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dangermousieI would be surprised if anyone on my flist has heard of Charles Reade. But he is one of my favorite novelists and was very popular in 19th century.
His most famous book (and it's still in print) is "The Cloister and the Hearth," that is set in pre-Renaissance Europe and follows the adventures and travails of Gerard, a painter, who is forced to leave Netherlands due to scheming of his elder siblings. There is a doomed, star-crossed love affair that makes me cry, hair-raising adventures, funny bits, great secondary characters (my favorite is a Burgundian soldier Dennis who befriends him on the road), and great descriptions of Italy, Germany and France. This one begs to be made into a movie. It's definitely worth a look. Plus, Gerard is crush-worthy.
My favorite of his novels (that I've read) is "Hard Cash." It was wildly popular, created a sensation, and prompted reforms in the mental asylums. The plot is loosely based on a real case, and involves an Oxford graduate, Alfred, whose father has him committed to an insane asylum on the eve of his wedding because he is afraid that the son will reveal the secrets of his dishonest financial dealings and ruin him. I fell in love with the romance and stayed for the really harrowing look at 19th century mental institution conditions. This is a brilliant book. As I said, I love the romance (Alfred is intelligent, high strung and charmingly vulnerable. Also, he goes through hell. And Julia is no dishrag) and the interesting plot convolutions, but the parts that really stick with me and that haven't dated a bit are those that involve the insane asylum and the corruption and the horrible conditions in it. The situation of someone perfectly sane and intelligent who is trapped in a madhouse and cannot prove his condition because people are either bribed (they get paid per patient) or automatically assume he is mad (as they have their heads shaved etc) is a horrible situation and is made awfully vivid 100+ years before "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and similar. Alfred, who is perfectly rational, begins to slide into madness because of the conditions he is in. And of course, there are great scenes of his trying to legally prove his sanity in court. This is a wonderful book and deserves to be better known.
Why am I blathering about Reade? Well, currently I am reading another book of his co-written with Dion Boucicault, called Foul Play involving a man who gets accused and convicted of forgery and theft he did not commit. I haven't gotten much further so am not sure which way this is going, but I like what I see so far. Here's a sample quote, describing the heroine: "a young lady of fair abilities, who had gone through her course of music and other studies, taught brainlessly, and who was now going through a course of monotonous pleasures, and had not accumulated any great store of mental resources--she was listless and languid, and would have yawned forty times in her papa's face, only she was too well-bred." LOL
OK, where can you find Charles Reade books? There is a lovely answer to that one: all three I've mentioned (and some others) are all available for free on http://www.gutenberg.net
Do check him out. He is a wonderful writer.
His most famous book (and it's still in print) is "The Cloister and the Hearth," that is set in pre-Renaissance Europe and follows the adventures and travails of Gerard, a painter, who is forced to leave Netherlands due to scheming of his elder siblings. There is a doomed, star-crossed love affair that makes me cry, hair-raising adventures, funny bits, great secondary characters (my favorite is a Burgundian soldier Dennis who befriends him on the road), and great descriptions of Italy, Germany and France. This one begs to be made into a movie. It's definitely worth a look. Plus, Gerard is crush-worthy.
My favorite of his novels (that I've read) is "Hard Cash." It was wildly popular, created a sensation, and prompted reforms in the mental asylums. The plot is loosely based on a real case, and involves an Oxford graduate, Alfred, whose father has him committed to an insane asylum on the eve of his wedding because he is afraid that the son will reveal the secrets of his dishonest financial dealings and ruin him. I fell in love with the romance and stayed for the really harrowing look at 19th century mental institution conditions. This is a brilliant book. As I said, I love the romance (Alfred is intelligent, high strung and charmingly vulnerable. Also, he goes through hell. And Julia is no dishrag) and the interesting plot convolutions, but the parts that really stick with me and that haven't dated a bit are those that involve the insane asylum and the corruption and the horrible conditions in it. The situation of someone perfectly sane and intelligent who is trapped in a madhouse and cannot prove his condition because people are either bribed (they get paid per patient) or automatically assume he is mad (as they have their heads shaved etc) is a horrible situation and is made awfully vivid 100+ years before "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and similar. Alfred, who is perfectly rational, begins to slide into madness because of the conditions he is in. And of course, there are great scenes of his trying to legally prove his sanity in court. This is a wonderful book and deserves to be better known.
Why am I blathering about Reade? Well, currently I am reading another book of his co-written with Dion Boucicault, called Foul Play involving a man who gets accused and convicted of forgery and theft he did not commit. I haven't gotten much further so am not sure which way this is going, but I like what I see so far. Here's a sample quote, describing the heroine: "a young lady of fair abilities, who had gone through her course of music and other studies, taught brainlessly, and who was now going through a course of monotonous pleasures, and had not accumulated any great store of mental resources--she was listless and languid, and would have yawned forty times in her papa's face, only she was too well-bred." LOL
OK, where can you find Charles Reade books? There is a lovely answer to that one: all three I've mentioned (and some others) are all available for free on http://www.gutenberg.net
Do check him out. He is a wonderful writer.
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Date: 2005-09-13 04:34 pm (UTC)I'm currently struggling my way through Salt which sounded a lot more interesting in the blurb than it seems to be in reality ;)
In terms of classics, I love Dickens but I can never seem to able to defeat Pickwick Papers. I have tried so many times to read that one. I hope that one day I'll love it as much as Nickleby or Our Mutual Friend but for that to happen, I need to be able to actually read it.
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Date: 2005-09-13 04:47 pm (UTC)My husband is reading "Salt" right now. He seems to like it, so I'll see it if appeals to me once he is done.
Dickens. I adore adore ADORE Dickens. My favorite is "Our Mutual Friend." (sigh...Eugene!) I do love "Pickwick Papers" though: I find it hilarious and basically a long collection of character sketches, not like his usual novels at all. I also love Nicholas Nickleby (which had some decent adaptations done recently). I am less fond of "David Copperfield" but must admit to a huge crush on Steerforth.
My least fave of his is "Dombey and Son." It's very well written but scares me a bit.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-13 04:54 pm (UTC)Have you seen the BBC production of Our Mutual Friend with Paul McGann, Anna Friel and Steven Mackintosh? How does someone so weedy and weak looking as Steven Mackintosh manage to come across as so hot???? :) Sorry, I didn't swoon for Eugene ;) This is good though, we won't fight over the same fictional character! ;)
I also like Martin Chuzzlewit and the BBC adaptation.
Salt isn't bad, but the same author wrote "The Basques" and "Cod" and he seems to want to shoehorn a lot of the same information into Salt and I feel like saying: "If I felt like reading so much about Cod, I would have bought Cod!
no subject
Date: 2005-09-13 05:22 pm (UTC)The BBC production is excellent. I actually swoon for book Eugene, but in the adaptation, yes, it's all Stephen Mackintosh.....sigh.
Martin Chuzzlewitt (adaptation and book) are very good.
How about Great Expectations? I love that book.
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Date: 2005-09-14 12:59 am (UTC)I LOVE Great Expectations. I used to own a Penguin edition that had an alternate ending, but traded that in a for a lovely, funky hardback version with a nice cover.
In terms of the D'Arcy Nickleby, I thought it was really lovely, and the scene with Smike asking Nicholas if the outside world was as awful as his present life with the Squeers was so touching. It's possible that I allowed James D'Arcy's face to distract me, but I do remember thinking I loved it ALL except that I thought that:
- the girl they picked to be Madeline Bray was ick.
- I wished they'd reflected the book's ending when Nicholas frees all the children at Dotheboys Hall.
Sophia Myles as Kate was fabulous, and she's also great in Brit movie called 'The Abduction Club.
Love that your LJ talks about all sorts of different things. I was worried I was the only one who had a number of scarily unrelated interests. :)
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Date: 2005-09-14 02:03 pm (UTC)Thanks! Yes, I flit all over the place...
Re: NN. I really want to see the theater production than ran 9 hours. It's available on tape and supposed to be spectacular.
As to Madeleine, like most of Dickens' women, with the exceptions of Estella, Lizzy and Bella in Friend, it's not a particularly stand-out role.
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Date: 2005-09-13 08:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-13 08:21 pm (UTC)Condolences :)
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Date: 2005-09-14 05:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-14 02:01 pm (UTC)