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Set in Silver
Darling Little French Things have happened. Fire-crackers! Roman candles! rockets! But don't be frightened. They're all in my head. Nevertheless I haven't had such a Fourth of July since I was a small girl in America, and stood on a tin pail with a whole pack of fire-crackers popping away underneath.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
308 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1909
54 people want to read
About the author
C.N. Williamson
318 books8 followersCharles Norris Williamson, 1859–1920, British writer and journalist
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 16, 2024
2024 re-read: Still finding tons to enjoy here, although more impatient than ever with Audrie’s dastardly suitor, whose entire plan is a house of cards and therefore just annoying as a plot point. Seriously?!
This time I enjoyed spending more time looking up the places Audrie visits, and collecting them into Instagram posts… a project which is only about halfway done but which I will soon complete. It makes the reading much more fun to have visuals!
Original review follows:
I started out this book thinking it would be a 3-star novel. I got farther into it and thought, well...4 stars. Today I finished it and just had to go with 5 stars.
Evidently this married couple, the Williamsons, wrote a whole lot of books together around the turn of the 20th century. This is the only one I've read so far, but I don't think it'll be the last. Evidently they like to write books in which: A) Lots of traveling is done, preferably by automobile (because it was the latest, coolest thing) and B) Someone is in disguise.
Both of those qualifications are met in this book. Audrie, a young woman who has just taken up a post as music teacher, owes one of her students a favor for helping her get the job.
The student, a 19-year-old girl named Ellaline, is an orphan and has never seen or communicated much with her guardian, who is just returning from some type of military post in Asia. Ellaline is prejudiced against him and has decided to elope anyway, but her fiance can't come for her right away, so in the interim, she asks Audrie (who is 21) to pose as her and keep the guardian off the track.
Audrie is expecting the guardian to be a gruff, dragon-like old man, but instead she is surprised to meet a kind, fairly normal man who is a young-looking 40. His name is Sir Lionel Pendragon.
Sir Lionel is expecting his ward to be a carbon-copy of her flirtatious, undependable mother, and he is surprised to meet Audrie (whom, of course, he thinks is Ellaline). Audrie is sweet, intelligent, and interested in the same things he is. In fact, he almost immediately views her as a friend.
Sir Lionel's home has just been damaged by a fire, so while it is being repaired, he takes Audrie, along with his sister, on an automobile trip all around England. This is where the book turns into part travelogue. I didn't mind it, and in fact found some of it intensely interesting, but it did make the book a little long.
The book is in the form of letters, mostly from Audrie to her mother, and a few from Sir Lionel to his best friend. I really liked getting to see his side of things. He was an AWESOMELY, awesomely likable character. Both he and Audrie put plenty of description in their letters, and you can tell that they are totally in love with England and all of its medieval history, legends, architecture, people, everything. They both write about it pretty reverently, which is kind of enjoyable to one who has never been and probably never will be at any of those places.
Problems arise in the form of a young man who thinks he's in love with Audrie and also fancies himself a detective. He noses out Audrie's real identity and threatens to tell Sir Lionel if Audrie doesn't invite him along on the roadtrip, AND his aunt, who is scheming to get Sir Lionel to marry her. They are the irritating characters in the book, but don't do any lasting harm at all.
Sir Lionel and Audrie have PLENTY of lovely times together and quickly become genuine friends in spite of the machinations of the villains. It's great. Their travels and touring around England are really just one long spell of courtship, even though Sir Lionel is thinking, "But I'm so much older, and I'm her guardian, and she must think of me as elderly," and Audrie is thinking, "He will really hate me when he knows I've deceived him about Ellaline." The times they get to spend together are totally appropriate for a guardian-ward relationship, but also super sweet and innocent when viewed for what they really are--a courtship.
Seriously, these are a couple of great characters. I'm impressed.
This time I enjoyed spending more time looking up the places Audrie visits, and collecting them into Instagram posts… a project which is only about halfway done but which I will soon complete. It makes the reading much more fun to have visuals!
Original review follows:
I started out this book thinking it would be a 3-star novel. I got farther into it and thought, well...4 stars. Today I finished it and just had to go with 5 stars.
Evidently this married couple, the Williamsons, wrote a whole lot of books together around the turn of the 20th century. This is the only one I've read so far, but I don't think it'll be the last. Evidently they like to write books in which: A) Lots of traveling is done, preferably by automobile (because it was the latest, coolest thing) and B) Someone is in disguise.
Both of those qualifications are met in this book. Audrie, a young woman who has just taken up a post as music teacher, owes one of her students a favor for helping her get the job.
The student, a 19-year-old girl named Ellaline, is an orphan and has never seen or communicated much with her guardian, who is just returning from some type of military post in Asia. Ellaline is prejudiced against him and has decided to elope anyway, but her fiance can't come for her right away, so in the interim, she asks Audrie (who is 21) to pose as her and keep the guardian off the track.
Audrie is expecting the guardian to be a gruff, dragon-like old man, but instead she is surprised to meet a kind, fairly normal man who is a young-looking 40. His name is Sir Lionel Pendragon.
Sir Lionel is expecting his ward to be a carbon-copy of her flirtatious, undependable mother, and he is surprised to meet Audrie (whom, of course, he thinks is Ellaline). Audrie is sweet, intelligent, and interested in the same things he is. In fact, he almost immediately views her as a friend.
Sir Lionel's home has just been damaged by a fire, so while it is being repaired, he takes Audrie, along with his sister, on an automobile trip all around England. This is where the book turns into part travelogue. I didn't mind it, and in fact found some of it intensely interesting, but it did make the book a little long.
The book is in the form of letters, mostly from Audrie to her mother, and a few from Sir Lionel to his best friend. I really liked getting to see his side of things. He was an AWESOMELY, awesomely likable character. Both he and Audrie put plenty of description in their letters, and you can tell that they are totally in love with England and all of its medieval history, legends, architecture, people, everything. They both write about it pretty reverently, which is kind of enjoyable to one who has never been and probably never will be at any of those places.
Problems arise in the form of a young man who thinks he's in love with Audrie and also fancies himself a detective. He noses out Audrie's real identity and threatens to tell Sir Lionel if Audrie doesn't invite him along on the roadtrip, AND his aunt, who is scheming to get Sir Lionel to marry her. They are the irritating characters in the book, but don't do any lasting harm at all.
Sir Lionel and Audrie have PLENTY of lovely times together and quickly become genuine friends in spite of the machinations of the villains. It's great. Their travels and touring around England are really just one long spell of courtship, even though Sir Lionel is thinking, "But I'm so much older, and I'm her guardian, and she must think of me as elderly," and Audrie is thinking, "He will really hate me when he knows I've deceived him about Ellaline." The times they get to spend together are totally appropriate for a guardian-ward relationship, but also super sweet and innocent when viewed for what they really are--a courtship.
Seriously, these are a couple of great characters. I'm impressed.
November 26, 2017
4.5 STARS. Wonderful travelogue told through letters. It's full of beautiful descriptions, humor, romance and characterization. Would love to see this made into a BBC film it would be gorgeous and has all the right elements: beautiful, charismatic, intelligent young protagonist; surprisingly attractive guardian returned home from abroad and whom she might end up being a bit in love with; upstart trying to butt into her affections (he's appropriately named Dick Burdon); devout gooseberry sister-of-guardian/chaperone; gorgeous and beguiling widowed aunt of young upstart trying play matchmaker and to cozy up to handsome rich guardian herself. And a gorgeous motor vehicle to zip around on the tour. The travel really brings out the uniqueness of the various British counties with all the regional flavor. Five stars except that I wish the young chauffeur from Bengal wasn't referred to constantly as "the brown idol" or "the brown Buddha" -- sigh, these early 1900s novels! -- and even for this Anglophile the descriptions of some of the history and architecture of the tourist attractions got a bit tedious.
December 12, 2012
I loved the sweet romance at the heart of this story. The travelogue was a bit tedious for about the first third of the book. Then I came to the wonderful realization that I live in the era of the Internet and, most importantly, Google! I simply started image searching every proper noun of the place variety. Suddenly, my inability to to form mental pictures was no longer a hinderance. The downside is that I now have a growing desire to motor around England. Top on my list of destinations is Bamburgh Castle and Cragside House both in Northumberland.
August 26, 2024
If you like a good vintage novel that is more lighthearted than sappy, this should do the trick. It had me smiling from start to finish. And it’s free for Kindle.
April 30, 2017
It is a treat for those who know and love British legends, classic literature, monuments, history, landscapes.
Imagine that it is 1910, you are driving by car eg. like this:
and you are visiting all places worth seeing in UK. If you want to go on such trip you should read this book. You will see places linked with William the Conqueror, King Arthur, Henry VIII, Bronte sisters, George Eliot, their books and many, many other people, places, stories. I think that you will take a big breath of love for all that is British.
Unfortunately, I know not enough of British history and literature to be able to have the pleasure of reading it. I mean, I know a few classic British writers, basic history of UK (and more deeper some periods and facts, thanks to books), but I grew up neither in UK nor near British admirer. Also, I have been never in UK. I am some kind of British admirer for only the last two years. But I am not studying British culture and history. I simply adore British literature. And it was not enough to be focused and appreciating through most parts of the novel. Perhaps in a few years I go back and read again.
Nonetheless I've really enjoyed a love story and the atmosphere of those times. It was still "the old world" of polite manners, chaperones and all this world which gradually died after two World Wars.
So, although I have skipped many paragraph (which I couldn't linked with my knowledge and without it I was rather bored) I give the book four stars because the novel deserves high rating.
For more please read Alisha Trenalone's review.
[I want to thank Alisha because it is thanks to her that I read it.]
Imagine that it is 1910, you are driving by car eg. like this:
and you are visiting all places worth seeing in UK. If you want to go on such trip you should read this book. You will see places linked with William the Conqueror, King Arthur, Henry VIII, Bronte sisters, George Eliot, their books and many, many other people, places, stories. I think that you will take a big breath of love for all that is British.
Unfortunately, I know not enough of British history and literature to be able to have the pleasure of reading it. I mean, I know a few classic British writers, basic history of UK (and more deeper some periods and facts, thanks to books), but I grew up neither in UK nor near British admirer. Also, I have been never in UK. I am some kind of British admirer for only the last two years. But I am not studying British culture and history. I simply adore British literature. And it was not enough to be focused and appreciating through most parts of the novel. Perhaps in a few years I go back and read again.
Nonetheless I've really enjoyed a love story and the atmosphere of those times. It was still "the old world" of polite manners, chaperones and all this world which gradually died after two World Wars.
So, although I have skipped many paragraph (which I couldn't linked with my knowledge and without it I was rather bored) I give the book four stars because the novel deserves high rating.
For more please read Alisha Trenalone's review.
[I want to thank Alisha because it is thanks to her that I read it.]
August 24, 2012
The Williamsons tend to go in for making their characters (a) tourists somewhere, and (b) at least one character is pretending to be someone or something he or she is not.
In "Set in Silver", for instance, the tourism is a motor tour (in 1909, please note) of southern and western England, about half of Wales, and some of northern England. The character pretending to be someone she isn't is the heroine, who is pretending to the hero that she is his ward (he's been in Bengal for 15 years and the last time he saw his ward she was 4, so she can do this). (His actual ward is lurking in Scotland, waiting for her French soldier sweetheart to get leave and come and marry her.)
Life is complicated for the heroine by the Wrong Man, who excuses his habit of nosing into other people's business by calling it "a talent for detection", and who has found out the truth about her - and is using the threat of exposing her to the hero to make her do what he wants. What he wants being to get him and his aunt invited along on the motor tour. Him, because he's madly in love with the heroine (though why he thinks blackmailing her will cause her to look upon him with anything but fury and loathing is unclear), his aunt because she thinks a rich baronet (the hero) would make an excellent second husband.
There ensues vast quantities of travelogue, interspersed with misunderstandings, complaints from the aunt about all the sightseeing she has to pretend to be interested in (the reader sympathises), sweet moments between the heroine and hero, and increasing caddishness from the Wrong Man, until eventually the heroine has enough and tells him to eff off. Whereupon he does in fact carry out his threats, but it all backfires (of course) and the hero and heroine get their happy ending, while everyone else retires gnashing teeth.
In "Set in Silver", for instance, the tourism is a motor tour (in 1909, please note) of southern and western England, about half of Wales, and some of northern England. The character pretending to be someone she isn't is the heroine, who is pretending to the hero that she is his ward (he's been in Bengal for 15 years and the last time he saw his ward she was 4, so she can do this). (His actual ward is lurking in Scotland, waiting for her French soldier sweetheart to get leave and come and marry her.)
Life is complicated for the heroine by the Wrong Man, who excuses his habit of nosing into other people's business by calling it "a talent for detection", and who has found out the truth about her - and is using the threat of exposing her to the hero to make her do what he wants. What he wants being to get him and his aunt invited along on the motor tour. Him, because he's madly in love with the heroine (though why he thinks blackmailing her will cause her to look upon him with anything but fury and loathing is unclear), his aunt because she thinks a rich baronet (the hero) would make an excellent second husband.
There ensues vast quantities of travelogue, interspersed with misunderstandings, complaints from the aunt about all the sightseeing she has to pretend to be interested in (the reader sympathises), sweet moments between the heroine and hero, and increasing caddishness from the Wrong Man, until eventually the heroine has enough and tells him to eff off. Whereupon he does in fact carry out his threats, but it all backfires (of course) and the hero and heroine get their happy ending, while everyone else retires gnashing teeth.
June 11, 2023
A sweet and engaging story, told via letters, with some drama in the middle. But also soooo slow. I finally skipped ahead to the last chapter to find out how it ended and call it a day. I can be an impatient reader, so this might be a better fit for someone who enjoys leisurely pacing.
May 17, 2012
Audrie Brendon is a 21-year-old music teacher at a French boarding school. A student in the school, Ellaline Lethbridge, is an orphan who has never met her guardian, Sir Lionel Pendragon. Ellaline is 19 years old and secretly engaged to Honoré du Guesclin, a lieutenant in the French army. When Ellaline receives word that she is to leave the school and join her guardian, she doesn't know what to do because she thinks Sir Lionel will forbid her marriage to Honoré. Ellaline devises a plot: Audrie will impersonate Ellaline to Sir Lionel until Ellaline can elope with Honoré to Scotland. Sir Lionel has not seen Ellaline since she was four years old, so he won't know the difference. Audrie feels compelled to go along with this since Ellaline was the one who got her the job at the school, and Audrie is supporting her sick mother.
Audrie joins Sir Lionel and his sister on a cross-country road trip. Ellaline's plan works at first, but complications arise when an aspiring detective, Dick Burden, discovers Audrie's true identity. Dick falls in love with Audrie and blackmails her into asking Sir Lionel to let him and his aunt accompany them. He also forces Audrie to pretend she like him, which becomes very awkward for Audrie when she realizes she is in love with someone else.
The plot of this book is actually very good, but the road trip aspect of the book turned it into a travelogue, and I couldn't stand those parts. The constant detailed descriptions and history of every landscape and historic site was way too much. The characters (particularly Audrie) are continually going into raptures about literally everything they see and do. I liked Audrie, but she often got on my nerves and I skimmed much of the travelogue parts. The book is an epistolary novel, which makes the travelogue sections even worse.
Despite the promising plot, this book is actually quite boring for at least half of the book. :(
2 1/2 stars
Audrie joins Sir Lionel and his sister on a cross-country road trip. Ellaline's plan works at first, but complications arise when an aspiring detective, Dick Burden, discovers Audrie's true identity. Dick falls in love with Audrie and blackmails her into asking Sir Lionel to let him and his aunt accompany them. He also forces Audrie to pretend she like him, which becomes very awkward for Audrie when she realizes she is in love with someone else.
The plot of this book is actually very good, but the road trip aspect of the book turned it into a travelogue, and I couldn't stand those parts. The constant detailed descriptions and history of every landscape and historic site was way too much. The characters (particularly Audrie) are continually going into raptures about literally everything they see and do. I liked Audrie, but she often got on my nerves and I skimmed much of the travelogue parts. The book is an epistolary novel, which makes the travelogue sections even worse.
Despite the promising plot, this book is actually quite boring for at least half of the book. :(
2 1/2 stars
August 10, 2010
Suspence is the word. It ended far better than I could ever of expected. Our heroine helps a friend out even aganist her first thoughts and I hope I don't give to much away by saying, WHAT AN AGE DIFFERNCE!
phew, at least I got that out.
phew, at least I got that out.
Want to read
January 18, 2016Read this book for free through Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19412/...
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May 12, 2016Sweet, happy ending, nice clothes!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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