Precious Bane is a novel written by Mary Webb, first published in 1924. The story is set in the rural Shropshire region of England in the early 19th century and follows the life of a young woman named Prue Sarn, who is born with a cleft lip, which has earned her the nickname ""Precious Bane"". Prue is a strong-willed and independent character who is determined to overcome the prejudices and limitations placed upon her by her appearance.Despite her physical deformity, Prue is intelligent, ambitious, and has a deep love of ...
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Precious Bane is a novel written by Mary Webb, first published in 1924. The story is set in the rural Shropshire region of England in the early 19th century and follows the life of a young woman named Prue Sarn, who is born with a cleft lip, which has earned her the nickname ""Precious Bane"". Prue is a strong-willed and independent character who is determined to overcome the prejudices and limitations placed upon her by her appearance.Despite her physical deformity, Prue is intelligent, ambitious, and has a deep love of nature. She dreams of escaping her small village and making a life for herself in the wider world. However, her plans are complicated by her family's poverty and the social constraints of the time.As the story unfolds, Prue finds herself caught up in a complex web of relationships, including a passionate love affair with a wealthy landowner named Kester Woodseaves. Their relationship is complicated by the fact that Kester is engaged to another woman, and Prue's appearance makes her an unlikely match for him.Throughout the novel, Mary Webb explores themes of love, self-acceptance, and the struggle for personal freedom in a society that values conformity and tradition. Precious Bane is a beautifully written and evocative novel that captures the spirit of rural England in the early 19th century. It is a timeless story of a young woman's journey towards self-discovery and the triumph of the human spirit over adversity.1924. A novel by Mary Webb (Mrs. Henry Bertram Law Webb), the Shropshire Novelist. Her beautifully crafted characters are set against a timeless landscape that Webb knew intimately. Her finest achievement was the award of the Prix Femina, a coveted literary prize, for this her fifth novel, Precious Bane, a story of rural Shropshire in the early nineteenth century. This book was greatly admired by the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, who sent the author a letter of appreciation.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
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Add this copy of Precious Bane to cart. $45.22, new condition, Sold by Booksplease rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Southport, MERSEYSIDE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2004 by Kessinger Publishing.
Add this copy of Precious Bane to cart. $55.52, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Kessinger Publishing.
The sad story is that if I say too much good about this book, other readers might have high expectations and be disappointed.
The truth is that I was enchanted by Mary Webb's poetic writing and her descriptions of nature, as well as her insights into human nature! I also liked very much the strange, eerie "ambiance" of the whole story, and it's setting in what seems to be a past time long gone.
What more can I say? I fell in love with this book!
AOfromPA
Oct 25, 2009
Lyrical beauty
What I love are the descriptions of the beauty of Prue's surroundings: the fields, the hum of insects, rippling water ('troubling of the mere'), or the smell of apples in her attic. I believe that the 'severely dated' language mentioned by other reviewers evokes a place and time long gone but worth remembering. This and the gentle humor are what make Precious Bane one of the most poignant variations of the Cinderella story that I've ever read.
