zdu's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
annenikoline's review against another edition
3.0
I would be very much delighted to give The Female Quixote by Charlotte Lennox five stats; the plot is his magnificent, but the writing is something very different. Dialogues are not marked by quotation marks and that makes the novel heavy to read, also the names of the characters are for some reason written in italics. I mostly read it because Jane Austen used to, but I do hope to get around it some other time.
haleekirby's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Read this for class and the discussions made it much better but it’s still a bit tedious
princessleia4life's review against another edition
4.0
Was really good. Not only a parody of Don Quixote, but I could see where Jane Austen pulled a lot from this and made fun of it in Northanger Abbey and Emma. Some descriptions of the "histories" can get boring, but otherwise a very funny, and easy to read book.
becygee's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
Sucks that the “had” to “cure” Arabella
readorrot's review against another edition
4.0
This book is hilarious. It is such a fun, clever spin on Don Quixote. It manages to have a fun time while also creating situations that comment on women's space and agency in 18th century society. It's certainly more enjoyable if you've read some amatory fiction and have an idea of the books that came before, but I think you can still understand and appreciate the ridiculousness of everything without that experience.
howlsmovinglibrary's review against another edition
4.0
One of the better classics I've read (and one of the only books I've enjoyed on my course this year) - if you enjoy Austen's Emma or Northanger Abbey, where you and the narrator sit alongside each other and despair as the heroine makes foolish mistake after foolish mistake, then I'd definitely recommend it. Also good for anybody who has had to suffer any Middle English in their degree - I felt like this book mocked and derided every aspect of Medieval romance that had frustrated the hell out of me while I was reading them.
Arabella is a pretty, clever girl, who grew up in solitude with only books company. With little knowledge of the real world, she begins to see the romances she reads as representative of reality, and once she gains access to the outside this begins to cause serious problems. What is a girl to do when she's constantly at risk of getting carried away, can't let the guys she fancies profess their love her without being mortally offended, and her lovers keep almost dying because of her being so cold to her? Essentially the book shows the ridiculousness of the restrictions romance conventions placed on women, showing how it is not exactly a viable option on how to live a normal life or to perceive reality.
While the book dragged on a bit (with lot of the same things happening multiple times) I still enjoyed it. Although Arabella annoyed me at times, I actually found her to be a likeable character (I know some people disagree). Mostly I liked this book for its literary merits, I wouldn't exactly read it for recreation, but as a course book it was a pretty fun read.
Arabella is a pretty, clever girl, who grew up in solitude with only books company. With little knowledge of the real world, she begins to see the romances she reads as representative of reality, and once she gains access to the outside this begins to cause serious problems. What is a girl to do when she's constantly at risk of getting carried away, can't let the guys she fancies profess their love her without being mortally offended, and her lovers keep almost dying because of her being so cold to her? Essentially the book shows the ridiculousness of the restrictions romance conventions placed on women, showing how it is not exactly a viable option on how to live a normal life or to perceive reality.
While the book dragged on a bit (with lot of the same things happening multiple times) I still enjoyed it. Although Arabella annoyed me at times, I actually found her to be a likeable character (I know some people disagree). Mostly I liked this book for its literary merits, I wouldn't exactly read it for recreation, but as a course book it was a pretty fun read.