Black Oxen

by Gertrude Atherton

Black Oxen is a novel written by Gertrude Atherton, first published in 1923. The story revolves around a wealthy and beautiful woman named Mary Ogden, who, at the age of 50, undergoes a mysterious rejuvenation treatment that transforms her into a young and vibrant woman. This transformation not only attracts the attention of young men but also raises questions about the nature of aging and the pursuit of youth.As Mary navigates her new life as a young woman, she becomes involved with a young artist named Lee Clavering, who is initially drawn to her beauty but soon falls in love with her. However, their relationship is complicated by the fact that Mary is still technically a middle-aged woman and has a past that she is hesitant to reveal.The novel explores themes of youth, beauty, and the human desire for eternal youth and immortality. It also delves into the complexities of relationships and the challenges of navigating societal expectations and norms.Overall, Black Oxen is a thought-provoking and engaging novel that offers a unique perspective on the human experience.1923. Atherton, was an American Feminist and writer of social and historical fiction, much of it set in California. Although her reputation is founded primarily on her California fiction and essays, as well her biography of Alexander Hamilton, Atherton also produced a number of Gothic stories, some of them, such as The Bell in the Fog, were considered significant achievements in the Gothic/supernaturalist tradition. Black Oxen Talk. Talk. Talk...Good lines and no action...said all...not even promising first act...eighth failure and season more than half over...rather be a playwright and fail than a critic compelled to listen to has-beens and would-bes trying to put over bad plays...Oh, for just one more great first-night...if there�������s a spirit world why don�������t the ghosts of dead artists get together and inhibit bad playwrights from tormenting first-nighters?...Astral board of Immortals sitting in Unconscious tweaking strings until gobbets and sclerotics become gibbering idiots every time they put pen to paper? See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Classics, American

352 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1923

About the author

Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton (October 30, 1857 – June 14, 1948) was a prominent and prolific American author. Many of her novels are set in her home state of California. Her bestseller Black Oxen (1923) was made into a silent movie of the same name. In addition to novels, she wrote short stories, essays, and articles for magazines and newspapers on such issues as feminism, politics, and war. She was strong-willed, independent-minded, and sometimes controversial.

She wrote using the pen names Asmodeus and Frank Lin, a play on her middle name.

Reviews

[ProseAndKahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story centers on the relationship between thirty-four year old columnist Lee Clavering, and Mary Zattiany, a 58 year old woman who, through modern science, has regained her youth (although this is unknown at the beginning, but is fairly easily guessed). The story takes place within New York’s high society and there is much criticism of both the older and younger generations in the 1920s. The older generation is argued to be unreasonably caught up in convention while the younger generation is shown as being too eager to flout their straying from those same conventions.

Black Oxen is certainly well-written, although the frequent delving into philosophy about youth and age, experience and responsibility, among other things, throws off the pacing in the last 100 or so pages.

The title Black Oxen comes from the play The Countess Cathleen by William Butler Yeats.

The years like great black oxen tread the world
And God the herdsman goads them on behind
And I am broken by their passing feet.

This is where things get odd and fascinating. Yeats and Atherton both received what was known as the Steinach treatment, which was supposed to do exactly what the operation in Black Oxen did: restore youth, not just in terms of physical appearance, but mental ability. Whether or not there was any validity to the procedure, Yeats and Atherton both believed that the procedure worked. In the case of Atherton (and her heroine), the procedure involved light x-ray irradiation of the ovaries. This was supposed to cause the production of hormones that stopped being produced after menopause, and therefore undo some of the aging process. Although Atherton did not publicly admit to having the treatment, that she did have it was an open secret.

[Warren Fournier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gertrude Atherton may be known these days more for her horror and ghost stories, but her best seller was the racy and controversial science fiction romance "Black Oxen." Of all the Radium-Age scifi classics I have reviewed, this one perhaps best captures the spirit of the Twenties, complete with late-night soirees with highballs and other snubs at the Eighteenth Ammendment, single artists who can afford a luxury flat complete with Louis Quinze furnishings and to smoke cigarettes from tiny gold tongs, and sassy young flappers haunting the restaurants and jazz clubs of an Art-Deco Manhattan.

But this is "soft" science fiction, a novel that is more interested in the exploration of cultural changes brought about after the Great War than any fantastic advances in technology (or in this case, medicine). It is akin to "The Age of Innocence," by Atherton's contemporary Edith Wharton. In Wharton's novel, the old guard of New York elites are still very much in control, but in "Black Oxen," they are mere remnants of a bygone era: middle-aged to elderly ghosts clad in sapphires sitting in opera boxes while the hair and skirts of their children and grandchildren grow shorter and tolerance for the elaborate code of haute-culture manners and taste becomes nonexistent. The Age of Innocence has made way for the Lost Generation.

Having written this novel in her 60s, Atherton is very critical of this new generation, and in many ways "Black Oxen" reads like it was penned today.

"...that title—Intelligentsia—is now claimed by every white collar... who has turned Socialist or Revolutionist. He may have the intellect of a cabbage, but he wants a 'new order.' We still have a few pseudo-socialists among our busy young brains, but youth must have its ideals and they can originate nothing better."

Sounds a lot like a current-day pundit from the Generation-X or Baby-Boomer crowd criticizing Bernie-loving Millennials, doesn't it? Whether or not you sympathize with Atherton, one can't help but identify with just how much this novel sheds light on the enigma of the Wheel of Time--how much things change and yet nothing ever changes.

Nor is Atherton any kinder when it comes to "amour." She makes a point to portray several female characters as infinitely intelligent, artistic and resourceful, but these same characters lack sex-appeal in their appearance, and though their friendship and counsel attracts many men, the relationships stay platonic. On the other hand, the main protagonist, Mary Ogden, is oozing pheromones and has the classical physical features of beauty to back it up, so she is swimming with lovers. But there is a secret behind the beauty that Atherton uses to call into question the differences between physical attraction and genuine love. "Men want. They rarely love," says Mary Ogden.

The writing is superb, witty, and highly quotable. The romance is tense and quite hot, with an interesting twist that unfortunately gets revealed too often in reviews. But I must confess that this otherwise sharp melodrama loses a star because of its pacing. It drags dreadfully through countless cocktail parties, dinners, and first-nights at the Metropolitan. If you like reading about beautiful people acting beautifully, this is the novel for you.

In all, a fantastic treat for fans or students of the Jazz and Radium Age by an author at the top of her art-form.

[Jim Dooley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very unusual mixture of AGE OF INNOCENCE with the fantasy fiction of H.G. Wells.

Into New York society enters a young Austrian Countess who sparks interest in the upper class, and among the flapper-prone Sophisticates. Part of the attraction is the appeal of the European elite. But, it is more than that. The Countess bears a striking resemblance to one of the luminaries who ran among New York society over two decades before. Could she be the grown up child come home?

The answer isn't sinister. European doctors have discovered a way to reverse the aging process for those of a certain body type. And while the Countess had not originally intended to reveal her story, an affair of the heart raises the stakes.

BLACK OXEN's secret is revealed to any Reader who first digests the promotional blurb, and there are plenty of hints before the revelation halfway through. (Indeed, the book was famous for its "regained youth" slant.)

No, the focus of the book isn't on "Who is she?" or "How was it done?" It centers on how society views anyone who seems to have an unfair advantage. The "back-stabbing" is very mannered as befits polite society. It also gets into the issue of May - December romances, and what a person might do to lead a fulfilling life if there was suddenly a decades-long time extension. The Reader also gets to play the "what if" game as trade-offs are explored.

The fascination for me was the idea of being decades younger again with the knowledge I've accumulated until now. What choices would I make? What would be important to me? What would I share? What would I keep to myself?

I was introduced to BLACK OXEN from a truncated version of a silent film that featured Corinne Griffith and Clara Bow. The original film ran 80-minutes, but only the first 55-minutes are available today. The film literally ended just before the Countess' revelation, so I had no idea of why reviews referenced the "regained youth" plot line. Perhaps those last 25-minutes will be found one day. I would love to find out if the film is true to the book's ending!

[Tam May · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've known about Gertrude Atherton for some time (since I was doing research on turn-of-the-century San Francisco and came across her name as one of the leading authors of the area) but I haven't had a chance to read any of her work until now. This book is, sadly, not set in San Francisco but I enjoyed it. The premise is a fascinating one and the book is reminiscent of Edith Wharton, though Atherton is a little more overt with her philosophizing and less subtle than Wharton. I did find the ending, though a logical outcome of the events, a little disappointing. I also found it very interesting that Atherton herself underwent a similar treatment that her protagonist does in the book and insisted it was successful and seems to have been enthusiastic about it - yet the book reveals her own ethical conflicts about the treatment (I don't want to give away more than that). Atherton was also known as a feminist and I can certainly see evidence of that in this book. Many readers have called the protagonist narcissistic and arrogant and she certainly is. But to have done what she did in the book, it makes sense she would be this kind of character. I personally wasn't bothered by her not-very-likable character (especially because Clavering, the other main character in the book, was no prize either). Still, I enjoyed this book and recommend it.

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was curious to read this book after reading about it in the Almanac. Gertrude Atherton was married to the son of the man Atherton, CA is named after. The book was a best seller in 1923. I found it interesting to see the similarities and differences in people's attitudes now and 90 years ago, including comparisons between the flappers of the 1920's to the hippies of the late 1960's, and views of people post WWI but pre WWII. Most of the characters in this book were part of the pre-flapper, more formal generation. The prose was a bit wordy for my taste, but I enjoyed her bit of 'mystery' (which I did surmise before the revelation) and found the ending satisfactory.

[Johnny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Black Oxen, a public domain novel on which a film was based in the early 20th century, appeared on a list of recommendations. I believe it was on a list of science-fiction novels (which is surprising because outside of one rather bold eugenic premise, it is much more of a romance novel than science-fiction), but whatever list it was on, I sought it out and downloaded a copy. It might have been on a list of time-travel books, but the time-traveling in Black Oxen is rather more subtle than any of which I can remember reading.

In another sense, this post-WWI novel of romance is a familiar sense of time-traveling to the historical fiction reader. Cars have running boards, buses have open tops like the tour buses in London, gentleman’s clubs (and I don’t mean “strip joints”) such as the old Chemical Club (now Club Quarters) in New York City, the idea of chaperones, the glamor of theatrical debuts (as major social events in the season), the importance of a box at the opera (but only on opening nights!), the idea of a week-long house party at a “camp” in the Adirondacks, and needing to take an ocean liner to travel to Europe are all parts of the landscape in this perspective of pre-stock market crash New York. The protagonist is a newspaper columnist working on his potential breakout play and the supporting cast is an upper crust of New York “Sophisticates” (the author’s term, not mine). The antagonist seems to be “convention,” since the “rules” and “what one doesn’t do” permeate this society as much as Edith Wharton’s earlier version of this stratum of society in The Age of Innocence or The House of Mirth. There is even a supporting character named Gora Dwight, a female novelist friend of the protagonist’s, who may be a cypher for the author herself (Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton) as she also wrote about the society within which she socialized. One writes what one knows, after all.

Although it is interesting to get a peek at this portion of society, one is also overcome by the mundane quality of searching for amusement within the strictures of that society’s expectations. As protagonist Lee Clavering laments to himself late in the book (with a prescient wisdom to today’s knowledge of the power of habits): “…nothing in life is more corroding than habit.” (p. 508) [NOTE: Naturally, habits can be positive, as well, but that wasn’t the point in this passage.] Of course, some denunciations of those note of “our class” could have happened at many points in the history of New York. Early on in the novel, a conversation about Greenwich Village goes like this: “’What do they do in Greenwich Village? Is it an isolation camp for defectives?’" ‘It was once a colony of real artists, but the big fish left and the minnows swim slimily about, giving off nothing but their own sickly phosphorescence.’" (p. 39) One wonders what the same social caste would think of the Greenwich Village of the ‘60s or the present day.

Further, though the following bears some semblance to the Fifth Avenue one visits today, it seems much more vibrant in this early ‘20s rendition: “They were driving up Fifth Avenue and the bright street was full of color and life. The busses and motors were filled with women on their way to the shops, whose gay windows were the most enticing in the world. New York, in this, her River of Delight, looked as if she had not a care in the world.” (p. 521). There was also this post-WWI description that helped me settle into the era: “he wandered over to a window and stared out across the Hudson at the dark Palisades on the opposite shore. Battleships were at anchor, for there had been no ice in the Hudson this winter, and a steamboat with its double chain of lights swam gracefully up the river.” (p. 187).

In addition to “convention,” Claverling’s love for this seeming unattainable woman is complicated by “tradition” and “experience.” One won’t understand what I mean by that without reading the book and I don’t intend to spoil what is a fascinating exploration. Yet, perhaps these observations on gender roles, changing in Gertrude Atherton’s day even as they did in the Second World War, the 1960s, and today, will clarify. I will quote them in the chronological order they appeared in the novel.

First, a general remark about civilizations and revolutions on the macro-scale foreshadows what Clavering would feel of various women on the micro-scale: “When the underdog, who has never felt anything but an underdog, with all the misery and black injustice the word implies, finds himself on top he will inevitably torture and murder his former oppressors.” (p. 61). There was also a sense of a maturity gap: “Women grew up and men didn't. That was the infernal truth.” (p. 96) Indeed, one doesn’t realize how aware an author might be of gender politics until one reads a line like: “This was the age of woman, but man, heretofore predominant by right of brute strength and hallowed custom, was cultivating subtlety, and if he feminized while they masculinized there would be the devil to pay before long.” (p. 240)

Next, there is some inevitable sexist perspective. Take for instance this off-the-cuff observation: “Words to a woman were as steam to a boiler, and no man could control her mind until she had talked off the lid.” (pp. 250-251) I was also delighted to discover a ballad by Dante G. Rossetti called “Rose Mary” where the eponymous subject of the poem experiences trances like the romantic love experienced in the novel as it is quoted with a sense of near-forboding: "'Out of the depths of the hollow gloom, On her soul's bare sands she heard it boom, The measured tide of the sea of doom,'" (p. 470). Love is seen, in this way, both as sentimental and as a surrendering of power by the woman to the man. This struggle permeates the book.

And, while it may not be entirely essential to the plot, I rather liked two descriptions of the creative process. In one place, Clavering is warned: “’Talent needs the pleasant pastures of content to browse on but they sicken genius.’” (p. 370) Indeed, after suggesting, “’You do look so happy. But you're such a mercurial creature that you'll probably wake up tomorrow morning with your soul steeped in indigo.’" (p. 367), Clavering is reminded, “’Reaction is the price we all have to pay for keeping the brain too long at a pitch so high above the normal. It's the downwash of blood from the organ it has kept at fever heat.’” (p. 371) That is a great description of something (even a minimally creative person such as myself) familiar to the process.

Black Oxen is an intriguing novel. It was both more and less than I expected. It was enjoyable and, at times, insightful reading and despite the fact that I have read it, I intend to view the film someday.

[Nara · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A vida seria muito mais simples se todos nós tivéssemos decidido que o que as outras pessoas pensam sobre nós não tem a menor importância. É apenas quando permitimos que isso tenha algum significado que permitimos sua existência."

A infinita procura da juventude. As mulheres que lutem para nunca envelhecer ou descobrir métodos para tal. Assisti esses dias o filme "A substância" e tudo se encaixa como uma luva.

[VexenReplica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very very dated, trigger warning for sexual assault.

Book Bingo: animal in title, multi pov, possibly romantasy, also possibly self-pubbed (unsure but unlikely)

[Diana Lillig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating "what if" romance that will be especially appreciated by those who love New York City. The story is set in the transition period from the post-WWI Gilded Age to the 1920's. I knocked it back a star because the author has some distasteful, if only glancingly referenced, fascist sentiments. But the many characters are all distinctly drawn and the scenes of New York life are eternal, although the specific restaurants and theaters described have been gone for 90 years. Would love to see the silent movie version!

If you enjoy Edith Wharton give Gertrude Atherton a try. Not the same flavor at all, although roughly contemporary. She's quite the "discovery" for me.

[Gail · Rating 2 out of 5]

this is turning into a science fiction novel

Science fiction..political commentary

Interesting in that it is written in that period between the World Wars, when there was an economic depression and political upheavals not even guessed at in the offing. I would venture to guess that the suggestion of Bismarck was very deliberate.

But it ends up in the Cheap Words wagon.

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok just about describes it - I enjoyed the Adirondacks descriptions, and I'm sure the New York atmosphere is accurate. There wasn't a single real character though, so I didn't care what happened to any of them.

[L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

As luck would have it someone has posted the silent movie version on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xQod...

[Laura]

Free download available at Project Gutenberg.

[Przemek Jaślan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author sure hated flappers.

[Gail Sacharski · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book written in 1923, the prose is quite elegant &, listening to it as an audiobook, the reader's British accent & reading style gave it a flow & an eliteness that was most satisfying. The premise of the story is rather unusual for its time--WWI has ended & the rumblings of WWII are being heard in the distance, Europe is in dire need of rebuilding, but high society in New York is at its best. Appearing upon New York's uppercrust scene is a mysterious woman--young, beautiful, wealthy, & secretive, she attracts the attention of newspaperman/aspiring playwright Lee Clavering. a young & popular man about town with many friends in high places. He, as well as others, feel there is something familiar about this woman--there is a resemblance to a former member of their society circle, Mary Ogden, who went to Europe & married into aristocracy. Could she perhaps be the daughter of that union? Many of Miss Ogden's former & now older close acquaintances believe so & proffer invitations to parties & teas to this young beauty in order to learn more about her. With his news reporter curiosity, Clavering pursues the mysterious woman, initially trying to learn the truth, but then he becomes attracted to & falls in love with her. When it seems like the attraction might be mutual & the two of them start spending more time together, she finally reveals the truth of her situation. She actually is the former Mary Ogden, now Countess Zetiannay, returned to New York. But how could this be? Mary would now be 58 years old yet she looks like a girl of twenty. It seems there is a doctor in Europe who has perfected a method of rejuvenation that will return an older body to its youthful appearance while the brain still retains all the memories & experiences it has gathered throughout its years. Mary has undergone this treatment & now looks as she did in her debutante days, but retains all the wisdom she's gained over the years. Her husband, the Count, has died, she has fallen in love with Austria & has big plans to pour her estate resources into the country to improve it & help its citizens regain their former glory. She has returned to New York to wrap up her business & property here before returning to her mission in Austria. Clavering doesn't find this as hard to believe as some--being a newsman, he is aware of the advances in science & medicine & can well accept that such a process of renaissance is possible. He is determined to marry this woman who attracts & fascinates him more than the immature & silly young flappers who pursue him. While Mary didn't expect to ever fall in love again, her feelings for him surprise her & she seriously considers she might be happy with Clavering despite the difference in their ages. But there are obstacles that present themselves including Mary's desire to return to Austria to live, Lee's new play finally being produced in New York, a former lover of Mary's determined to dissuade her from the marriage, & a brash young woman willing to do anything to capture Clavering's heart. Can their love rise above & prevail or will their differences be too much to overcome? This was a fascinating story & I enjoyed it very much.

[Becka · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was interesting and well-characterised if prone to tacitly endorsing the worst of 1920s political and social attitudes - i.e. That one disturbing section about how rejuvenation procedures link naturally to eugenics, as they will allow the 'best' people to live longer and more productively. The central conflict of Mary Zattiany existing as a 58 year old woman in a 28 year old's body is examined from all possible angles, arguably too many as the book does start to drag after a while. Mary is an unusual character, and one I'll be thinking about for a while. The mystery is really why she ever agrees to marry Clavering in the first place.

[Dystopian Mayhem · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve heard of having “mixed feelings” about a book but never had any, not until I read this one. I liked the plot and the writing style is admirable, too deep and philosophical but it reveals so many emotions and ideas we never knew we had and it almost destroyed my hopeless romantic vision of love. [spoiler alert] the ending was neither disappointing nor satisfying, I wanted a different ending but the conclusion wasn’t bad....hence the mixed feelings.

[Johnny Bennett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Middle 2s. Starts with a good mystery, a little relationship chasing, a quirk in the middle, some more relationship chasing with social pressure, and then one can't really bother to care.

There is nothing offensive here unless there is language that was acceptable in the 1920s but is no longer acceptable.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to make my first 2023 read a bestseller from 1923 and so we have Black Oxen. While the story got a bit long and dragged at points, I loved the more formal writing and the expansive vocabulary used when compared to modern bestsellers.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordy. Published in the early 1920s. Made into a movie with Clara Bow. Interesting historically.

[Samantha Glasser]

This book was filmed in 1924 and started Clara Bow.

Read this book online for free through Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/25542...

[Rosemary Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not an easy read. Interesting but too much of a wordy philosophical story. Also even today his science is fantasy.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an audiobook from LibriVox.

http://librivox.org/black-oxen-by-ger...

[grosbeak]

In many ways a tedious and unpleasant novel, but also a fascinating glimpse into NYC's literary and social society just post WWI (the novel was published in January 1923). Also, while the observations about aging and youth and their repercussions for women were quite interesting (especially when considered in light of Atherton's own age at time of writing; she has a cameo as a wise and elderly confidante, and several obvious foils in a number of elderly women secondary characters, not to mention, of course, the fantasy represented by Countess Zattiany), I would perhaps appreciate them more 30 years hence. Still, it was quite compelling in some ways, this tale of a worldly woman in her late 50's who has been entirely "rejuvenated" by the latest medical advances such that she is, physically, identical to herself at 30, and who returns after a foreign marriage and years of experience to the city and social circles where she was born but where she is now a generation or more out of place, having the mores and experience of the grande dames expected to sniff from the sidelines but the physical condition and apparent youth of the degenerate modern set.

(The politics, by the way, are hair-raising: the usual offhand racism, classism, and longing for "eugenics, sterilization of the unfit, and expulsion of lesser races", plus rants about sex-crazed and disobedient flappers who really need a spanking or/and institutionalization, sneering about the kids these days who moan about "shell shock" because they weren't man enough to go to war and fight like every generation before them...)

The male protagonist-- an up-and-coming critic and writer in the "Sophisticates" -- was insufferable, but the female protagonist, the startling and mysterious Countess Zattiany was a delight: cynical, ambitious, ruthlessly clear-headed, with no use for men and nothing but scorn for love. Of course, our hero proves Not Like The Other Guys and she is tempted to reprise the passions of youth... but can she really forget her years of experience, her goals, and her ambitions in post-war European politics, and throw it all away for the love of a self-absorbed young writer? I was rather pleased by the answer.