katewutz's review against another edition
challenging
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mg_libros's review against another edition
3.0
3/2022 Esta era una de las novelas favoritas de Jane Austen y a mí se me ha atascado un poco, pero no era ella, he sido yo.
Me ha costado un poco entrar en el ritmo pausado de esta novela, tarda bastante en que empiecen a pasar cosas, pero alrededor del tercio ya salí del atasco y todo bien, teniendo en cuenta que no es una acción trepidante.
Pensaba todo el rato qué suerte no estar sujetas a tantísimas normas hechas solamente por aparentar y que me gustaría ver una adaptación.
Si os gustan las novelas de tacitas, dadle.
La traducción (maravillosa y llena de detalles) es de @noemijfurquet
Me ha costado un poco entrar en el ritmo pausado de esta novela, tarda bastante en que empiecen a pasar cosas, pero alrededor del tercio ya salí del atasco y todo bien, teniendo en cuenta que no es una acción trepidante.
Pensaba todo el rato qué suerte no estar sujetas a tantísimas normas hechas solamente por aparentar y que me gustaría ver una adaptación.
Si os gustan las novelas de tacitas, dadle.
La traducción (maravillosa y llena de detalles) es de @noemijfurquet
saralynnburnett's review against another edition
5.0
A VERY funny book about a young woman coming of age in (ridiculous) London society.
margaretkearney's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.75
alicechannington's review against another edition
5.0
It was amazing novel that I lost two nights of no sleep reading this ebook. It is so well written and Belinda’s a heroine I enjoyed reading about.
ginnikin's review against another edition
2.0
Well, it had a great start, but then it was clearly going where it shouldn't have. I can't get over Hervey's behaviour towards Virginia/Rachel. The thing with Vincent's gambling was sudden and short. What about other people Luttridge fleeced? Belinda deserves better.
berylbird's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Jane Austen read Edgeworth's novels and mentions 'Belinda' in her novel, Northanger Abbey. This was a fascinating read as far as study of the times and manners, roles and expectations of women, a surprising recognition of gambling as an addiction, but lacking in tension and difficult for me to engage with the characters. I liked Belinda as a character, but she was too perfect, no flaws. Clarence Hervey was flawed and more interesting as a character. I felt empathy for the women who are so constricted by their societal roles that the highlight of their lives was the search for the perfect partner. Some women led purposeful lives after their marriage, but even then, that purpose seemed to be driven by the search for the perfect partner for a sister, friend, niece, granddaughter, cousin, and so on. Lady Delacour was a very flawed, multi-faceted character and therefore most interesting. She believes she is dying because a quack doctor has told her so (she has an old wound that seemingly has not healed properly). She carries on with other men . . . it seems to be all flirting, frolicking, and partying under her husband's nose; Lord Delacour drinks incessantly. Lady Delacour has a transformation and Edgeworth makes it credible. Belinda is a paradigm of virtue; she is absolutely flawless in the face of adversity. She is not an unlikable character; she just doesn't seem real. No doubt, many young women reading Edgeworth's novel during the Regency and Victorian eras would have loved Belinda. I'm not judging them. I might have liked it more as well is I had lived during that time period. Today, women can have careers, interests, hobbies, and Goodread accounts. Yes, we've even moved beyond bringing home the bacon and frying it up in a pan. Remember the 1979 Enjoli perfume 'I'm a Woman' commercial. The Enjoli woman was a 24 hour woman who never let her man forget he was a man, all while making money and being Suzy homemaker in the kitchen.
Clarence Hervey is Belinda's primary love interest, a man about town, well-fashioned, and one of Lady Belacour's ardent admirers. As another man shows up to create tension, and Clarence Hervey's situation (does he have a mistress?) becomes public, I became engaged enough to finish this novel. This was a challenging read for me; my heart was not in it. I'm not sure if it was the focus on romance or Belinda's flawless character, or perhaps my aggravation with Clarence Hervey's situation. The pacing was uneven, but Edgeworth drew her character's skillfully and manipulated her plot expertly, so I cannot give her less than 3 stars.
Maria Edgeworth, according to Wikipedia, was the most read author during the first decade of the 19th century. Her father was Richard Edgeworth, who eventually fathered twenty-two children with four wives. She developed a strong bond with her father who educated her in law, literature, Irish economics, politics, and science. The style of her novels is morally and socially didactic of which 'Belinda' is a good example. There is a lesson of the highest level of womanly behavior capable of being achieved at the heart of Belinda. Always calm, unruffled, the eye in the center of the storm, and in this particular story, maintaining the light of love for the heroic man she claims in her heart, but not publicly before he announces his love. The man must lead. Everything, always proper.
Clarence Hervey is Belinda's primary love interest, a man about town, well-fashioned, and one of Lady Belacour's ardent admirers. As another man shows up to create tension, and Clarence Hervey's situation (does he have a mistress?) becomes public, I became engaged enough to finish this novel. This was a challenging read for me; my heart was not in it. I'm not sure if it was the focus on romance or Belinda's flawless character, or perhaps my aggravation with Clarence Hervey's situation. The pacing was uneven, but Edgeworth drew her character's skillfully and manipulated her plot expertly, so I cannot give her less than 3 stars.
Maria Edgeworth, according to Wikipedia, was the most read author during the first decade of the 19th century. Her father was Richard Edgeworth, who eventually fathered twenty-two children with four wives. She developed a strong bond with her father who educated her in law, literature, Irish economics, politics, and science. The style of her novels is morally and socially didactic of which 'Belinda' is a good example. There is a lesson of the highest level of womanly behavior capable of being achieved at the heart of Belinda. Always calm, unruffled, the eye in the center of the storm, and in this particular story, maintaining the light of love for the heroic man she claims in her heart, but not publicly before he announces his love. The man must lead. Everything, always proper.