though life offers a golden opportunities yet again, she finally is forced to contend what is really true in her heart and make decisions which cannot be avoided anymore!
I read somewhere that this was a Victorian Emma; maybe it was. I also felt is was a dash of Elizabeth Gaskell’s Cranford and Anthony Trollop’s Barchestshire Chronicles all mixed together. But the book is undeniably and uniquely Carlingford and Ms. Oliphant is absolutely original in her efforts. Provincial towns dictated my Victorian mores must have seem absurd to many authors and writers of that era and this came forth in their works and the styles may overlap with each other. But this novel is soooo much more than just a comedy of manners and a social satire. Ms. Oliphant brought to life characters that were real and throbbed of life. Lucilla is a brilliant heroine who has all the qualities that make a good heroine and yet enough frailties to make her human and to touch the readers heart. She is an independent strong minded, smart as a whip girl who has no tuck with standard social mores, and brings it down with using the inner workings of those very mores. She has courage and is undaunted in the face of struggle and believes that one can overcome anything if one puts their mind to it. She has fault and fails but is intelligent enough to see those failures, learn from her mistakes and adapt to the change. Even during her most difficult time, she sustains and her own ideas against the opinions of the entire society and finally is generous in her triumphs! You cheer for her, you laugh at her and with her and are completely entertained and invigorated by her antics. The other cast of characters do justice and are a perfect foil to Lucilla – Dr. Marjoribanks with his in-toleration for all kinds of social standards and his ability to laugh at the circumstances, even when de-throned in the domestic domain by his own daughter, the poor luckless but devoted Tom, Mr. Cavendish veering from highs to lows and undecided of what choices he should make. The entire ensemble is brilliant and you are completely hooked till the very end. The plot while lengthy and some may contend very narrow since it focuses purely on the happenings in a small town, in an era when great things where happening in England, never flags and you turn page after page with a host of emotions from chagrin to laughter to anger to amusement to being anxious to relief. Its all there and you cherish each page and emotions its adds on to a rich reading experience . The language is simple and there is no lyricism so to speak off, but there is plenty of wit and reading between the lines that keeps you laughing through the very end! It is a testimony to Ms. Oliphant’s brilliance and ability as an author that she wrote such bright optimistic work during a darkest period of her life – she had lost her 10 year old daughter, widowed and struggling to bring up her other children.
Needless to say I LOVED this book! Ms. Marjoribanks has reinforced my belief that anything can be conquered with courage and ability and as I face another daunting Monday, with all the energy that had seemed lost on Friday, I have to say this novel has become one my favorites and I can see it joining my go-to books shelves!
I read somewhere that this was a Victorian Emma; maybe it was. I also felt is was a dash of Elizabeth Gaskell’s Cranford and Anthony Trollop’s Barchestshire Chronicles all mixed together. But the book is undeniably and uniquely Carlingford and Ms. Oliphant is absolutely original in her efforts. Provincial towns dictated my Victorian mores must have seem absurd to many authors and writers of that era and this came forth in their works and the styles may overlap with each other. But this novel is soooo much more than just a comedy of manners and a social satire. Ms. Oliphant brought to life characters that were real and throbbed of life. Lucilla is a brilliant heroine who has all the qualities that make a good heroine and yet enough frailties to make her human and to touch the readers heart. She is an independent strong minded, smart as a whip girl who has no tuck with standard social mores, and brings it down with using the inner workings of those very mores. She has courage and is undaunted in the face of struggle and believes that one can overcome anything if one puts their mind to it. She has fault and fails but is intelligent enough to see those failures, learn from her mistakes and adapt to the change. Even during her most difficult time, she sustains and her own ideas against the opinions of the entire society and finally is generous in her triumphs! You cheer for her, you laugh at her and with her and are completely entertained and invigorated by her antics. The other cast of characters do justice and are a perfect foil to Lucilla – Dr. Marjoribanks with his in-toleration for all kinds of social standards and his ability to laugh at the circumstances, even when de-throned in the domestic domain by his own daughter, the poor luckless but devoted Tom, Mr. Cavendish veering from highs to lows and undecided of what choices he should make. The entire ensemble is brilliant and you are completely hooked till the very end. The plot while lengthy and some may contend very narrow since it focuses purely on the happenings in a small town, in an era when great things where happening in England, never flags and you turn page after page with a host of emotions from chagrin to laughter to anger to amusement to being anxious to relief. Its all there and you cherish each page and emotions its adds on to a rich reading experience . The language is simple and there is no lyricism so to speak off, but there is plenty of wit and reading between the lines that keeps you laughing through the very end! It is a testimony to Ms. Oliphant’s brilliance and ability as an author that she wrote such bright optimistic work during a darkest period of her life – she had lost her 10 year old daughter, widowed and struggling to bring up her other children.
Needless to say I LOVED this book! Ms. Marjoribanks has reinforced my belief that anything can be conquered with courage and ability and as I face another daunting Monday, with all the energy that had seemed lost on Friday, I have to say this novel has become one my favorites and I can see it joining my go-to books shelves!
July 29, 2015
Some books if you can't catch the rhythm of just became joyless works you have to force march yourself through.
I kept trying to get through this book, but the writing, flow, and the characters were just too much for me to overcome. I gave up.
I know that that was supposed to be a comedy of sorts and it was poking fun at Victorian attitudes. However, the entire book at this point was joyless. Miss Marjoribanks was awful. She either had people who were running around to do her bidding (since she saw all as her subjects) or people that she must eventually conquer.
So I quit at 42 percent because at this point, I don't care what happens to anyone. I am hoping maybe a meteor hits the town and everyone is wiped out, but I doubt that happens.
I kept trying to get through this book, but the writing, flow, and the characters were just too much for me to overcome. I gave up.
I know that that was supposed to be a comedy of sorts and it was poking fun at Victorian attitudes. However, the entire book at this point was joyless. Miss Marjoribanks was awful. She either had people who were running around to do her bidding (since she saw all as her subjects) or people that she must eventually conquer.
So I quit at 42 percent because at this point, I don't care what happens to anyone. I am hoping maybe a meteor hits the town and everyone is wiped out, but I doubt that happens.
September 2, 2016
My first Oliphant. I loved it!
June 2, 2010
This is a delightful, elegant, and refreshingly witty novel. Until reading Miss Marjoribanks, I’d not read anything by Margaret Oliphant before. I will certainly try and find more of her “The Chronicles of Carlingford.” It has been said that this is novel is much like Jane Austen’s Emma; well, I can absolutely appreciate the comparison. If anything, Miss Lucilla Marjoribanks is even more confident, self-assured, and imperious than Miss Emma Woodhouse. Miss Marjoribanks is a no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners, and superbly organized and generous young woman whose stated object in life is “to be a comfort to her dear papa.” While oft-stated, this personal and altruistic mantra seems to guide all of Lucilla’s decision-making and activities in Carlingford as well as the other families of Grange Lane, I believe that this desire to make her father’s life comfortable also empowers Lucilla with moral authority, and a rationalization that liberates her to organize and efficiently implement her brand of ‘society’ among the upper middle class of Carlingford. Lucilla Marjoribanks is the consummate organizer, schemer, and is fiercely independent when it comes to ruling her little kingdom; but she’s very careful to ensure that she stays within the proscribed bounds of the rules for proper society.
The novel is largely the story of the ten years that Lucilla spends as the ‘lady’ of her father’s house following the death of her mother and the finishing of her education at the Mount Pleasant school for young ladies. Effective almost immediately, upon her assumption of the throne, Lucilla begins holding regular Thursday “Evenings” (“not parties”) whereby Carlingford’s gentry attend dinner at Dr. Marjoribanks table and several hours of music and conversation in Lucilla’s newly remodeled parlor. Lucilla, in the role of conductor, orchestrates and directs everything from the guest list, dress-code (“white frocks, high”), dinner menu, parlor seating arrangements, and even the subjects of conversations discussed.
This novel was originally serialized in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine (a monthly literary magazine) from February 1865 through May 1866. As I read the novel, I could sense the pulse and rhythm of the serial presentation of the novel’s plot, with each little vignette being well-structured and building up to a mini-climax or posing a question involving mystery or intrigue. Oliphant introduces her Carlingford characters with a deft touch. Whether they are some of the older ladies of town who have their noses in everything; or the two proudly independent and slightly insecure Lake sisters (the ‘contralto’ and the little ‘preraphaelite’), daughters of the drawing master; or the town ‘mimic,’ Mrs. Woodburn, and her mysterious brother, Harry Cavendish; or Archdeacon Beverly and the widow, Mrs. Mortimer; they are all the grist that Lucilla kindly, but firmly, grinds in her effort to shape Carlingford society. It is great stuff to watch Lucilla assert her mastery and control over each of them; but not in an egotistical or obsequious fashion, but done in a manner that makes each of them feel like it is the right thing to do. Sure, Lucilla, at times, makes mistakes in her dealings with Carlingsford’s folk; but she quickly recognizes these faults and does try to make all well in the end. After a time, I began to realize that Carlingford was waiting for someone like Lucilla to come along and take charge – she is the captain of the ship with her hand firmly on the tiller.
There is a great plot twist near the novel’s end, though not altogether unexpected, and it certainly staggers Lucilla, but doesn’t knock her down. Her own inner strength and the outward calm she displays is more than impressive, but it is also consistent with her upbringing, her education, and perhaps the Victorian ideal of how women were expected to behave. While I believe that Mrs. Oliphant has created a bit of a humorous social satire in Miss Marjoribanks, I also believe that Lucilla’s character was important in showing that women of that time could be confident and competent independent thinkers, and could very capably assume the mantle of the clear-headed leader within her society.
Getting back to comparisons with other literary heroines; in 1969, Q.D. Leavis said about Lucilla Marjoribanks that she was the “triumphant intermediary” between Austen’s ‘Emma Woodhouse’ and George Eliot’s ‘Dorothea Brooke’ and found her “incidentally, more entertaining, more impressive and more likeable than either.” While pretty high praise, I don't know if I'm quite willing to go that far. During the course of the novel I did come to like and admire Lucilla Marjoribanks; but I don't know if she could ever climb into the stratosphere and mingle with the likes of a Lizzy Bennet, Dorothea Brooke, or an Isabel Archer. Finally, I have to wonder if the satirical novelist, E.F. Benson, might not have looked to Oliphant and her “Lucilla Marjoribanks’ as he began to develop his great character, the magnificent 'Mrs. Emmeline Lucas,' the 'Great Lucia' of the “Mapp and Lucia” series of novels?
All in all, I enjoyed reading this novel, and do recommend it. Miss Marjoribanks is well-written, entertaining, humerous, and an engaging plot. This is a fun and easy-reading novel, and if you’re looking for a fun summer read, go pay a visit to Carlingford and spend a few ‘Evenings’ with the lovely Lucilla Marjoribanks.
The novel is largely the story of the ten years that Lucilla spends as the ‘lady’ of her father’s house following the death of her mother and the finishing of her education at the Mount Pleasant school for young ladies. Effective almost immediately, upon her assumption of the throne, Lucilla begins holding regular Thursday “Evenings” (“not parties”) whereby Carlingford’s gentry attend dinner at Dr. Marjoribanks table and several hours of music and conversation in Lucilla’s newly remodeled parlor. Lucilla, in the role of conductor, orchestrates and directs everything from the guest list, dress-code (“white frocks, high”), dinner menu, parlor seating arrangements, and even the subjects of conversations discussed.
This novel was originally serialized in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine (a monthly literary magazine) from February 1865 through May 1866. As I read the novel, I could sense the pulse and rhythm of the serial presentation of the novel’s plot, with each little vignette being well-structured and building up to a mini-climax or posing a question involving mystery or intrigue. Oliphant introduces her Carlingford characters with a deft touch. Whether they are some of the older ladies of town who have their noses in everything; or the two proudly independent and slightly insecure Lake sisters (the ‘contralto’ and the little ‘preraphaelite’), daughters of the drawing master; or the town ‘mimic,’ Mrs. Woodburn, and her mysterious brother, Harry Cavendish; or Archdeacon Beverly and the widow, Mrs. Mortimer; they are all the grist that Lucilla kindly, but firmly, grinds in her effort to shape Carlingford society. It is great stuff to watch Lucilla assert her mastery and control over each of them; but not in an egotistical or obsequious fashion, but done in a manner that makes each of them feel like it is the right thing to do. Sure, Lucilla, at times, makes mistakes in her dealings with Carlingsford’s folk; but she quickly recognizes these faults and does try to make all well in the end. After a time, I began to realize that Carlingford was waiting for someone like Lucilla to come along and take charge – she is the captain of the ship with her hand firmly on the tiller.
There is a great plot twist near the novel’s end, though not altogether unexpected, and it certainly staggers Lucilla, but doesn’t knock her down. Her own inner strength and the outward calm she displays is more than impressive, but it is also consistent with her upbringing, her education, and perhaps the Victorian ideal of how women were expected to behave. While I believe that Mrs. Oliphant has created a bit of a humorous social satire in Miss Marjoribanks, I also believe that Lucilla’s character was important in showing that women of that time could be confident and competent independent thinkers, and could very capably assume the mantle of the clear-headed leader within her society.
Getting back to comparisons with other literary heroines; in 1969, Q.D. Leavis said about Lucilla Marjoribanks that she was the “triumphant intermediary” between Austen’s ‘Emma Woodhouse’ and George Eliot’s ‘Dorothea Brooke’ and found her “incidentally, more entertaining, more impressive and more likeable than either.” While pretty high praise, I don't know if I'm quite willing to go that far. During the course of the novel I did come to like and admire Lucilla Marjoribanks; but I don't know if she could ever climb into the stratosphere and mingle with the likes of a Lizzy Bennet, Dorothea Brooke, or an Isabel Archer. Finally, I have to wonder if the satirical novelist, E.F. Benson, might not have looked to Oliphant and her “Lucilla Marjoribanks’ as he began to develop his great character, the magnificent 'Mrs. Emmeline Lucas,' the 'Great Lucia' of the “Mapp and Lucia” series of novels?
All in all, I enjoyed reading this novel, and do recommend it. Miss Marjoribanks is well-written, entertaining, humerous, and an engaging plot. This is a fun and easy-reading novel, and if you’re looking for a fun summer read, go pay a visit to Carlingford and spend a few ‘Evenings’ with the lovely Lucilla Marjoribanks.
May 24, 2010
If I could give 3.5 stars for this, I certainly would. I may actually come back and up this to 4 stars some day.
A few things I had to keep in mind while reading...
1. The book initially came out in monthly installments, so repetition in the text was somewhat necessary to ensure the readers didn't forget what was going on, or what had happened. ("be a comfort to dear papa," however, was a phrase repeated a few times too many.
2. Practicing basic common sense and maintaining a sense of calm, no matter the situation, was seen as a sign of female genius in the Victorian times, so Lucilla's achievements were perhaps more impressive then than they would be considered today. She is still, definitely, a woman I would rather have as a friend than an adversary.
3. Inviting people over for an 'evening' without being overly particular about the social class of the guests was a bit scandalous 100+ years ago. In fact, inviting the local poor artist's two daughters could often make the evening a bit livelier.
4. A woman's worth was judged by the number of marriage proposals received. There seems to have been phrasing women were taught at a young age that was scripted to respond either in the negative or the affirmative. That sure beat my response..."Really? Yes!"
5. It is possible, and indeed, expected, to have 'gone off' physically by the age of 30. This fact has stimulated me to not only work out today, but to go buy a medicine ball for additional work out options.
I could say a lot more, but this book was really just light fun, with a few serious moments. It was very easy to relate to various parts, or certain characters, but it wasn't until the third volume that the novel really started to take shape. I had to have it explained to me that bringing everyone together for an 'evening' was a form of social reform, otherwise they would relapse into cliques (thank you, Miss M, for explaining it). I am glad that the end happened as it did, as the story could have easily fallen flat if the author went in a different direction. All in all, good fun.
A few things I had to keep in mind while reading...
1. The book initially came out in monthly installments, so repetition in the text was somewhat necessary to ensure the readers didn't forget what was going on, or what had happened. ("be a comfort to dear papa," however, was a phrase repeated a few times too many.
2. Practicing basic common sense and maintaining a sense of calm, no matter the situation, was seen as a sign of female genius in the Victorian times, so Lucilla's achievements were perhaps more impressive then than they would be considered today. She is still, definitely, a woman I would rather have as a friend than an adversary.
3. Inviting people over for an 'evening' without being overly particular about the social class of the guests was a bit scandalous 100+ years ago. In fact, inviting the local poor artist's two daughters could often make the evening a bit livelier.
4. A woman's worth was judged by the number of marriage proposals received. There seems to have been phrasing women were taught at a young age that was scripted to respond either in the negative or the affirmative. That sure beat my response..."Really? Yes!"
5. It is possible, and indeed, expected, to have 'gone off' physically by the age of 30. This fact has stimulated me to not only work out today, but to go buy a medicine ball for additional work out options.
I could say a lot more, but this book was really just light fun, with a few serious moments. It was very easy to relate to various parts, or certain characters, but it wasn't until the third volume that the novel really started to take shape. I had to have it explained to me that bringing everyone together for an 'evening' was a form of social reform, otherwise they would relapse into cliques (thank you, Miss M, for explaining it). I am glad that the end happened as it did, as the story could have easily fallen flat if the author went in a different direction. All in all, good fun.
June 3, 2022
I finally finished!
It took so dang long.
On the one hand, I really liked this book. It really is the Victorian Emma. There were so many witty, self-aware lines. Miss Marjoribanks is "British village life" at its best and sure to delight fans of Cranford and Middlemarch.
But on the other hand, the very thing that makes this book so appealing (the very minutiae of these characters and their petty squabbles and joys) made it a slog to read 512 pages. I finally broke down nd read a spoiler to see if it was worth continuing. Unfortunately, the spoiler made it sound way more dreary than it actually was! I was quite pleasantly surprised with the conclusion.
I enjoyed this one. While not an instant favorite, it certainly was memorable and deserves a read alongside some of the more classic British village life stories.
It took so dang long.
On the one hand, I really liked this book. It really is the Victorian Emma. There were so many witty, self-aware lines. Miss Marjoribanks is "British village life" at its best and sure to delight fans of Cranford and Middlemarch.
But on the other hand, the very thing that makes this book so appealing (the very minutiae of these characters and their petty squabbles and joys) made it a slog to read 512 pages. I finally broke down nd read a spoiler to see if it was worth continuing. Unfortunately, the spoiler made it sound way more dreary than it actually was! I was quite pleasantly surprised with the conclusion.
I enjoyed this one. While not an instant favorite, it certainly was memorable and deserves a read alongside some of the more classic British village life stories.
May 4, 2009
Well I have certainly never met a character like Miss Lucilla Marjoribanks. At first I simply did not understand her motives, drive and determination to re-organize Carlingford society. It seemed such a waste of a strong character. This was a long read, not to be rushed and the further I was immersed into Lucilla’s world, the more I came to admire her and the author for creating such an unusual woman. It was the last half of the book that really held my attention when Lucilla’s life took an unexpected turn and she faced challenges previously unknown. Her confidence in her own abilities and the correctness of her thinking never wavered and was inspiring to read. It was not until the very end of the book that I began to understand what she was really all about and by then, I was completely captivated.
January 12, 2020
Margaret Oliphant was already a well-known writer at the time she wrote and published "Miss Marjoribanks" in 1866. Oliphant's series for Blackwood's, "The Chronicles of Carlingford," had been in progress and "Miss Marjoribanks" was the fifth novel in the series. Q. D. Leavis wrote of the novel:
"Lucilla is a triumphant intermediary between Jane Austen's Emma and George Eliot's Dorothea and, incidentally, more entertaining, more impressive and more likeable than either."
I don't know whether she is a triumphant intermediary, it's been a long time since I read either Austen or Eliot, but I know I thoroughly enjoyed Lucilla just the way she is. Oh, and as for Q. D. Leavis, yes I had to look up who she was and although that turned out to be very interesting it has little to do with our story, so all I'll say is that she was an English literary critic and essayist. Although this book is the fifth in the series, chronologically, it is the earliest. Because of that every now and then I found myself a little confused with the timeline of things. For instance, one character who dies during the last part of the novel, I am almost positive is alive and well in "The Perpetual Curate"which takes place after "Miss Majoribanks". But that didn't take away from the pleasure I had reading this novel at all.
This is the story of Lucilla, the doctor's daughter who comes home from school to take charge of the town of Carlingford, and to be a comfort to papa. The story begins with the death of Lucilla's mother when Lucilla is only fifteen. She is away at school at the time, and on her way home she turns the situation over in her mind, "which was considerably enlightened by novels and popular philosophy ." During the trip she makes certain "virtuous resolutions" such as "to devote herself to her father's comfort, and become the sunshine of his life, as so many young persons of her age have been known to become in literature." She wants to make a cheerful home for her father, and making a cheerful home, in her young mind will involve many changes - changes which include furniture, carpeting and curtains. However, when she makes it clear to the doctor that she plans to leave school and be a comfort to papa (get used to that, you'll see it often), she finds that her father has absolutely no desire to be comforted, he has little need of sympathy by nature, and it would have been a satisfaction to him to be left to himself, going about his work, seeing his patients and writing his papers.
She is sent back to school where she remains for the next three years learning all about political economy (whatever that is) to help her manage everything and, here it comes, be a comfort to papa, then she spends the next year traveling abroad. As for poor papa, he seems to take care of himself just fine without his daughter during her years away from home:
"but, on the whole, it was undeniable that he managed tolerably well in external matters, and gave very good men's dinners, and kept everything in perfect order, so far as it went."
Now the book gets really fun. Lucilla, when planning her remodel of the drawing room picks the colors to match her complexion, something I've never thought of doing:
"Papa, if you have no objection, I should like to choose the colours myself. There is a great deal in choosing colours that go well with one's complexion. People think of that for their dresses, but not for their rooms, which are of so much more importance. I should have liked blue, but blue gets so soon tawdry. I think," said Miss Marjoribanks, rising and looking at herself seriously in the glass, "that I have enough complexion at present to venture upon a pale spring green."
This little calculation, which a timid young woman would have taken care to do by herself, Lucilla did publicly, with her usual discrimination. The Doctor, who had looked a little grim at first, could not but laugh when he saw the sober look of care and thought with which Miss Marjoribanks examined her capabilities in the glass.
Lucilla was quite in earnest in thinking that the colour of the drawing-room was an important matter, and that a woman of sense had very good reason for suiting it to her complexion—an idea which accordingly she proceeded to develop and explain.
"For one can change one's dress," said Miss Marjoribanks, "as often as one likes—at least as often, you know, as one has dresses to change; but the furniture remains the same. I am always a perfect guy, whatever I wear, when I sit against a red curtain. You men say that a woman always knows when she's good-looking, but I am happy to say I know when I look a guy. What I mean is a delicate pale green, papa. For my part, I think it wears just as well as any other colour; and all the painters say it is the very thing for pictures.
Once her drawing room is finally decorated, during which we find Lucilla measuring for carpet by having her cousin Tom walk back and forth across the room and holding a "delicious damask, softly, spiritually green" up against herself to choose curtains leaving Mr. Holden, fashionable upholsterer unsure whether she wants dresses or curtains; now Lucilla is finally ready to begin to hold her Thursday "evenings". She tells her father:
"Dear papa," said Lucilla sweetly, "it is so dreadful to hear you say parties. Everybody knows that the only thing I care for in life is to be a comfort to you; and as for dancing, I saw at once that was out of the question. Dancing is all very well," said Miss Marjoribanks thoughtfully; "but it implies quantities of young people—and young people can never make what I call society. It is Evenings I mean to have, papa."
Lucilla does begin to have her Evenings and she has them every Thursday for the next ten years. We meet all sorts of interesting people at her meetings. There is Barbara Lake, a poor drawing-master's daughter with a beautiful contralto voice, with whom Lucilla sings a duet. There is also Mr. Cavendish, a wealthy and respectable gentleman who is likely to be the next M.P. of Carlingford upon the death of the old member, Chiltern, who ruins his plans for quite a long time by not dying. Mr. Cavendish shows some interest in Lucilla, however he also shows interest in Barbara, especially in her singing voice which he seems to be obsessed with. Mr. Cavendish also has a secret that although Lucilla knows and keeps his secret, it ends whatever interest she may have had in him. There is also an Archdeacon, Mr. Beverly who also shows an interest in Lucilla, however something from his past comes between them. Then we have Aunt Jemima, Tom's mother; Rose Lake, Barbara's sister and a young promising artist; Mrs. Woodburn, Cavendish's sister, I could go on and on, but I won't.
Lucilla is a talented and smart woman who has no other outlet for her ability to manage absolutely everything than the society of Carlingford, after all she is a woman. Lucilla's reactions to socially difficult situations are always calmer than those of everyone else around her. When everyone else is awake most of the night pacing the floor and assuming Lucilla is doing the same, she is home sleeping peacefully. I love the way she reacts to things, much better than I would most of the time. As I said earlier there were moments of confusion for me, but not many and they really didn't matter. It was still fun to read. I would definitely read more from this author, although I've never seen another book by her in any bookstore I've been in, so it doesn't seem likely I will, not for awhile anyway.
"Lucilla is a triumphant intermediary between Jane Austen's Emma and George Eliot's Dorothea and, incidentally, more entertaining, more impressive and more likeable than either."
I don't know whether she is a triumphant intermediary, it's been a long time since I read either Austen or Eliot, but I know I thoroughly enjoyed Lucilla just the way she is. Oh, and as for Q. D. Leavis, yes I had to look up who she was and although that turned out to be very interesting it has little to do with our story, so all I'll say is that she was an English literary critic and essayist. Although this book is the fifth in the series, chronologically, it is the earliest. Because of that every now and then I found myself a little confused with the timeline of things. For instance, one character who dies during the last part of the novel, I am almost positive is alive and well in "The Perpetual Curate"which takes place after "Miss Majoribanks". But that didn't take away from the pleasure I had reading this novel at all.
This is the story of Lucilla, the doctor's daughter who comes home from school to take charge of the town of Carlingford, and to be a comfort to papa. The story begins with the death of Lucilla's mother when Lucilla is only fifteen. She is away at school at the time, and on her way home she turns the situation over in her mind, "which was considerably enlightened by novels and popular philosophy ." During the trip she makes certain "virtuous resolutions" such as "to devote herself to her father's comfort, and become the sunshine of his life, as so many young persons of her age have been known to become in literature." She wants to make a cheerful home for her father, and making a cheerful home, in her young mind will involve many changes - changes which include furniture, carpeting and curtains. However, when she makes it clear to the doctor that she plans to leave school and be a comfort to papa (get used to that, you'll see it often), she finds that her father has absolutely no desire to be comforted, he has little need of sympathy by nature, and it would have been a satisfaction to him to be left to himself, going about his work, seeing his patients and writing his papers.
She is sent back to school where she remains for the next three years learning all about political economy (whatever that is) to help her manage everything and, here it comes, be a comfort to papa, then she spends the next year traveling abroad. As for poor papa, he seems to take care of himself just fine without his daughter during her years away from home:
"but, on the whole, it was undeniable that he managed tolerably well in external matters, and gave very good men's dinners, and kept everything in perfect order, so far as it went."
Now the book gets really fun. Lucilla, when planning her remodel of the drawing room picks the colors to match her complexion, something I've never thought of doing:
"Papa, if you have no objection, I should like to choose the colours myself. There is a great deal in choosing colours that go well with one's complexion. People think of that for their dresses, but not for their rooms, which are of so much more importance. I should have liked blue, but blue gets so soon tawdry. I think," said Miss Marjoribanks, rising and looking at herself seriously in the glass, "that I have enough complexion at present to venture upon a pale spring green."
This little calculation, which a timid young woman would have taken care to do by herself, Lucilla did publicly, with her usual discrimination. The Doctor, who had looked a little grim at first, could not but laugh when he saw the sober look of care and thought with which Miss Marjoribanks examined her capabilities in the glass.
Lucilla was quite in earnest in thinking that the colour of the drawing-room was an important matter, and that a woman of sense had very good reason for suiting it to her complexion—an idea which accordingly she proceeded to develop and explain.
"For one can change one's dress," said Miss Marjoribanks, "as often as one likes—at least as often, you know, as one has dresses to change; but the furniture remains the same. I am always a perfect guy, whatever I wear, when I sit against a red curtain. You men say that a woman always knows when she's good-looking, but I am happy to say I know when I look a guy. What I mean is a delicate pale green, papa. For my part, I think it wears just as well as any other colour; and all the painters say it is the very thing for pictures.
Once her drawing room is finally decorated, during which we find Lucilla measuring for carpet by having her cousin Tom walk back and forth across the room and holding a "delicious damask, softly, spiritually green" up against herself to choose curtains leaving Mr. Holden, fashionable upholsterer unsure whether she wants dresses or curtains; now Lucilla is finally ready to begin to hold her Thursday "evenings". She tells her father:
"Dear papa," said Lucilla sweetly, "it is so dreadful to hear you say parties. Everybody knows that the only thing I care for in life is to be a comfort to you; and as for dancing, I saw at once that was out of the question. Dancing is all very well," said Miss Marjoribanks thoughtfully; "but it implies quantities of young people—and young people can never make what I call society. It is Evenings I mean to have, papa."
Lucilla does begin to have her Evenings and she has them every Thursday for the next ten years. We meet all sorts of interesting people at her meetings. There is Barbara Lake, a poor drawing-master's daughter with a beautiful contralto voice, with whom Lucilla sings a duet. There is also Mr. Cavendish, a wealthy and respectable gentleman who is likely to be the next M.P. of Carlingford upon the death of the old member, Chiltern, who ruins his plans for quite a long time by not dying. Mr. Cavendish shows some interest in Lucilla, however he also shows interest in Barbara, especially in her singing voice which he seems to be obsessed with. Mr. Cavendish also has a secret that although Lucilla knows and keeps his secret, it ends whatever interest she may have had in him. There is also an Archdeacon, Mr. Beverly who also shows an interest in Lucilla, however something from his past comes between them. Then we have Aunt Jemima, Tom's mother; Rose Lake, Barbara's sister and a young promising artist; Mrs. Woodburn, Cavendish's sister, I could go on and on, but I won't.
Lucilla is a talented and smart woman who has no other outlet for her ability to manage absolutely everything than the society of Carlingford, after all she is a woman. Lucilla's reactions to socially difficult situations are always calmer than those of everyone else around her. When everyone else is awake most of the night pacing the floor and assuming Lucilla is doing the same, she is home sleeping peacefully. I love the way she reacts to things, much better than I would most of the time. As I said earlier there were moments of confusion for me, but not many and they really didn't matter. It was still fun to read. I would definitely read more from this author, although I've never seen another book by her in any bookstore I've been in, so it doesn't seem likely I will, not for awhile anyway.
October 28, 2022
This was rather wonderful. Unexpectedly very good writing. As I was led to expect, Lucilla Marjoribanks sits somewhere between Austen’s Emma and Eliot’s Dorothea. The style is delightfully light and ironic. A hidden gem of Victorian literature. Quite long though.
April 24, 2021
I am exploring Victorion novels this year, and having read a good share of the well-knowns (Dickens, Brontës, Gaskell, Hardy, Eliot), I have been moving on to lesser remembered authors such as George Gissing and Margaret Oliphant. It's been a delightful journey, with no end in sight!
Mrs. Oliphant was a prolific author, penning 98 novels and dozens of short stories and nonfiction articles. Purportedly, she was a favorite of Queen Victoria, so she achieved a certain level of notoriety in her day. Sadly, most of her novels are out of print, but some can be found on Kindle.
Miss Marjoribanks featured a strong and capable young single woman, whose stated life purpose was to be a comfort to her dear, widowed papa. After securing her education (which included political economy), she moved back home to the small town of Carlingsford. It soon became apparent that she was after much more than to provide parental support; her goal was to conquer the town and serve as the (unappointed) social director.
Mrs. Oliphant paints Lucilla Marjoribanks as a conqueror, a ruler, and a genius --- a woman who knows how to enlist others to support her cause. The family cook became her "prime minister." Her weekly social dinners became the hub of societal affairs, and Lucilla knew how to skillfully draw in even those on the lower rungs of the social ladder. In doing so, she manages to turn the tides in an election, as well as to manipulate many other important affairs of the town.
So many Victorian novels center around marriage, and the making of suitable matches, but Miss Marjoribanks was quite content as a single woman and viewed men with humorous condescension. In fact, the humor was one of the strong points of the writing, I thought.
I was planning to give the novel 4 stars, but the ending took me entirely by surprise and was so delightful, I bumped it up to 5 stars. I will definitely be reading more of Mrs.Oliphant!
Mrs. Oliphant was a prolific author, penning 98 novels and dozens of short stories and nonfiction articles. Purportedly, she was a favorite of Queen Victoria, so she achieved a certain level of notoriety in her day. Sadly, most of her novels are out of print, but some can be found on Kindle.
Miss Marjoribanks featured a strong and capable young single woman, whose stated life purpose was to be a comfort to her dear, widowed papa. After securing her education (which included political economy), she moved back home to the small town of Carlingsford. It soon became apparent that she was after much more than to provide parental support; her goal was to conquer the town and serve as the (unappointed) social director.
Mrs. Oliphant paints Lucilla Marjoribanks as a conqueror, a ruler, and a genius --- a woman who knows how to enlist others to support her cause. The family cook became her "prime minister." Her weekly social dinners became the hub of societal affairs, and Lucilla knew how to skillfully draw in even those on the lower rungs of the social ladder. In doing so, she manages to turn the tides in an election, as well as to manipulate many other important affairs of the town.
So many Victorian novels center around marriage, and the making of suitable matches, but Miss Marjoribanks was quite content as a single woman and viewed men with humorous condescension. In fact, the humor was one of the strong points of the writing, I thought.
I was planning to give the novel 4 stars, but the ending took me entirely by surprise and was so delightful, I bumped it up to 5 stars. I will definitely be reading more of Mrs.Oliphant!
October 19, 2017
This book has changed my mind about Victorian literature. It is exquisitely funny and I absolutely love the cast of characters, but above all others Lucilla is a person I adore.
Lucilla is a bit like a refined bull in a china shop, but her heart is in the right place. We get a really entertaining look at social history, from the idea that "one goes off after a certain age" to the intensely vacuous nature of Victorian society.
I loved how the story finished and couldn't imagine a more fitting future for our heroine.
All in all, although this novel is extremely wordy, it was written by a very talented wordsmith and the story of the author shows how women were starting to flex their muscles towards emancipation.
This was the first novel completed in this year's Victober event and now on to the next.......
Lucilla is a bit like a refined bull in a china shop, but her heart is in the right place. We get a really entertaining look at social history, from the idea that "one goes off after a certain age" to the intensely vacuous nature of Victorian society.
I loved how the story finished and couldn't imagine a more fitting future for our heroine.
All in all, although this novel is extremely wordy, it was written by a very talented wordsmith and the story of the author shows how women were starting to flex their muscles towards emancipation.
This was the first novel completed in this year's Victober event and now on to the next.......
September 22, 2009
This is a novel about small-town Victorian society told in the driest, most sarcastic style. Oliphant has few illusions about the strictures and privileges of genteel life, an no illusions at all about her sturdy heroine. Miss Lucille Marjoribanks is a strong-willed, large-bodied young woman with little sense of humor or wit but an incredible talent for social interaction. Within a matter of months, she is the center of her little town of Carlingford's society. Told with a light, yet hilarious narrative style, this is a funny yet insightful look at mid-Victorian society.
March 14, 2021
Valutazione 3,5 stelline.
Lettura abbastanza piacevole, la storia parte un po' lenta, la prima parte mi sembra un po' troppo tirata per le lunghe, la seconda molto più compatta e quindi di più gradevole lettura. Il romanzo è tipicamente vittoriano, al quale non manca un tocco di ironia e umorismo, con una eroina imperturbabile, o quasi, che potrebbe ricordare vagamente la Emma Woodhouse austeniana ma con meno soldi, più simpatia, forse non esattamente dalle prime battute del romanzo, un piglio più determinato, una personalità più acuta e concreta alla quale non manca una certa ambizione e una bontà d'animo che ne fanno un personaggio davvero singolare. Le ambizioni di Lucilla sono essenzialmente "essere di conforto al suo caro papà", avere il pieno controllo ma anche riformare la vita sociale di Carlingford dal suo salotto verde chiaro che s'intona stupendamente con la sua carnagione, con polso fermo ma allo stesso tempo caritatevole e, il più delle volte, ci riesce con successo. La vediamo crescere e maturare pagina dopo pagina, senza cedere mai a personali sentimentalismi, fino a quando ormai 29enne, si trova inaspettatamente a prendere quella decisione che aveva posposto per tanti anni... La traduzione non mi è sembrata sempre impeccabile, probabilmente la lettura dell'originale risulterebbe più godibile. Inoltre l'edizione Elliot contiene parecchi refusi un po' antipatici, ma ne vale la pena e la curiosità di leggere gli altri libri della serie, è tanta...
Lettura abbastanza piacevole, la storia parte un po' lenta, la prima parte mi sembra un po' troppo tirata per le lunghe, la seconda molto più compatta e quindi di più gradevole lettura. Il romanzo è tipicamente vittoriano, al quale non manca un tocco di ironia e umorismo, con una eroina imperturbabile, o quasi, che potrebbe ricordare vagamente la Emma Woodhouse austeniana ma con meno soldi, più simpatia, forse non esattamente dalle prime battute del romanzo, un piglio più determinato, una personalità più acuta e concreta alla quale non manca una certa ambizione e una bontà d'animo che ne fanno un personaggio davvero singolare. Le ambizioni di Lucilla sono essenzialmente "essere di conforto al suo caro papà", avere il pieno controllo ma anche riformare la vita sociale di Carlingford dal suo salotto verde chiaro che s'intona stupendamente con la sua carnagione, con polso fermo ma allo stesso tempo caritatevole e, il più delle volte, ci riesce con successo. La vediamo crescere e maturare pagina dopo pagina, senza cedere mai a personali sentimentalismi, fino a quando ormai 29enne, si trova inaspettatamente a prendere quella decisione che aveva posposto per tanti anni... La traduzione non mi è sembrata sempre impeccabile, probabilmente la lettura dell'originale risulterebbe più godibile. Inoltre l'edizione Elliot contiene parecchi refusi un po' antipatici, ma ne vale la pena e la curiosità di leggere gli altri libri della serie, è tanta...
February 1, 2019
Lucilla Marjoribanks is eighteen, and lecturing a young school-friend.
"You know I have seen a good deal of the world, one way and another...and I could tell you quantities of things. It is quite astonishing how much experience one gets. When I was at Midhurst, at Easter, there was my cousin Tom, who was quite ridiculous; ... a boy not much older than myself, with nothing but what his mother pleases! Fortunately he did not just say the words, so I escaped that time; but, of course, I could understand perfectly what he meant. [But] I am not likely to fall into any danger of that sort. My only ambition, Fanny, as I have told you often, is to go home to Carlingford and be a comfort to dear papa."
Mrs Oliphant is half-disapproving, half-fascinated by Lucilla's self-absorption, but throws herself into Lucilla's story. Very little actually happens - but that's not the point. Against Lucilla's single-minded energy, dominating the little town of Carlingford, are set the slighter stories (some bitter, some humourous, all acutely observed) of her neighbours. In some ways, E.F. Benson's Lucia owes much to her almost-namesake.
Lovely subtle stuff - and if you like this, Mrs Oliphant wrote other Chronicles of Carlingford which are, if anything, even better.
"You know I have seen a good deal of the world, one way and another...and I could tell you quantities of things. It is quite astonishing how much experience one gets. When I was at Midhurst, at Easter, there was my cousin Tom, who was quite ridiculous; ... a boy not much older than myself, with nothing but what his mother pleases! Fortunately he did not just say the words, so I escaped that time; but, of course, I could understand perfectly what he meant. [But] I am not likely to fall into any danger of that sort. My only ambition, Fanny, as I have told you often, is to go home to Carlingford and be a comfort to dear papa."
Mrs Oliphant is half-disapproving, half-fascinated by Lucilla's self-absorption, but throws herself into Lucilla's story. Very little actually happens - but that's not the point. Against Lucilla's single-minded energy, dominating the little town of Carlingford, are set the slighter stories (some bitter, some humourous, all acutely observed) of her neighbours. In some ways, E.F. Benson's Lucia owes much to her almost-namesake.
Lovely subtle stuff - and if you like this, Mrs Oliphant wrote other Chronicles of Carlingford which are, if anything, even better.
September 17, 2014
This was my first read of a novel by Margaret Oliphant and it will be, for the foreseeable future at least, the last time I will read her. Yes, I did find much gentle wit and satire, and yes the novel did shine a light, albeit rather feebly, of the foibles and many serious gender issues in the 19C, but the haystack was large and the needle was small, and the effort not really worth the time.
Jane Austen is able to create more engaging characters and write about gender issues with more insight and skill than Oliphant, and Oscar Wilde is far more incisive with his wit and social commentary. To read Oliphant is to experience a diluted version of Austen and Wilde while spending hours reading with not much payback as a reward.
Sorry, this book was not for me.
Jane Austen is able to create more engaging characters and write about gender issues with more insight and skill than Oliphant, and Oscar Wilde is far more incisive with his wit and social commentary. To read Oliphant is to experience a diluted version of Austen and Wilde while spending hours reading with not much payback as a reward.
Sorry, this book was not for me.
August 20, 2008
What a great find, and refreshing as it lacks much of the high melodrama so common in most 19th century literature. Miss Lucilla Marjoribanks comes home from school determined to be a comfort to dear papa and sets the good doctor and the entire town on their ears, with her brilliant manipulations.
The characters are wonderful, the story has lots of ups and downs that Lucilla is always capable of meeting with great ingenuity and fortitude. There are many wonderful moments and lots of laughter along with a few tears. Higly recommended, particularly for anyone who enjoys 19th century English literature.
The characters are wonderful, the story has lots of ups and downs that Lucilla is always capable of meeting with great ingenuity and fortitude. There are many wonderful moments and lots of laughter along with a few tears. Higly recommended, particularly for anyone who enjoys 19th century English literature.
August 20, 2016
A refreshingly different Victorian novel, in which the heroine and her adventures are described with great affection and subtle irony. After my recent diet of Elizabeth Gaskell, this was delightfully light fare. Why have I never heard of this author before?
February 18, 2024
A little bit of padding here and there, as is to be expected from this type of Victorian novel, but completely enjoyable from start to finish. Witty and more complex/subtle than you might think.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 171 reviews