Review of Persuasion

Main Characters : Anne Elliot, Captain Frederick Wentworth, Sir Walter Elliot, Lady Russell

Persuasion by Jane Austen is one of my favourite romantic novels of all time, not only because its plot is a lot like the evergreen Cinderella story written in Jane Austen's quintessential style of restrained emotion and sharp characterisation. Anne Elliot is the middle one among the three daughters of a baronet Sir Walter Elliot, a widower, who has currently fallen on hard times and so has to rent out his grand mansion Kellynch Hall to Admiral Croft, a retired seafaring gentleman, and move to smaller quarters in Bath with his unmarried elder daughter Elizabeth. Anne is also unmarried at 27. She is a gentle, sensible, warm natured girl with so much consideration for her family that she had been persuaded to give up the love of her life Captain Frederick Wentworth, eight years ago, as then being only a Lieutenant he was not thought to be good enough a match for her by her father and Lady Russell, who is a mother figure to her. The story begins at the point when Anne Elliot and Captain Frederick Wentworth meet accidentally again after eight years under much changed circumstances. He is now a rich man, having made his fortune in the navy whereas her family has fallen on hard times. He is as handsome, or even handsomer than earlier, age and experience having given his face more character than it had earlier perhaps, whereas she is no longer in the first bloom of youth. She has not forgotten him and still has the feelings which she had eight years earlier for him, whereas he was bitterly disappointed when she rejected him at the behest of her family, has nearly forgotten her, and now being settled in life is looking for a suitable wife.
With her father and elder sister moving off to Bath, Anne Elliot comes to stay with her younger married sister and her family. Mary Musgrove , her sister is a demanding and often querulous and fancies herself ill most of the time & asks Anne to come look after her which Anne being the sweet and dutiful sister she is readily obliges her. The Musgroves live near to Kellynch Hall which has been rented out to the Crofts who incidentally are the sister and brother in law of Captain Frederick Wentworth who comes to visit them. When Anne meets Captain Wentworth after all this time, she is full of trepidation whereas he finds her so altered that he would not have known her again. In their next meetings he hardly acknowledges her presence, rather he begins to flirt with the Musgrove sisters. It is slowly by degrees when they are thrown together more and more that he realizes that the image of his ideal life partner which he had in his mind is none other than Anne whose excellent qualities of head and heart surpass those of any of the other ladies he had met, was meeting or ever would meet. But by the time he realises this Captain Wentworth's name has been already linked with Luisa Musgrove.
Anne Elliot next moves to Bath to her father's house. Here she finds favour in the eyes of her cousin Mr Eliott who is also her father's future heir, and the man her elder sister Elizabeth wants to marry. But Anne who had earlier rejected the suit of Charles Musgove, who later married her sister Mary, though always polite, does not fall for his charms. He is later found to be unscrupulous and avaricious who had courted her only to safeguard his inheritance. By lucky chance Captain Wentworth finds himself free of the obligation of marrying Louisa and hurries to Bath, where he now finds Anne courted by her cousin. Surmounting the obstacles the two now realise that there can be no one for them but each other, resulting in a happily ever after.

What I like about the book :
The romance between Anne and Captain Wentworth which has the flavour of old wine, which gains more flavour as it ages. The characters of Sir Walter as the narcissistic, autocratic and imperious person is rather well drawn. I wonder why he wasn't so horrible to his other daughters as he was to Anne. Maybe it is the author's ploy to draw more sympathy for Anne.
Anne get's the reader's full sympathy as she is the despised and downtrodden sister, the Cinderella, at home. Both her elder sister Elizabeth and younger one Mary are more dominating and rather more selfish than her. But the irony is that Mary's husband had earlier proposed to Anne whereas Elizabeth expects Mr Eliott to court her whereas he opts for Anne instead.

Review of Sense and Sensibility

Main Characters : Elinor Dashwood, Marianne Dashwood, Willoughby, Colonel Brandon

Written on similar lines as Pride and Prejudice this novel by Jane Austen is quite similar to it in character and cast. The main characters of the story are Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, young, pretty sisters like the Bennet sisters of Pride and Prejudice. Unfortunately the Dashwood family has fallen on hard times due to the death of their father. His property goes to his only son Mr John Dashwood, the girl's stepbrother. Mrs Dashwood and her daughters are forced to seek a home more suited to their current state of relative poverty as they are disliked by Mrs John Dashwood. Sir John Middleton, their distant relation offers them Barton Cottage far away from Norland and they decide to shift there. Elinor is in love with Edward Ferrars, who is also Mrs John Dashwood's brother. Marianne and her mother all like him and expect Elinor to be engaged to him but he does not propose to Elinor when they are at Norlund though he shows a decided preference for Elinor's company. Elinor gives excuses for this to herself and her impetuous younger sister Marianne who cannot understand dilly dallying or withholding her emotions. Elinor is on the other hand level headed and sensible as compared to Marianne who is rather rash and impulsive giving in to her sensibilities. This is the crux of the difference in the characters of the two sisters. At Barton Cottage Marianne meets Willoughby who is a young and handsome young man who soon seems completely devoted to her and besotted by her. She too falls deeply in love with him as he is the epitome of young man to her, sharing in all her interests like music and dancing. Colonel Brandon , a respectable gentleman of thirtyfive odd years, Sir Middleton's friend also becomes interested in Marianne but she pays no attention to him having eyes only for Willoughby. They spend idyllic days in each other's company, meeting for parties and picnics where they have eyes only for each other. After this Willoughby is suddenly sent by his aunt from whom he is to inherit Allenham Cottage, on an errand. He comes back no more to Barton Cottage. Marianne expects him to return daily and watches everybody who comes by on horseback to be Willoughby. Edward Ferrars comes for a visit to their house and goes away without proposing to Elinor. In Sir John Middleton's house they meet Mrs Jennings his mother in law, an elderly, rich, friendly woman and Mr and Mrs Palmer, Mrs Palmer being the younger daughter of Mrs Jennings. Mr and Mrs Palmer are absolute opposite of each other. Mrs Palmer is talkative, goodnatured and friendly whereas Mr Palmer is taciturn and uncommunicative who takes no notice of Mrs Palmer's speeches. Elinor and Marianne also become acquainted with Lucy and Anne Steele, two girls who are relatives of Mrs Jennings & are thus invited to Sir Middleton's house. Lucy Steele is a clever, conniving girl and on becoming better acquainted with her Elinor realises that Lucy Steele is secretly engaged to Edward Ferrars, and they have been engaged for many years. Although Lucy tells Elinor that Edward is very attached to her Elinor does not believe this as she feels that Edward had entered the engagement when he was younger and not aware of Lucy's character fully. Elinor believes that Edward being a gentleman cannot sever the engagement but regrets it. Of this she becomes sanguine, though she does not reveal all this to her mother or sisters who still cherish the hope that she will marry Edward.
When Willoughby does not return to Devonshire, the girls Elinor and Marianne agree to Mrs Jenning's invitation to stay with her in London for a few months. On reaching London, Marianne comes to know of Willoughby's presence in town. She writes him a number of times but receives no reply to her letters. This agonises her so much that she can hardly behave normally with others. Willoughby's true character is revealed to her when they hear the news that he is engaged to be married to a rich heiress. Meanwhile Colonel Brandon tells Elinor that Willoughby had seduced and then ditched his ward. The Steele sisters also arrive in London to stay with the Palmer's. Here Lucy Steele is invited to stay with Mrs John Dashwood, Elinor's sister in law. Lucy Steele meets Edward Ferrars younger brother Robert and finding him to be richer than Edward gets engaged to him after breaking off her engagement with Edward. After Willoughby's betrayal Marianne is anxious to leave London and return to her mother. On their way back she falls dangerously ill and they have to break their stay at Colonel Brandon's house. She is nursed to health by Elinor. When she is sick Willoughby also comes there and asks Elinor's forgiveness for his behaviour towards Marianne which he regrets deeply. Marianne recovers slowly. The story ends with Marianne accepting Colonel Brandon's proposal of marriage and Elinor marrying Edward Ferrars who has been provided a living as a clergyman in Colonel Brandon's parish church.

What I like about the book:
Elinor's character is a balanced and sensible one. She is able to judge people accurately and she guides her mother and Marianne to take proper decisions when they would have acted foolishly or impulsively. She is able to judge Edward's actions in the affair of Lucy Steele, and does not reproach him for it.

Review of Tom Sawyer

Written by Mark Twain in 1876 this classic book shows the development of an adolescent boy in Missisippi, America. Tom Sawyer is the quintessential 'bad boy with a heart of gold' and all the antics he gets upto are the focus of this book. He is perennially lazy, avoiding chores , school, homework and church recitals like the plague. His greatest enjoyments are fishing and swimming the day long. In other words he is like the majority of mankind the world over and this is what attracts us. His Aunt Polly is an original character - strict spinster aunt who imposes stricter discipline on him but still allows him to get away with a large chunk of his misdemeneours. In one classic scene Aunt Polly forces him to whitewash the long fence around their house. It is a Saturday and Tom knows that all his friends will be passing by the road soon going for their holiday enjoyments. He is ashamed that they will jeer and boo him when they see him working away- a thing he detests. So he comes up with a famous plan. He pretends to be engrossed in his work and does not reply at first to the first of his chums who happens to pass by. His friend first jeers at him for having to work on a holiday. On getting no proper response from the deeply absorbed Tom he has doubts. He then asks Tom to lend him the brush for painting for a while. Tom is internally jubilant but increases his friend's interest in fence painting by telling him that it is such an important task that his aunt would entrust it to noone but him and such sentiments in a similar vein. He gives his friend the brush only in exchange for the apple he possesses. Soon he manages to con his other friends in painting and trades a trunkfull of things in exchange for allowing them to paint his fence. When his Aunt Polly comes for an inspection she is astonished to find the job completed spectacularly! Tom Sawyer manages to kill many birds with one stone.
The philosophy of work and play is aptly stated in this book. Work is something which we are obliged to do whereas play is something which is something which we would naturally enjoy doing and are not in any way obliged to do.

Review of Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre is the only book written by Charlotte Bronte, The eldest of the trio of the novelist Bronte sisters - Charlotte, Emily & Anne. The protagonist is a woman of pride, spirit and unshakeable moral values- Jane Eyre, andL the book is about her life, starting right from early childhood to school days and adulthood. Jane Eyre is an orphan who is despised by her aunt Mrs Reed and her paternal cousins Eliza, John and Georgiana. She is persecuted, physically assaulted by them, and mentally tortured by her relatives at the slightest provocation. Although she is younger than her cousins she does not lack courage and protests at their unfair behaviour which aggravates her aunt even more. She is sent to a boarding school for girls soon after this - Lowood where under a forbidding and stingy propreiter Mr Brocklehurst the girls are subjected to cruelty like having inadequate food and clothing yet expected to maintain strictest discipline and decorum. Here Jane Eyre becomes friends with another girl Helen Burns who is unfortunate enough to succumb to the dreaded disease of the time - typhus fever which periodically affected the girl's due to their weak health and inadequate nourishment. Luckily for Jane Eyre there are reforms which are made in the school after the outbreak of the disease subsides and the girls are better looked after. She spends the next eight years uneventfully in the school, learning the lessons her teachers taught her. She then decides to apply for the post of governess and is selected by the housekeeper of Thornfield Hall to be the governess of a little girl who is the ward of the owner Mr Rochester. Jane Eyre takes up the post. Her new life is better in terms of salary and comfort. Her pupil is also a docile and lively child. She makes Mr Rochester's acquaintance and makes him out to be a middle aged man, who is not particularly handsome but authoritative and imperious in his manners. He is kind to Jane though a little aloof and superior as befits their respective stations as superior and subordinate. Mr Rochester is intrigued by her and tries to draw her out by general conversation. Jane is able to evince proper and prompt and witty replies to all his questionings of her. He becomes attracted to her and Jane too is gratified by his notice. Unknown to her Mr Rochester has a secret which makes it impossible for him to legally marry. He is already married and his wife who became insane shortly after their marriage is kept locked up under the care of a strict attendent at Thornfield. Jane Eyre gets an inkling of this when Mrs Rochester first tries to burn down the house and again when she makes a murderous attack on her own brother. In the meantime Mr Rochester and Jane have declared their love for each other and their marriage is fixed. It is at the church that she comes to know that his wife is still alive. She flees from Thornfield hall and in very dire straits reaches the house of two women and their brother Diana , Mary and St John who by twist of fate are also her maternal cousins, though she does not know this at the time. When she recovers from her illness she continues to stay with them as she has nowhere else to go & they very kindly accept her into their circle. Mr St John is a clergyman, stern strict and almost inhuman in his control over his emotions. He loves a rich girl on the neighbourhood and she him, but refuses to acknowledge this as he does not consider her suitable to be his life companion as it is his aim to become a missionary and serve in India. He asks Jane to marry him and come with him as in his view Jane would be proper for him as she is genteel and biddable but Jane refuses him as she is still in love with Mr Rochester and finds her cousin too cold and severe for her taste. Jane also inherits her uncle's fortune, which she generously shares with her cousins the St John's. She then decides to visit Thornfield Hall. She finds that it has been burned down & Mrs Rochester killed during the fire. This makes Mr Rochester free to marry Jane which he does and they spend the remainder of their days in happiness and contentment though Mr Rochester is now almost blind since he had been injured in the fire. The individual stories which make up Jane's life are woven very skilfully in the whole narrative. The is life and force in the characterisations of Jane Eyre, Rochester & St John.

What I liked most in the book
The hot and angry speech given by Jane Eyre when Mr Rochester tells her that he is about to marry. He cleverly makes Jane declare her love for him instead of declaring himself outright.

What I dislike about the book
Jane Eyre is morally upright sometimes too much for liking. The part where Jane Eyre lives with the St Johns and her experiences there are sometimes a bit boring.

Review of To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is an all time American classic Pulitzer prize winning book which is set in the Southern American town of Maycomb. It narrates the story as seen from the eyes of a nine year old girl in flashback. Scout and her elder brother Jem Finch live with their lawyer father Atticus Finch. Their mother had died a long time back. The story is narrated in a way which shows the psychological development of the children and how the events in their lives causes them to understand the complex nature and prejudices existing in the adult world. The book brings to our notice once more that the child's world is simple and uncomplicated. There is only right or wrong, good or evil, only two sides to a coin in their world. It does not have shades of grey which is all pervading in the adult world. Southern Society of the time is riddled with the ills of prejudice, racism, corruption and falsehood. Women are not allowed to sit on the jury. Black people do not have any rights and are looked down upon.
Atticus Finch the children's honest and upright father takes up a case where a black man, Tom Robinson, is accused of beating and raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. As the case proceeds it becomes apparent to Scout and Jem Finch that Tom could not have possibly raped Mayella as he has a crippled left hand. In spite of this Tom is pronounced guilty by the jury and sent to prison. This distresses the children very much who had been certain that he would be declared not guilty. Their father's taking up a case for a black man causes them to be looked at by hatred in their school and among their neighbours too. Tom is shot and killed while trying to escape from prison.
Bob Ewell, Mayella's father had threatened Atticus for defending Tom. One day he attacks Jem and Scout with a knife when they were coming back at night from a paegent. They are saved by their neighbour Boo Radley who is almost a ghost to everyone, having never come out of his house for the past score of years. In the process Bob Ewell is killed by his own knife and the children realize that it was in fact Boo Radley who had saved them by coming out of his house, a thing he had never done earlier, to help them. The sheriff Heck Tate, a sensible man convinces Atticus that Bob Ewell had in fact stumbled on a tree root and fell on his own knife, which was what killed him. Atticus had wanted to bring out the truth, as he did not want his son Jem to believe such falsehood, but is convinced otherwise by Heck Tate. He is convinced when he realizes that telling the truth would expose Boo Radley to be tried for murder and since Boo had previously been psychologically affected by being blamed for his parent's death by his neighbours, it would be like killing a mockingbird a humble and unassuming bird.
The story moves at a slow pace in the beginning. The daily activities of the children, their interaction with each other, their teachers and friends is vividly described. Their impressions about the adults their father, aunt and their cook Calpurnia and others enable us to picture them accurately. The courtroom scenes and dialogues are so authentic we can almost imagine ourselves in the place and hanging on to the judge's every word. Truly a fantastic read!

Review of Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice is my all time favourite book. I must have read it almost a 100 times by now, more than any of Jane Austen's other novels. I can turn to this book with utmost confidence than to any other book to spend an hour of two of tranquil, entertaining reading. And hope to discover some new nugget of interest every time I read it.
The story is a romance or emotional drama if you will which is written in the author's coolly witty style which is unsurpassed in any of her other novels. It is set in the period of Elizabethan England and details the story four marriageable daughters of a respectable family. The story is about the two elder daughters mainly Jane and Elizabeth Bennett who are both pretty, sensible girls. Although personally charming and good natured the girls are at a disadvantage in the marriage market as their portions are small. They therefore cannot logically expect rich suitors to woo them, who would naturally expect their wives to bring a good portion. It is at this interesting juncture that two very eligible suitors Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy arrive on the scene. They are both handsome and rich the latter more so and the girls have the good fortune among all others in their neighbourhood of arousing the interest of the men. It is at this point that the focus of the author shifts to Elizabeth Bennet the younger daughter and Mr Darcy. Elizabeth is portrayed as not just a pretty face but a girl with brains. At the very outset of her meeting with Mr Darcy she takes a dislike to him as he has slighted her at one of the balls, by refusing to dance with her. She becomes determined to dislike him for his rude and supercilious behaviour to her and her family. His face or fortune does not tempt her to be conciliating to his arrogant behaviour. It is perhaps this very aloof behaviour of Elizabeth's towards him which attracts Mr Darcy to her. Unwilling to acknowledge this attraction to a lady of lower social status Mr Darcy tries to avoid her during his stay at Herfordshire the county where the Bennet's reside. By this time his friend Mr Bingley and Jane Bennet are also in love. Mr Darcy manages to convince his friend that Jane does not return his love and is in fact not very serous about him. He manages to extract his rather easily convinced friend and they depart from Herfordshire much to the chagrin of Mrs Bennet the girls' vociferous and abrasive mother. Jane is rather more affected by Bingley's departure than Elizabeth who had not entertained any feelings for Darcy. She on the other hand entertains a fancy for Mr Wickham, an unwanted acquaintance of Mr Darcy. She also rejects the marriage proposal of Mr Collins a rather foolish and pompous clergyman who is also the heir to her father's property. Rebuffed by Elizabeth Mr Collins proposes to her friend Charlotte Lucas who accepts him in spite of being aware of his faults. Elizabeth is amazed at the behavior of her friend but later reconciles with her. After Charlotte Lucas's marriage with Mr Collins they go away to stay at their home in Hunsford Parsonage where Mr Collins serves as clergyman to Lady Catherine de Bourgh a rich noblewoman who is also Mr Darcy's aunt. It is here that Elizabeth and Darcy meet again. Elizabeth's attraction is too great to resist this time and Mr Darcy proposes to her. Elizabeth is amazed by this proposal because she not only dislikes Mr Darcy now, she positively abhorrs him as Mr Wickham painted him in a very bad light by telling her that Darcy had withheld Wickham the post which Darcy's father had promised to give him. This had forced Wickham to work for his living as a soldier and live in comparitive poverty. She is further enraged by Darcy when she comes to know his role in severing the relations between her beloved sister Jane and Mr Bingley. Darcy's proposal too is a strange one as if proposing by force against his better judgement. His manner in proposing also angers Elizabeth and she refuses him outright in a downright rude manner. Darcy is amazed as he had believed that he had only to propose and he would be accepted at once. Her refusal comes as a bolt from the blue for him. He possibly tries to reassess her character and reviews his behaviour towards her. In this frame of mind he writes her a letter where he explains his behaviour to her. She had given the reasons for her refusal and this included Wickham's charges as well as Darcy's role in her sister's affair. Elizabeth in turn is chastened when she reads his letter where he unmasks Wickham as an unprincipled and unscrupulous man who had tried to lure Darcy's young sister into an elopement. As for his role in severing Bingley and Jane, he excuses himself that he had misjudged Jane's affection for Bingley. In course of time Elizabeth's feelings for Darcy undergo change from hatred to grudging acceptance of the truth of his remarks and opinions. Elizabeth next goes to Derbyshire which is Darcy's county accompanied by her aunt and uncle. Here she meets Darcy once more and his attentive behaviour towards her and her relations causes her to melt the last icicles of anger against him. On seeing his magnificent home and extensive lands she further regrets her rash refusal of his proposal. Matters come to head when she receives a letter from her home telling her of the elopement of her youngest sister Lydia with the rake Wickham. Elizabeth is distraught at this and it is at this juncture that Darcy comes to her assistance by seeking out the couple, and getting Wickham to marry Lydia by monetary inducement. Elizabeth who comes to know of his services later on is now not only in love with him but also in his debt. Darcy comes to know of her changed feelings by the officious interference of his aunt Lady Catherine. He then once again proposes to her and is accepted as is Mr Bingley by Jane.
The narrative of the book is so powerful that it does not fail to entertain even after countless readings. The characters are finely drawn and the change of mind over time of Elizabeth and Darcy is finely portrayed. The other characters like Jane , Bingley, Mr and Mrs Bennett and Mr Collins are also sharply detailed. The desciptions of the life and times of Elizabethan England are detailed. It is all this which makes this book an all time classic.

What I Love about the book

Almost all the characters are original in the book. The gradual change in mindset which Elizabeth and Darcy both undergo from antipathy to attraction is specially what I like most about the book. The scene in Netherfield where Elizabeth is forced to stay to look after an ailing Jane and her conversations with Darcy regarding "who can be called an accomplished woman" with Miss Bingley butting in are specially superb, though the language is a bit complicated to follow.

Review of Scarlet Pimpernel

I just finished reading the Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy. This is a superb story, a mix of romance and thrilling adventure which took place in the turbulent times during the French Revolution. The main characters of Marguerite Blakeney, Sir Percy Blakeney and the villain of the piece Chauvelin are finely portrayed. The first two chapters describing the escapades of the dashing, courageous and mysterious figure of the scarlet pimpernel are gripping. The historical characters of Dukes and heroes of the French Revolution add authenticity to the tale. The actions of Marguerite who is torn between her brother and husband evoke sympathy. Even when the identity of the scarlet pimpernel is revealed the tension is sustained till the very end of the book.
The beginning of the story builds up curiosity in the reader about the identity of the scarlet pimpernel by description of his daring acts by the guard of the west gate - Bibot, a vociferous, braggart. The audacious way in which the scarlet pimpernel manages to hoodwink the guards is highly believable. The scene then shifts to London where the escaped refugees Lady de Tourney and her two children are escorted by the two english noblemen Lord Andrew and Antony. Here in a modest inn 'the Fisherman's rest' the French lady comes face to face with Lady Marguerite Blakeny, a person she least expected to meet here and a lady she abhorrs as she is the woman who she holds responsible for the beheading by guillotine of one of her close relatives - Marquis de St Cyr. My initial reaction to the character of Lady Marguerite was one of doubt, as she is portrayed in the light of a betrayer. Lady Marguerite is a character with many shades. She is spectacularly beautiful, a dazzling captivating and fashionable lady. She had managed to enamour France's intellectual men and is described as the cleverest woman in Europe. As the tale proceeds she is portrayed as a devoted sister enraged at the slight meted out to her brother. She is insensitive as she fails to fathom the secrets and real character of her husband. Sir Percy's character is a dual one. On the face of it he is portrayed as a handsome but too goodnatured, bluff, easygoing Englishman who hasn't the charisma to hold the affections of his charming and capricious French wife. As the story proceeds we come to learn that it was he who has cut off relations with Marguerite when he suspected her of treachery. He in fact loves her deeply but mistrusts her too much to reveal his true identity to her. The mental and physical space between them creates the tension in the plot which further builds up interest in the narrative. When the Frenchman Chauvelin puts Lady Marguerite between the devil and the deep sea ie to choose between saving the life of her beloved brother or that of the Scarlet Pimpernel, whose true identity she is as yet unaware of, we come to sympathise with her fully in the dilemma she is in. The rest of the book details the adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel and Lady Margurite as they manage to evade the clutches of the French soldiers by a mere whisker every time. The book is a tremendously interesting tale, a pageturner which even now in 2011 manages to surprise and enthrall us.