A Quiet Adjustment

Lord Byron #2

by Benjamin Markovits

"Annabella Milbanke is beautiful, intelligent, self-possessed, and determined to buck the social conventions of her sheltered girlhood. The moment she sets eyes on the rock star of her age - the poetic genius and scandalous libertine Lord Byron - her every budding appetite (sensual, romantic, worldly) is stirred. Whether by love or by will, she must have Byron - just as, for an entirely different set of reasons, he must have her." "As Lady Byron, she believes she can suffer all for love - except, perhaps, her husband's most scandalous secret: his tormented, incestuous love for his half-sister, Augusta. These three people will pull one another into a taut, devastating drama of helpless intimacy." A Quiet Adjustment uses the biographical facts of Lord Byron's marriage and his relationship with his half-sister to paint the selfishness of the most sensitive artistic temperament, the pathos of mismatched marriage, the volatility of creative energies, and the limitations of morality and so-called good intentions.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, British Literature, 19th Century, Contemporary, Literary Fiction

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Leslie Zampetti · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting premise, Markovits' novel traces the arc of the relationship between Annabella Milbanke and George Gordon, Lord Byron. Unfortunately, it doesn't live up to its premise as Byron appears more of a petulant poseur than a genius gentleman who could seriously intrigue and attract a young woman as intelligent as Annabella is supposed to be. None of the characters are truly interesting and his treatment of Augusta and Byron's incest is too coy to bear.

[C · Rating 1 out of 5]

I actually skimmed the second half of this book because I was not enjoying it. Lovely language is one thing, but when you don't feel for any of the characters it is very hard to become engrossed in the story. I have read vastly more interesting books about Lord Byron.

[Alan Catlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing well reseacrhed portrait of Byron's marriage. Can be a bit tedious and talky at times but finishes on a strong note. Well worth reading

[Lauren Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was, to use a much abused term, Jamesian. I don't think I've ever read a contemporary novel that so echoed James. And I don't mean the story, although that too. The diction, the syntax kept making me stop and remind myself of what I was reading. "She soon realized, in a few days, no more, how little these distinctions counted for in the event." "One of the effects, Annabella found, of the siblings' company was subtly to hush her, they had, after all, a deeper habit of conversation." I'd love to know if other people "hear" this too.
Annabella put me in mind of Dorothea Brooke from Middlemarch. "She had never had within her...the capacity to live up, publicly, to her own private sense of significance." Like Dorothea, unable as a woman to live a life of significance as she sees it, she instead marries into one with tragic consequences.

[Dominique · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh my goodness. The way it was written, I was absolutely CONVINCED that it was 19th century. But even though I am familiar with that writing style, and even like it, in some cases, I was thoroughly confused. I really had no idea what was going on in the main character, Annabella's, head. It was like he buried the story and the characters in lots of flowery prose. I found myself getting lost in a paragraph, not in a good way either. In a way that was like, I wonder what I'm reading about now. And even though I love Lord Byron, the book jacket was a lot clearer on the story and promised a lot that I feel the book didn't deliver on. If I hadn't read that blurb on that jacket, I would never have understood what was supposed to be happening between the characters.

[Elizabeth☮ · Rating 3 out of 5]

the story of the wife of lord byron. one thing i learned, the guy is presented as a pompous jerk. but thus is the life of a poet, right? his short-term wife, annabella milbanke, is the very definition of virtue. she is tormented by byron's brooding and cutting remarks and the incestuous relationship hinted at with his sister, "gus." some interesting revelations are made, but this is not a quick read. markovits writes with the restraint of the time period and at times i felt like shaking both the characters and the author to life.

[S.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I nearly gave up on this book during the first 100 or so pages which moved very slowly. Things picked up once the couple were married and he commenced being absolutely rotten to her in so many imaginative ways. However, once Lord B. was out of the picture and Lady B. went back to hanging around doing nothing, my interest flagged again. I persevered and was left with a strong sense of how dull well-off women's lives could be in the early 19th C, nothing to do, no meaningful work, everything done by invisible servants, and a woman must marry to have any standing in society.

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another Byron book, but narrated from the point of view of Lady Byron before, during their marriage and after their separation. I couldn't stop reading this even though the language drove me bonkers. I know it is probable that people talked in this very indirect flowery way at that time, but it irritated me. Much of this book concentrates on Byron's relationship with his sister and the scandal this provoked.

[Carrie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing.

How do you make Byron boring? How?

Caricatures rather than nuanced people is a good way to start. Annabella Millebanke is presented as a spoiled, unlikable, shrewish woman rather than the reserved and intelligent woman she was. Byron is actually boring and one can hardly understand how this version of the poet captivated London. All the female characters are two dimensional, catty and vindictive.

[Michele · Rating 1 out of 5]

Impressive in the sense that the author took a famously fascinating character (Lord Byron), threw in some incest, adultery and assorted bad behavior, and managed to create a totally boring book. By the end I was reading every fifth page or so.

[Jessica Chewiwie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had so much potential! It reveals its most intriguing plots offhandedly, while giving the reader constant frustration at its vagueness. I had to force myself to keep reading this, thinking that there must be a payoff somewhere.

The first portion of the book drags on, but as a reader, it can be played off as the build up to interesting action.

The second portion takes material that could be interesting, scandalous, and shocking, and buries it in a lazy haze of subtext. Subtext only works if there is real action to prompt it.

The third portion takes hints of scandal and turns it into a soap opera of gossip among a trio of bored women who decide to meddle in matters that affect them in no way. Why? Most likely to have some kind of third act plot.

My biggest frustration was the format used for conversation. There was very little actual portions of dialogue; instead, the author chose to refer to dialogue in summary. In a book that already feels like a chore to read these long, tedious passages, a bit of real dialogue would have broken up the monotony.

I agree with many of the reviewers on here who noted that you feel nothing for the characters. No one is fleshed out. What could have been interesting characters stayed unsure outlines. In historical fiction, it’s assumed that not everything is going to be accurate. It becomes the duty of the author to bring those people’s hidden lives to life, rather than err on the side of caution and dance around anything of interest.

Markovits’ prose was the only saving grace of this book, but by the third act, even flowery language becomes tedious.

[Nelson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though Markovits in interviews has claimed to be attempting to produce something like a nineteenth-century style to novelize the well-known story of Byron's marriage to Annabelle Milbanke, it doesn't seem Austen-ish so much as Jamesian. There are nuanced and almost too-fussy examinations of motives, things left unsaid, aims hinted at without being spoken of directly. As in the previous novel, Byron himself is less the focus than the characters around him. He is the light inevitably cast on others; their knowledge of themselves is shaped as much by self-examination as it is by brought into contact with him. When he leaves England (and the novel), we are left in a roomful of women with 'good intentions' who work overtime to separate Byron from his sister Augusta. It's a little bit like being let in on a self-righteous circle of do-gooders, at least two of whom are not as good as they seem. While there is art in the presentation of these characters, one cannot really feel sorry to see them go, unlike Byron, who is the most vibrant character here. In the previous novel, Markovits seemed to find a way to lend immediacy to the story of Polidori. Perhaps because he is rather more shackled to the facts of what actually happened here, Markovits is less able to make Annabelle as compelling a character in her own right. Others' mileage may vary.

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Quiet Adjustment may well deserve more than the 3 stars I’ve allocated, as it is a beautifully crafted novel, well written and at times it flows, but for me it was ultimately too dense and too static to be wholly engaging. It did, however, prompt me to look into the life of Lord Byron and Annabella Milbanke (about whom I knew nothing) and I can understand why Markovitz took up their brief marriage as his subject. It’s just a pity that the story didn’t leap off the page.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to get into this book but it was too detailed and wordy so I stopped reading it

[Pepper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too slavish to its austin forebear as to be boring and nearly plotless. The third section is especially dull.

[Alan Porter · Rating 2 out of 5]

He knows his byron.....but written so boringly...

[Robyn Tocker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book in a box of donations and, knowing very little about Lord Byron and even less about his wife, I decided to give it a try. Byron and Annabella had a tumultuous relationship, to say the least, and I feel Marovits portrayed that complexity accurately. I do see how fellow reviewers weren't impressed with Markovits' writing style, but the language and tone he used felt accurate to the setting of the book, so while it may be dry and boring to some, it fit with the story. I can't say Annabella was a sympathetic protagonist, but I understood why she made the choices she did.

[Rachel M · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fact that this was a novel about Lord Byron was not the reason I wanted to read it... I think it was because I liked the cover!

To everyone else, Annabella at the beginning of the novel is praised by everyone for her "angelic goodness." But below the surface of appearances, Markovits allows the reader to see more than this. She is quiet, unusually intelligent, and also has a constant struggle with vanity. She has a high sense of her value and merits, and tends to see herself as somewhat superior to others.

Which is exactly what attracts her to Lord Byron, the poet of the century. He is a brooding figure in social gatherings who seems to have the weight of the world on his shoulders, and feel things more deeply than others. She believes that they are "superior souls." She also believes that because she is so filled with this angelic goodness, that some of it will rub off on him if they are married.

Annabella soon discovers her mistake - she cannot make Lord Byron a better man. If anything, the marriage causes her to let go of that pride in her own goodness, as she recognizes how weak she truly is.

Though the writing was at times inscrutable, Markovits showed the transformation of Annabella's character with remarkable depth and insight. Sometimes when I read novels about historical figures, I have that nagging question, "But is that REALLY how it happened?" In this case, I think he painted Annabella's character, for all of its virtues and flaws, much as it would have been.

I had to wonder, when I finished the book, at the idea that Annabella and Byron were "mismatched." In being their real selves, they could not have been happily married to each other. But at the same time, I think nobody but a Lord Byron could have probably humbled Annabella in ways that would have helped her to grow. It seemed like all of her other suitors were so convinced of her goodness, that she could have easily retained all the weaknesses of her character without ever being challenged. Although Lord Byron was in many ways abusive and manipulative, her marriage to him did cause Annabella to grow and change in positive ways.

[Lynette · Rating 1 out of 5]

To be fair, I only read a few chapters. I normally love historical novels, but the writing in this was just so pompous and pretentious that I couldn't continue. From the first page: "It was March, a bright cold day, and the ashy remains of her night's fire gave off a surprising sullen heat, for which she was not ungrateful." Well, of course - if it's cold, why would you be ungrateful for heat? Also, "The invitation itself had a kind of bullying brevity, which left little scope for demurral."

The main character takes four pages to debating whether or not to attend a party. YAWN.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an unusual book about the marriage of Lord and Lady Byron. I must admit that it took me a long time to read this because I was reading during my lunch break. Even though the author's style felt authentic to the early 19th century, at times it became very distracting and slowed the book's pace. This book might be interesting to avid fans of Lord Byron, but it's a little too cumbersome to be of interest to a broad audience. It did, however, make me consider reading a more traditional biography of Byron.

[Lexi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I actually didn't finish this - a very rare event for me. I enjoyed the first book in the Byron Trilogy, but I found this really hard going. I didn't like or identify with a single character, and I just found I didn't care what happened to any of them. The writing style also grated; I appreciate it is supposed to be in the style of the period, but I found it overly mannered. Cannot recommend this one and won't be trying any more Markovits.

[M Rothenbuhler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it very much and felt my mind a little more sharpened for having read it. It made me hate Lord Byron in a very sincere way, because it is basically the story of his one marriage. Prelude, duration, conclusion, aftermath; dissected into teeny tiny slivers.

I should read a reliable biography of Lord Byron now, because I don't know how much of any of this fiction is based on fact. Hopefully not much?

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far I am loving this one. Narrated by Lord Byron's young wife, in pitch-perfect regency. I am enamoured by all the unsaid doubts, societal infrastructure, ceremony and all that is implied. Markovits has proved himself well versed in the artifice of taking on the voice of his character - well done.

[Katie Boggs · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was well-written, but I was never able to get past the stiff, era-appropriate style of writing. If I had more knowledge of the historical facts, I might have engaged more fully with the characters. Instead, there were sections that left me questioning motivation and unsure of the contemporary results of the characters' choices.

[Dara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and beautifully written, Markovits has a gift for pitch perfect voice. Not a Big Novel by any means, and it does seem a little slight in retrospect, but a small, artful book that was well worth reading.

[Mlg · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story of Lord Byron and his wife, Annabella is certainly an interesting one. However, this book was just too wordy and florid for my tastes. The real Byron only made brief appearances in the story, and Annabella's character was rather bland for a woman who was supposedly well-educated.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Peripherally a tale of Lord Byron through the eyes of the woman who was his wife. A tale of relationships, accepted and socially unacceptable. Told in the style of the times it details the sad life of a strong woman who dealt with the choices she made.

[Val · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had read the author's previous book about John Polidori and featuring Byron. This one is more about Byron and his wife and half-sister.
He manages to make a complex and potentially scandalous relationship quite dull, but he does capture the language and manners of the age well.

[Barb]

"Whoever has once in life seen a desert spread before him will recognize the feeling in another mind. It may be lived through, but how much faith is required to believe this!"

I'm not sure the same can't be said for the book.

[Lorie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just can't get into this one. I have been reading it on lunch for a week, and it's not holding my interest. I may revisit this one at a later date. We'll see.