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Thelma #1-3
Тельма
Путешествуя по Норвегии, британский аристократ сэр Филип Эррингтон влюбляется в юную Тельму — добрую и красивую дочку местного фермера. Добившись расположения ее отца и завоевав любовь самой Тельмы, Филип женится на ней и увозит к себе на родину, в Англию.
Однако высшее общество холодно встречает северную красавицу. Особенно негодует леди Клара, богатая и популярная дама, которая и сама имеет виды на Филипа. Чувствуя исходящую от Тельмы угрозу, леди Клара решает любой ценой избавиться от соперницы…
Сможет ли Тельма противостоять интригам и лицемерию лондонского общества? И сумеют ли они с сэром Филипом сохранить брак после всех испытаний, выпавших на их долю?
Однако высшее общество холодно встречает северную красавицу. Особенно негодует леди Клара, богатая и популярная дама, которая и сама имеет виды на Филипа. Чувствуя исходящую от Тельмы угрозу, леди Клара решает любой ценой избавиться от соперницы…
Сможет ли Тельма противостоять интригам и лицемерию лондонского общества? И сумеют ли они с сэром Филипом сохранить брак после всех испытаний, выпавших на их долю?
736 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1887
47 people are currently reading
540 people want to read
About the author
Marie Corelli
429 books184 followersMarie Corelli (born Mary Mackay) was a best-selling British novelist of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, whose controversial works of the time often label her as an early advocate of the New Age movement.
In the 1890’s Marie Corelli’s novels were eagerly devoured by millions in England, America and the colonies. Her readers ranged from Queen Victoria and Gladstone, to the poorest of shop girls. In all she wrote thirty books, the majority of which were phenomenal best sellers. Despite the fact that her novels were either ignored or belittled by the critics, at the height of her success she was the best selling and most highly paid author in England.
She was the daughter of poet, journalist, author, anthologist, novelist, and songwriter Charles Mackay. Her brother was the poet Eric Mackay.
In the 1890’s Marie Corelli’s novels were eagerly devoured by millions in England, America and the colonies. Her readers ranged from Queen Victoria and Gladstone, to the poorest of shop girls. In all she wrote thirty books, the majority of which were phenomenal best sellers. Despite the fact that her novels were either ignored or belittled by the critics, at the height of her success she was the best selling and most highly paid author in England.
She was the daughter of poet, journalist, author, anthologist, novelist, and songwriter Charles Mackay. Her brother was the poet Eric Mackay.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
May 8, 2020
Marriage had for once fulfilled its real and sacred meaning – it had opened all the gateways of the only earthy paradise human hearts shall ever know, - the paradise of perfect union and absolute sympathy with the one thing beloved on this side eternity.
The love of Philip and Thelma as presented in this 1887 novel does come close to exemplifying the lofty idealism of the above quotation. Challenged initially by the bitter prejudice and rumour of a small provincial village in Norway and then later, the machinations of a sophisticated and bitter society maven in London, the young couple’s deep and sincere love for one another is certainly put to the test and the beauty of this romantic vision of true love is strongly challenged. Coming close to what I would call a true ‘potboiler’, this novel did keep me turning the pages to see if the author’s romantic idealism would be at all tempered with at least a small dose of the harsh reality of broken dreams we all inevitably encounter.
Corelli was a highly successful novelist in the time of Hardy, Trollope, Collins and Stevenson. Supposedly, she outsold them all, and is purported to have been the favourite novelist of Queen Victoria. Reading this work, an old hardback edition of which I inherited from my long-dead grandmother, I can see why. She writes very well and has the true author’s facility to balance character delineation with complexity of situation in her plotting to make the reading both engaging and virtually effortless. Think of Harold Robbins, Jacqueline Susann or Sidney Sheldon at work in the late nineteenth century.
Corelli’s writing has been described as combining the imagination of Poe, the style of Ouida and the mentality of a nursemaid, but though such simplifications are not totally off the mark, she does have very perceptive views of social prejudice, religious intolerance, personal jealousy and ill-fated love. Maybe if she’d been just a touch less melodramatic and a tad more realistic in the depiction of her heroes, the novel would have been more believable and her reputation as a writer more longstanding. Still, the minor characters are all very well developed and their fates dealt out with a largely realistic degree of moral propriety.
I’m now going to watch Angel, a 2007 film supposedly based on the life of this highly idiosyncratic writer.
Recommended.
The love of Philip and Thelma as presented in this 1887 novel does come close to exemplifying the lofty idealism of the above quotation. Challenged initially by the bitter prejudice and rumour of a small provincial village in Norway and then later, the machinations of a sophisticated and bitter society maven in London, the young couple’s deep and sincere love for one another is certainly put to the test and the beauty of this romantic vision of true love is strongly challenged. Coming close to what I would call a true ‘potboiler’, this novel did keep me turning the pages to see if the author’s romantic idealism would be at all tempered with at least a small dose of the harsh reality of broken dreams we all inevitably encounter.
Corelli was a highly successful novelist in the time of Hardy, Trollope, Collins and Stevenson. Supposedly, she outsold them all, and is purported to have been the favourite novelist of Queen Victoria. Reading this work, an old hardback edition of which I inherited from my long-dead grandmother, I can see why. She writes very well and has the true author’s facility to balance character delineation with complexity of situation in her plotting to make the reading both engaging and virtually effortless. Think of Harold Robbins, Jacqueline Susann or Sidney Sheldon at work in the late nineteenth century.
Corelli’s writing has been described as combining the imagination of Poe, the style of Ouida and the mentality of a nursemaid, but though such simplifications are not totally off the mark, she does have very perceptive views of social prejudice, religious intolerance, personal jealousy and ill-fated love. Maybe if she’d been just a touch less melodramatic and a tad more realistic in the depiction of her heroes, the novel would have been more believable and her reputation as a writer more longstanding. Still, the minor characters are all very well developed and their fates dealt out with a largely realistic degree of moral propriety.
I’m now going to watch Angel, a 2007 film supposedly based on the life of this highly idiosyncratic writer.
Recommended.
April 9, 2017
A love story written by someone who is moved by the beautiful landscapes in Norway as evident by her minute descriptions of the place. Very fast paced and though you dread a tragic ending, it is anything but that. It enfolds enchantingly and you put down the book with a sigh, a wistful one as always is the case with love stories.
July 19, 2016
I had mixed reactions to this book. It was divided into three books, with the first and third book being set in Norway and the middle book being set in London. I really loved the first and third books. It was like reading Victorian folklore, proper gothic tales with a dwarf, followers of Thor and evil Christians. It was a simple love story but it was very descriptive and atmospheric and I enjoyed it immensley. The middle book set in London just felt odd, it was alright, harsh on the duplicity of society, but for some reason the "good" central characters just became totally uninspiring and dull when brought out of the myseterious setting and put in the mundane world. There were some interesting highlights, I liked the actress, I liked that the evil society woman was "reedemable" but there was also too much of an imbalance of gender stereotypes and the plot devices that were used to cause trouble for the heroine and her husband just felt too contrived, and as such went on too long. Overall I did enjoy the book. But I think I much prefer Corelli's romances to her social criticism. For I fear I would be one of the people she criticised (She mentioned at one point how the non-Christian villan of the piece had two Zola novels in his apartment!)
February 10, 2024
I love Victorian literature, and since I have read so many of the well known classics, I have been digging deeper to find lesser known works such as this one. This little gem was worth the search!
In the first third of the book, we find lyrical prose as the author skillfully paints the backdrop for the story on the canvas of the Norwegian fjords. I savored her description of the Northern Lights, the glory of the sea, and the fragrance of the flora. It was just a delight to envision the scenery of Norway.
Thelma is introduced early on, in Romantic fashion. She is sketched as a pure, innocent, and unspoiled beauty, the only daughter of a Norse bonde. Her Father is a rough hewn man who adheres to the Viking traditions and the “pagan” religion of his forebears.
Four young men intrude upon Thelma and her Father’s quietude, an English playboy and his three friends, who sail in on a yacht. After making an initial unfavorable impression, they are eventually admitted into the lives of Thelma and her Father as guests. Their interactions are so interesting, and the author uses it to contrast the aimlessness of the English gentleman with the masculine vitality of the elder Viking.
Thelma’s Father serves as an inspiration to the younger men, and they are challenged to aspire to manliness. In the process, the gentleman who owns the yacht falls deeply and madly in love with Thelma, wins her heart, and swoops her away to England.
The upper class culture to which Thelma must adjust nearly kills this pure woman of the fjords, who never can understand the cruel and subtle tricks of the English socialites. This section of the book is quite tragic.
But we return to Norway for the final third of the book and find that several sub-plots are tied up, wrongs are righted, and wisdom is attained.
This is a sparkling example of the richness of Victorian literature, in which class, religion, marriage, and nature are all explored in brilliant language and with depth. I quite enjoyed reading Thelma.
In the first third of the book, we find lyrical prose as the author skillfully paints the backdrop for the story on the canvas of the Norwegian fjords. I savored her description of the Northern Lights, the glory of the sea, and the fragrance of the flora. It was just a delight to envision the scenery of Norway.
Thelma is introduced early on, in Romantic fashion. She is sketched as a pure, innocent, and unspoiled beauty, the only daughter of a Norse bonde. Her Father is a rough hewn man who adheres to the Viking traditions and the “pagan” religion of his forebears.
Four young men intrude upon Thelma and her Father’s quietude, an English playboy and his three friends, who sail in on a yacht. After making an initial unfavorable impression, they are eventually admitted into the lives of Thelma and her Father as guests. Their interactions are so interesting, and the author uses it to contrast the aimlessness of the English gentleman with the masculine vitality of the elder Viking.
Thelma’s Father serves as an inspiration to the younger men, and they are challenged to aspire to manliness. In the process, the gentleman who owns the yacht falls deeply and madly in love with Thelma, wins her heart, and swoops her away to England.
The upper class culture to which Thelma must adjust nearly kills this pure woman of the fjords, who never can understand the cruel and subtle tricks of the English socialites. This section of the book is quite tragic.
But we return to Norway for the final third of the book and find that several sub-plots are tied up, wrongs are righted, and wisdom is attained.
This is a sparkling example of the richness of Victorian literature, in which class, religion, marriage, and nature are all explored in brilliant language and with depth. I quite enjoyed reading Thelma.
April 25, 2012
Read twice now...my favorite book for many years...still might be :)
July 4, 2015
The most beautifully written book ever. There are bound to be mixed reviews on this one but I believe every girl should read it at least once. The book celebrates the essence of a good-natured woman like no other book ever does. Some might call it old fashioned and they are not entirely wrong. But if the good old fashioned purity is to be preserved, books like these should be a must. A lovely story of a girl with a pure heart, beautiful descriptions of the natural beauty of Norway and a very real portrayal of the British society then.
April 28, 2015
Oh, this book just tore my heart out, it is so beautiful. All the good characters are so wonderful, the heroes are marvelous, the heroines are so sweet; but the villains are all so repugnant, repulsive, horrifying.
Quite a powerful novel. I love love love it!
Quite a powerful novel. I love love love it!
July 4, 2016
Marie Corelli is brilliant. Adding Norway to my bucket list now. I wanted to give this book 4 stars but it got a bit slow in the middle. Nevertheless its a nice love story. But a bit too romance for me.
Want to read
June 17, 2015Read this book for free through Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3823/...
March 4, 2009
In 1887, just a year after her first two books were published, Marie Corelli published her third book titled “Thelma: A Norwegian Princess”. While it is somewhat surprising that she managed to get three books published in such a short period of time, what is even more surprising is that the quality of the works improved with each book. This book is the longest of the first three and with one of Corelli’s weaknesses in her first two books being many extremely long paragraphs, I was glad to see that she had improved, though just slightly, in this area which helped make this very long novel more readable.
This book opens with the meeting of Sir Philip Bruce-Errington, Baronet and Thelma Güldmar, though neither’s name appears in the first chapter. It is these characters who are to fall in love. And it is these characters that society will do its best to tear apart. Both are surrounded by fiercely loyal friends. Sir Philip has his best friend George Lorimer as well as travelling companions Alec “Sandy” Macfarlane and Pierre Dupréz, and even his pilot Valdemar Svensen displays great loyalty. Thelma has her father, Olaf, her adopted brother Sigurd, and her maid Britta. George is such a friend to Philip that though he loves Thelma he sets his feelings aside. Sigurd is a big unstable though, and his love for Thelma being not that of a sibling but of romantic love, puts him in opposition to Philip.
The major foes of Philip and Thelma’s relationship are the societies and people where each of them lives. Thelma and her father are outcasts in their society. Olaf is a pagan and thus subject to the critical eye of the Lutheran population, and Thelma by virtue of being his daughter and Catholic is considered a witch. When the scene moves to London, the major force of society which tries to pull them apart is not religion, but rather nobility. Thelma is considered a common peasant girl and thus not worthy of her husband. While those who oppose them in Norway are not the friends of the family, that is not the case in London where they pretend to be friends to Thelma and Philip, while instead working tirelessly to pull them apart for their own reasons.
The novel is written in three books, the first is titled “The Land of the Midnight Sun” and it covers their meeting and their falling in love with each other in Norway during the summer. It completes with their leaving Norway and heading back to England to get married. The second book is titled “The Land of Mockery” and it covers their married life in England, right up until Thelma is convinced that Philip loves another and decides to return to Norway. The last section is “The Land of the Long Shadow” and it covers the race by Philip to catch up to Thelma before it is too late as she returns to Norway in winter. The first two books make up the vast majority of the story. Marie Corelli goes into painstaking detail on how they come together and are pulled apart. Some of her themes are that labels are not what they seem. In other words, some religious people are good, but others are bad in spite of their religion. Likewise some nobles have honor, but others lack any morals at all. Another theme is death, as Corelli looks at how good people face death as opposed to those who are bad or evil.
Few of Corelli’s characters have any depth to them. Most are either completely good or completely without redeeming qualities, though some are able to reform. This is a weakness of all of her first three works, though it seems to be a bigger weakness in this book, perhaps due to the length. This story is also very drawn out, as Corelli has far too much detail in the first two sections, and only the last one achieves the pace which is needed to keep the reader interested. As with her other books, Corelli tends to hint at the occult and the spiritual world in this one, but never fully takes the plunge into that type of story.
Overall, I found this to be the weakest of her works, though in some ways it is her best which makes it difficult to rate. The writing is improved, as there are far fewer paragraphs which go on and on as opposed to her first two books. At the same time, she really needed to trim down the first two books in order to move the story along. Ultimately, I give this the same rating as the previous two books of three stars, though it would be the lowest ranked for me personally.
This book opens with the meeting of Sir Philip Bruce-Errington, Baronet and Thelma Güldmar, though neither’s name appears in the first chapter. It is these characters who are to fall in love. And it is these characters that society will do its best to tear apart. Both are surrounded by fiercely loyal friends. Sir Philip has his best friend George Lorimer as well as travelling companions Alec “Sandy” Macfarlane and Pierre Dupréz, and even his pilot Valdemar Svensen displays great loyalty. Thelma has her father, Olaf, her adopted brother Sigurd, and her maid Britta. George is such a friend to Philip that though he loves Thelma he sets his feelings aside. Sigurd is a big unstable though, and his love for Thelma being not that of a sibling but of romantic love, puts him in opposition to Philip.
The major foes of Philip and Thelma’s relationship are the societies and people where each of them lives. Thelma and her father are outcasts in their society. Olaf is a pagan and thus subject to the critical eye of the Lutheran population, and Thelma by virtue of being his daughter and Catholic is considered a witch. When the scene moves to London, the major force of society which tries to pull them apart is not religion, but rather nobility. Thelma is considered a common peasant girl and thus not worthy of her husband. While those who oppose them in Norway are not the friends of the family, that is not the case in London where they pretend to be friends to Thelma and Philip, while instead working tirelessly to pull them apart for their own reasons.
The novel is written in three books, the first is titled “The Land of the Midnight Sun” and it covers their meeting and their falling in love with each other in Norway during the summer. It completes with their leaving Norway and heading back to England to get married. The second book is titled “The Land of Mockery” and it covers their married life in England, right up until Thelma is convinced that Philip loves another and decides to return to Norway. The last section is “The Land of the Long Shadow” and it covers the race by Philip to catch up to Thelma before it is too late as she returns to Norway in winter. The first two books make up the vast majority of the story. Marie Corelli goes into painstaking detail on how they come together and are pulled apart. Some of her themes are that labels are not what they seem. In other words, some religious people are good, but others are bad in spite of their religion. Likewise some nobles have honor, but others lack any morals at all. Another theme is death, as Corelli looks at how good people face death as opposed to those who are bad or evil.
Few of Corelli’s characters have any depth to them. Most are either completely good or completely without redeeming qualities, though some are able to reform. This is a weakness of all of her first three works, though it seems to be a bigger weakness in this book, perhaps due to the length. This story is also very drawn out, as Corelli has far too much detail in the first two sections, and only the last one achieves the pace which is needed to keep the reader interested. As with her other books, Corelli tends to hint at the occult and the spiritual world in this one, but never fully takes the plunge into that type of story.
Overall, I found this to be the weakest of her works, though in some ways it is her best which makes it difficult to rate. The writing is improved, as there are far fewer paragraphs which go on and on as opposed to her first two books. At the same time, she really needed to trim down the first two books in order to move the story along. Ultimately, I give this the same rating as the previous two books of three stars, though it would be the lowest ranked for me personally.
October 17, 2018
Marie Corelli's writing style is very poetic and she is effortless to read. Outselling Wells, Kipling and Conan-Doyle combined, Queen Victoria and Winston Churchill had orders for her next finished work.
Atmospheric; the book starts in Norway where the lead character meets and falls in love with the heroine, Thelma who is a rather innocent, naive yet very intelligent daughter of a local farmer. She is accused of being a witch by some of the other people in the village.
The writer describes all consuming love, dependence, jealously, manipulation, loyalty and amazing scene description. Much criticised by critics when alive Corelli is really worth discovering. She touches on the mystical and also gender and sexuality issues with style and great intelligence. I read authors chronologically; this is her second book, her first was 'A Romance of Two World.'
Atmospheric; the book starts in Norway where the lead character meets and falls in love with the heroine, Thelma who is a rather innocent, naive yet very intelligent daughter of a local farmer. She is accused of being a witch by some of the other people in the village.
The writer describes all consuming love, dependence, jealously, manipulation, loyalty and amazing scene description. Much criticised by critics when alive Corelli is really worth discovering. She touches on the mystical and also gender and sexuality issues with style and great intelligence. I read authors chronologically; this is her second book, her first was 'A Romance of Two World.'
April 19, 2013
Simply amazing! The very best. Ranks at number 1 in my list of must reads ..... an unpolluted, childlike Norwegian princess marries an English nobleman. But what awaits her in England is a labyrinthine maze of politics, conniving and plotting ladies of british nobility whose jealousy and envy for the enchantingly beautiful Thelma make her life miserable .........
Read yourself to find out more.
Read yourself to find out more.
December 13, 2021
The first reference to Marie Corelli's books that I ever saw was in Stephen Leacock's "Sunshine Sketches" and the reference was unfavourable. The author gave the impression that her books were for women who preferred trash rather than good literature, so I was skeptical. Still, it had been sitting on the shelf for years and I figured that I should give it a try and was pleasantly surprised. The story is about an English aristocrat travelling with his friends on his yacht through the fjords of Norway, where he meets a beautiful young daughter of a Norwegian farmer. The couple marry and settle in London, where she meets up with a sneering and conniving smart set of London's high society. The plot is interesting and moves at a steady pace, the dialogue is entertaining, the descriptions of Norwegian fjords and northern light skies are breathtaking, and the climax is exciting, if somewhat predictable. My only disappointment is that the Protestant characters (especially those who espouse orthodox teaching) are vilified while the pagan and Roman Catholic characters are treated far more sympathetically. I understand that Miss Corelli espoused such nonChristian notions as reincarnation and what might be termed "New Age" teaching today, which might explain her sympathy for the beliefs of Thelma's pagan father. There is also a suggestion in the book that the author is leans toward the doctrine of universalism, so I would not recommend this book for its religious teaching. However, as a story, it is quite well-told.
August 23, 2024
The version I have is a different copyright date so it had between 150-200 pages more to read. I can't find the exact date on it and didn't see a picture of the cover compared to the version I chose from the list here on goodreads. But considering this is a book I found on my dad's bookcases as I was packing up things for donations and it was with a bunch of books that came from his mom and many of her editions of books were 1910-1920 I am just estimating that's around the time frame of this edition.
Anyhow, it started off a little slow for me but after about 10 chapters I started to pick up my pace a bit and then near the end I really didn't want to put it down. Overall I enjoyed the book and the storyline. The ending wrapped it up though living in 2024 one aspect of the ending I wasn't sure of. But you will just have to read the book yourself to find out why. No spoilers from me. I am giving it a 3 star because mostly due to the fact that it did start off so slow for me.
Anyhow, it started off a little slow for me but after about 10 chapters I started to pick up my pace a bit and then near the end I really didn't want to put it down. Overall I enjoyed the book and the storyline. The ending wrapped it up though living in 2024 one aspect of the ending I wasn't sure of. But you will just have to read the book yourself to find out why. No spoilers from me. I am giving it a 3 star because mostly due to the fact that it did start off so slow for me.
July 3, 2020
I do love Corelli, she is the combination of my academic work and my favorite pleasure thing to read-female driven fantasy.
I’m also a fourth Norwegian so the beautiful descriptions of Norway were soothing to my soul. Although Thelma is certainly no feminist she’s certainly her own person.
I’m also a fourth Norwegian so the beautiful descriptions of Norway were soothing to my soul. Although Thelma is certainly no feminist she’s certainly her own person.
February 3, 2018
เป็นการเล่าเรื่องที่ละมุนมากๆ ชอบมาก :)
April 30, 2018
3.5 stars.
October 2, 2024
Read on holiday interesting insight into Norwegian life in 19 th century
Read
August 18, 2008a lovable book. read about thirty years back.
January 8, 2014
used to be my fav a teen its a lovely simple old fashioned fairy tale like romance and it is very wonderfully atmospheric
July 15, 2014
Full of beauty and romance.
February 1, 2016
Simply WOW!!!!!!!!!!
May 11, 2022
Interesting as a piece of literary history, with an unexpectedly (and unintentionally) creepy ending
November 5, 2023
This is such a lovely story. I love everything about this book, even the ending. I got pretty emotional too while reading, at times... does not happen often for me!
June 6, 2014
Marie, I'm ashamed of you. What fluff!
October 4, 2015
BIG TIME CRITIC COMING UP- till then do we part.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews