While there are certainly some interesting facts to be gleaned here, the overall disorganization, repetition, and confusion makes it necessary to gleaWhile there are certainly some interesting facts to be gleaned here, the overall disorganization, repetition, and confusion makes it necessary to glean them in the first place. ...more
Very interesting in terms of Jewish-American history, feminist history, and cultural representation in literature; not so great in terms of plot and cVery interesting in terms of Jewish-American history, feminist history, and cultural representation in literature; not so great in terms of plot and character....more
Super interesting and very well done. It took some effort for me to readjust to reading serious academic writing, but once I was in, I was in. I may hSuper interesting and very well done. It took some effort for me to readjust to reading serious academic writing, but once I was in, I was in. I may have to actually buy a copy.
- "Counseled to be passive in relation to men, women were allowed to act with initiative and spontaneity toward female friends, and friendship enabled women to exercise powers of choice and expression that they could not display in relation to parents or prospective husbands." p. 56. - "In Victorian lifewriting, passionate references to hearts on fire and burning with love are a sure sign that a woman is about to discuss Jesus." p. 63. - "In Victorian fiction, it is only the woman who has no bosom friend who risks becoming, like Lucy Snowe, one whom no man will ever clasp to his heart in marriage, a friendless woman who remains perpetually outside the bosom of the family." - p.108, ref. Villette. - "Victorian commodity culture incited an erotic appetite for femininity in women, framed spectacular images of women for a female gaze, and prompted women's fantasies about dominating a woman or submitting to one. Victorian society accepted female homoeroticism as a component of respectable womanhood and encouraged women and girls to desire, scrutinize, and handle simulacra of alluring femininity." p. 112. - "Fashion, often associated with a sexually charged inconstancy, becomes a respectable form of promiscuity for women, a form of female cruising, in which strangers who inspect each other in passing can establish an immediate intimacy because they participate in a common public culture whose medium is clothing." p. 121. - Corporal punishment is where pornography, usually considered a masculine affair, intersects with fashion magazines targeted at women. [...] Other pornographic publications actually reprinted verbatim material first published in fashion magazines." p. 140. - "Like a mythical figure, the doll simultaneously embodied opposed states: adult and child, husband and wife, slave and mistress, adoring and adored, punisher and punished, subject and object." p. 165. - "Having acquired a girl of her own without submitting to a father or husband, Miss Havisham turns that girl into a phallus. [...] Another way to put this is that Miss Havisham turns Estella into a dildo, a surrogate appendage 'mould[ed[ into the form that her wild resentment, spurned affection, and wounded pride, found vengeance in' (394). [...] Like a dildo, Estella is endowed with the power of the woman who wields her but has no sensation of her own. [...] Put differently, Estella is Miss Havisham's fashion plate and doll, trained to toy with men." p. 174-5, ref. Great Expectations. - "Forced by necessity to construct ad hoc legal frameworks for their relationships, nineteenth-century women in female marriages not only were precursors of late twentieth-century 'same-sex domestic partners,' but also anticipated forms of marriage between men and women that were only institutionalized decades after their deaths." p. 206. - "For marriage between men and women to be equal, feminists argued, single women had to be able to lead practicable and pleasurable lives. The demand to reform marriage began as a quest to make it more equal and more flexible, then evolved into a demand to make it less obligatory. To change the quality of life for the unmarried would alter marriage itself." p. 208. - "If nineteenth-century Europeans did not uniformly assume that the union of man and woman was the only civilized form of marriage it was due in part to the antic heterogeneity of public opinion about what form the institution should take. The 1850s and 1860s were defined by arguments, not agreement, over what constituted marriage and family, and same-sex marriage informed those debates." p. 225. - "Like most middle-class Victorians, Trollope valued intimacy between women as a component of normative femininity and hence as a basis for marriage. Female marriage perturbed Trollope because of its links to a troubling innovation in marriage between men and women -- the feminist reform of marriage into a dissoluble and egalitarian contract. [...] To narrate the triumph of hierarchical marriage and female amity, however, Trollope must acknowledge the existence and attractions of contractual and female marriage as viable social forms legible within the realist novel's social order." p. 228 , ref Can You Forgive Her?...more
Excellent. A history book that is actually interesting and engaging and not at all dry, and also gives in addition to biography quite a detailed pictuExcellent. A history book that is actually interesting and engaging and not at all dry, and also gives in addition to biography quite a detailed picture of the British political scene at the time. Very nice. Two things: 1. Aren't we all completely shocked that even the most powerful and politically active of women get erased from history and eventually rewritten in movies as reduced to their scandalous sex lives and hairstyles? NO. No, we are not. 2. If you read contemporary Regency romance novels (hello!), reading this will really let you know who has or has not done their research. It's Eloisa James, mostly. Ok, actually three things. 3. It's also SUPER satisfying to realize that Caroline Bingley was seriously a jumped-up social climber who was only trying to ape the Duchess of Devonshire's accent and importance, isn't it? I certainly liked it....more
Lots of big problematic stuff here, such as racism and class divides in British-controlled India and the stigmatization of mental illness. The author Lots of big problematic stuff here, such as racism and class divides in British-controlled India and the stigmatization of mental illness. The author definitely tries to deal with these humanely, but doesn't succeed very well. The entire cast was a passel of stereotypes of one sort or another. Nearly all their actions and motivations rang hollow in the end.
I found the story to be only so-so and often inadequately connected. There are a few unduly tell-y and portentous lines which turned out to have payoffs not compelling enough to justify them. Some pieces of the story were unceremoniously dropped for no reason after much build-up; some earlier unimportant pieces came back into the story much later, also for no reason. I'm not impressed....more
This story of the life of St. Cecilia is evidently supposed to be inspirational, but it actually reaffirmed my opinion that religion is stupid, uselesThis story of the life of St. Cecilia is evidently supposed to be inspirational, but it actually reaffirmed my opinion that religion is stupid, useless bullshit. I really wanted to like it, but no. Lives of women in ancient Rome = super interesting. Life of a saint in ancient Rome = substantially less so. ...more
A narrow social history about how American daughters of the nouveau riche, not acceptable in NY society of the 1870s to early 1900s, instead went to LA narrow social history about how American daughters of the nouveau riche, not acceptable in NY society of the 1870s to early 1900s, instead went to London, bought ten times as many fancy clothes as anyone else, and married impoverished English lords who needed their money to build up their completely insane inherited manors and castles and grounds. While there is a lot of good information here, the format -- lots and lots of two-page sections jammed together without a lot of connection -- makes it harder to read and overall much more fluffy and occasional than I prefer. ...more
Super interesting and compelling to read. People who think Game of Thrones is full of political subtlety should read this and discover just how wrong Super interesting and compelling to read. People who think Game of Thrones is full of political subtlety should read this and discover just how wrong they really are.
On the surface, this is the story of the early life of Hild, later to become St. Hilda of Whitby, as she serves as seer to the court of 7th century Anglisc king Edwin. It's a bildungsroman and a personal/political balancing act all at once. But besides that, it's also a vivid picture of what could have been in this culture. The whole story is centered on observation and carefully planned political action within the court (such as it is--"court" is almost a foreign concept compared to how this government operates). The book is really about the reader coming to understand the complexities of life at the time alongside Hild.
I really appreciated that Hild is not one of those pseudo-historical protagonists who somehow acts according to the ideas and ethics of the 20th century. No: Hild is a product of her time, such that the story includes a few things that we'd consider reprehensible. For instance, Hild buys a slave and keeps her for years. The concept of incest doesn't seem to exist yet. Etc. Ancient British culture seems much more real when you see the characters actually operating by its mores instead of ours.
This isn't to say there are no flaws. It's hard to keep track of who is who, or even to remember all the different names, both because there's no index of people besides the very limited royal family tree, and because the names are in a variety of ancient languages and are thus unscannable and unpronounceable without actually mastering those languages. Without a key, you can't do the sound/symbol association that is one of the most basic skills of reading. So that makes the story harder to follow.
There's also one line--"men are afraid that women will laugh at them; women are afraid that men will kill them"--that I've heard a lot lately, and it struck me as strange because of that. But then I started wondering whether the line had hit Tumblr in the first place because of this book. ?? Either way, it's not out of place in the actual narrative. **Late note: NOPE, it's a Margaret Atwood quote. CITE YOUR SOURCES, PEOPLE.**
As a whole it was very well done, so much so that I'm actually considering buying a copy. I also really want to read a lot more early British & Anglo-Saxon history now. So: yes....more
I certainly seem to have a talent for picking out the most depressing and stressful books to read lately. The interconnections between all the differeI certainly seem to have a talent for picking out the most depressing and stressful books to read lately. The interconnections between all the different threads are not all that convincing to me. Some of them, yes. All of them, no. I also predicted the big reveal at the end of the second section as soon as I read the bit about Helen not wanting to go to the shelter. Super obvious....more
It's hard to describe just how much race, class, gender, political points of view, and nationalism together dominate this book. The confluence is astoIt's hard to describe just how much race, class, gender, political points of view, and nationalism together dominate this book. The confluence is astounding and overwhelming.
I don't think I have ever seen a main character go through such a volte-face as Sophia does here. From aloof and distant English mother, frigidly estranged wife, wealthy mistress of a large estate, and coldly superior beneficiary to those she considers beneath her, holding the corresponding horrifying race, class, and gender positions of the upper class of the mid-Victorian period, to penniless Parisian lesbian lover of a similarly penniless Lithuanian Jew, working to supply iron to the secret Communist munition-makers of the revolution of 1848, loading weapons on the barricade and speaking her own mind loudly to whoever she comes across? Yes....more
Eh. Mystery novels are not my thing, due to too much exposition and lack of rereadability, but this was all right. I do like historical novels, especiEh. Mystery novels are not my thing, due to too much exposition and lack of rereadability, but this was all right. I do like historical novels, especially those concentrating on odd bits and pieces such as Cade's rebellion, and as far as I can tell the details were done well, so that's all good. I could do without the deus ex machina-style "Whoops! My sleuth character, Dame Frevisse, just happens to be totally accepted and trusted by a previously unfamiliar household! Isn't it convenient that she can now solve these murders?" business, as well as the use of cardboard stock characters and the marginally relevant scattered paragraphs on the nature of christian faith. I mean, yes, the main character is a nun, but the faith discussion has next to nothing to do with solving the murders at hand. Also, the original plot turns out to be a sham side construct to get Dame Frevisse into place, and ends up being dropped unceremoniously halfway through the book. Not impressive.
Whatever. Not bad; not great. I have no qualms about adding it to the sell pile....more
I'm listing this as history, because it sort of is.
This book works as a story of a relationship rather than an entire biography, and that's fine. ThatI'm listing this as history, because it sort of is.
This book works as a story of a relationship rather than an entire biography, and that's fine. That's actually quite good.
I also have to say it made me homesick for Brooklyn, Clinton Hill, and the diner up on DeKalb. We only lived there for 1.5 years. Why does Brooklyn evoke this degree of nostalgia?
Once they made the move to Chelsea, the book became less compelling for me. The narrative shifted to focus on which people were around, who saw who, what names we now recognize, instead of simply on the core relationship. Well, relationships often do get progressively more complex. Still.
Managing a good frame for a narrative of this type is pretty clearly difficult.
This one took awhile not really because of length but because it was too big to really carry around. Now I am finished! HUZZAH etc.
Primary sources arThis one took awhile not really because of length but because it was too big to really carry around. Now I am finished! HUZZAH etc.
Primary sources are generally very interesting as long as you are interested in the subject matter and time period. I was interested in both, and so liked it very much.
When I started reading, the balance of the book seemed odd and off-kilter. Much of the Mitfords' fame/notoriety came right around the WWII era, so why was there such a large proportion of letters left after 1950? Well, it became apparent as I read that I just have not lived long enough yet to get a good handle on the potential scope of a lifetime.
Other than that: - The stories were pretty awesome, and became more so cumulatively. Besides the actual personal history--which is very compelling--we get not just gossip/etc about Hitler and the various Nazi officials, but also about people like Prince Charles and Stephen Fry (who apparently looked up Debo Mitford when trying to get a handle on characterization for Vile Bodies!) AWESOME. - Nicknames. It's like trying to decipher a secret language, and an entirely different one than Boudledidge (the younger Mitfords' actual invented secret language). They came up with some truly excellent names. Example: Queen Elizabeth is "Cake." Again, AWESOME.
In short, it's definitely worth a read if you're interested in 1. British social history ca 1930-2000, 2. the Mitford family or any one Mitford, and/or 3. puzzling through bits and pieces of insider info so as to get at the real story of a certain person, time, or story....more
I have to say I'm rapidly falling prey to Mitford mania, to the point where I've spent the last twenty minutes listing call numbers to check next timeI have to say I'm rapidly falling prey to Mitford mania, to the point where I've spent the last twenty minutes listing call numbers to check next time I'm at the library (i.e. in a half hour or so). Decca's prose is funny and wry, yet straightforward, making this autobiography approachable and quick. I was actually a little surprised by the short length until I realized she stopped the story at about age twenty; then it made sense.
The mix of political/historical content with family relationships and personal development is definitely compelling. I hesitate to say that it "makes 30s Britain/social history/the run-up to WWII feel real," etc., since those have always seemed overwhelmingly real and important to me. Still, seeing the details about this particular very active family gives the situation new context, adding a level of nuance that sharpens my interest. ...more
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