bleadenreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
Mrs Gaskell has escaped vitriol and horror at the publication of her Life of Charlotte Bronte to stay in Rome with two of her daughters where she meets a community of poets, artists and Mr Charles Norton...
In 2013, Nell Stevens is embarking on her Ph.D. - about the community of artists and writers living in Rome in the mid-nineteenth century - and falling drastically in love with a man who lives in another city. As Nell chases her heart around the world, and as Mrs Gaskell forms the greatest connection of her life, these two women, though centuries apart, are drawn together.
I LOVED THIS SO MUCH!
Firstly, the Gaskell parts incredibly well researched, obviously due to Nell's phd but it wasn't an endless churning out of facts, it felt intimate and real like a diary. I love reading Elizabeth Gaskell and I visited her house last year, so this was a fascinating insight into her life and friendship/love with Charles Norton.
It's an odd book to describe because its like a homage to Gaskell's life, writing and loves, which clearly Nell drew a lot of comfort and inspiration from throughout her academic career, rollercoaster relationship with Max and navigating her late 20s. It also accounts the brutality, competitiveness and loneliness of doing a PhD - was very similar to the experiences of my friends.
I could not put this down and I'm really enjoying reading memoirs by people with similar interests to me. I found it emotional, tragic and I completely empathised with Nell and screamed in frustration on behalf of Elizabeth Gaskell.
Highly recommend for any Gaskell fans and those who've had their heart broken 💔
I can't wait to read her fiction
In 2013, Nell Stevens is embarking on her Ph.D. - about the community of artists and writers living in Rome in the mid-nineteenth century - and falling drastically in love with a man who lives in another city. As Nell chases her heart around the world, and as Mrs Gaskell forms the greatest connection of her life, these two women, though centuries apart, are drawn together.
I LOVED THIS SO MUCH!
Firstly, the Gaskell parts incredibly well researched, obviously due to Nell's phd but it wasn't an endless churning out of facts, it felt intimate and real like a diary. I love reading Elizabeth Gaskell and I visited her house last year, so this was a fascinating insight into her life and friendship/love with Charles Norton.
It's an odd book to describe because its like a homage to Gaskell's life, writing and loves, which clearly Nell drew a lot of comfort and inspiration from throughout her academic career, rollercoaster relationship with Max and navigating her late 20s. It also accounts the brutality, competitiveness and loneliness of doing a PhD - was very similar to the experiences of my friends.
I could not put this down and I'm really enjoying reading memoirs by people with similar interests to me. I found it emotional, tragic and I completely empathised with Nell and screamed in frustration on behalf of Elizabeth Gaskell.
Highly recommend for any Gaskell fans and those who've had their heart broken 💔
I can't wait to read her fiction
menniemenace's review against another edition
2.0
This book gave me depression.
It is about the author, Nell, who is writing about Elizabeth Gaskell, and is in love with a man that is fickle and not solidly present.
For some reason, her relationship and Gaskell's are paralleled, though they have almost nothing in common. The only link is how they both ended which does not warrant a whole book.
When writing her thesis she is asked "Why this subject? What are you trying to say?" which are dumb questions. Academic writing isn't about the author's inner thoughts about a subject. No "Analytical essays on the significance of doorsteps in books" offer a window to the author's thoughts on the subject. This book, however, warrants these questions. What is Stevens' point? What is she trying to say?
I am, after reading this book, without an answer.
This book is sad, and not poetically sad, it's just sad. I want to bury myself under a blanket and cry. I feel as if I have a pit inside of me that will not be filled today. This book just made more hollow.
Popsugar 2020 challenge: A book with over 20 letters in the title.
It is about the author, Nell, who is writing about Elizabeth Gaskell, and is in love with a man that is fickle and not solidly present.
For some reason, her relationship and Gaskell's are paralleled, though they have almost nothing in common. The only link is how they both ended which does not warrant a whole book.
When writing her thesis she is asked "Why this subject? What are you trying to say?" which are dumb questions. Academic writing isn't about the author's inner thoughts about a subject. No "Analytical essays on the significance of doorsteps in books" offer a window to the author's thoughts on the subject. This book, however, warrants these questions. What is Stevens' point? What is she trying to say?
I am, after reading this book, without an answer.
This book is sad, and not poetically sad, it's just sad. I want to bury myself under a blanket and cry. I feel as if I have a pit inside of me that will not be filled today. This book just made more hollow.
Popsugar 2020 challenge: A book with over 20 letters in the title.
sophiaxlm's review against another edition
3.0
一本不太常规的传记类作品。作者是KCL的phd学生，thesis的主题是Mrs Gaskell（《南方与北方》的作者）的罗马情结和与一个年轻男人之间也许从没明说过的感情。故事在讲述Gaskell的生平和作者本人一段纠结的跨国恋情之间交替进行，而后者就是让我觉得这本书有点一言难尽的主要原因：作者的文风和笔力让我无法对她的纠结和痛苦产生任何共鸣，只想翻翻白眼说“差不多得了”，而且也不觉得把Gaskell拉进这个故事里有什么必然逻辑。不过关于Gaskell的部分倒是让我对她给勃朗特写的那本传记有点兴趣。
jeep8read's review against another edition
3.0
I was disappointed. The reviews led me to expect much more. I read it in conjunction with an on-line book club's reading of Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South because the book was suppose to time flip from then to now. The Gaskell informatin was interesting. The now plot was totally boring.
lola425's review against another edition
4.0
Fell more in love with Mrs. Gaskell and was rooting for Stevens to find her way. Stevens' own relationship undergoes scrutiny at the same time she is examining the relationship between Elizabeth Gaskell and Charles Eliot Norton. Stevens is able to take what could be dry biographical material and make it come to life.
carolyngrace's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
4.75