Maria Edgeworth won the admiration of her contemporary Jane Austen, as well as later writers such as Thackeray and Turgenev, and in Belinda (1801) she tackles issues of gender and race in a manner at once comic and thought-provoking. Braving the perils of the marriage market, Belinda learns to think for herself as the examples of her friends prove singularly unreliable. Edgeworth's varied cast includes the bewitching aristocrat, Lady Delacour, whose dreadful secret puts her in the power of her volatile servant; the dashing ...
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Maria Edgeworth won the admiration of her contemporary Jane Austen, as well as later writers such as Thackeray and Turgenev, and in Belinda (1801) she tackles issues of gender and race in a manner at once comic and thought-provoking. Braving the perils of the marriage market, Belinda learns to think for herself as the examples of her friends prove singularly unreliable. Edgeworth's varied cast includes the bewitching aristocrat, Lady Delacour, whose dreadful secret puts her in the power of her volatile servant; the dashing Creole gentleman, Mr Vincent who almost succeeds in winning Belinda's hand if not her heart; the eccentric Clarence Hervey, whose attempts to create an ideal wife backfire; and the outrageous Harriet Freke, whose antics as social outlaw land her in a mantrap. This lively comedy challenges the conventions of courtship, examines questions of female independence, and exposes the limits of domesticity. The text used in this edition (1802) also confronts the difficult and fascinating issues of racism and mixed marriage, which Edgeworth toned down in later editions. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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Good. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 544 p. Oxford World's Classics. May show signs of wear, highlighting, writing, and previous use. This item may be a former library book with typical markings. No guarantee on products that contain supplements Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. Twenty-five year bookseller with shipments to over fifty million happy customers.
A delightful story of a beautiful and refreshingly rational and intelligent young lady (wouldn't mind a few more of those!) who learns from the mistakes of those around her, Belinda had me burning the midnight oil from beginning to end. There are characters aplenty - a scheming and mercenary aunt, a captivating, middle-aged bon vivant with a sad secret and a crumbling marriage, servants faithful and faithless, a few harpies, and not one but two handsome suitors - and smack in the middle of it all, Belinda - smart, well-read, and very aware of the craziness around her. This is a very briskly-paced, very funny novel, with lots of talk, certainly, but plenty of action at every turn. Clarence Hervey must be one of the most unusual and intriguing heroes I have come across in a novel from this period (could you see Jane Austen's Mr. Darcy dressing up in a hoopskirt to make a point?). I'm sure that there are a lot of very academic things I could say about this novel - its treatment of race relations in an England that had not yet abolished the slave trade, its commentary on women making their own marriage choices - but that's not why I enjoyed it. It's a great story on its own.