Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

the Brontë sisters
painted by Branwell Brontë

Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë
(1847)
Did Not Finish

When I read this novel previously, I only found it to be the dark and distasteful story of relationships that are abusive, unhealthy, or both, and certainly not the great romance many find it.  When recently discussing it with a friend, she pointed out that it should be viewed as a Gothic novel, and appreciated as that genre.  After pondering on this, I decided I could see that Wuthering Heights certainly includes some of the characteristics of a Gothic novel:

• gloomy setting
• elements of the supernatural
• excessive emotion
• violence, specifically against women
• insanity
• a hero-villain
• secrets
• revenge
• an overarching sense of dread

With this in mind, I decided to give this classic another try.

To begin with, I enjoyed the Gothic atmosphere and the tragic story.

Then, at about the half-way point, I was so repulsed by the cruel, sadistic Heathcliff that I had to stop.  I really can't understand why he is considered to be a romantic hero, or why his and Cathy's attachment is called a great love story.  I had no sympathy for either, and since his actions made my stomach clench, I dreaded returning to the book.

Bottom line is that this classic and I are truly unsuited, and I still feel it be the dark and distasteful story of relationships that are abusive, unhealthy, or both.

(On a side note: I have truly enjoyed the novels of the other two Brontë sisters, and consider both Jane Eyre and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall to be among my favorites.)

Read as part of the Classics Club.  My explanation is here.

Three by Anna Katharine Green

Anna Katherine Green

Anna Katharine Green (1846-1935)  is one of the few American mystery authors that I enjoy.  She was among the first authors of the modern "detective story", and had a reputation for writing legally accurate fiction.  Her works were justly popular, and will be excellent reading for those who appreciate novels with the particular mores of the late 19th Century.

The three Amelia Butterworth stories are collected together in one Audible title.  The narration is below average, but the quality of the books made it worth the price.

That Affair Next Door (1897)  4/5 stars 

In this, the first of the Amelia Butterworth mysteries, she notices an odd occurrence at the most respectable house next door.  Investigation reveals that a young woman has been murdered in a mysterious manner.  Miss Butterworth, certain that the Police Detective (Green's often-returning Mr. Gryce) has arrested the wrong man, sets out to solve the problem herself.  As a high-society spinster, she has advantages that the police do not, and makes some surprising discoveries. 

Miss Butterworth is quite an enjoyable narrator, and is written with a delightful sly humor. The writing is good, the mystery intelligent, and the crime well-plotted.  Overall, it's an enormously fun and engaging read.

Lost Man's Lane (1898)  4/5 stars 

When multiple disappearances occur in a town with personal connections for Miss Butterworth, Mr. Gryce, a New York City Police Detective and friend, requests her assistance.  She makes a visit there to secretly investigate the lane in question, and in doing so discovers more mystery than she solves.

This is another completely enjoyable tale featuring these two characters.  Green's writing is genuinely witty and amusing, the story extremely interesting, and mystery quite twisty.  While the means and motive were not fully credible, it was still a most entertaining story.

The Circular Study (1900)  4/5 stars

When a man is found murdered in his study, New York City Police Detective Ebenezer Gryce works to solve the crime.  Miss Amelia Butterworth, society spinster and sometime amateur sleuth offers unexpected and valuable clues in what turns out to be a tragic story of revenge.

This mystery/melodrama is much darker and more serious than the two previous novels in which Miss Butterworth appears.  She only features peripherally and does not narrate this story; as such, it lacks the charm and humor of those prior books.  It more than makes up for it, however, with a well-written twisty plot, and a dose of sensationalism worth of Wilkie Collins himself.  Again, it won't appeal universally, as one must be able to appreciate Victorian-style literature to enjoy it.  I, myself, found it both gripping and satisfying.

The Two Destinies by Wilkie Collins

The Two Destinies
Wilkie Collins
1876 
4/5 stars

Collins is a master of the Victorian sensational novel, and this one is a fine example.  The outcome is told at the beginning, but the journey is fraught with enough drama and tragedy to prevent it from becoming too predictable.  A supernatural bond connects the two protagonists, and to the modern reader not accustomed to these melodramas it may seem ridiculous.  Read in the spirit of the times, however, the plot is thoroughly engrossing and even moving at times.  As is typical of Collins, The Two Destinies is well-written, intelligent, and, for fans of this genre, completely entertaining. 

April 2022 Wrap Up

Books Read:

Seducers in Ecuador and The Heir by Vita Sackville-West (1925 and 1922)  5/5 stars (my review here)

Audio Books Completed:

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides  (2021)  4/5 stars

This slow-but-steady thriller is generally well-written, mostly suspenseful, and quite intriguing.  I did figure out part of the ending in advance, but Michaelides delivered a surprise that brought the book up from three to four stars.  Overall, it was compelling and entertaining.  (As a bonus, some characters from Michaelides' debut novel cross into this one, adding another level of enjoyment to The Maidens.)

Ladies' Bane by Patricia Wentworth (1952)  3/5 stars

While easily solved, this was an attention-keeping mystery, and though it followed the usual Miss Silver formula, it was still enjoyable.

The Au Pair by Emma Rous (2019)  2/5 stars

This is advertised as a mystery-suspense-thriller, but it wasn't.  Most plot developments were completely expected, and nothing particularly imaginative.  It wasn't terrible, though, until about the eighth hour of the audio book, when it got extremely silly.  I kept thinking that it was going to take that particular turn, but also thought that it couldn't it surely couldn't get that ridiculous.  By then, though, I only had two hours to go, so I thought I'd finish and see if the author could save the book.  I hate to give a bad review, but in my opinion, there was no redemption.  My recommendation is to just give this one a miss.

Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897) 5/5 stars  (my review here)

Did Not Finish:

The Nanny by Gilly Macmillan

This domestic thriller was too predictable; it seemed that every plot development was expected.  I also found the main character's motives to be unbelievable, so despite listening to 44 out of 80 chapters, I finally gave it up.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Dracula

Bram Stoker

1897

5/5 stars

This was a reread of this familiar, and for me much-loved, classic.  Stoker writes quite well, and the voices of the characters in this epistolary novel are recognizable and distinct.  

Those whose only experience is with movie versions will most likely be surprised by the strong Christian message of the book.  It is not just a battle of good versus evil, but of Godly good versus Satanic evil. 

One of the best parts of the book is that, within the confines of the era's mores, Stoker has made Mina an extraordinary woman.  She is as intelligent as the men and assists them often, is as courageous as any of them, is strong, both emotionally and physically, and while they still seek to protect her, they respect her for these characteristics. 

Naturally, Dracula is melodramatic, as is to be expected from sensation fiction, but it is also entertaining, gripping, and satisfying.  I highly recommend it.

Two by Vita Sackville-West

Seducers in Ecuador and The Heir 

Vita Sackville-West  

5/5 stars

These are two dissimilar novellas combined into one volume. In Seducers in Ecuador (1925), Arthur Lomax finds his life changed when he begins to wear colored spectacles during a visit to Egypt.  Sackville-West is such a skilled writer that I was riveted, despite having the ending revealed early on by the author.  I simply had to know how Lomax would end up where he did.  

In The Heir (1922), Peregrine Chase inherits the family home, and visits it for the first time.  He slowly falls in love with the house, despite knowing he must sell it.  Again, Sackville-West is so talented, that at about the half-way point, I was desperate to know if he would keep the house, and had to turn to the last page to see.  

While quite different in plot, they are both deeply revealing character studies that are beautifully written and immensely satisfying.

Read as part of the Classics Club.  My explanation is here.

March 2022 Wrap Up

Books Read:

I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't finish physically reading a book this month; cross stitching was a priority this month, so audio books were my main reading.  (I did finish a novella by Vita Sackville-West, but I will wait to review it until I've finished the other one in the volume.)

Audio Books Completed:

His Burial Too by Catherine Aird (1973)  3/5 stars

Aird writes well in general, and her tongue-in-cheek humor is quite enjoyable.  The mystery itself, though, was too elaborate and convoluted to be believable or fully entertaining.

Down Among the Dead Men by Peter Lovesey  (2015)  4/5 stars

Diamond is sent to another county by the Home Office to look into a case of possible police corruption.  While there, he becomes involved in two missing person cases and the reinvestigation of a previously solved murder, all the while trying hard to prove that the officer in question shouldn't be dismissed. This is a well-written and nicely layered mystery that delivers a few surprises.  Early on, it seems there is no way that all the plot lines could connect sensibly, and yet they do.  Overall, it's complex, interesting, and enjoyable, and Diamond continues to be one of my favorite modern detectives. 

Three Houses by Angela Thirkell (1931)  4/5 stars

This is a charming memoir by one of my favorite authors, recalling her childhood years through the lens of three different houses.  While at times snobbish, it is highly amusing, historically interesting, and an overall pleasant experience.  

Murder in Mayfair by D.M. Quincy (2017)  3/5 stars

Atlas Catesby rescues Lilliana Warwick from her husband's dangerous humiliation, and in doing so becomes a suspect when Mr. Warwick is found murdered. To prove himself innocent, Catesby begins investigating the secrets in Warwick's life to find the true culprit.  This novel is generally well-written, though the Regency setting has some noticeable (to a lay historian, anyway) goofs.  The characters are mostly believable, but I didn't really warm to them.  The clue to the solution was obvious, as were several of the secrets and motives, but I still found the story entertaining.  The romance angle, however, seemed to be penned with less confidence, and felt clumsy, even cheesy at times.  I will most likely read the next of the trilogy, though, despite not being completely won over by this one.

Did Not Finish (and the reason I completed so few audio books this month):

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

I tried.  I really did.  It has some great reviews, so I kept with it to the half-way point of the audio book, but it was just too ridiculous.  Frankly, I'm ashamed that I stuck with it that long.

Mrs. March by Virginia Feito

The blurb sounds right down my alley and I was hooked from the beginning.  Then I noticed that Mrs. March lives in a NYC that seems to bounce from one time period to another.  The clothes worn by the women include gloves, hats, and petticoats, and bring to mind the 1940s and 50s, but yet they also wear pantyhose, which weren't manufactured for the general public until 1959.  Other examples include a mention of Ralph Lauren wallpaper, when Ralph Lauren wasn't even selling ties before 1967, and a reference to a "fusion" restaurant, a term not used before the 1970s.  Now, my B.A. is in history, so I'm more sensitive to this sort of thing than most, but this feeling of never being settled in a time period kept me so distracted that I couldn't relax into the story.  I don't know if the author, a native of Madrid, didn't do enough research into American history, didn't care if things didn't fit, or was trying to create some alternate universe, but by chapter ten, I'd had enough frustration and called it quits.  

Murder at the Mena House by Erica Ruth Neubauer

I know -- I'm an history snob.  I know, but I can't help it.  This cozy mystery takes place in 1926, at a popular Cairo hotel that caters to Europeans.  It starts off okay, light but with a likable character, but has very little authentic historical flavor.  So, when an English gentleman went to dinner in a brown suit, I decided I'd pass on this one.

Blue Monday by Nicci French

The book blurb sounded interesting, but the writing -- especially the conversations -- was stilted, unnatural and clunky.  

The Other Daughter by Shalini Boland

I've read others by this author which I enjoyed, but I couldn't warm to the protagonist in this one, and felt that she spiraled out of control too quickly.

The Book of Lost and Found by Lucy Foley

A full two hours into the audio book and I still didn't care about any of the characters, so I abandoned it.