The Scarlet Pimpernel

Baroness Orczy (1865-1947) – What a great adventure this book holds! I couldn’t put it down. The story was a little different than what I anticipated, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Scarlet Pimpernel is an unknown English gentleman helping to rescue countless French noblemen from their doom on the guillotine. The identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel is so well concealed that even his wife has not the slightest suspicion. The story mostly follows Lady Blakeney. She has to decide between betraying the identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel (which is unknown to even her) and the life of her brother. This decision leads her on an adventure to find her husband and warn him of the danger that is coming. Fortunatly he is not as dumb as most think he is. His cover of being a fool makes him unsuspected and leads to his success. There is rekindled love between Lady Blakeney and her husband Percy. This of course is interesting to read. It adds a little flavor to the story. I think it is quite obvious that a woman wrote this book. The characters and the story line are definitely following a woman’s ideas. The contrast of a woman’s romantic story is quite different from a man’s. I do recommend this for anyone that is looking for a quick read of an adventure with a dash of romance.

Nicholas Nickleby

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) – I must say that Dickens is now one of my favorite authors. He has a very creative way of writing about social injustices while adding a comical air to the seriousness of it. He doesn’t take lightly the atrocities that children and the poor class went through, but he does present them with a picture of comedy. He also has a way of describing people so that you know them in the first introduction. Not only their physical description, but mostly in their character and attitude. My favorite character was probably Mrs. Nickleby. She was also very annoying. She would chatter on and on about things that don’t make any sense and aren’t relevant to the conversation. Her long winded stories about people she knew in the past and those around her amused me very much. Nicholas on the other had is also a favorite character. He is of course the hero of the story. He stands up for what he believes is right and works hard to achieve a happy life for his mother and sister. They suffered very much in the beginning after the death of Mr. Nickleby. Nicholas’ adventures in the book show how courageous and strong he was just to provide a safe home for his mother and sister. His uncle, Ralph Nickleby, was definitely the villain of the story. He really had no heart towards anyone. It was very frustrating to me to read of his plans against Nicholas and his family. I wanted to always find Nicholas and warn him of the danger that was at hand. Especially when it came to Ralph and his old friend’s scheme to marry the young, fair Madeline Bray. She was an angel in troubled waters. The plans of Ralph were of course thwarted by the friends of Madeline. And much to Nicholas’ joy because he loved her, but this was unknown to anyone until the end of the book. There really is a lot that goes on in this story and it is hard to summarize it all. It does have a happy ending, the kind you hope for, for good people like Nicholas. I’m looking forward to reading more of Dickens’ novels. He is a very skilled writer.

The Man in the Iron Mask

Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) – This story, in my opinion, wasn’t one of the best written by Dumas. The story line was well done, but the way in which it was written was difficult for me to follow. It jumped into the middle of confusion and right off the bat it was hard to know what was going on. Many times it would follow one person on their part of the story and when they would meet up with someone else of importance it would follow them for a few chapters and then go back to the other person. It sounds confusing to even describe it. Fortunately a few of the characters I was already familiar with from reading The Three Musketeers. The famous musketeers come back in this story to fight against each other, preserving what they each believe to be in the true interest of the kingdom. I did thoroughly enjoy the story. After finishing it I think it was easier to understand what was went on and how it came to that ending. The adventures that were carried out in this story were very true to Dumas’ natural writing. He captures the adventure in chases and sword fights. I love the action that goes on in his books. The book didn’t follow the story line that I at first thought it might. It seemed to move very quickly to different directions. Again, I almost didn’t know what was going on until I finished the book. The story progresses from one moment to the next very quickly and the story completely changes. It is quite interesting to read. I do recommend it, most likely right after reading The Three Musketeers. I think it would help to keep the characters straight and also to keep up with the writing style.

The Romance of the Forest

Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823) – It was a little hard for me to get into this book. The beginning seemed to have a slow start. The build up to the main events of the story were good background, but were very wordy and slow. At the start of the second volume things started to get interesting. The excitement of kidnapping, deceit and murder along side love, mercy and tenderness complete this tale of Gothic romance. I don’t have too much to say on this book. It was a good read. The ending was very perfect in its completion of the wrong-doers getting what they deserved. The twists of how the characters are all related to one another creates an interesting dynamic as the story progresses. The writing style of Ann Radcliffe is very flowery and full of description. Its fun to read when in an imaginative mood, but if you aren’t in the mood to read its difficult to get through. The actual plot of the story could be told in a much shorter book, but with all the detailed description it doubles the story. Over all it was a good book. But be prepared to get into the imaginative mind of a woman.

The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) – This was a very interesting read. I’m not sure why its one of the great American novels, but it has potential. I’m not too fond of Hawthorne’s writing style. It is very descriptive, but the wording was a little confusing to me at times. The storyline annoyed me also. I don’t think I quite understand the beliefs of the people at that time. If I were to study more into they Puritan lifestyle and know their laws and morals and such I would be much more sympathetic to the characters. This day in age it is nothing out of the ordinary for a woman to have an illegitimate child. And a priest as well. I was really rooting for them to run away. But that stupid husband of hers messed up their plan. The ending is sad, but they did have it coming. Sin always has a consequence. Unfortunately, as religious as that community was, they did not understand the true forgiveness that God grants when people repent. They were living in the past, only thinking of their one wrong doing. If they truly understood the way God works, their lives would have been much happier. Yes, there still would be consequences, but life would have been more joyful. And after that little rant, I suppose I would say this is a book most people should read. It’s a little hard to follow at times, but it’s a good story. One that people can learn from.

Persuasion

Jane Austin (1775-1870) – Jane Austin never fails to enlighten her readers with a book about love, social status and morality. As her last book, it was full of a more mature writing like others have said. But as far as story line goes, it is not my favorite. It seems rather drawn out and the course of events frustrated me. Some of the characters were annoying too. The main character, Anne, finds here self still in love with the man she was engaged to eight years ago. She broke it off then to please the advice of a family friend of great influence. When Captain Wentworth’s family rents Anne’s own home she comes back into contact with him and the feelings are renewed. She obviously likes him still, although she doesn’t admit it until halfway through the book. He is still angry towards her for splitting up, but later gets over it and comes back to her. It’s not a complicated story, but it doesn’t come without an entwinement of characters. Austin uses all her flowery language to describe places, people and character. The formality of the characters between one another was almost too much for me. I just wanted them to run into each other’s arms and proclaim their love. But that doesn’t happen with Jane Austin. She kept the strict rule of social classes intact and made sure that there was pride and deceit on the side of most of the characters. That is one reason I was annoyed. Although I did not like parts of it, this is one of the three Jane Austins that everyone should read. Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion. (At least this is the list of what I’ve read so far.)

Madame Bovary

Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) – Well this book was a little different than what I normally read. It contains a scandalous tale of a woman that has two affairs to satisfy her desire for love. The build up to the main story of the book helped me understand why she didn’t care for her husband. Although he really wasn’t a bad man. She was just blinded by the ideals of love and romance found in fiction stories. This book ends in suicide and a complete devastation of her family. It’s really quite sad to read. Every time she got bored of her life at home I was upset with her at her inability to accept the blessings she has. I don’t think I’ll ever read this book again, but it was a very interesting read. Apparently this book created an uproar when it was published because of the intimate details that were part of Madame Bovary’s affairs. Her adulterous behavior was not something that was to be published. But it was later accepted as a monumental book that change the way book were looked at. I did enjoy reading it because it was different and gave me a new story to read. The style of writing was a little difficult to read. It may be the translation I have or perhaps just Flaubert’s style. It’s in third person past tense but at the same time its revealing things only at the same time the characters find out. It’s interesting now that I think about it, but I was a little annoyed as I read. I had to reread some parts to understand what was happening. If you want something different to read then go for it. Its not bad.