“I think all the moral writers, who have set off with promising to shew us the road to happiness, have obligingly ended with telling us there is no such thing; a conclusion extremely consoling, and which if they had drawn before they set pen to paper, would have saved both themselves and their readers an infinity of trouble.”
I had so much fun reading this book. It reminded me of the wit and writing of Oscar Wilde, Shaw, and Jane Austin. I had no problem with the book being epistolary, as some reviewers objected to. Because we are reading letters written by the characters, the book is in first person. Normally, I am not a fan of first person accounts, but in this novel it works. We are spared the observations of a narrator that may fall into dullness or useless detail. Okay, there are some letters that are more boring than others, but so many more are filled with wit and thought-provoking points of view. I made over 200 highlights on Goodreads which is a record for any romance, historical novel, or history I have read.
“I hate humility in a man of the world; ’tis worse than even the hypocrisy of the saints: I am not ignorant, and therefore never deny, that I am a very handsome fellow; and I have the pleasure to find all the women of the same opinion.”
“The men here, as I said before, are all dying for me; there are many handsomer women, but I flatter them, and the dear creatures cannot resist it.”
The author, Frances Brooke, is English and the novel reflects her time spent in Canada. She provides an insight into the country and its French, English, and Native inhabitants. Naturally, her observations reflect the prejudices, conventions, and worldview of the era. I don’t believe her intent was to be cruel, although some of her views are grating to my sensibilities. Mon Dieu! Still, I think it would be unkind and a mistake to judge her, neither would we learn about the social and political views of the time.
“…I am not one of those sagacious observers, who, by staying a week in a place, think themselves qualified to give, not only its natural, but its moral and political history: besides which, you and I are rather too young to be very profound politicians.”
There are some very noble themes in the book: Love, Marriage, Filial Duty, Friendship, Women’s Role in Society, Ambition, Vanity, and yes…Sex. The book is written in the language of an 18th century novel, but it is very readable.
“Your ideas of love are narrow and pedantic; custom has done enough to make the life of one half of our species tasteless; but you would reduce them to a state of still greater insipidity than even that to which our tyranny has doomed them.”
“However, she has, in my opinion, done the wisest thing in the world; that is, she has pleased herself.”
“…and as to love, I begin to think men incapable of feeling it: some of them can indeed talk well on the subject; but self-interest and vanity are the real passions of their souls. I detest the whole sex.”
There are a few idioms that were new to me. “Gallantries” are the opposite of being gallant. “Making love” is not necessarily a physical act, other than professing love, flirting, and soothing another’s vanity. “Salamander”, as far as I could tell refers to a woman of heated passion and, perhaps, loose morals.
“Such is the amazing force of local prejudice, that I do not recollect having ever made love to an English married woman, or a French unmarried one. Marriages in France being made by the parents, and therefore generally without inclination on either side, gallantry seems to be a tacit condition, though not absolutely expressed in the contract.”
“I am very fond of him, though he never makes love to me, in which circumstance he is very singular: our friendship is quite platonic, at least on his side, for I am not quite so sure on the other.”
“You judge perfectly well, my dear, in checking the natural vivacity of your temper, however pleasing it is to all who converse with you: coquetry is dangerous to English women, because they have sensibility; it is more suited to the French, who are naturally something of the salamander kind.”
While the views on love are sometimes sagacious, they often are syrupy. I don’t hold this to be a deficiency in the novel and it might have lost some of its romantic flair if it had been toned down. From a structural viewpoint, the novel is not perfect. There is some intrigue, but the story does amble. There are a few asides that occur, and I can’t see how they contribute to the overall story. I also wanted to better know the stories of some of the minor characters. There is one big plot twist that is comparable to an Oscar Wilde play, perhaps on the scale of “The Importance of Being Earnest.”
I would rather have an ordinary tale filled with extraordinary characters, than vice versa. I enjoyed the characters and how they met with each challenge. Their communications and voice made this novel interesting and extremely fun. For me.
The Kindle edition I read was very good. There was one slight flaw in that a word might be incorrectly spelled, followed by the same word correctly speled spelled. If you get my drift. Review by R. E. Admore
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