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The Sealed Letter
Miss Emily "Fido" Faithfull is a "woman of business" and a spinster pioneer in the British women's movement, independent of mind but naively trusting of heart. Distracted from her cause by the sudden return of her once-dear friend, the unhappily wed Helen Codrington, Fido is swept up in the intimate details of Helen's failing marriage and obsessive affair with a young army officer. What begins as a loyal effort to help a friend explodes into a courtroom drama that rivals the Clinton affair --complete with stained clothing, accusations of adultery, counterclaims of rape, and a mysterious letter that could destroy more than one life.
Based on a scandalous divorce case that gripped England in 1864, The Sealed Letter is a riveting, provocative drama of friends, lovers, and divorce, Victorian style.
Based on a scandalous divorce case that gripped England in 1864, The Sealed Letter is a riveting, provocative drama of friends, lovers, and divorce, Victorian style.
397 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
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About the author
Emma Donoghue
77 books13.2k followersGrew up in Ireland, 20s in England doing a PhD in eighteenth-century literature, since then in Canada. Best known for my novel, film and play ROOM, also other contemporary and historical novels and short stories, non-fiction, theatre and middle-grade novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 910 reviews
January 16, 2009
Soporific, Tedious, Lackluster
This is one of those books that sounds really good...until you read it and then you wonder what on earth are all of these rave reviews for?
Did we read the same book? I don't think so, because the book I read was dull as dull could be. The characters were not brought to life, the interactions were melodramatic and the story was tedious. I thought the most interesting part of this book was the author's note.
Helen Condrington runs into her old friend Emily 'Fido' Faithful in the street just two weeks after Helen's return to London from Malta where she and her husband Harry have been living for seven years. Helen and Fido were very close when they were younger and they resume their friendship now that Helen is back. Helen's husband soon files for divorce and Fido finds herself drawn into the ensuing courtroom drama.
Donoghue creates a realistic enough setting, London 1864, but without an engaging story within that setting I found it just wasn't enough to make reading this book enjoyable or worthwhile. I think it might have been an interesting story if the author had examined the relationship between the two main characters more thoroughly or any other relationships. But as it is it seemed like Donughue got the bones of the story (which is non-fiction) and failed to flesh it out with the character's insights and true emotions. I think this could have been a really wonderful story in the hands of a more masterful writer.
There are certainly issues to talk about for a group discussion. But as it is I found this to be a very forgettable story.
This is one of those books that sounds really good...until you read it and then you wonder what on earth are all of these rave reviews for?
Did we read the same book? I don't think so, because the book I read was dull as dull could be. The characters were not brought to life, the interactions were melodramatic and the story was tedious. I thought the most interesting part of this book was the author's note.
Helen Condrington runs into her old friend Emily 'Fido' Faithful in the street just two weeks after Helen's return to London from Malta where she and her husband Harry have been living for seven years. Helen and Fido were very close when they were younger and they resume their friendship now that Helen is back. Helen's husband soon files for divorce and Fido finds herself drawn into the ensuing courtroom drama.
Donoghue creates a realistic enough setting, London 1864, but without an engaging story within that setting I found it just wasn't enough to make reading this book enjoyable or worthwhile. I think it might have been an interesting story if the author had examined the relationship between the two main characters more thoroughly or any other relationships. But as it is it seemed like Donughue got the bones of the story (which is non-fiction) and failed to flesh it out with the character's insights and true emotions. I think this could have been a really wonderful story in the hands of a more masterful writer.
There are certainly issues to talk about for a group discussion. But as it is I found this to be a very forgettable story.
October 17, 2012
I'd heard good things about Emma Donoghue but as her historical fiction is usually set in the Victorian period (a period I don't have much interest in) I doubted very much that I would ever read a book by her. But then, on a whim, at a sale, I picked up this one. And boy, am I glad I did as I think I've discovered a new favourite author.
On the surface this book is about a scandalous Victorian divorce case (weren't they all?!) and this one had it all; a decorated Admiral as the petitioner, a cheating wife with not one but two lovers, men under the Admiral's command named as co-respondents, hints of assignations and sex in 'exotic' locations, accusations of attempted rape, a well known early feminist as a witness for the defence, disappearance of said witness, and hints of 'unnatural' acts (lesbianism). The sensationalist press of the time had a field day and the retelling of the story makes for a compelling and page turning read. But the story Ms Donoghue tells goes much deeper than that, and it is as involved and as complex as human nature itself and the strict societal mores of the time.
Donoghue uses the scant historical source materials (court documents, newspaper reports and a handful of personal letters) to good effect and weaves them into a very human and thought provoking tale. There's no right and wrong or winners and losers in this, but lots of shades and shadows. Lies and hypocrisy abound especially during the trial. It certainly made me very grateful that I live in a time and a country of 'no fault' divorce and that our Family Law Court is there ostensibly to look after the welfare of the children involved.
Some reviewers have said they were disappointed by the ending but I loved it. There are two nice twists in the tail which I felt added much to the story and a lot of meaning to the undercurrent stuff. The author had some good points to make and it made me consider the old 'double standard' from an entirely new perspective, even amoung women and feminists. The early feminists had much to learn about what real equality meant, as arguably we still do today.
An enjoyable buddy read with Anna who made it even better by indulging in some pretty wild speculation :-).
October 16, 2012
This book is based on the real life divorce case of Harry and Helen Codrington which scandalised Victorian England. I found the social commentary of Victorian life very interesting, where divorce was almost unheard of, wives and children were the property of husbands, and the women’s movement was in its infancy.
When long lost friends Emily Faithfull (Fido) and Helen meet after years apart, Fido is at first delighted by their reunion, until she finds herself an unwitting accomplice in Helen’s affair. When Harry suspects Helen’s betrayal, he files for divorce. The trial brings up all kinds of salacious accusations on both sides, including attempted rape, neglect, cruelty, hints of lesbianism, and the mysterious sealed letter; the Victorian press and public had a field day!
With its easy yet compelling narrative, this book drew me right in and putting it down was a wrench. Women’s rights campaigner Fido has always been dazzled by Helen, a fact Helen uses to her full advantage by manipulating the surprisingly naive Fido any way she likes. I became caught up in the intrigues of the story. Was there any truth in Helen? Who did Fido see one fateful night? Was Harry as blameless as he appeared? My over-active imagination ran wild, and it was a lot of fun to speculate with my buddy-reading friend Jemidar; thanks, Miss Marple!
This book was a real gem of a find, and is highly recommended. I would have rated it 4.5 stars had there not been a downside to all the speculation: parts of the story became distorted in my head and thus had the edge taken off them. My fault entirely. If you read this, go with the flow, soak up the many layers and undercurrents, and don't try to second guess things that might not actually be there!
When long lost friends Emily Faithfull (Fido) and Helen meet after years apart, Fido is at first delighted by their reunion, until she finds herself an unwitting accomplice in Helen’s affair. When Harry suspects Helen’s betrayal, he files for divorce. The trial brings up all kinds of salacious accusations on both sides, including attempted rape, neglect, cruelty, hints of lesbianism, and the mysterious sealed letter; the Victorian press and public had a field day!
With its easy yet compelling narrative, this book drew me right in and putting it down was a wrench. Women’s rights campaigner Fido has always been dazzled by Helen, a fact Helen uses to her full advantage by manipulating the surprisingly naive Fido any way she likes. I became caught up in the intrigues of the story. Was there any truth in Helen? Who did Fido see one fateful night? Was Harry as blameless as he appeared? My over-active imagination ran wild, and it was a lot of fun to speculate with my buddy-reading friend Jemidar; thanks, Miss Marple!
This book was a real gem of a find, and is highly recommended. I would have rated it 4.5 stars had there not been a downside to all the speculation: parts of the story became distorted in my head and thus had the edge taken off them. My fault entirely. If you read this, go with the flow, soak up the many layers and undercurrents, and don't try to second guess things that might not actually be there!
May 24, 2014
I feel like the best part of this book is the fact that Emily "Fido" Faithfull is a big dumb gay puppy. It's both incredibly endearing and almost unbearable to read, for example:
Oh baby, your "friend" who you just found out has been lying to you and trying to manipulate you again (for the nth time) and who's cheated on her husband multiple times isn't going to move in with you and marry you.....
Fido winces at the image. She bends over Helen. "Lean on me, my own one. I'll stand by you."
"Through everything?"
"Everything!"
"I can stay?"
"For as long as you need." Forever, Fido's thinking, though she doesn't dare say it, not yet.
"Oh Fido, how did I ever manage without you, all those lonely years!"
Her mind is leaping into the future. Why not? Women do live together, sometimes, if they have the means and are free from other obligations. It's eccentric, but not improper. She's known several examples in the Reform movement: Miss Power Cobbe and her "partner" Miss Lloyd, for instance. It can be done. It would be a change of life for Helen - but hasn't her life been utterly changed, without her consent, already? Can't the caterpillar shrug off its cramped case and emerge with tremulous wings?
Oh baby, your "friend" who you just found out has been lying to you and trying to manipulate you again (for the nth time) and who's cheated on her husband multiple times isn't going to move in with you and marry you.....
May 7, 2016
Started off very engrossing and remained a fascinating glimpse into the birth of feminism. Is it a professional defect that the trial scenes bogged down for me? Overall an extremely well researched and atmospheric glimpse into the gender and sexual complexities of the Victorian upper middle class. Part of Donoghue's skill however, makes this book less enjoyable than it could be- all three of her main characters, adulteress , husband and "faithful companion" are somewhat less than sympathetic. True to life perhaps and saves the novel from any easy answers but makes it laborious reading at points.
Still recommended for fans of Sarah Waters or any student of Victorian feminism.
Still recommended for fans of Sarah Waters or any student of Victorian feminism.
February 6, 2017
I have a couple of friends who worship at the altar of Emma Donoghue, and I think I bought this in a sale back when someone was being particularly vocal about Donoghue. As a piece of imaginative reconstruction, as historical fiction, it’s well enough done — I think there are a couple of anachronisms, potentially on purpose for convenience, but for the most part, it evokes the era it’s set in. The main character, Emily Faithfull, is based on a real person who is pretty fascinating: she was a women’s rights activist and publisher, who got entangled in a famous divorce case. This book tries to untangle that and see what part she had to play.
Which is where it falls down for me, because Fido (as she’s called) is clearly head over heels for Helen, and it’s just as clearly pathetic. It’s not going to happen. Take this scene, for example:
Gaaah, no, Helen is lying and manipulating you — as always. It’s Tegan and Sara’s ‘Boyfriend‘; it’s the straight girl relying on her lesbian friend’s feelings for her to get away with anything. It’s not a story I’m interested in, because it is one which is played out with boring regularity.
Frankly, I was bored. Nothing about this sparkled enough to get over the fact that I just was not interested in that central relationship. Been there, done that.
Originally posted on my blog.
Which is where it falls down for me, because Fido (as she’s called) is clearly head over heels for Helen, and it’s just as clearly pathetic. It’s not going to happen. Take this scene, for example:
Fido winces at the image. She bends over Helen. “Lean on me, my own one. I’ll stand by you.”
“Through everything?”
“Everything!”
“I can stay?”
“For as long as you need.” Forever, Fido’s thinking, though she doesn’t dare say it, not yet.
“Oh Fido, how did I ever manage without you, all those lonely years!”
Her mind is leaping into the future. Why not? Women do live together, sometimes, if they have the means and are free from other obligations. It’s eccentric, but not improper. She’s known several examples in the Reform movement: Miss Power Cobbe and her “partner” Miss Lloyd, for instance. It can be done. It would be a change of life for Helen – but hasn’t her life been utterly changed, without her consent, already? Can’t the caterpillar shrug off its cramped case and emerge with tremulous wings?
Gaaah, no, Helen is lying and manipulating you — as always. It’s Tegan and Sara’s ‘Boyfriend‘; it’s the straight girl relying on her lesbian friend’s feelings for her to get away with anything. It’s not a story I’m interested in, because it is one which is played out with boring regularity.
Frankly, I was bored. Nothing about this sparkled enough to get over the fact that I just was not interested in that central relationship. Been there, done that.
Originally posted on my blog.
October 7, 2010
The only reason that I'm not giving this book one star is that it wasn't actually PAINFUL to read. But how on earth did it win a Lambda Literary Award?
The book, while rife with historical detail, is populated by completely insufferable and unsympathetic characters. Moreover, the primary lesbian content (which is slim, by any measure) comes in the form of surpressed desires that turn an otherwise independent women's rights activist into a gullible and overly credulous doormat when confronted with the absurd excesses and villainous machinations of her friend/paramour.
Helen Codrington, as written, is nothing more than a cardboard update to Austen's deliciously wicked Lady Susan. Her husband comes across as exceedingly feeble, and her lovers are like nothing so much as small dogs written into human form.
The denouement at the end, which really seemed to be the only time the author allowed herself to break free from the shackles of the historical record, was probably the most absurd part of the whole novel. Which - spoiler alert - ends with the last vaguely sympathetic character giving into blackmail and extortion at the hands of her former (only slightly acknowledged) lover, who vamps around in her villainous frock and tattered reputation to the point of complete ridiculousness.
The book, while rife with historical detail, is populated by completely insufferable and unsympathetic characters. Moreover, the primary lesbian content (which is slim, by any measure) comes in the form of surpressed desires that turn an otherwise independent women's rights activist into a gullible and overly credulous doormat when confronted with the absurd excesses and villainous machinations of her friend/paramour.
Helen Codrington, as written, is nothing more than a cardboard update to Austen's deliciously wicked Lady Susan. Her husband comes across as exceedingly feeble, and her lovers are like nothing so much as small dogs written into human form.
The denouement at the end, which really seemed to be the only time the author allowed herself to break free from the shackles of the historical record, was probably the most absurd part of the whole novel. Which - spoiler alert - ends with the last vaguely sympathetic character giving into blackmail and extortion at the hands of her former (only slightly acknowledged) lover, who vamps around in her villainous frock and tattered reputation to the point of complete ridiculousness.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 3, 2017
Firstly, let me start by saying that I think Emma Donoghue is a great writer. She can certainly spin a yarn and I kept reading right to the end, as I wanted to know what happened! However, there were a few minor issues that kept me from rating this higher.
In a nutshell, the book documents a true event - a high-profile divorce in the Victorian era, and the interference / support of the wife's friend, 'Fido'. It's told from a variety of viewpoints, mostly from Fido's, but occasionally from Helen's (the wife) and even her husband. Its climax is the court-scene, where Helen essentially calls upon her friend to lie for her in court, but things don't turn out quite as planned...
Essentially, this was an interesting read. It was thought-provoking regarding not only divorce laws in the 19th century, but also attitudes towards women in general. However, I had a few problems with the main characters themselves, and how they were depicted. In particular, I felt that Helen was portrayed as just too Machiavellian. I got that she was meant to be deceptive and self-centred, but to give her no redeeming qualities whatsoever rendered her a little stereotypical for my liking. Fido wasn't much better, to be honest, and I felt she came across as a little bit thick and unquestioning - which didn't marry well with her job as a publisher.
If the characters had been a little more rounded, a little more believable, I would have been way more involved in the book, I think. But all in all, it was a really entertaining read, and as I said before, this woman can clearly write excellently!
In a nutshell, the book documents a true event - a high-profile divorce in the Victorian era, and the interference / support of the wife's friend, 'Fido'. It's told from a variety of viewpoints, mostly from Fido's, but occasionally from Helen's (the wife) and even her husband. Its climax is the court-scene, where Helen essentially calls upon her friend to lie for her in court, but things don't turn out quite as planned...
Essentially, this was an interesting read. It was thought-provoking regarding not only divorce laws in the 19th century, but also attitudes towards women in general. However, I had a few problems with the main characters themselves, and how they were depicted. In particular, I felt that Helen was portrayed as just too Machiavellian. I got that she was meant to be deceptive and self-centred, but to give her no redeeming qualities whatsoever rendered her a little stereotypical for my liking. Fido wasn't much better, to be honest, and I felt she came across as a little bit thick and unquestioning - which didn't marry well with her job as a publisher.
If the characters had been a little more rounded, a little more believable, I would have been way more involved in the book, I think. But all in all, it was a really entertaining read, and as I said before, this woman can clearly write excellently!
March 11, 2018
This is a fictionalised account of the Codrington divorce of 1864, a scandalous divorce that gripped England at the time as it was reported in all of the newspapers. It follows the story of Miss Emily "Fido" Faithfull, a spinster and women's rights activist, who was a close friend to Helen Codrington, the woman accused of adultery by her husband, and sued for divorce in a spectacularly public fashion.
Divorce in the Victorian era was most certainly not as easy as it is today. It was only possible upon proving fault of the party being sued, and all of the sordid details had to be disclosed. I found the details around the law particularly interesting (I am a lawyer after all), and thought it quite bizarre that neither party could testify in their own divorce trial.
Fido Faithfull was certainly a very interesting character, but I must say that I found the account of this story too be a bit too arm's length for me to develop any level of feeling for any of the characters.
Divorce in the Victorian era was most certainly not as easy as it is today. It was only possible upon proving fault of the party being sued, and all of the sordid details had to be disclosed. I found the details around the law particularly interesting (I am a lawyer after all), and thought it quite bizarre that neither party could testify in their own divorce trial.
Fido Faithfull was certainly a very interesting character, but I must say that I found the account of this story too be a bit too arm's length for me to develop any level of feeling for any of the characters.
December 31, 2021
3.75/5⭐️.
This was my first Emma Donoghue and by the looks of it, there will be many more to come. Factual fiction has always intrigued me and this scandalous story was a perfect match for my holiday mood. A little exhausting at places, could be at least a hundred pages shorter but juicy nonetheless.
TW: Adultery, Divorce, Rape, Sexism and Smoking.
This was my first Emma Donoghue and by the looks of it, there will be many more to come. Factual fiction has always intrigued me and this scandalous story was a perfect match for my holiday mood. A little exhausting at places, could be at least a hundred pages shorter but juicy nonetheless.
TW: Adultery, Divorce, Rape, Sexism and Smoking.
November 4, 2018
Just couldn't get into it......
November 3, 2008
Great book! I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I feel like I’ve been let in on a bunch of gossip that’s turned out to be mostly true. Emma Donoghue has written a story around a historic Victorian era divorce case. This is no ordinary lightweight frivolity, this is full-bodied passion. Ms. Donoghue has done a great deal of research into the case, which smacks of realism and is in fact often closely worded to the actual trial. But her research does not direct itself exclusively to the trial and what went before, but has done an in depth study of Victorian mores, the rights (and lack) of the Victorian wife, the fledgling women’s rights movements and the backgrounds of the real people involved.
This book is very well written, I admit to checking a couple of times whether I was reading fiction or non-fiction. The flow was such that I had trouble putting the book down. This is the story of Helen (the respondent in the trial) who is married to a much older man Harry Codrington, staid and totally English and an Admiral of the Navy, whereas Helen herself was born in India and brought up there as well as in Italy. She is used to walking out with a male companion on her arm in Italy, where this is an acceptable practice. The couple made their home with their two little girls in England, but the Admiral is often away and Helen has become very close to her good friend “Fido”(Emily Faithfull” to the point that she invites her to come for an extended stay in their home. However, when the Admiral is reassigned to his next station, Malta, he persuades Helen to accompany him. This is the background for the story, and the reader comes into it on their return to England.
In the years Helen is away, Fido has made a name for herself in the fight for women’s rights and also as a major member of a printing company for women. The two friends meet by chance on the street soon after the Codringtons return to England and become good friends again. Remembering that this is really the beginning of the book, the plot moves along quickly and smoothly and becomes more convoluted as it goes along. There is everything here. Misconceptions, misunderstandings, mismatched marriage and the eventual results of such. The gathering of evidence and the trial take up almost half the book. There are snippets of letters throughout the book, hints and surprises. We have naive Fido, frivolous Helen, and stodgy but trusting Harry, as well as interfering do-gooders to put it mildly. Excitement, passion, humiliation, blackmail, and all in this fictionalized version of, from the back of the book “...a scandalous divorce case that gripped England in 1864.” and “...explodes into a courtroom drama muckier than any Hollywood tabloid could invent...”. My heart went out to Fido, but in the end there is a lingering question.
I very much liked the format of the book, and learned a lot from the Author’s Note in the back, explaining her research and updating what became of many of the characters. This book was a real winner.
This book is very well written, I admit to checking a couple of times whether I was reading fiction or non-fiction. The flow was such that I had trouble putting the book down. This is the story of Helen (the respondent in the trial) who is married to a much older man Harry Codrington, staid and totally English and an Admiral of the Navy, whereas Helen herself was born in India and brought up there as well as in Italy. She is used to walking out with a male companion on her arm in Italy, where this is an acceptable practice. The couple made their home with their two little girls in England, but the Admiral is often away and Helen has become very close to her good friend “Fido”(Emily Faithfull” to the point that she invites her to come for an extended stay in their home. However, when the Admiral is reassigned to his next station, Malta, he persuades Helen to accompany him. This is the background for the story, and the reader comes into it on their return to England.
In the years Helen is away, Fido has made a name for herself in the fight for women’s rights and also as a major member of a printing company for women. The two friends meet by chance on the street soon after the Codringtons return to England and become good friends again. Remembering that this is really the beginning of the book, the plot moves along quickly and smoothly and becomes more convoluted as it goes along. There is everything here. Misconceptions, misunderstandings, mismatched marriage and the eventual results of such. The gathering of evidence and the trial take up almost half the book. There are snippets of letters throughout the book, hints and surprises. We have naive Fido, frivolous Helen, and stodgy but trusting Harry, as well as interfering do-gooders to put it mildly. Excitement, passion, humiliation, blackmail, and all in this fictionalized version of, from the back of the book “...a scandalous divorce case that gripped England in 1864.” and “...explodes into a courtroom drama muckier than any Hollywood tabloid could invent...”. My heart went out to Fido, but in the end there is a lingering question.
I very much liked the format of the book, and learned a lot from the Author’s Note in the back, explaining her research and updating what became of many of the characters. This book was a real winner.
November 3, 2016
Хотелось чего-то быстро читающегося. Это третий роман, который я читаю у Эммы Донохью, и она в третий раз не подводит, день пролетел быстро. Довольно интересная история о том, как английский адмирал решил развестись с беспутной жёнушкой, а в бракоразводном процессе оказалась замешана её подруга-феминистка.
August 10, 2010
Based on a real scandal, this Victorian period novel was a great read for me. Told from multiple POV's, this one may shock some, but keep going -- the payoff is worth it. The author is able to catch the period of the time and place, and especially the mental attitudes so well, without having to slide into modern metaphor or usage. That to me, is what good HF is.
For the complete review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_T...
For the complete review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_T...
December 15, 2009
I'm not sure what attracted me to The Sealed Letter. It's a book that exists in that intersection among historical fiction, fiction "based on a true story," and relationship drama fuelled by larger issues of gender and individualism, the sort of book that can appeal to so many people yet go unnoticed because it looks "too historical" or "too much non-fiction" or "too romantic." When I started reading The Sealed Letter, I hoped for something good but didn't expect anything great. I was pleasantly surprised.
Emma Donoghue grounds her story in facts, incorporating fiction only when necessary (because the facts are not extant) or in order to compress time. Her methodology and some of the factual history of the book's events are all detailed in the Author's Note at the end of the book. One of the advantages to using real people and a real divorce case is that Donoghue automatically has a plot; she need only enliven the characters for us. And she has associations that she would otherwise need to falsify: she'd have to make up an intelligent but morally-conflicted Emily "Fido" Faithfull and make her a pivotal member of the Reform Firm.
The first few chapters are slow-going, unfortunately, and that may turn people away from the book before it begins to get good. There's a great deal of superficiality in the interactions between Fido and Helen Codrington. The purpose of this becomes clear later in the story, but at the beginning I found it dull. What I was waiting for was a real insight into the minds of these women and how they regarded their era. Although it takes awhile for Donoghue to unlock their psyches, she finally gets around to it.
What elevates The Sealed Letter above mediocrity is the three-dimensional way it portrays the people involved in this high-profile divorce. It is easy to set a divorce case in Victorian England in which the woman is the sympathetic character at the mercy of an uncaring husband. I found it hard to sympathize with Helen, who is both adulterous and manipulative, with sensibilities that radically change with her mood. Nevertheless, I understood her desire to remain a mother to her children (even if she was never very maternal) and repair the tear in her marriage that she—belatedly—realizes is her fault.
At the same time, Helen puts to shame Fido's Cause. She is a "fallen woman," an unfortunate counterexample to the claims of Fido's Reform Firm that women can be every bit as sensible and intelligent as men. As a result, Fido is torn between loyalty to her Cause and loyalty to her friend. She vacillates between an absolute adherence to one or the other as she tries to parse Helen's manipulation and deceit. There were times when Fido's changeable loyalties frustrated me, but I waited patiently for her to discover how unreliable Helen is.
And then there is Harry. Donoghue begins giving us insight into his mind toward the middle of the book, wherein he first suspects that Helen is having an affair and sets out to confirm or disprove this suspicion. Poor Harry is apparently clueless about his wife's adultery, and this discovery robs him of resolve and even, to some extent, reason. He becomes more reactionary, allowing his friends the Watsons, his brother, and his lawyers to manage the divorce case while he watches and participates with a sort of grim realization that there is no way to turn back the clock.
I come off as anti-Helen in my evaluation, and I do think she bears the majority of the blame—after all, she's the one who strayed. Yet my point is that Donoghue manages to portray all of the characters as sympathetic at times and at fault at other times. It's a realistic depiction of the difficulties of marriage and divorce (and life in general): nothing is clear cut, nothing is black and white, and there's always certain points where it's impossible to turn back.
The last theme echoes over and over again throughout the book. There's one quotation, which I can't locate at the moment, that aptly describes this idea. As she watches the divorce proceeding, Helen wonders if all this was an inevitable outcome of her dalliances with Mildmay and Anderson. She likens herself to a little boy pushing his toy soldier closer and closer to the edge just to see what would happen. I really enjoyed this underlying idea that we humans are prone to pushing ever so slightly too hard and bringing disaster upon ourselves.
The martial woes of the Codringtons takes place against the backdrop of Victorian society, and Fido's roles as an activist for women's rights is a key issue in The Sealed Letter. It's worth remarking on the ironic censure that Fido receives from other women in the Reform Firm, particularly the "equal above all others" woman Bettie Parkes. What I found most poignant, however, was the depth to which Fido sinks in the witness box to retract an affidavit she has signed. Fido essentially claims her "weakness as a woman" as her excuse for signing a statement to which she can attach no veracity. This makes her a hypocrite and hurts her Cause . . . yet it is so very true.
Which is not to say that all women are weak. No, what I mean is that Fido is right in claiming she was too weak-willed to refuse to sign the affidavit, too weak-willed to stand up to the illogical Helen Codrington. It's a character flaw—of the individual, not of the gender—that manifests over and over again, each time sending Fido down a darker, dimmer road as she tries to find some sense of equilibrium. Even as she contrasts two very distinct Victorian era women and their attitudes toward men and society, Donoghue reminds us that gender is only a part of who we are.
But what of the eponymous letter?! What's so special, so scandalous, that it remains sealed until the final chapter? Without going into too much detail, let me just say that this is more a MacGuffin than anything. It serves a minor purpose, but the book would have worked even with the letter removed, so don't spend too much time stressing over it as you read, OK?
Finally, I'd like to conclude by way of complaint about a formatting issue. What's up with the font used in this edition to render letters? It's nearly illegible; I had to squint and carefully linger over each cursive word in order to make it out. I don't mind when books use different fonts, even cursive fonts, to add a little flair—just make them readable!
The Sealed Letter delighted me with its detail and its characterization. Donoghue presents an actual divorce in 1864 England, setting it against the social issues of the time, and the end result is a success.
Emma Donoghue grounds her story in facts, incorporating fiction only when necessary (because the facts are not extant) or in order to compress time. Her methodology and some of the factual history of the book's events are all detailed in the Author's Note at the end of the book. One of the advantages to using real people and a real divorce case is that Donoghue automatically has a plot; she need only enliven the characters for us. And she has associations that she would otherwise need to falsify: she'd have to make up an intelligent but morally-conflicted Emily "Fido" Faithfull and make her a pivotal member of the Reform Firm.
The first few chapters are slow-going, unfortunately, and that may turn people away from the book before it begins to get good. There's a great deal of superficiality in the interactions between Fido and Helen Codrington. The purpose of this becomes clear later in the story, but at the beginning I found it dull. What I was waiting for was a real insight into the minds of these women and how they regarded their era. Although it takes awhile for Donoghue to unlock their psyches, she finally gets around to it.
What elevates The Sealed Letter above mediocrity is the three-dimensional way it portrays the people involved in this high-profile divorce. It is easy to set a divorce case in Victorian England in which the woman is the sympathetic character at the mercy of an uncaring husband. I found it hard to sympathize with Helen, who is both adulterous and manipulative, with sensibilities that radically change with her mood. Nevertheless, I understood her desire to remain a mother to her children (even if she was never very maternal) and repair the tear in her marriage that she—belatedly—realizes is her fault.
At the same time, Helen puts to shame Fido's Cause. She is a "fallen woman," an unfortunate counterexample to the claims of Fido's Reform Firm that women can be every bit as sensible and intelligent as men. As a result, Fido is torn between loyalty to her Cause and loyalty to her friend. She vacillates between an absolute adherence to one or the other as she tries to parse Helen's manipulation and deceit. There were times when Fido's changeable loyalties frustrated me, but I waited patiently for her to discover how unreliable Helen is.
And then there is Harry. Donoghue begins giving us insight into his mind toward the middle of the book, wherein he first suspects that Helen is having an affair and sets out to confirm or disprove this suspicion. Poor Harry is apparently clueless about his wife's adultery, and this discovery robs him of resolve and even, to some extent, reason. He becomes more reactionary, allowing his friends the Watsons, his brother, and his lawyers to manage the divorce case while he watches and participates with a sort of grim realization that there is no way to turn back the clock.
I come off as anti-Helen in my evaluation, and I do think she bears the majority of the blame—after all, she's the one who strayed. Yet my point is that Donoghue manages to portray all of the characters as sympathetic at times and at fault at other times. It's a realistic depiction of the difficulties of marriage and divorce (and life in general): nothing is clear cut, nothing is black and white, and there's always certain points where it's impossible to turn back.
The last theme echoes over and over again throughout the book. There's one quotation, which I can't locate at the moment, that aptly describes this idea. As she watches the divorce proceeding, Helen wonders if all this was an inevitable outcome of her dalliances with Mildmay and Anderson. She likens herself to a little boy pushing his toy soldier closer and closer to the edge just to see what would happen. I really enjoyed this underlying idea that we humans are prone to pushing ever so slightly too hard and bringing disaster upon ourselves.
The martial woes of the Codringtons takes place against the backdrop of Victorian society, and Fido's roles as an activist for women's rights is a key issue in The Sealed Letter. It's worth remarking on the ironic censure that Fido receives from other women in the Reform Firm, particularly the "equal above all others" woman Bettie Parkes. What I found most poignant, however, was the depth to which Fido sinks in the witness box to retract an affidavit she has signed. Fido essentially claims her "weakness as a woman" as her excuse for signing a statement to which she can attach no veracity. This makes her a hypocrite and hurts her Cause . . . yet it is so very true.
Which is not to say that all women are weak. No, what I mean is that Fido is right in claiming she was too weak-willed to refuse to sign the affidavit, too weak-willed to stand up to the illogical Helen Codrington. It's a character flaw—of the individual, not of the gender—that manifests over and over again, each time sending Fido down a darker, dimmer road as she tries to find some sense of equilibrium. Even as she contrasts two very distinct Victorian era women and their attitudes toward men and society, Donoghue reminds us that gender is only a part of who we are.
But what of the eponymous letter?! What's so special, so scandalous, that it remains sealed until the final chapter? Without going into too much detail, let me just say that this is more a MacGuffin than anything. It serves a minor purpose, but the book would have worked even with the letter removed, so don't spend too much time stressing over it as you read, OK?
Finally, I'd like to conclude by way of complaint about a formatting issue. What's up with the font used in this edition to render letters? It's nearly illegible; I had to squint and carefully linger over each cursive word in order to make it out. I don't mind when books use different fonts, even cursive fonts, to add a little flair—just make them readable!
The Sealed Letter delighted me with its detail and its characterization. Donoghue presents an actual divorce in 1864 England, setting it against the social issues of the time, and the end result is a success.
August 11, 2016
It was quite the disappointment, after Donoghue’s critical coup with Room, to turn to this novel, written a few years before but reissued to capitalize on her success. This fictional account of a real-life divorce scandal should have been a brilliant, realistic, gripping Victorian mystery along the lines of Sarah Waters’s Fingersmith or Michel Faber’s The Crimson Petal and the White. Instead it was a tedious slog. Yet I can’t quite put my finger on why. The dialogue is well imagined and the setting authentically described, but still something is missing.
Donoghue should have been able to make the dangerously flirtatious wife, Helen Codrington, into a psychologically deep character like George Eliot’s Gwendolen Harleth (in Daniel Deronda), and Emily ‘Fido’ Faithfull into a plain but praiseworthy heroine like Wilkie Collins’s Marian Holcombe (in The Woman in White). Moreover, I simply couldn’t take seriously a character with the nickname ‘Fido’, even if it is both factual and based on a clever Latin pun.
I felt the book didn’t take off until the trial scene, about halfway through. Donoghue clearly had pacing and characterization issues, but at least she – like Waters – is skilled at maintaining a subtle but delicious homoeroticism throughout.
Donoghue should have been able to make the dangerously flirtatious wife, Helen Codrington, into a psychologically deep character like George Eliot’s Gwendolen Harleth (in Daniel Deronda), and Emily ‘Fido’ Faithfull into a plain but praiseworthy heroine like Wilkie Collins’s Marian Holcombe (in The Woman in White). Moreover, I simply couldn’t take seriously a character with the nickname ‘Fido’, even if it is both factual and based on a clever Latin pun.
I felt the book didn’t take off until the trial scene, about halfway through. Donoghue clearly had pacing and characterization issues, but at least she – like Waters – is skilled at maintaining a subtle but delicious homoeroticism throughout.
June 13, 2016
I've been emersed in the world of The Sealed Letter for about a week, all victorian dresses, clandestine romance and nasty gossip. It also has that clever Emma Donoghue trick of taking real life newspaper headlines from the past and building a fantastic reality based fiction around it. I was interested in the story of Helen and Fido, Helen the passionate and, for the times, free loving and unfaithful wife. Fido the campaigner for women's rights who believes blindly in Helen and worships her unwaveringly until the end.
The story made me think about how many changes there have been to the role of women in society, the laws of divorce, for one thing, divorce was very new at the time and the awful treatment of the 'fallen woman' was really rather horrific compared to today's standards.
The story moves quite slowly at times but was always enjoyable, I liked all the characters but most particularly Fido as she struggles to deal with her manipulative friend and finds out truths about herself. I particularly smiled that her cure for asthma was smoking, as recommended by her doctor.
The story made me think about how many changes there have been to the role of women in society, the laws of divorce, for one thing, divorce was very new at the time and the awful treatment of the 'fallen woman' was really rather horrific compared to today's standards.
The story moves quite slowly at times but was always enjoyable, I liked all the characters but most particularly Fido as she struggles to deal with her manipulative friend and finds out truths about herself. I particularly smiled that her cure for asthma was smoking, as recommended by her doctor.
April 6, 2013
I was so disappointed by this book. After reading the blurb, I've had it on my to-read list for ages, and it really didn't live up to expectations.
On the positive side, I found the description of the divorce case, and the parts about the early feminists very interesting. The book was clearly extremely well researched, and written in a way that really drew me in. I learned a lot from this book, and so I don't regret reading it too much.
However, the plot is so tedious and slow moving. It's one of those books where I sat and wondered when is something actually going to happen? All this would not be so bad if I had become invested in the characters, but I found them all a bit irritating and unlikeable.
Also, the intriguing sealed letter of the title? It doesn't appear until three-quarters of the way through the book and is a real anti-climax.
Read it if you are interested in historical information regarding women in Victorian times, but if not, doesn't live up to the hype.
On the positive side, I found the description of the divorce case, and the parts about the early feminists very interesting. The book was clearly extremely well researched, and written in a way that really drew me in. I learned a lot from this book, and so I don't regret reading it too much.
However, the plot is so tedious and slow moving. It's one of those books where I sat and wondered when is something actually going to happen? All this would not be so bad if I had become invested in the characters, but I found them all a bit irritating and unlikeable.
Also, the intriguing sealed letter of the title? It doesn't appear until three-quarters of the way through the book and is a real anti-climax.
Read it if you are interested in historical information regarding women in Victorian times, but if not, doesn't live up to the hype.
January 19, 2016
История о том, как непросто было людям в викторианской Англии (особенно смелым и неудовлетворенным женщинам) и по мелочи - об эмансипации, разводе и плотских утехах.
March 3, 2018
2.5 rounded up. As much as I have enjoyed some of Emma Donoghue's previous books, this one didn't work for me. It was based on an infamous divorce trial in Victorian England that was apparently quite scandalous for its time. The story got a bit tedious after a while while it built up to the main attraction, the trial itself. Then it got more interesting, but barely so.
None of the characters was particularly likable, so it was very hard to relate to anyone. Helen was a very spoiled, manipulative woman given to histrionics, Harry was a controlling, rigid man of his times, and Emily "Fido" was a very independent woman who was too naive for her own good. There are other characters, too numerous to mention, all unlikeable in their own ways.
You do get a good sense of what it was like to live in Victorian England, especially for woman. They had no rights, particularly married women. The laws regarding divorce favored the men completely. Fido was part of the women's rights movement, or what passed for it. Basically it seemed all they did was attend lectures and write articles, but it was a start. Helen was shunned for seeking sexual gratification outside her marriage after her husband left her bed. She was only in her early 30s. By our standards, she was in her prime. Fido was a spinster, and there are allusions to her not caring for men, and possibly having strong feelings for Helen. Is this a version of Victorian female friendship, or something else? I'll never tell.
I have a big issue with how the book is presented in the blurb and in the author's note. In both places they make mention of how the courtroom drama rivals "the Clinton affair." Seriously? One thing has nothing to do with the other. The Clintons never divorced; an impeachment is not a divorce; and the "stained dress" in the book played a very minor role in the divorce and was brought forward by an unreliable witness.
Yes, the impeachment trial and apparently this divorce trial were both scandals, and they were ostensibly about sex, but if you dig deeper into both, you'll find that the sexual accusations were just an excuse for one person, or political party, to get rid of another person they didn't like.
Some people really liked this book. For me it was just OK. Not one of my favorite books by this author. It's an interesting look into Victorian England, but other books have done it better.
None of the characters was particularly likable, so it was very hard to relate to anyone. Helen was a very spoiled, manipulative woman given to histrionics, Harry was a controlling, rigid man of his times, and Emily "Fido" was a very independent woman who was too naive for her own good. There are other characters, too numerous to mention, all unlikeable in their own ways.
You do get a good sense of what it was like to live in Victorian England, especially for woman. They had no rights, particularly married women. The laws regarding divorce favored the men completely. Fido was part of the women's rights movement, or what passed for it. Basically it seemed all they did was attend lectures and write articles, but it was a start. Helen was shunned for seeking sexual gratification outside her marriage after her husband left her bed. She was only in her early 30s. By our standards, she was in her prime. Fido was a spinster, and there are allusions to her not caring for men, and possibly having strong feelings for Helen. Is this a version of Victorian female friendship, or something else? I'll never tell.
I have a big issue with how the book is presented in the blurb and in the author's note. In both places they make mention of how the courtroom drama rivals "the Clinton affair." Seriously? One thing has nothing to do with the other. The Clintons never divorced; an impeachment is not a divorce; and the "stained dress" in the book played a very minor role in the divorce and was brought forward by an unreliable witness.
Yes, the impeachment trial and apparently this divorce trial were both scandals, and they were ostensibly about sex, but if you dig deeper into both, you'll find that the sexual accusations were just an excuse for one person, or political party, to get rid of another person they didn't like.
Some people really liked this book. For me it was just OK. Not one of my favorite books by this author. It's an interesting look into Victorian England, but other books have done it better.
May 20, 2018
Fictional book based on a real divorce case, i found it interesting but none of the characters were very likable so i almost didn't really care about the end result!
December 31, 2016
Till I reached the end and read the author’s note, I wasn’t aware “The Sealed Letter’ is based on some actual individuals Emma Donoghue dug out from 19th century. Unlike in her “Astray” where real incidents were converted to short stories, this time she has spreads it to a full novel.
Fido’s involvement in women’s reform movements is used to give a clear picture on deprived situation of women in the era, yet it is not a story where good women unreasonably suffer under evil men who take advantage of their privileges. Author has brought the subject close to reality by portraying real world women who are as faulty as men.
I enjoyed the story to the end. But when reading the facts related to the characters in author’s note, I felt Fido is depicted too naive for her actual self. Despite of her radical ideas, it is understandable her reluctance to come forward to get involved in Helen’s case. The social norms of women’s’ virtue in Victorian era hangs over her too heavily. Yet getting deceived by Helen too easily over and over in a woman of her sensibility and readability is doubtful. If the reason is her love affair with Helen, then Fido’s objections to Helen’s conduct should be based on jealousy rather than on her conscience of right and wrong.
I like the book as a fiction, but its relation to actual events may not have represented justly here.
Fido’s involvement in women’s reform movements is used to give a clear picture on deprived situation of women in the era, yet it is not a story where good women unreasonably suffer under evil men who take advantage of their privileges. Author has brought the subject close to reality by portraying real world women who are as faulty as men.
I enjoyed the story to the end. But when reading the facts related to the characters in author’s note, I felt Fido is depicted too naive for her actual self. Despite of her radical ideas, it is understandable her reluctance to come forward to get involved in Helen’s case. The social norms of women’s’ virtue in Victorian era hangs over her too heavily. Yet getting deceived by Helen too easily over and over in a woman of her sensibility and readability is doubtful. If the reason is her love affair with Helen, then Fido’s objections to Helen’s conduct should be based on jealousy rather than on her conscience of right and wrong.
I like the book as a fiction, but its relation to actual events may not have represented justly here.
January 6, 2016
I wanted to read a female author that was new to me and was interested in reading the book, "Room" before seeing the movie. However, this book was unavailable at the library and Emma Donoghue's "The Sealed Letter" was. After reading the synopsis on the inside cover, I decided to try it.
It is a historical fiction piece based in 1860's London revolving around two women - Mrs. Helen Codrington and Miss Emily "Fido" Faithfull. Their acquaintance had broken off when the Codringtons moved to Malta. The book begins with the former friends literally running into one another again years later at the Smithfield market in London. The reader begins to discover the history between the two women and the current status of their lives since last they saw one another.
I enjoyed the research and descriptions of the Victorian era and social norms of these times. I also enjoyed reading about the early rise of feminists in that time period and their efforts to be recognized as equals - the women's struggle to earn a living at occupations normally reserved for men only was laudable. The main plot however is somewhat predictable. I wanted to shake Fido into awareness at times.
Entertaining, easy read. I will most likely continue to look for "Room" in future visits to the library.
It is a historical fiction piece based in 1860's London revolving around two women - Mrs. Helen Codrington and Miss Emily "Fido" Faithfull. Their acquaintance had broken off when the Codringtons moved to Malta. The book begins with the former friends literally running into one another again years later at the Smithfield market in London. The reader begins to discover the history between the two women and the current status of their lives since last they saw one another.
I enjoyed the research and descriptions of the Victorian era and social norms of these times. I also enjoyed reading about the early rise of feminists in that time period and their efforts to be recognized as equals - the women's struggle to earn a living at occupations normally reserved for men only was laudable. The main plot however is somewhat predictable. I wanted to shake Fido into awareness at times.
Entertaining, easy read. I will most likely continue to look for "Room" in future visits to the library.
October 20, 2008
I've been an admirer of Emma Donoghue's prose for a long time, enjoying both her contemporary and historical novels. This tale, based on a true story involving a sensational divorce trial in Victorian England, breezes along and is enjoyable in every way. As in real life, none of the three main characters is without fault, and none is completely to blame. I feel, though, given the talent of the writer, that the constraints she places by keeping fairly true to the original story make for slightly poorer fiction. I suppose I would like to have a slightly more satisfying conclusion and a slightly tighter bond with a main character.
To say anything negative, however, implies that I didn't enjoy the book, and I truly did. Donoghue sprinkles lovely sentences throughout, though is perhaps a little heavy-handed with her metaphors. That is a concession to the way books were written back then, I would guess, in which case she comes up with some beautiful images. I found, however, that I was counting how many metaphors per page, which is really a case of being taken out of the story.
Still, hightly recommended.
To say anything negative, however, implies that I didn't enjoy the book, and I truly did. Donoghue sprinkles lovely sentences throughout, though is perhaps a little heavy-handed with her metaphors. That is a concession to the way books were written back then, I would guess, in which case she comes up with some beautiful images. I found, however, that I was counting how many metaphors per page, which is really a case of being taken out of the story.
Still, hightly recommended.
August 13, 2015
The first couple of chapters of this book had me hooked at the beginning and I found myself really engaged with the characters, but that sentiment quickly faded.
Not one of the main characters in this novel was likable. I wanted to shake every single one of them and to tell them to stop being so stupid.
Essentially, the entire story was about a divorce. I found myself enjoying the legal aspect (probably because I'm a law student) but otherwise, I did not feel as if I was emotionally vested and I wish there had been more character development. The only other times I was roused to any emotion was through the description of how women were treated in the Victorian era.
The ending was intriguing if a little naff.
An interesting way to weave fiction into reality but it has been done better.
Not one of the main characters in this novel was likable. I wanted to shake every single one of them and to tell them to stop being so stupid.
Essentially, the entire story was about a divorce. I found myself enjoying the legal aspect (probably because I'm a law student) but otherwise, I did not feel as if I was emotionally vested and I wish there had been more character development. The only other times I was roused to any emotion was through the description of how women were treated in the Victorian era.
The ending was intriguing if a little naff.
An interesting way to weave fiction into reality but it has been done better.
January 19, 2009
Donoghue's writing is deft, her characters fleshed out, her subject impeccably researched and presented with crisp detail. This is an immensely readable book- all the more so knowing that its lurid and tragic story is based on fact. It's facile marketing to draw comparisons between this divorce case of Victorian England and the late 1990's Clintonian/blue Gap dress/cigar debacle- as the publishers try to; this series of affairs stands in a scandal class of its own. It's also an excellent portrait of life in the middling classes at a time when western women were finding their own voices.
I rate it highly -not because it covers any new literary ground or displays extraordinary writing- but because I was as entertained as I hoped/expected to be.
I rate it highly -not because it covers any new literary ground or displays extraordinary writing- but because I was as entertained as I hoped/expected to be.
September 21, 2021
I had low expectations of this book---despite loving most of Emma Donoghue's novels. It was a long book ---and a period piece---not my favourite genre---but the author's writing skills turned this somewhat true story into a very engaging narrative. I loved the way the writer told us what the main characters were thinking in critical parts of the drama. Also loved the end notes explaining how much was based on fact. An unexpected gem.
8.5/10
8.5/10
December 28, 2012
I found this a really intriguing read although some readers might find the legal sections a bit dry. Helen was such a manipulator and I felt sorry for poor Fido (not a dog!)who received scant reward for her faithfulness. An excellent insight into the social mores of the times - not sure we've moved on that much!
October 2, 2025
I started reading Emma Donoghue’s 2008 novel The Sealed Letter at the start of September, in anticipation of our book club discussion on Sept 25. I figured it would take me a while because of the many pages (close to 400) and tiny font, so I wanted to leave myself a lot of time. I barely finished in time – and not because of either of the aforementioned reasons. I couldn’t read more than three or four page before I nodded off.
Emily “Fido” Faithfull is a business woman in 1860s London. She runs a printing press where she gives young woman an opportunity to make their own money. True, she hasn’t had any luck in love and is, at 29, a spinster, but she is a woman of independent means.
When the novel opens, she runs into Helen Codrington, a slightly older woman with whom she was once friends. Their friendship lost its way due to miscommunication, but now Helen and her husband, a ranking officer in the navy, are back in London and the two women begin to see each other again.
It isn’t long, though, before Fido is drawn into Helen’s extra-marital intrigue and I would like to say that that speeds things up, but it doesn’t. When Helen’s husband, Harry, a stiff older man, gets wind of his wife’s shenanigans and decides to leave her, Fido suddenly finds herself pulled into a court case (because divorces were settled in court with a jury and witnesses etc) which upends the life she had created for herself.
I would have definitely abandoned this book if it hadn’t been for the fact that it was a book club pick and I hate not finishing those. Although the writing was fine (although not really my cup of tea), I didn’t like Fido or Helen. I really could not have cared less about how things were all going to work out. For someone so smart, Fido sure was blinded by her affection for Helen who was manipulative and duplicitous.
The “sealed letter” of the title comes to play only near the end and is ultimately a disappointment. And while it’s alluded to throughout the novel (and the LAMBDA winning status is on full display), that aspect of the novel feels like a plot point.
If you’re looking for a historical page-turner, I recommend Fingersmith. This one is a no from me.
Emily “Fido” Faithfull is a business woman in 1860s London. She runs a printing press where she gives young woman an opportunity to make their own money. True, she hasn’t had any luck in love and is, at 29, a spinster, but she is a woman of independent means.
When the novel opens, she runs into Helen Codrington, a slightly older woman with whom she was once friends. Their friendship lost its way due to miscommunication, but now Helen and her husband, a ranking officer in the navy, are back in London and the two women begin to see each other again.
It isn’t long, though, before Fido is drawn into Helen’s extra-marital intrigue and I would like to say that that speeds things up, but it doesn’t. When Helen’s husband, Harry, a stiff older man, gets wind of his wife’s shenanigans and decides to leave her, Fido suddenly finds herself pulled into a court case (because divorces were settled in court with a jury and witnesses etc) which upends the life she had created for herself.
I would have definitely abandoned this book if it hadn’t been for the fact that it was a book club pick and I hate not finishing those. Although the writing was fine (although not really my cup of tea), I didn’t like Fido or Helen. I really could not have cared less about how things were all going to work out. For someone so smart, Fido sure was blinded by her affection for Helen who was manipulative and duplicitous.
The “sealed letter” of the title comes to play only near the end and is ultimately a disappointment. And while it’s alluded to throughout the novel (and the LAMBDA winning status is on full display), that aspect of the novel feels like a plot point.
If you’re looking for a historical page-turner, I recommend Fingersmith. This one is a no from me.
October 30, 2018
Based on a true story of a divorce scandal that rocked England in 1864, the novel paints a depressing picture of female lives and women rights two centuries ago. The book is centered around the life of three prominent individuals: Admiral Codington, his wife Helen, and her friend Emily 'Fido' Faithfull.
Though Fido considers Helen her bosom friend, they are as different as chalk and cheese. Helen is a married woman with two children, and lives a pampered life littered with servants and parties. Stuck in a loveless marriage with an apathetic husband she tries to find comfort in short-term affairs with her husband's colleagues. Despite Helen's manipulative and hysterical personality, she is a tragic character, suffering due to the bonds of propriety forced on women. A married English woman in this century had no property of her own. So her husband is allowed to break open her writing desk and submit her personal appointment book as evidence because none of it ever belonged to her in the first place. She doesn't love her husband but can't divorce him. A divorced woman is a social pariah who loses all custody rights to her children.
Fido is a women rights' activist who fights for the 'Cause'. Despite that she is often the harshest critic of Helen's actions, due to her notions of what is and is not right behaviour for women. The Colonel though cuckolded by his wife is seen to be a man born in the wrong century. He doesn't love his wife and wants just cause to divorce her. Despite being called a proper gentleman, in the end he resorts to lying and besmirching the honour of his wife and Fido's through insubstantial accusations to win his case.
The writing is gripping. The fact that I stayed up past 2 am itching to find how the book ends is testament to the fact.
Though Fido considers Helen her bosom friend, they are as different as chalk and cheese. Helen is a married woman with two children, and lives a pampered life littered with servants and parties. Stuck in a loveless marriage with an apathetic husband she tries to find comfort in short-term affairs with her husband's colleagues. Despite Helen's manipulative and hysterical personality, she is a tragic character, suffering due to the bonds of propriety forced on women. A married English woman in this century had no property of her own. So her husband is allowed to break open her writing desk and submit her personal appointment book as evidence because none of it ever belonged to her in the first place. She doesn't love her husband but can't divorce him. A divorced woman is a social pariah who loses all custody rights to her children.
Fido is a women rights' activist who fights for the 'Cause'. Despite that she is often the harshest critic of Helen's actions, due to her notions of what is and is not right behaviour for women. The Colonel though cuckolded by his wife is seen to be a man born in the wrong century. He doesn't love his wife and wants just cause to divorce her. Despite being called a proper gentleman, in the end he resorts to lying and besmirching the honour of his wife and Fido's through insubstantial accusations to win his case.
The writing is gripping. The fact that I stayed up past 2 am itching to find how the book ends is testament to the fact.
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