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lori85's review against another edition
4.0
If I had to sum up A Romance of Two Worlds in one word, it would be arrogance. There is a vast realm of lost knowledge related to the mystical properties of electricity, but you're not Christian enough to know about it, oh no. Both the unnamed Author Avatar protagonist and her mentor Heliobas frequently stop to lecture on the amorality and fallen state of contemporary (1880s) society, treating us to the spectacle of wealthy people complaining about how all anyone ever does is chase after money. Heliobas in particular comes across as That Fedora Guy we've all encountered on Reddit.
Now Corelli was an early proponent of what we would call the New Age movement, and, looking back after decades of cults and gurus, there is a lot about Heliobas's character that raises red flags. He claims to have all the answers to life's Big Questions if only you follow him; he deliberately isolates a vulnerable woman from her friends and family; he is viewed as infallible by this same woman, who blindly lets him administer mysterious potions to her (thankfully not made with Flavor Aid and cyanide); he isolates his middle-aged sister as well, claiming the protagonist is the only female companion he's found suitable for her (he holds quite a few misogynistic beliefs); and, most alarmingly, he outright condemns critical thinking and rationality as symptoms of dangerous atheism and human fickleness. Both the protagonist and Heliobas are also laughably elitist, loudly proclaiming their Christian values yet unthinkingly lording it over household domestics and failing to recognize how their wealth affords them this exalted lifestyle dedicated solely to artistic and spiritual pursuits. Corelli, through her avatar, explicitly links artistic talent to Christian virtue. True artists have a unique connection to God, you see, that allows His forces of love and creation to flow through them. This means the world just doesn't appreciate them and only likes derivative losers, because fuck those people who need to make a living.
/rant
You're probably wondering why I gave this book four stars. Well, it is a compelling story, at least in audiobook form. Marie Corelli was basically the Dan Brown of her day, known for novels inspired by esoteric lore that were wildly popular despite negative critical reception. Her wacky ideas about electricity were actually reflected in contemporary physics, which believed that an otherworldly ether filled all space and was necessary for electrical and wave transmission. At the time of her book, this was developing into the concept of the spatial fourth dimension, which also has its roots in the theosophical and occult trends of the era. For all Corelli's self-righteous Christian blather, many of these mystical thinkers, such as Claude Bragdon and Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, drew extensively on Eastern and ancient pagan beliefs for their perception of another level of reality which serves as an heavenly well for artistic inspiration. (See Linda Dalrymple Henderson's essay in [b:Claude Bragdon & the Beautiful Necessity|9008536|Claude Bragdon & the Beautiful Necessity|Eugenia Victoria Ellis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1517405960s/9008536.jpg|13885965].)
Ironically, for all her own self-professed devotion to the highest Art, it seems like the critics were right, as Corelli has since fallen into obscurity, while Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells, and Rudyard Kipling - all of whom she outsold in their lifetime - are still household names.
Some side notes: Corelli is said to have been a lesbian, which the relationship between the protagonist and Zara would seem to support. While the Victorians did describe strong friendships in language that to us sounds romantic, Zara's disembodied soul-lover prevents the protagonist from kissing her while she's asleep, so there's that. Corelli also blatantly (and hilariously) pimps out her brother's shitty poetry, specifically [b:Love Letters of a Violinist and Other Poems|19058492|Love Letters of a Violinist and Other Poems|Eric Mackay|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1385790998s/19058492.jpg|27083931] and [b:Pygmalion in Cyprus, and Other Poems|28975304|Pygmalion in Cyprus, and Other Poems|Eric Mackay|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|49205117], even giving the publication info for one in the form of a footnote. He repaid her by with public defamation and claims that he was the real author of her books.
If A Romance of Two Worlds still sounds insufferable to you, let me recommend [b:Stella Fregelius: A Tale of Three Destinies|6328819|Stella Fregelius A Tale of Three Destinies|H. Rider Haggard|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347939471s/6328819.jpg|6514447] (1901) instead. It has similar themes of the beauty and majesty of the immortal afterlife versus the crude clay of the doomed body. Basically the Christian reworking of the Platonic ideal. Not surprisingly, Corelli and Haggard were mutual admirers of each other's work, so there may have been some influence there. But enlightened Stella is a much nicer, more sympathetic character than Heliobas and not!Corelli.
Now Corelli was an early proponent of what we would call the New Age movement, and, looking back after decades of cults and gurus, there is a lot about Heliobas's character that raises red flags. He claims to have all the answers to life's Big Questions if only you follow him; he deliberately isolates a vulnerable woman from her friends and family; he is viewed as infallible by this same woman, who blindly lets him administer mysterious potions to her (thankfully not made with Flavor Aid and cyanide); he isolates his middle-aged sister as well, claiming the protagonist is the only female companion he's found suitable for her (he holds quite a few misogynistic beliefs); and, most alarmingly, he outright condemns critical thinking and rationality as symptoms of dangerous atheism and human fickleness. Both the protagonist and Heliobas are also laughably elitist, loudly proclaiming their Christian values yet unthinkingly lording it over household domestics and failing to recognize how their wealth affords them this exalted lifestyle dedicated solely to artistic and spiritual pursuits. Corelli, through her avatar, explicitly links artistic talent to Christian virtue. True artists have a unique connection to God, you see, that allows His forces of love and creation to flow through them. This means the world just doesn't appreciate them and only likes derivative losers, because fuck those people who need to make a living.
/rant
You're probably wondering why I gave this book four stars. Well, it is a compelling story, at least in audiobook form. Marie Corelli was basically the Dan Brown of her day, known for novels inspired by esoteric lore that were wildly popular despite negative critical reception. Her wacky ideas about electricity were actually reflected in contemporary physics, which believed that an otherworldly ether filled all space and was necessary for electrical and wave transmission. At the time of her book, this was developing into the concept of the spatial fourth dimension, which also has its roots in the theosophical and occult trends of the era. For all Corelli's self-righteous Christian blather, many of these mystical thinkers, such as Claude Bragdon and Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, drew extensively on Eastern and ancient pagan beliefs for their perception of another level of reality which serves as an heavenly well for artistic inspiration. (See Linda Dalrymple Henderson's essay in [b:Claude Bragdon & the Beautiful Necessity|9008536|Claude Bragdon & the Beautiful Necessity|Eugenia Victoria Ellis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1517405960s/9008536.jpg|13885965].)
Ironically, for all her own self-professed devotion to the highest Art, it seems like the critics were right, as Corelli has since fallen into obscurity, while Arthur Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells, and Rudyard Kipling - all of whom she outsold in their lifetime - are still household names.
Some side notes: Corelli is said to have been a lesbian, which the relationship between the protagonist and Zara would seem to support. While the Victorians did describe strong friendships in language that to us sounds romantic, Zara's disembodied soul-lover prevents the protagonist from kissing her while she's asleep, so there's that. Corelli also blatantly (and hilariously) pimps out her brother's shitty poetry, specifically [b:Love Letters of a Violinist and Other Poems|19058492|Love Letters of a Violinist and Other Poems|Eric Mackay|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1385790998s/19058492.jpg|27083931] and [b:Pygmalion in Cyprus, and Other Poems|28975304|Pygmalion in Cyprus, and Other Poems|Eric Mackay|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|49205117], even giving the publication info for one in the form of a footnote. He repaid her by with public defamation and claims that he was the real author of her books.
If A Romance of Two Worlds still sounds insufferable to you, let me recommend [b:Stella Fregelius: A Tale of Three Destinies|6328819|Stella Fregelius A Tale of Three Destinies|H. Rider Haggard|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347939471s/6328819.jpg|6514447] (1901) instead. It has similar themes of the beauty and majesty of the immortal afterlife versus the crude clay of the doomed body. Basically the Christian reworking of the Platonic ideal. Not surprisingly, Corelli and Haggard were mutual admirers of each other's work, so there may have been some influence there. But enlightened Stella is a much nicer, more sympathetic character than Heliobas and not!Corelli.
katewutz's review against another edition
4.0
We named this one of the Most Fun Reads of 2022 over on Literary Transgressions! https://literarytransgressions.wordpress.com/2023/01/16/our-2022-year-in-reading/
mandythebooklady's review against another edition
4.0
Classics are known for the difficulty in reading. BUT this particular book was written in such a modern way it is SO hard to believe it’s from 1886. I can understand why it was such a controversial book of its time because it talks about Christianity in a way I had never heard of. I definitely recommend reading this book to enlighten your mind and spirit in the possibilities.
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