361 pages
Published in 1937
by The MacMillan Company
New York, NYAlthough Maud Hart Lovelace is best known for her books for children and young-adults (e.g the Betsy-Tacy series) she also penned a few novels for adults, two of which she collaborated on with her husband, Delos. Gentlemen from England is the second of these two, the other being One Stayed At Welcome, which I read and reviewed for last year's MHLRC.
The Plot:
To Crockett County, Minnesota, in the decade following the Civil War, comes a colony of English gentry to establish great bean farms, at the instigation of a clever promoter who has persuaded them that they can obtain for a pittance vast estates, more beautiful and more profitable than any in England.
The plot centers around Richard Chalmers, third son in an English family, who loves farming and comes to America full of ambition. In Rainbow, he is thrown without preparation into the maelstrom of a new and strange life. How he becomes involved with one woman and falls in love with another; how scandal makes him virtually an outcast in the town; how the land to which he has turned for refuge fails him; how he rescues an enemy from lynching, and how he organizes the Rainbow Riders and comes back into the town's favor make exciting reading." (Summary courtesy of the 1937 edition)
My Thoughts:
Gentlemen From England is a darker story than most that Maud Hart Lovelace fans have come to love and expect. Still, and in spite of this, Gentlemen From England ranks as a favorite read of mine for the year. Sure, some may call it a "pot boiler" for it has a LOT of drama, but I honestly don't agree with that label. Yes, there is plenty of drama, but it is a well researched and well written novel and it makes for an exciting and compelling read; a book that I just didn't want to put down.
The darker aspect of this novel comes in the form of some pretty tough topics, especially for 1937 when the novel was published. Issues like spousal abuse, extra-marital affairs, alcoholism, gambling, animal abuse, teenage pregnancy, suicide, and social ostracization are the most serious. But the story also deals with the loss and failure typical for frontiersmen and women of that era. It thankfully also includes a good share of achievement, redemption, second chances, and of course love. And what makes this such a enjoyable read is that the good and the bad are handled with a fair amount of delicacy. The reader knows what is going on without having to know every graphic detail. It is enough to know that one character kicks a dog without having to read the details of the time he kills a horse. Or that another character falls in love resulting in an unplanned pregnancy without the love scenes so vividly portrayed in modern novels.
The only other "dark" aspects of this book include the use of mild profanity by certain characters and the influence of astrology by one character. The profanity startled me at first, but I was able to overlook it as it felt in character with those who used it. In other words, typical for the time, place and person. As for the astrology, I admit it was a bit of a hang-up for me since its something I don't believe in. I found it distracted me from appreciating the character, but in the end her personality won me over and I was able to ignore the part I didn't agree with.
Within Gentlemen From England the Lovelaces tell a few love stories, some end tragically, others with hope of a future and still others with definite happiness, but what is interesting is that below the surface of these human relationships there is another love story, one more subtly woven, that of an Englishman and the land.
Overall I took the good with the bad and found in the end that I really really really enjoyed this story. It has everything that a general reader could enjoy -- adventure, drama, tragedy, romance, comedy, history. No, it's not a "pot boiler". I think it's an excellent book and worthy of being read by Maud Hart Lovelace fans.
The good news it isn't really out of print. I mean it is, but it isn't. In 1993 the Minnesota Historical Society reprinted Gentlemen From England and copies are still available through their website. This edition includes an introduction by Sarah P. Rubinstein that details the extent of research the Lovelaces conducted in order to write the novel. Although I've yet to read the introduction (my copy of the book is still on its way to me), I think it will only add to the enjoyment of this book.
The copy I read was a first edition borrowed through ILL. I checked online and copies like the one I borrowed are valued over $100 a piece. (Yikes!) Oh how I'd love to own one of these, but just cannot afford one at that price.
For those interested, but not quite committed you can read sections of the book on Google, but be warned this is not the novel in its entirety. Several pages and chapters are missing, including the whole last quarter. But if you ask me just go and get a copy to read. If your library doesn't own a copy, check Inter Library Loan. Even if you have to pay to borrow (as some ILL programs require) it is usually only a couple of dollars. If you are a committed MHL fan like I am you might consider springing and paying the $9-13 plus shipping for your own copy. If you choose the latter I think you'll be pleased.
Happy reading!
802 pages
Published in serial form 1874-1875
Reprinted Barnes & Noble Classics, 2005
New York, NY
I can't help but find it a little ironic that a few weeks after I first discovered Angela Thirkell and her Barsetshire novels my book club settled upon reading an Anthony Trollope novel. For those who don't know/remember, Anthony Trollope wrote a series of six books set in the fictional county of Barsetshire, which some 80 years later Angela Thirkell used as inspiration for 29 of her own novels set in that same fictional county. (While Trollope's novels were about the people of Barsetshire in the mid 19th century, Thirkell's were her own creation of the people of Barsetshire in the early and mid 20th century.)
The book selected by my book club was not one of Trollope's Chronicles of Barsetshire, but one of Trollope's longer stories, The Way We Live Now, which although not popular upon first publication has in recent years come to be considered Trollope's best work.
The Plot:
"Ruthless greed, relentless self-promotion, corporate swindles and scandals on a grand scale -- indeed it sounds like 'the way we live now.' Though Anthony Trollope's title actually refers to 1870s England, his scathing satire of a money-mad culture cuts close to the contemporary bone. At its center stands Augustus Melmotte, a crooked financier whose enormous schemes ensnare an array of avaricious aristocrats, politicians and 'important people.' Among them are Lady Carbury, who earns the family bread by churning out fatuous potboilers, and her spendthrift, ne''er-do-well son, Felix, who sets his sights on Melmotte's dangerously beautiful daughter, Marie. meanwhile Felix's sister, Hetta, falls for Melmotte's partner, Paul, who's encumbered wiht an American fiancee, herself a widow who may have shot her husband. As the frauds expand and the romantic entanglements grow ever more complex, Trollope revels in the antics of his characters while pillorying the corruption of their morally bankrupt society." (Summary courtesy of the publisher)
My Thoughts:
I thoroughly enjoyed this read. The story plot is thick (so much happens within the story over the course of six months) and the characters richly colorful and quirky.
Some readers might liken Trollope to Dickens, but I think in some ways Trollope is actually better than Dickens. The Way We Live Now is a long book, almost as long as Dickens' Bleak House or Little Dorrit, yet not once did I feel the story lagged or that Trollope was rambling as I admit I have felt from time to time with Dickens. Another aspect that I liked about Trollope's writing is that his characters seemed a little less stereotypical. On the downside I can't say that I loved any of the characters in The Way We Live Now. I liked some of the characters and I completely despised some of the others within The Way We Live Now, but none tugged at my heartstrings as in books like Bleak House.
One similarity between Dickens and Trollope is the ending. Both Dickens and Trollope ended their novels with a "happy ending" -- although in the case of The Way We Live Now that doesn't mean every character lives happily-ever-after or has all their problems solved, but it does mean that the reader finishes the book satisfied.
The Way We Live Now is a satire, which means Trollope was writing tongue-in-cheek as he criticized and commented on various aspects of life in England during the latter decades of the 19th century. His writing is filled with interesting and thought provoking snapshots and at the same time is witty and entertaining. Although a long read (with 100 chapters) The Way We Live Now is not a difficult read. I particularly enjoyed the vivid imagery that Trollope's words painted and jotted down many passages in my Book of Books.
Some might be discouraged by the length of The Way We Live Now, as I mentioned it runs to 100 chapters and depending on the publication can average around 800 pages. It took me 25 days to finish, but it was definitely a worthwhile read and one I highly recommend to any reader. I bounced back and forth between reading the actual book and listening to the complete book read aloud with the free LibroVox iPhone application. Having finished and thoroughly enjoyed The Way We Live Now I am definitely planning to explore more of Trollope's works in the future. As for The Way We Live Now, this is one book I'd advise you to buy rather than borrow.
On 
a related note, PBS Masterpiece Theater produced a mini-series adaptation of The Way We Live Now in 2001 starring David Suchet (Hercule Poirot) and Matthew Macfadyen (Pride and Prejudice). I watched this series in 2007 at a time when, sadly, I'd never heard of Anthony Trollope. The movie is fairly true to the book. Some aspects of the story did not transfer to the screen, others did not transfer very well, which means you don't get the full depth of this story by watching the movie alone. But I do believe watching the adaptation does help a reader gain a better understanding of the story as a whole and also helps keep who's who amongst the characters clear within the reader's mind while they read.
I will add that the movie ending and the book ending are different, but only slightly so and both still end happily. The only objection I had to the movie was the addition of some bedroom-type scenes, though not obscene were enough to leave the viewer without doubt as to the intimacy of the character's relationships. Upon further reflection I believe this interpretation is typical of society's views within the 21st century, but not what Trollope intended in his book. It just doesn't work with the social views of the 19th century. Yes, affairs occurred, but not for characters of these types. Still I enjoyed the miniseries and recommend it to anyone who has read the book or requires some assistance in understanding the story before setting out to read the novel.
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Related Links:
* Anthony Trollope Society
* Anthony Trollope.Com
* Anthony Trollope USA
* PBS: Masterpiece Classics: The Way We Live Now
* E-book: The Way We Live Now (Project Gutenberg)
* Audio-Book: LibroVox: The Way We Live Now
361 pages
