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Beautiful Lies
London 1887. For Maribel Campbell Lowe, the beautiful bohemian wife of a maverick politician, it is the year to make something of herself. A self-proclaimed Chilean heiress educated in Paris, she is torn between poetry and the new art of photography. But it is soon plain that Maribel’s choices are not so simple. As her husband’s career hangs by a thread, her real past, and the family she abandoned, come back to haunt them both. When the notorious newspaper editor Alfred Webster begins to take an uncommon interest in Maribel, she fears he will not only destroy Edward’s career but both of their reputations.
Inspired by the true story of a politician’s wife who lived a double life for decades, Beautiful Lies is set in a time that, fraught with economic uncertainty and tabloid scandal-mongering, uncannily presages our own.
Inspired by the true story of a politician’s wife who lived a double life for decades, Beautiful Lies is set in a time that, fraught with economic uncertainty and tabloid scandal-mongering, uncannily presages our own.
384 pages, Paperback
First published June 7, 2012
33 people are currently reading
1101 people want to read
About the author
Clare Clark
14 books140 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Clare Clark (b.1967) is the author of The Great Stink, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year, and The Nature of Monsters.
Clark's novel Beautiful Lives (2012) was inspired by the lives of Gabriela and R.B. Cunninghame Graham.
Clare Clark (b.1967) is the author of The Great Stink, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year, and The Nature of Monsters.
Clark's novel Beautiful Lives (2012) was inspired by the lives of Gabriela and R.B. Cunninghame Graham.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
August 20, 2012
If Maribel had not smoked, I'm guessing that this historical fiction would have been a good 25 pages shorter. But Maribel smoked, and we read about where she got her cigarettes, how she felt before, during, after smoking, how the ashtrays overflowed, how the smoke and the tips of the cigarettes looked, much more than I ever wanted to know about this particular habit of hers. Not only did she smoke obsessively, the author described it obsessively.
Maribel was the wife of a late-19th century liberal politician capable of making strong enemies. Unfortunately, she came across as only a foolish woman who, despite beautiful lies, was not particularly interesting or even particularly likable. She and her husband were both multi-faceted, but her friend Charlotte was too good to be real.
What I liked about the novel is the information on the politics and attitudes of the period, and that the major characters, although fictionalized, were based on real people. I liked that other real people such as Oscar Wilde appeared under their own names. I like reading about the Victorian era.
The first book I read by this author, The Nature of Monsters, left a very favorable impression on me although it was a dark book. The second I read by her, The Great Stink, was much less interesting to me, and there were parts of it I didn't care for at all. This one lies somewhere between those two. I enjoyed it for a summer read but I didn't love it.
I was given a copy of the book for review.
Maribel was the wife of a late-19th century liberal politician capable of making strong enemies. Unfortunately, she came across as only a foolish woman who, despite beautiful lies, was not particularly interesting or even particularly likable. She and her husband were both multi-faceted, but her friend Charlotte was too good to be real.
What I liked about the novel is the information on the politics and attitudes of the period, and that the major characters, although fictionalized, were based on real people. I liked that other real people such as Oscar Wilde appeared under their own names. I like reading about the Victorian era.
The first book I read by this author, The Nature of Monsters, left a very favorable impression on me although it was a dark book. The second I read by her, The Great Stink, was much less interesting to me, and there were parts of it I didn't care for at all. This one lies somewhere between those two. I enjoyed it for a summer read but I didn't love it.
I was given a copy of the book for review.
March 9, 2013
Right. The main character is a selfish, reckless woman who can't understand that her actions have consequences (and not just for herself). She disdains things that are "other" and wonders why everyone else isn't grateful and appreciative of her heartache.Most of her characterization is tied to her smoking, which could have been interesting if a)the details of it weren't so excessive (though I guess the cover of the novel foreshadowed this) and b) if it wasn't her only unique trait.
It may sound harsh - and, I'm actually okay with a sort of anti-hero if it's done right - but Maribel is too narcissistic to root on. If only she hadn't been at the heart of the book, or if she had grown. She reminds me of another heroine I absolutely cannot stand - Scarlett O'Hara. Meh...
It may sound harsh - and, I'm actually okay with a sort of anti-hero if it's done right - but Maribel is too narcissistic to root on. If only she hadn't been at the heart of the book, or if she had grown. She reminds me of another heroine I absolutely cannot stand - Scarlett O'Hara. Meh...
December 3, 2012
I admit that I was more than a little intrigued when I heard of this book. The cover was a killer. London in the 1880s, politician with a bad reputation and even worse bank balance, a newspaperman ferreting out any private detail and the politician's wife conveniently having one - makes for a compelling plot line. Or so I thought. The books runs on for 500 pages, and does touch upon all the above, but in a totally unsatisfactory fashion. Maribel is front and center of this book, and the reason the book is a failure for me. She's strong of course, the way women in women's fiction are strong, which means she is an arrogant opinionated harpy, but many people in the book "love" her. The only people who don't like her are unspeakably evil. Must be nice to be a woman in a book.
Maribel hates other women. She scoffs at the bad fashion of feminists. She thinks everything that she doesn't know is charlatanry, and people who do believe in those things as nothing more than fools not worth her time. She calls every person she goes to dinner with tedious and boring, never once thinking how smug and boring she herself is. She complains that it is too hot in London, but when she gets to Scotland it's too rainy and boring and village-y. She thinks politics has become boring now, because they talk about starving people in Trafalgar square while before they would talk about beauty and poetry. She contends that cigarettes makes her think and write, but the only things she comes up with are trite lines not worth the paper they're written on. In fact, cigarettes get their own 50 pages or so - the way Maribel goes on and on about them, you would think they are the holy grail and the fountain of youth. Cigarettes I think are a way to show she's strong, because she smokes in all places without respecting anyone's opinion. She smokes in the sick room of her best friend, even after her friend's husband has asked her not to. She smokes in the parlor of her sister, without asking for permission, while her sister looks on, shocked at the discourtesy. Why should she respect other people? They are beneath her superior intellect. Never mind that she's not so good at anything she does. It gets worse. She used to be a prostitute, but she contends she is shocked that some people would stoop so low as to sell a photograph to a newspaperman. Never mind that she only presumed this - the poor lady has only lent the photograph and is too poor to sue the newspaperman. She ran away from her family because she wanted to make it big on stage. She failed at that, and when she becomes a politician's wife, her family is careful to not cause any scandal for her even though she has not bothered that her disappearance has caused a scandal for them. She calls two of her sisters foolish leeches, whereas the sister in question that we see on the page is nothing but genuinely happy to see this witch. Her favorite sister takes pains to tell her that she does not want to see her, but typically Maribel does not care for that. Never mind that thirteen years have gone by without her making the slightest effort to inquire after this darling who now Maribel cannot live without. In the end, she leaves her alone not because of any sense of wrongdoing on her part, but because Ida is too stubborn to reason with.
I see this review is short on everything else, but that is also the problem of the book. I contemplated giving this two stars, because there are things I did like, but then I realized that everything else is a backdrop for the Maribel show. Subplots are introduced and dropped without a care, when it doesn't suit Maribel to remember them. The Wild West is a backdrop for Maribel to first complain, then photograph (nothing much comes out of it). The socialist politics of Edward is a backdrop for Maribel to first complain, then "Stand Staunchly For" without much sincerity. The riots of Trafalgar Square is another backdrop - it sends Edward to prison, but we are more concerned about the fact that Maribel foolishly faces off with her enemy (who she first flirted with, then he got too insane), and then to send her to Spain on a wild goose chase. Do the starving multitude get another penny's thought after that? Ha! She lost her son, who is supposedly roaming around her house as a spirit, but that's only to give her something to do in Spain. That's dropped too, as soon as she gets back to Britain. How could you drop something like that? Her best friend Charlotte supports her throughout her various real and imagined ordeals, and what does she get for her troubles? A fractured arm when she is heavily pregnant because dear Maribel was in a hurry to run away from an unpleasant meeting. Charlotte seems to have her own trouble she hides from Maribel, while she is moaning about something or other. But does Maribel care? Ha. She saunters off with the lightning strike realization that Charlotte too has secrets, and then we never hear from her again. Let's not even talk about Arthur Webster, much is made out of him - but he has zero depth. He's an unscrupulous man, a zealot. His father was a priest. He considers nude photographs of women art and attends seances. That's basically all we know or care about Webster. Talk about a cardboard cutout. There are so many dropped names - Blavatsky, Gladstone, Oscar Wilde! - none of them get anything more than a passing mention, because they cannot be allowed to upstage Maribel.
Bottomline of this long, tedious review: I hated Maribel, and since there is nothing in the book that does not in some fashion show her up, I hated this book. 1 star.
Maribel hates other women. She scoffs at the bad fashion of feminists. She thinks everything that she doesn't know is charlatanry, and people who do believe in those things as nothing more than fools not worth her time. She calls every person she goes to dinner with tedious and boring, never once thinking how smug and boring she herself is. She complains that it is too hot in London, but when she gets to Scotland it's too rainy and boring and village-y. She thinks politics has become boring now, because they talk about starving people in Trafalgar square while before they would talk about beauty and poetry. She contends that cigarettes makes her think and write, but the only things she comes up with are trite lines not worth the paper they're written on. In fact, cigarettes get their own 50 pages or so - the way Maribel goes on and on about them, you would think they are the holy grail and the fountain of youth. Cigarettes I think are a way to show she's strong, because she smokes in all places without respecting anyone's opinion. She smokes in the sick room of her best friend, even after her friend's husband has asked her not to. She smokes in the parlor of her sister, without asking for permission, while her sister looks on, shocked at the discourtesy. Why should she respect other people? They are beneath her superior intellect. Never mind that she's not so good at anything she does. It gets worse. She used to be a prostitute, but she contends she is shocked that some people would stoop so low as to sell a photograph to a newspaperman. Never mind that she only presumed this - the poor lady has only lent the photograph and is too poor to sue the newspaperman. She ran away from her family because she wanted to make it big on stage. She failed at that, and when she becomes a politician's wife, her family is careful to not cause any scandal for her even though she has not bothered that her disappearance has caused a scandal for them. She calls two of her sisters foolish leeches, whereas the sister in question that we see on the page is nothing but genuinely happy to see this witch. Her favorite sister takes pains to tell her that she does not want to see her, but typically Maribel does not care for that. Never mind that thirteen years have gone by without her making the slightest effort to inquire after this darling who now Maribel cannot live without. In the end, she leaves her alone not because of any sense of wrongdoing on her part, but because Ida is too stubborn to reason with.
I see this review is short on everything else, but that is also the problem of the book. I contemplated giving this two stars, because there are things I did like, but then I realized that everything else is a backdrop for the Maribel show. Subplots are introduced and dropped without a care, when it doesn't suit Maribel to remember them. The Wild West is a backdrop for Maribel to first complain, then photograph (nothing much comes out of it). The socialist politics of Edward is a backdrop for Maribel to first complain, then "Stand Staunchly For" without much sincerity. The riots of Trafalgar Square is another backdrop - it sends Edward to prison, but we are more concerned about the fact that Maribel foolishly faces off with her enemy (who she first flirted with, then he got too insane), and then to send her to Spain on a wild goose chase. Do the starving multitude get another penny's thought after that? Ha! She lost her son, who is supposedly roaming around her house as a spirit, but that's only to give her something to do in Spain. That's dropped too, as soon as she gets back to Britain. How could you drop something like that? Her best friend Charlotte supports her throughout her various real and imagined ordeals, and what does she get for her troubles? A fractured arm when she is heavily pregnant because dear Maribel was in a hurry to run away from an unpleasant meeting. Charlotte seems to have her own trouble she hides from Maribel, while she is moaning about something or other. But does Maribel care? Ha. She saunters off with the lightning strike realization that Charlotte too has secrets, and then we never hear from her again. Let's not even talk about Arthur Webster, much is made out of him - but he has zero depth. He's an unscrupulous man, a zealot. His father was a priest. He considers nude photographs of women art and attends seances. That's basically all we know or care about Webster. Talk about a cardboard cutout. There are so many dropped names - Blavatsky, Gladstone, Oscar Wilde! - none of them get anything more than a passing mention, because they cannot be allowed to upstage Maribel.
Bottomline of this long, tedious review: I hated Maribel, and since there is nothing in the book that does not in some fashion show her up, I hated this book. 1 star.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 22, 2012
Victorian History
I’m a Victorian fiction lover, both classic and recently written. Clare Clark has written a wonderfully researched semi-mystery in “Beautiful Lies”. I didn’t love it but I sure liked it a lot. I was reminded of the Anne Perry’s Thomas Pitt series both in Clark’s writing style as well as the setting and the unusual, for the times, marriage. The main characters are Maribel and Edward Campbell Lowe. She’s an aspiring poet and a somewhat successful photographer and he’s a radical member for Parliament. They’re upper class but financially strapped. They share a passion for the West of America, a passion for living large, and a need to have impact in their world. They also have a secret that could ruin them.
It’s set during the tail end of the British recession that took place from 1884 through 1887 when the working classes, who’d lost their jobs set up camp in Trafalgar Square to protest how they were been treated. It was a time when there were no social safety nets and the lower classes were subject to the upper class whims with almost no recourse. Socialism was taking hold. There were protests. Maribel and Edward plunge themselves into such causes as they still cling to their status. Theirs is not a story that will warm your heart but it will feed your brain concerning the United Kingdom in 1887. Don’t miss the section in the back called ‘author’s notes’ which outlines this social and historical period in more detail.
I’m a Victorian fiction lover, both classic and recently written. Clare Clark has written a wonderfully researched semi-mystery in “Beautiful Lies”. I didn’t love it but I sure liked it a lot. I was reminded of the Anne Perry’s Thomas Pitt series both in Clark’s writing style as well as the setting and the unusual, for the times, marriage. The main characters are Maribel and Edward Campbell Lowe. She’s an aspiring poet and a somewhat successful photographer and he’s a radical member for Parliament. They’re upper class but financially strapped. They share a passion for the West of America, a passion for living large, and a need to have impact in their world. They also have a secret that could ruin them.
It’s set during the tail end of the British recession that took place from 1884 through 1887 when the working classes, who’d lost their jobs set up camp in Trafalgar Square to protest how they were been treated. It was a time when there were no social safety nets and the lower classes were subject to the upper class whims with almost no recourse. Socialism was taking hold. There were protests. Maribel and Edward plunge themselves into such causes as they still cling to their status. Theirs is not a story that will warm your heart but it will feed your brain concerning the United Kingdom in 1887. Don’t miss the section in the back called ‘author’s notes’ which outlines this social and historical period in more detail.
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September 4, 2012I've read 'The Nature of Monsters' and 'The Great Stink' by Clare Clark and thought they were both excellent novels, both are well written, with engaging characters, believable relationships and plausible dialogue. I highly recommend them for readers who enjoy historical fiction.
I also tried to read 'Savage Lands' by Clare Clark and found myself giving up without finishing, which is what happened with 'Beautiful Lies'. I read over 200 pages of this book and wasn't compelled to continue. Part of my lack of interest was the way the mysterious secret was revealed (or concealed) it was alluded to but in a way that created confusion rather than suspense. I also didn't feel any connection to the main character, it was difficult to get a grasp on who she was. I thought the author was able convey a clear picture of the period and the politics during the time, in fact the period seemed more like a character to me than the protagonist did.
Overall I was disappointed that this story never pulled me in but I will continue to try Clark's books because I know when they are to my taste I like them very much.
I also tried to read 'Savage Lands' by Clare Clark and found myself giving up without finishing, which is what happened with 'Beautiful Lies'. I read over 200 pages of this book and wasn't compelled to continue. Part of my lack of interest was the way the mysterious secret was revealed (or concealed) it was alluded to but in a way that created confusion rather than suspense. I also didn't feel any connection to the main character, it was difficult to get a grasp on who she was. I thought the author was able convey a clear picture of the period and the politics during the time, in fact the period seemed more like a character to me than the protagonist did.
Overall I was disappointed that this story never pulled me in but I will continue to try Clark's books because I know when they are to my taste I like them very much.
August 7, 2022
Really enjoyed this Novel and it’s insight into Victorian life. Maribel was a great character , strong , interesting with a difficult relationship with her family especially her mother . That gave such an added depth to the plot and suspense that later developed as secrets could have caused a scandal that would have affected hers and her husbands life .
March 26, 2017
I heard about this book on the blog www.cornflowerbooks.co.uk/ and it sounded like the kind of chunky neo-Victorian novel full of scandal and secrets that I would love. Set in the late Victorian period, the story is told from the perspective of the beautiful Maribel Campbell Lowe, the bohemian, Chilean born wife of a radical Scottish MP. But Mirabel has a past that she has taken great pains to keep her friends and husband’s social circle from discovering…what is she hiding and will her secret be uncovered?
I liked the first 50 pages and the last 200. But the middle draaaaggggeeeed. The best bit is when Maribel gets told off. Actually, she gets told off twice. The whole book could have used a bit more spark like that. Personally, I found it to be too chock full of ye olde historical events and personages which help disguise the fact that there was no plot, or rather, there were three or four potential plot lines all rather ineffectually drawn out. So obviously Clark has the talent, but I think she was more keen on getting the historical background right than she was in telling a page-turning yarn.
And the reader must know that Maribel smokes. As a former smoker, this book was like nicotine porn… another reviewer here on goodreads noted, the book would be a good deal shorter if the author cut every mention of Maribel drawing the smoke into her lungs, stubbing out her smokes in overflowing ashtrays, etc. Most readers probably got it the first time: Maribel is unconventional and she smokes in a time period and social class when it was rare for women to do so. ‘Nuff said.
I liked the first 50 pages and the last 200. But the middle draaaaggggeeeed. The best bit is when Maribel gets told off. Actually, she gets told off twice. The whole book could have used a bit more spark like that. Personally, I found it to be too chock full of ye olde historical events and personages which help disguise the fact that there was no plot, or rather, there were three or four potential plot lines all rather ineffectually drawn out. So obviously Clark has the talent, but I think she was more keen on getting the historical background right than she was in telling a page-turning yarn.
And the reader must know that Maribel smokes. As a former smoker, this book was like nicotine porn… another reviewer here on goodreads noted, the book would be a good deal shorter if the author cut every mention of Maribel drawing the smoke into her lungs, stubbing out her smokes in overflowing ashtrays, etc. Most readers probably got it the first time: Maribel is unconventional and she smokes in a time period and social class when it was rare for women to do so. ‘Nuff said.
April 7, 2013
Well. My overall impression is that it is a carefully written book with a heavily historical "feel", but one that ultimately lacks a powerful plot or final impression at all. I expected that the story would revolve around the terrible newspaperman's threat to reveal Maribel's background OR something about Maribel getting involved in spiritualism, but it didn't. I'm not 100% sure WHAT it revolved around: Maribel's discovery of photography as a medium? Her husband's battle for human rights in England? Her realization that her memory of her family was not shared by the rest of her family? Many interesting characters and bits surface--even Oscar Wilde gets mentioned several times!--but ultimately, the book ends up feeling disjointed and uneven. And. . . what IS it with Clark and cigarettes? Nicotine and its effects and the smell, appearance, rituals, etc., of smoking are practically characters in the story. Clark mentions in the post script that the historical character that inspired the novel was known to smoke, but her fictional version really does nothing else but, it seems!
So: B-, I'd say. Lots going on but doesn't live up to its full potential, unfortunately.
So: B-, I'd say. Lots going on but doesn't live up to its full potential, unfortunately.
November 27, 2021
Ich weiß auch nicht, das Buch war an sich nicht schlecht. Im Gegenteil, es war sogar sehr angenehm geschrieben und man hatte den Eindruck dass die Autorin sich wahnsinnig viel Mühe bei der Recherche gegeben hat. Aber der Geschichte fehlt es an Fokus. Es werden immer zu neue Themen aufgegriffen - die dann fallen gelassen werden um dem Sozialismus Platz zu machen. Es tröpfelt so vor sich hin - auf knapp 500 Seiten. Die Hälfte der Zeit raucht die Hauptfigur - was mich irgendwann nur noch gelangweilt hat. Aber dieses Laster passt im Allgemeinen zur Charakterschwäche der Hauptfigur, die wieder einmal so schwamming halbgegart feministisch daher kommt. Maribel denkt immer nur an sich und wenn sie dann mal an jemand anders denkt, ist sie auftragend fürsorglich. Mit der Hauptfigur konnte ich also recht wenig anfangen. Generell haben mich die Figuren sehr wenig interessiert und ich habe nur weitergelesen weil die Umgebung, das viktorianische London, und die Ereginisse an sich sehr gut beschrieben waren. Als es zu ende war, war ich jedoch nicht traurig. Das Ende kommt dann plötzlich zügig daher, in zwei Kapiteln kommt Fahrt auf - nur um dann recht gestelzt zu enden. Schade.
Für den sagenhaften Preis von 1,99 £ war es also durchaus in Ordnung. Zumindest bin ich jetzt in der Stimmung für Sherlock Holmes.
Für den sagenhaften Preis von 1,99 £ war es also durchaus in Ordnung. Zumindest bin ich jetzt in der Stimmung für Sherlock Holmes.
September 26, 2012
I don't know what to say about Beautiful Lies. It is so vivid, with Victorian images in the late 19th century, London. It played like a movie. I loved the author's style of writing. Her writing is so poetic. I could picture Trafalgar Square in London.
There is so much packed in this novel, it goes everywhere. At times I think it just is too much, what was the author thinking. But, it does works with Beautiful Lies.
There is lots of underlying mystery of smoking Maribel. What a scandal, a high society woman working, as a photographer, and a chain smoker. Her husband, Edward, charming, sophisticated member of Parliament. Always thinking of trying to make the right of the hard working man in the industrialist England.
There is a political mess, that has been caused by Webster, a newspaper man. The best part of the book was the end when the roles were reversed. Webster, had the rug swept under him from Maribel. Now, he is begging her to have sympathy for him. I loved it. Because he was ruining her husband, Edward's political career, and reputation. Once you did that is very hard for people to forget. But, now the joke was on him. Sound familiar with the politics of today. Using the newspaper for his own benefit, of the poor, or any politics. Isn't that what all newspapers, and politicians do
The book as I was reading made me dizzy, too many things happening. There is suspense, mystery, scandal ~lots of them. There is even a wild west show, with Cody, and Indians, and the golden Jubilee celebration of the queen.
A family scandal that Maribel's family and herself would rather forget and not see each other. But, something happens that both sides have no choice but ask a favor. This opens up Maribel's memories to try to reconcile with her favorite sister, Ida.
Ida was always the understanding sister, and her other sisters were not so understanding when they were young. It is ironic later, on that Ida is stubborn and won't forgive Maribel.
I will say, originally there was just too much things going on in the story. It was a bit over the top. I was wondering what was the author thinking? But, for some reason it still worked in the story. I was thinking this was too ridiculous. I still enjoyed the ride very much.
If you love historical fiction, loosely based on historical characters, and lots of action going on you will enjoy reading Beautiful Lies. I love the time period. I was given this novel to review by TLC Book Tours and I would like to thank them for allowing me to review. You can follow me, and read the other's book stops at my blog at http://susansliterarycafe.blogspot.com
There is so much packed in this novel, it goes everywhere. At times I think it just is too much, what was the author thinking. But, it does works with Beautiful Lies.
There is lots of underlying mystery of smoking Maribel. What a scandal, a high society woman working, as a photographer, and a chain smoker. Her husband, Edward, charming, sophisticated member of Parliament. Always thinking of trying to make the right of the hard working man in the industrialist England.
There is a political mess, that has been caused by Webster, a newspaper man. The best part of the book was the end when the roles were reversed. Webster, had the rug swept under him from Maribel. Now, he is begging her to have sympathy for him. I loved it. Because he was ruining her husband, Edward's political career, and reputation. Once you did that is very hard for people to forget. But, now the joke was on him. Sound familiar with the politics of today. Using the newspaper for his own benefit, of the poor, or any politics. Isn't that what all newspapers, and politicians do
The book as I was reading made me dizzy, too many things happening. There is suspense, mystery, scandal ~lots of them. There is even a wild west show, with Cody, and Indians, and the golden Jubilee celebration of the queen.
A family scandal that Maribel's family and herself would rather forget and not see each other. But, something happens that both sides have no choice but ask a favor. This opens up Maribel's memories to try to reconcile with her favorite sister, Ida.
Ida was always the understanding sister, and her other sisters were not so understanding when they were young. It is ironic later, on that Ida is stubborn and won't forgive Maribel.
I will say, originally there was just too much things going on in the story. It was a bit over the top. I was wondering what was the author thinking? But, for some reason it still worked in the story. I was thinking this was too ridiculous. I still enjoyed the ride very much.
If you love historical fiction, loosely based on historical characters, and lots of action going on you will enjoy reading Beautiful Lies. I love the time period. I was given this novel to review by TLC Book Tours and I would like to thank them for allowing me to review. You can follow me, and read the other's book stops at my blog at http://susansliterarycafe.blogspot.com
March 20, 2018
It's 1887, the year of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. England is in turmoil because of deep economic recession and unemployment, with resultant riots and demonstrations. There's deep political division between the liberals and the conservatives in Parliament and nothing is being done to help the nation's poor. Sound familiar to anyone?
This national unrest serves as the background for Clare Clark's new historical novel. Her main protagonist is Maria Isabel Constanza de la Flamandiere, an exotic, cigarette-smoking, childless dabbler in photography and poetry, married to Scottish laird Edward Campbell Lowe, a Radical Liberal MP and dedicated champion of the lower classes in Parliament. Edward is as interesting a character as his wife. As a young man he had traveled widely to places such as the Argentine pampas, Spain and France.
It is when traveling that Edward met, fell in love with and married Maribel. She is presented to English society as a French-Spanish woman raised in Chile. However, Maribel is not what she seems. The fictional past and persona that she and Edward have created for her must not be exposed as a lie since Edward's political career would be in jeopardy. In particular, they must be careful of Albert Webster, the almost fanatically Christian editor of the newspaper THE CITY CHRONICLE, who does not champion causes so much as desire to sell newspapers.
That's the main thrust of the novel, but it is a multi-layered story with much that is of interest about late Victorian life and other illusions and self-delusions to be found there. This is a time of decline of the upper classes in England, although they continue to delude themselves that their position in society is relevant.
This leads to the popularity of several escapes. Spiritualism and seances are a prevalent interest. Photography as an art form not necessarily representing reality is in vogue. And American Wild Bill Cody and his Wild West Show are in the country and wildly popular. So we have delusions and illusions about the afterlife, disinterest in knowing what's real in photography and life, and the huge popularity of an unreal depiction of Native Americans and the settlers' conquest of the Old West as entertainment.
Even Maribel and Edward, a couple who seem truly to be in love even after more than a decade of marriage, have a few secrets from each other. Maribel has told Edward almost everything about her past and who she really is but has kept back one major detail. And Edward, who seems much more dedicated to his career than to Maribel and leaves her to an almost independent life while he is out day and night in the interest of his political career, keeps his little secret about how he relaxes when the tension of politics become too much. (Not only that but his little secret is guessed at by Maribel although she keeps it secret that she knows about it.)
There are many more characters in the novel, politicians, influential people of the time, people from Maribel's past, Edward's friends and family members. Of these, in particular, there is a happily-married couple with many children, the husband a longtime friend of Edward and the wife now an intimate of Maribel, who may or may not be quite as happy as they seem. Perhaps nothing is exactly what it seems and that's what makes for such great reading here.
The standout characters in the book, of course, are Maribel and Edward. (It is interesting to note that they are based on a real political couple of the 1890s who had a similar secret.) When our fictional couple's secret is in danger of being revealed by newspaperman Webster, it is up to Maribel to make use of the illusions possible in photography to protect their lies.
This book is a multilayered and always entertaining expose of society of the time. It's skillfully
written and is a very engaging story. This is the first historical fiction by Clark that I have read and I will be on the lookout for more books by her.
This national unrest serves as the background for Clare Clark's new historical novel. Her main protagonist is Maria Isabel Constanza de la Flamandiere, an exotic, cigarette-smoking, childless dabbler in photography and poetry, married to Scottish laird Edward Campbell Lowe, a Radical Liberal MP and dedicated champion of the lower classes in Parliament. Edward is as interesting a character as his wife. As a young man he had traveled widely to places such as the Argentine pampas, Spain and France.
It is when traveling that Edward met, fell in love with and married Maribel. She is presented to English society as a French-Spanish woman raised in Chile. However, Maribel is not what she seems. The fictional past and persona that she and Edward have created for her must not be exposed as a lie since Edward's political career would be in jeopardy. In particular, they must be careful of Albert Webster, the almost fanatically Christian editor of the newspaper THE CITY CHRONICLE, who does not champion causes so much as desire to sell newspapers.
That's the main thrust of the novel, but it is a multi-layered story with much that is of interest about late Victorian life and other illusions and self-delusions to be found there. This is a time of decline of the upper classes in England, although they continue to delude themselves that their position in society is relevant.
This leads to the popularity of several escapes. Spiritualism and seances are a prevalent interest. Photography as an art form not necessarily representing reality is in vogue. And American Wild Bill Cody and his Wild West Show are in the country and wildly popular. So we have delusions and illusions about the afterlife, disinterest in knowing what's real in photography and life, and the huge popularity of an unreal depiction of Native Americans and the settlers' conquest of the Old West as entertainment.
Even Maribel and Edward, a couple who seem truly to be in love even after more than a decade of marriage, have a few secrets from each other. Maribel has told Edward almost everything about her past and who she really is but has kept back one major detail. And Edward, who seems much more dedicated to his career than to Maribel and leaves her to an almost independent life while he is out day and night in the interest of his political career, keeps his little secret about how he relaxes when the tension of politics become too much. (Not only that but his little secret is guessed at by Maribel although she keeps it secret that she knows about it.)
There are many more characters in the novel, politicians, influential people of the time, people from Maribel's past, Edward's friends and family members. Of these, in particular, there is a happily-married couple with many children, the husband a longtime friend of Edward and the wife now an intimate of Maribel, who may or may not be quite as happy as they seem. Perhaps nothing is exactly what it seems and that's what makes for such great reading here.
The standout characters in the book, of course, are Maribel and Edward. (It is interesting to note that they are based on a real political couple of the 1890s who had a similar secret.) When our fictional couple's secret is in danger of being revealed by newspaperman Webster, it is up to Maribel to make use of the illusions possible in photography to protect their lies.
This book is a multilayered and always entertaining expose of society of the time. It's skillfully
written and is a very engaging story. This is the first historical fiction by Clark that I have read and I will be on the lookout for more books by her.
July 29, 2019
I really couldn’t stand this book. I flipped through the last 200 pages as any more references to smoking would cause me spontaneous human combustion. It’s been a long time since I’ve read something quite so horrendous.
Read
October 3, 2021I'm afraid I gave up on this half way through. A lot of interesting history, but sadly for me, not enough of an interesting story. I couldn't really see where it was going, and I lost interest in finding out. I really wanted to enjoy this but it didn't work for me.
February 10, 2019
3,5 stars
February 23, 2021
I enjoyed this book for the galloping story, but it is deeply flawed. There are many sidetracks that come to nothing, and hints of things that also do not develop. Is it a paean to cigarette smoking? The issues of loss: her sister, her child, etc, are not developed satisfactorily, and there are anachronisms - such as calling something "your thing" -- that phrase emerged in the 1960s, not the 1880s. So although the main character is interesting, and the supporting characters are too, most of the many storylines sort of fizzle, and I was left with a feeling of dissatisfaction. Buffalo Bill, the "Indian," Webster, Ida and her husband, and so on are left a little dangling, and the side adventure to Spain is completely irrelevant and should have been edited out. The whole book could have been a lot better, with proper editing. Alas, that appears to be a thing of the past...
October 9, 2012
'Beautiful Lies' is a work of literary/historical fiction that chronicles the private life of Maribel Campbell Lowe, her family's hidden past, and a scandalous newspaper editor that threatens to destroy Maribel and her husband.
Clark did an impeccable job with this novel. Her writing style flowed effortlessly and I was transported back in time alongside Maribel from the very first page. The descriptions of the time and the various settings of the novel were done in such a way that I could simply close my eyes and I could vividly imagine the scene unfolding around me.
The characters in the book were very realistic and believable. They all had unique personalities and flaws that made them easy to identify with - I felt as if I knew them all personally, like I was taking part in the narrative myself. The author wrote the character of Maribel with such earnestness that even her mistakes and character flaws make the reader love her and sympathize with her. We feel her every emotion with intensity and vigor. All the characters are written with this amount of depth, so the heroine doesn't feel over-developed and the other characters are just as rounded, which I feel make the story all the more enchanting.
The novel swept me away from the first page and didn't release it's thrall until the last word. There aren't many times when a piece of literature makes a lasting impression on a reader, but this is one that I will be thinking and speaking about for a long time to come. Clark did a wonderful job bringing not only the past to life, but making a historical woman and her secrets come alive before our very eyes. It is an enthralling look into history and a beautifully written piece of literary fiction. I highly recommend this novel to lovers of literary and historical fiction.
Disclosure: I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Clark did an impeccable job with this novel. Her writing style flowed effortlessly and I was transported back in time alongside Maribel from the very first page. The descriptions of the time and the various settings of the novel were done in such a way that I could simply close my eyes and I could vividly imagine the scene unfolding around me.
The characters in the book were very realistic and believable. They all had unique personalities and flaws that made them easy to identify with - I felt as if I knew them all personally, like I was taking part in the narrative myself. The author wrote the character of Maribel with such earnestness that even her mistakes and character flaws make the reader love her and sympathize with her. We feel her every emotion with intensity and vigor. All the characters are written with this amount of depth, so the heroine doesn't feel over-developed and the other characters are just as rounded, which I feel make the story all the more enchanting.
The novel swept me away from the first page and didn't release it's thrall until the last word. There aren't many times when a piece of literature makes a lasting impression on a reader, but this is one that I will be thinking and speaking about for a long time to come. Clark did a wonderful job bringing not only the past to life, but making a historical woman and her secrets come alive before our very eyes. It is an enthralling look into history and a beautifully written piece of literary fiction. I highly recommend this novel to lovers of literary and historical fiction.
Disclosure: I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
December 7, 2012
A little disappointing.
I really like The Nature of Monsters, but gave up on The Great Stink, which I found really wordy with a storyline that kept going off on weird tangents. I think the building of the sewer system in London is a fascinating subject, but the concept was very much drowned in unnecessary fluff.
With that being said I was hoping The Great Stink was just a blimp in this author’s repertoire and that Beautiful Lies would again restore my love of this author and her take on Victorian fiction. Alas I was wrong, although I really tried to like this book, I found again the storyline wandering aimlessly so that by the ¾ way point I had learned hardly anything about Maribel and here “Beautiful Lies”.
At this point I am unsure I will finish reading..
No just couldn't finish it..
I really like The Nature of Monsters, but gave up on The Great Stink, which I found really wordy with a storyline that kept going off on weird tangents. I think the building of the sewer system in London is a fascinating subject, but the concept was very much drowned in unnecessary fluff.
With that being said I was hoping The Great Stink was just a blimp in this author’s repertoire and that Beautiful Lies would again restore my love of this author and her take on Victorian fiction. Alas I was wrong, although I really tried to like this book, I found again the storyline wandering aimlessly so that by the ¾ way point I had learned hardly anything about Maribel and here “Beautiful Lies”.
At this point I am unsure I will finish reading..
No just couldn't finish it..
November 18, 2012
I enjoyed reading this book, which is based on true stories from the 1880s in Britain. The plot is inventive and the characters appealing - both the heroes and the villains. Clare Clark clearly has an eye for attractive detail. She also has a strong moral compass, which I found added to my enjoyment of the book without ever becoming preachy. It is, in many ways, a book about socialism and social activism.
The reason this is a four- and not a five-star review, then, is Clark's rendering of late-nineteenth-century speech. For me, it is often a little anachronistic. The characters speak and think a bit too much like modern people, which is to say, too informally. When I first started reading, before the period of the action was clear to me, I assumed it was set in the 1920s. It is only a minor flaw, but a flaw nonetheless. Certainly don't let it put you off reading what is a most enjoyable story.
The reason this is a four- and not a five-star review, then, is Clark's rendering of late-nineteenth-century speech. For me, it is often a little anachronistic. The characters speak and think a bit too much like modern people, which is to say, too informally. When I first started reading, before the period of the action was clear to me, I assumed it was set in the 1920s. It is only a minor flaw, but a flaw nonetheless. Certainly don't let it put you off reading what is a most enjoyable story.
February 12, 2013
I really enjoyed this book and I certainly know a ton more about late 1800s London now. This book covers a lot - Buffalo Bill's Wild West, the queen's golden jubilee, a massive Socialist rebellion in Trafalgar square, photography techniques, fashion, and so on. Although I enjoyed learning about all of that, I marked it 4 stars instead of 5 because I sometimes felt like the author was more concerned with including historical events than a strong plot. There were plenty of story lines and some exciting action, don't get me wrong, but at some places (after Maribel's past was revealed) I'd put the book down without having any burning questions demanding that I pick it back up. Also, I found the dialogue with Charlotte and Henry laugh out loud funny at parts and I wish they would've been around more.
March 27, 2013
Yeah - it really was "ok"...I liked the main character - her determination, her search for art and beauty, her devotion to her husband, although that also annoyed me sometimes, and his casual trips to a brothel were utterly annoying. I also kept waiting for "the other shoe to drop," which it never did; guess that's a good thing but it also felt like a lot of suspense for nothing. And good grief! If Clark mentioned Maribel lighting up a cigarette, reaching for her cigarettes, or "feeling the smoke course through her body" ONE more time, I was gonna snap! I'm not sure if I was supposed to read something deeply significant into her addiction or what but it was just mentioned SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much that I honestly expected the book to end with her dying of "consumption" or whatever the Victorian equivalent of lung cancer was. So yes, my final review is it was "ok."
August 23, 2019
I enjoyed this for the historical aspects of the novel. Maribel smoked, a lot, and the descriptions of it were numerous and tiresome. I expected at the end, that she would die of lung cancer...there were enough lead ins to that, but if she did, we never heard.
The historic happenings in Victorian England were extremely enlightening, and then found out this was based on real people who had the history of Maribel and her husband. Beautiful lies...not so beautiful...sordid and sad. Maribel changed her life, left family for better pastures, abandoned a baby, and suffered in silence and fear. I suspect this happened a lot in those times.
It’s sad and she comes across as a self absorbed woman, trying to find forgiveness and redemption. Her enlightenment never quite rings true, though.
Well written
The historic happenings in Victorian England were extremely enlightening, and then found out this was based on real people who had the history of Maribel and her husband. Beautiful lies...not so beautiful...sordid and sad. Maribel changed her life, left family for better pastures, abandoned a baby, and suffered in silence and fear. I suspect this happened a lot in those times.
It’s sad and she comes across as a self absorbed woman, trying to find forgiveness and redemption. Her enlightenment never quite rings true, though.
Well written
November 18, 2012
Recommended in The Economist, I found it hard to become fond of Maribel. This main character, who has several different names throughout the book, meets and marries her husband as he becomes her client in a brothel. Edward later becomes a member of British Parliament and Maribel's past could be his downfall should it become known. Melodrama and class strife in Victorian England. Had promise but didn't deliver. Interesting bits of history, though. Buffalo Bill's Wild West show in London provides a backdrop for much of the book.
November 19, 2012
Interesting premise and depiction of the political happenings during the Victorian era.
There was way too many characters and superfluous details. I get that we were supposed to be in the time period; however, the novel went on too long. I found that my interest ebbed and flowed...sometimes I found a portion of the chapter absolutely fascinating, an intriguing mystery, at other times the book was droll.
Had it not been a book club book, I would have put it down and given up in the first 50 pages. The ending definitely picks up but overall this novels leaves a lot to be desired.
There was way too many characters and superfluous details. I get that we were supposed to be in the time period; however, the novel went on too long. I found that my interest ebbed and flowed...sometimes I found a portion of the chapter absolutely fascinating, an intriguing mystery, at other times the book was droll.
Had it not been a book club book, I would have put it down and given up in the first 50 pages. The ending definitely picks up but overall this novels leaves a lot to be desired.
January 8, 2013
I loved this book! I thought it was an excellent combination of an interesting historical period - with some very interesting parallels with the time we are living in now - and the story of one couple and their families. What makes it even more interesting is the rigour of the historical information and the fact that it is a fictional account of a factual story. Nothing so syrange as real life! The author graduated from Trinity College Cambridge with a double first in history - and you can tell. I will definitely be looking out for more of her books - the best I've read so far this year!
November 14, 2012
I would say this book is more about style and atmosphere than plot, which is one of my favorite things about it. There's a story, a climax and tension, things happen, but I would not say that was the point of this book. It's about moods - how it feels to smoke too many cigarettes, how tiresome it is to have an unagreeable dinner guest, the fear of scandal in uppercrust aristocracy. Lovely book, splendid writing.
December 6, 2014
Dull. Dull politics. Dull characters. Dull.
January 16, 2013
At first I was content to simply hate the protagonist of the story from start to finish.
Then I read the Author's Note at the end and a few different thoughts struck me:
1.) Why had I even bothered to read the 400+ excruciating pages of regurgitated political history when I could have saved myself the grief by instead reading it faithfully recounted in the aforementioned note. That's 12 succinct pages against 482 meandering (at times standing upon the proverbial soap-box and at others Maribel being tediously self-absorbed) pages. Perhaps the author wanted me to come away with the smoke rings and layers of ash, with something poetic and profound to be found between. No. I think of how much shorter this book would have been--no, how much happier I would have been. Not only does she tell the reader (in case they started drowsing through the previous pages) the entire political journey of the tale but she then goes on to give us the two actual individuals' history whom Maribel and Edward Campbell Lowe were nearly word-perfectly based upon. Now I hate to be irritated with people who've lived and died oblivious to the fractious feelings they'd come to rouse in me over a hundred years later, so I forgive them for providing this author with a wealth of detail that served to culminate in Maribel. Perhaps, in their own lives, they wouldn't have bothered me as much as the author's incarnations. However, this leads to my succeeding thought.
2.) The fact that the author is criticizing the historical woman, Gabriela Cunningham Graham whom fictional Maribel Campbell Lowe is based, and her interest in the esoteric and mysticism. Who is she to say that it is improbable? Many Victorians were very preoccupied with the afterlife, whether believing in it or disproving it. Just because she, the author, considers it mumbo-jumbo doesn't in fact make it any less worthwhile to the woman who lived and breathed it. It seemed to me that the author was dismissive of anything that didn't agree with her own world-view. She even went as far to say on page 494 that she found it "peculiar, even improbable, that a woman who had once summoned the courage to run away from home to go on the stage would in later life succumb to what I considered mumbo-jumbo." Do not underestimate Victorian engrained idea of morality. For all we know, Gabriela might have felt regret and wanted assurance that, once dead, everything would turn out all right, despite any perceived transgressions in her youth. Maybe she wanted forgiveness from someone who had died. Maybe she was curious. Or maybe, being a former actress, an author and therefore perhaps having a romantic or creative or curious bend to her mind. Maybe it was simply that she, possibly being fashionable, wanted to stay abreast of the trends. Maybe she thought it was a jolly good bit of fun. Yet somehow the author dismisses this, almost seeming to me to as though she thereby placed a black mark against Gabriela Cunningham Graham's name, for failing to live up to whatever preconceived expectations she made up. It was as though, to me, she said this is how I'll make Maribel better. Can we tell how much that one sentence from the author aggravated me? If she'd said she wanted to make some changes to Gabriela Cunningham Graham's background to make the story more of a fiction, I wouldn't have batted an eyelash. Instead I had the above, not mentioning even Maribel's vehemence against ghost photography throughout the actual story being jammed down our throats every time she brought out her camera. We got it. Maribel is a non-believer. Check, so please stop being so defensive.
3.) Towards the end of the Note she decided it necessary to bring up the book's title, Beautiful Lies, and in case it wasn't apparent enough to the reader what she was getting at, she spells it out for us. Now she'd already spent a bit of time alluding to life as a stage, to the roles one plays in different situations and even had her characters, Henry and Maribel go so far as to blatantly discuss this on page 475,
'... Here they are just actors, aren't they? Players in a flagrantly fictionalised version of their lives'
'Aren't we all?'
Oh, okay then. I think a better title would've been Delusions of a Self-Absorbed Woman but clearly I can see it's not quite so catchy.
This leads me to what I hated. I hate that Maribel got away with it all. I wanted that axe of exposure to fall down upon her head (though I'm happy that Gabriela Cunningham Graham escaped such a fate in her lifetime) or maybe, have her throw herself in front of an omnibus to prevent exposure. Something. Maribel always had to get the upper-hand, but it didn't leave me feeling triumphant. Besides that, every other piece of her life was one big drama where she barreled along irregardless of the casualties she was leaving in her wake. Nothing mattered beyond the Great Maribel Show. The closest she got to receiving just desserts was her conversation with the Nun while she was in Spain and maybe Ida's emphatic set-down, though even that played right into Maribel's melodramatic, hand-to-the-forehead tragedies. Why am I plotting against the protagonist? I would've even been happy if she drowned in the loch on the way back in her leaky boat (then again I'm sure she'd turn it into some Lady of Shallot romanticism, so even in that hypothetical non-existent ending I cannot be appeased). I hardly feel those were feelings the author wished to engender in my heart.
Another reviewer alerted me to the abundance of cigarettes so I decided to attempt to record how many references actually made their appearance. Now there may be more as I wasn't counting every time I read the word cigarette but instead counted every mention of a cigarette to when she would start on her second (or third) or mention her overflowing ashtray, or her pressing need to fill her lungs and hold the smoke in. So, in the end, as far as my reckoning goes, the final cigarette count came to: 63 (or 65 in case I missed out on two in the beginning). If I'm doing my math right, that's almost a mention of a cigarette or a need for a cigarette or a graveyard of cigarettes every seven pages. While admittedly there were pages where there was nary a smoky bit of rolled paper to be found, I can recall instances where one page would be littered with cigarettes and her smoking and I can see how that reviewer would find it distracting. What personally bothered me was how she constantly lit up in people's houses without asking anyone if they minded. Even the often socially absent-minded doctor Maturin of Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander series has the courtesy to ask before lighting up. Maybe that was meant to be another aspect of the character's personality. Now this isn't a rant against smokers as my own father smokes, though he, at least, is considerate about it.
Ultimately, despite this gorgeous cover, I'm profoundly happy I did not waste my money on this book, not in England, not here in America. In fact, I would've been enraged by this point if I had. Instead the library can have it back and in time this will only be a bad memory.
If I could get a negative star, I would give it a negative five. Instead, I must content myself with a 1 star review. If one feels they must give this book a try, read the Author's Note first. Yes, it smells a bit of reading the last chapter before starting the book (something I personally never do and would usually shout out against) but it might save from headaches and skin crawling irritation. I know I certainly wished I'd done that instead.
Then I read the Author's Note at the end and a few different thoughts struck me:
1.) Why had I even bothered to read the 400+ excruciating pages of regurgitated political history when I could have saved myself the grief by instead reading it faithfully recounted in the aforementioned note. That's 12 succinct pages against 482 meandering (at times standing upon the proverbial soap-box and at others Maribel being tediously self-absorbed) pages. Perhaps the author wanted me to come away with the smoke rings and layers of ash, with something poetic and profound to be found between. No. I think of how much shorter this book would have been--no, how much happier I would have been. Not only does she tell the reader (in case they started drowsing through the previous pages) the entire political journey of the tale but she then goes on to give us the two actual individuals' history whom Maribel and Edward Campbell Lowe were nearly word-perfectly based upon. Now I hate to be irritated with people who've lived and died oblivious to the fractious feelings they'd come to rouse in me over a hundred years later, so I forgive them for providing this author with a wealth of detail that served to culminate in Maribel. Perhaps, in their own lives, they wouldn't have bothered me as much as the author's incarnations. However, this leads to my succeeding thought.
2.) The fact that the author is criticizing the historical woman, Gabriela Cunningham Graham whom fictional Maribel Campbell Lowe is based, and her interest in the esoteric and mysticism. Who is she to say that it is improbable? Many Victorians were very preoccupied with the afterlife, whether believing in it or disproving it. Just because she, the author, considers it mumbo-jumbo doesn't in fact make it any less worthwhile to the woman who lived and breathed it. It seemed to me that the author was dismissive of anything that didn't agree with her own world-view. She even went as far to say on page 494 that she found it "peculiar, even improbable, that a woman who had once summoned the courage to run away from home to go on the stage would in later life succumb to what I considered mumbo-jumbo." Do not underestimate Victorian engrained idea of morality. For all we know, Gabriela might have felt regret and wanted assurance that, once dead, everything would turn out all right, despite any perceived transgressions in her youth. Maybe she wanted forgiveness from someone who had died. Maybe she was curious. Or maybe, being a former actress, an author and therefore perhaps having a romantic or creative or curious bend to her mind. Maybe it was simply that she, possibly being fashionable, wanted to stay abreast of the trends. Maybe she thought it was a jolly good bit of fun. Yet somehow the author dismisses this, almost seeming to me to as though she thereby placed a black mark against Gabriela Cunningham Graham's name, for failing to live up to whatever preconceived expectations she made up. It was as though, to me, she said this is how I'll make Maribel better. Can we tell how much that one sentence from the author aggravated me? If she'd said she wanted to make some changes to Gabriela Cunningham Graham's background to make the story more of a fiction, I wouldn't have batted an eyelash. Instead I had the above, not mentioning even Maribel's vehemence against ghost photography throughout the actual story being jammed down our throats every time she brought out her camera. We got it. Maribel is a non-believer. Check, so please stop being so defensive.
3.) Towards the end of the Note she decided it necessary to bring up the book's title, Beautiful Lies, and in case it wasn't apparent enough to the reader what she was getting at, she spells it out for us. Now she'd already spent a bit of time alluding to life as a stage, to the roles one plays in different situations and even had her characters, Henry and Maribel go so far as to blatantly discuss this on page 475,
'... Here they are just actors, aren't they? Players in a flagrantly fictionalised version of their lives'
'Aren't we all?'
Oh, okay then. I think a better title would've been Delusions of a Self-Absorbed Woman but clearly I can see it's not quite so catchy.
This leads me to what I hated. I hate that Maribel got away with it all. I wanted that axe of exposure to fall down upon her head (though I'm happy that Gabriela Cunningham Graham escaped such a fate in her lifetime) or maybe, have her throw herself in front of an omnibus to prevent exposure. Something. Maribel always had to get the upper-hand, but it didn't leave me feeling triumphant. Besides that, every other piece of her life was one big drama where she barreled along irregardless of the casualties she was leaving in her wake. Nothing mattered beyond the Great Maribel Show. The closest she got to receiving just desserts was her conversation with the Nun while she was in Spain and maybe Ida's emphatic set-down, though even that played right into Maribel's melodramatic, hand-to-the-forehead tragedies. Why am I plotting against the protagonist? I would've even been happy if she drowned in the loch on the way back in her leaky boat (then again I'm sure she'd turn it into some Lady of Shallot romanticism, so even in that hypothetical non-existent ending I cannot be appeased). I hardly feel those were feelings the author wished to engender in my heart.
Another reviewer alerted me to the abundance of cigarettes so I decided to attempt to record how many references actually made their appearance. Now there may be more as I wasn't counting every time I read the word cigarette but instead counted every mention of a cigarette to when she would start on her second (or third) or mention her overflowing ashtray, or her pressing need to fill her lungs and hold the smoke in. So, in the end, as far as my reckoning goes, the final cigarette count came to: 63 (or 65 in case I missed out on two in the beginning). If I'm doing my math right, that's almost a mention of a cigarette or a need for a cigarette or a graveyard of cigarettes every seven pages. While admittedly there were pages where there was nary a smoky bit of rolled paper to be found, I can recall instances where one page would be littered with cigarettes and her smoking and I can see how that reviewer would find it distracting. What personally bothered me was how she constantly lit up in people's houses without asking anyone if they minded. Even the often socially absent-minded doctor Maturin of Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander series has the courtesy to ask before lighting up. Maybe that was meant to be another aspect of the character's personality. Now this isn't a rant against smokers as my own father smokes, though he, at least, is considerate about it.
Ultimately, despite this gorgeous cover, I'm profoundly happy I did not waste my money on this book, not in England, not here in America. In fact, I would've been enraged by this point if I had. Instead the library can have it back and in time this will only be a bad memory.
If I could get a negative star, I would give it a negative five. Instead, I must content myself with a 1 star review. If one feels they must give this book a try, read the Author's Note first. Yes, it smells a bit of reading the last chapter before starting the book (something I personally never do and would usually shout out against) but it might save from headaches and skin crawling irritation. I know I certainly wished I'd done that instead.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 7, 2021
I am so glad I read the author's first book, THE GREAT STINK, before I read this one, or I would never have given that one a chance and it is much, much better than this one! So, yes, I was sorry that BEAUTIFUL LIES was overlong, meandering and full of socialist politics as part of 1880's London. It didn't sit well with the people of the times (nor with me!) that one of the prime champions of the Socialist cause was an hereditary aristocrat with a large Scottish estate and who lived a wealthy lifestyle, even though he was comparatively impoverished! However, that was a true reflection of the real life character represented by Edward Campbell Lowe in this book. His wife, whom we meet as Maribel, is not who she appears to be. She and Edward have devised a romantic background for her to explain their meeting and subsequent life together. They do this to avoid the scandal that would have ostracized them from Victorian society. I think it is but one example of their hypocrisy in declaring their utter disdain for the values of the establishment yet striving feverishly to invent--and sustain--a respectable, i.e. acceptable, family history!
The story incorporates far too many elements, some of which do nothing to advance the plot. For instance, there is a whole segment which takes place in Spain. It does serve as a way to re-introduce an off-limits subject, but nothing is definite is ever achieved and the whole episode leaves merely a suggestion which could have been covered in fewer pages or in a less melodramatic way.
Then there is the issue of Maribel's constant chain-smoking! Not only is she dangerously addicted, we as readers are almost choked to death over the clouds of second-hand smoke we are forced to consume as every single cigarette is she smokes is described in excruciating detail. This jarring habit, especially for a lady of her era, becomes a huge distraction through-out the story from beginning to end.
The only saving grace here is the author's excellent prose, proof again that almost any subject can be made tolerable through great writing! However, if you want to know what Clare Clark can really do, read THE GREAT STINK instead!
The story incorporates far too many elements, some of which do nothing to advance the plot. For instance, there is a whole segment which takes place in Spain. It does serve as a way to re-introduce an off-limits subject, but nothing is definite is ever achieved and the whole episode leaves merely a suggestion which could have been covered in fewer pages or in a less melodramatic way.
Then there is the issue of Maribel's constant chain-smoking! Not only is she dangerously addicted, we as readers are almost choked to death over the clouds of second-hand smoke we are forced to consume as every single cigarette is she smokes is described in excruciating detail. This jarring habit, especially for a lady of her era, becomes a huge distraction through-out the story from beginning to end.
The only saving grace here is the author's excellent prose, proof again that almost any subject can be made tolerable through great writing! However, if you want to know what Clare Clark can really do, read THE GREAT STINK instead!
February 15, 2017
I don't read a lot of historical fiction and, admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of the genre which is probably why I picked up and put down this book three or four times before I managed to settle into it this time around. It had languished on my bookshelf unread since Christmas of 2014 - two years - but, since it was a gift from Mark, it was high priority on my to-read list. He's not a reader and yet supports my reading habit; how could I not read the book he had chosen for me?
In the end, pushing on with this book was incredibly worthwhile. It was a slow start, but a third of the way through, I found myself fascinated by Maribel's character, a woman with twists and turns in her past, carefully hidden from the public eye. Halfway through I found myself fascinated by the political atmosphere of the setting; the climate of unrest felt so parallel to the climate of unrest we have found ourselves in the last few months. Now at the end, I find myself grateful to have read this book now, and not immediately after I read it. History repeats itself over and over again; this book clearly highlighted that for me.
My biggest complaint about the story? It was looong. It didn't have to be nearly so long. It was well written, but not gripping enough for nearly 500 pages. There were long passages that involved not much more than wealthy women lingering over tea in stuffy parlours. Accurate, I'm sure, but not the most exciting to read. But, perhaps someone who consistently gravitates to historical fiction would disagree.
In the end, pushing on with this book was incredibly worthwhile. It was a slow start, but a third of the way through, I found myself fascinated by Maribel's character, a woman with twists and turns in her past, carefully hidden from the public eye. Halfway through I found myself fascinated by the political atmosphere of the setting; the climate of unrest felt so parallel to the climate of unrest we have found ourselves in the last few months. Now at the end, I find myself grateful to have read this book now, and not immediately after I read it. History repeats itself over and over again; this book clearly highlighted that for me.
My biggest complaint about the story? It was looong. It didn't have to be nearly so long. It was well written, but not gripping enough for nearly 500 pages. There were long passages that involved not much more than wealthy women lingering over tea in stuffy parlours. Accurate, I'm sure, but not the most exciting to read. But, perhaps someone who consistently gravitates to historical fiction would disagree.
January 6, 2020
The central character was not likeable, but turned out to be very clever and a closet romantic. The central theme of the novel was not really the story of the main character, but a less than pretty picture of the disparity between the out of touch upper class and the rest of the working population in Victorian England. (Their version of the 1% vs rest of us or is just a continuation?)
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