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A review by mx_malaprop
The Shuttle by Frances Hodgson Burnett
3.0
The Shuttle could have easily gotten four stars from me. The beginning is strong, and the ending is compelling. The middle, however, gets a bit laborious with condescending vignettes in which characters from backgrounds of wealth or nobility feel ever so edified in interacting with characters from more humble backgrounds. The story could have been a bit more economically crafted.
The protagonist, Betty Vanderpoel, seems to have virtually no flaws. She's repeatedly referred to as having "genius," and her extraordinary beauty is described perhaps a bit more than necessary, so though she's an interesting character, she's not quite plausible. Throughout the story money seems to be an easy answer to a multitude of problems, which also detracts a bit from general plausibility.
That said, there's a lot about The Shuttle that makes it worth reading (though if you end up skimming a passage here and there, well, no one has to know ;-)). If you grew up reading The Secret Garden and A Little Princess, you'll probably enjoy the similar story world. Also, it shares a common theme with Edith Wharton's The Buccaneers, i.e. marriages between well-to-do New Yorkers and English nobility of the turn of the 20th century, so if you liked The Buccaneers, you might be interested in Burnett's treatment of the subject.
The protagonist, Betty Vanderpoel, seems to have virtually no flaws. She's repeatedly referred to as having "genius," and her extraordinary beauty is described perhaps a bit more than necessary, so though she's an interesting character, she's not quite plausible. Throughout the story money seems to be an easy answer to a multitude of problems, which also detracts a bit from general plausibility.
That said, there's a lot about The Shuttle that makes it worth reading (though if you end up skimming a passage here and there, well, no one has to know ;-)). If you grew up reading The Secret Garden and A Little Princess, you'll probably enjoy the similar story world. Also, it shares a common theme with Edith Wharton's The Buccaneers, i.e. marriages between well-to-do New Yorkers and English nobility of the turn of the 20th century, so if you liked The Buccaneers, you might be interested in Burnett's treatment of the subject.