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Griffith Gaunt: Jealously
Griffith Gaunt, a gentleman without fortune, marries Catharine Peyton, a Cumberland heiress, who is a devout Roman Catholic. After living happily together for eight years, the couple—each of whom has a violent temper, in the husband combined with insane jealousy—are gradually estranged by Catharine's spiritual adviser, Father Leonard, an eloquent young priest. Griffith discovers his wife and Leonard under apparently suspicious circumstances; and after a violent scene he rides away, with the intention of never returning.
-- from an excerpt at wikipedia
-- from an excerpt at wikipedia
- GenresFiction
308 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1866
6 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
About the author
Henry James
4,723 books4,048 followersHenry James was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the son of Henry James Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James.
He is best known for his novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between émigré Americans, the English, and continental Europeans, such as The Portrait of a Lady. His later works, such as The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl were increasingly experimental. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often wrote in a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to Impressionist painting.
His novella The Turn of the Screw has garnered a reputation as the most analysed and ambiguous ghost story in the English language and remains his most widely adapted work in other media. He wrote other highly regarded ghost stories, such as "The Jolly Corner".
James published articles and books of criticism, travel, biography, autobiography, and plays. Born in the United States, James largely relocated to Europe as a young man, and eventually settled in England, becoming a British citizen in 1915, a year before his death. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912, and 1916. Jorge Luis Borges said "I have visited some literatures of East and West; I have compiled an encyclopedic compendium of fantastic literature; I have translated Kafka, Melville, and Bloy; I know of no stranger work than that of Henry James."
He is best known for his novels dealing with the social and marital interplay between émigré Americans, the English, and continental Europeans, such as The Portrait of a Lady. His later works, such as The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl were increasingly experimental. In describing the internal states of mind and social dynamics of his characters, James often wrote in a style in which ambiguous or contradictory motives and impressions were overlaid or juxtaposed in the discussion of a character's psyche. For their unique ambiguity, as well as for other aspects of their composition, his late works have been compared to Impressionist painting.
His novella The Turn of the Screw has garnered a reputation as the most analysed and ambiguous ghost story in the English language and remains his most widely adapted work in other media. He wrote other highly regarded ghost stories, such as "The Jolly Corner".
James published articles and books of criticism, travel, biography, autobiography, and plays. Born in the United States, James largely relocated to Europe as a young man, and eventually settled in England, becoming a British citizen in 1915, a year before his death. James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, 1912, and 1916. Jorge Luis Borges said "I have visited some literatures of East and West; I have compiled an encyclopedic compendium of fantastic literature; I have translated Kafka, Melville, and Bloy; I know of no stranger work than that of Henry James."
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March 16, 2022
“Then I say once for all, that priest shall never darken my doors again.”
“Then I say they are my doors and not yours, and that holy man shall brighten them whenever he will.”
The gentleman and lady, who faced each other pale and furious, and interchanged this bitter defiance, were man and wife. And had loved each other well.
What a most striking opening of another masterpiece by Charles Reade. I told myself, Here is a jewel, and my eyes glittered with delight and excitement :D These are precisely the first lines of the book, though of course they are to repeat by mid- length of the novel with far more interesting details embellishing the scene. Of course, I said Yes! It was a contrast far too delicious and fascinating to dive deep into, and so to carry me a little too imperiously into the story.
Fortunately, my expectations were met and the reading pleasure was full, in both mind and heart. This is a sort of miscellaneous chronicle with a main focus on the affairs of the heart, who are eventually so very absorbing. No chance to get bored reading about them, the way their characters are developed, and what amazing happenings affect them and their course of life.
There are couple of conclusions that the book offer to a keen reader. And the most pregnant one is told very directly. Jealousy kills love. Jealousy kills joy. Well, let’s cut it short, jealousy kills everything, if that everything was alive yet. The story is taking some good pages but it is really necessary to be so. This was not an easy couple to handle. And there was not only one thorn in the rose of their wedded life which led to disputes, some decade after their marriage. Well, religion was to be a factor of separation (he/Griffith is a Protestant, she/Kate is a devout fervent Roman Catholic), but in truth it is just a pretender, that’s not a real issue.
The power to love from Griffith’s side feels boundless and he claims towards Kate that love dwells within his heart. In truth he is in love, deeply and irretrievable, but he is not aware that within himself he has boundaries. One of those and the most critical is his jealousy. Beside it, there is fear that he might lose Kate, and he feels so miserly about it.
Psychologically, and physically, jealousy is a deadly poison that kills all love and all its joy. In a way, both main characters are in a big, still basic, misunderstanding. She loves him, but loves Church too, quite in a very despotic manner (she admitted freely to him “I am very fit to be an abbess or a nun; most unfit to be a wife” ), so he is afraid that he will be loved less, as if love can be divided, like a thing in quantity. He misses the fact, so does Kate, that love ultimately it is a quality. But it is such a rare, so rare quality, when you give as much as you want, still your sources are or remain inexhaustible. Never experienced that, sadly :(
I liked the story, in fact it is a genuine rollercoaster, yet I had liked better that Reade explained to me, like a beginner in reading, what is jealousy and why does it hurt so much. He says, not with these word of course, that jealousy is fundamentally one of the most prevailing areas of psychological ignorance about yourself, about others and more particularly, about relationship. He/Griffith thinks he knows what love is (*by the by, here is a good start too https://youtu.be/r3Pr1_v7hsw ) still he doesn’t know, and this misunderstanding creates his passion of jealousy, which is so deeply ingrained in him, so much that he cannot separate love from jealousy.
So, to sum up main faults of our unlucky fellow: in a way, love-sick Griffith becomes mean to others and phony, because he started pretending. He fell into a very common error and fruitful cause of misunderstanding. He goes and fancies that everybody is thinking of him, which is of course untrue. His lesson is that he needs to grow up, become a more and more authentic individual. Basically, he needs to love and respect himself first.
There is another very strong reason why this work gripped me well. I felt I was floating smoothly in two different boats: one drove me to recall The Golden Man by Jokai Mor (*there is a similar tale about bigamy, loving two women, but still with corresponding degree of passion and affection, including wealth, hidden relationships, run away from society to avoid being expose in some lawless situation…), and the other side triggered some really strong recollections of Clarissa, the history of a young woman of quality, by Samuel Richardson (*I have in mind the atmosphere when the action takes place, somewhere mid of 18th century, also there are some characters of same profound villainy and wit, smartness in their wrong-doings, including transfer of wealth between some families, with or without any blood relation…).
In my mind eyes, the characters are well drawn and keep very finely the pace with the development of the story. I have admired a lot the quick-witted girl that Kate proves to be. She is able to detect the depth of Griffith’s jealousy even before they marry, still he has a good point telling her, “you don’t know me, Kate, for as clever as you are.”
I thought of the past and fell into a sad reverie, recalling how it is to quarrel with good luck, and that, as ever, it seems that our foibles are our manias. Poor human nature! Me too, of course :D
PS0: I, thanks be to God, being in sound mind, memory and understanding, am aware I haven’t said anything relevant about the book yet, still I am of the opinion that keen brevity nowadays is better manner to convey the right message. The plot is 55% found on Wikipedia but without reading the book in full it has no real worth whatsoever, nor is it worth inquiring if the spark is missing.
PS1: I really liked Father Francis. He has qualities that make men welcome in every situation: good humour, good sense, and tact. And other good stuff :D
PS2: My heart is too full to speak, and let’s not forget a human does not speak by words alone. Still, we must take human nature as it is, and do for the best.
PS3: One last word, what use quarreling with a woman? :))
PS4: All true women love to protect; perhaps it is a part of the great maternal element; but to protect a man, and yet look up to him, this is delicious.
PS5: In truth we have all much to learn: let us try and teach one another as kindly as we can.
…
PS ‘n’: Once or twice, more or less, I felt that too, a strange feeling traversed my heart, it was a little chill, it was a little ache, it was a little sense of sickness, doubt, jealousy, suspense… We still follow our hearts, and get our way by hook or by crook. …but now I am changed and cured of this folly :D
“Then I say they are my doors and not yours, and that holy man shall brighten them whenever he will.”
The gentleman and lady, who faced each other pale and furious, and interchanged this bitter defiance, were man and wife. And had loved each other well.
What a most striking opening of another masterpiece by Charles Reade. I told myself, Here is a jewel, and my eyes glittered with delight and excitement :D These are precisely the first lines of the book, though of course they are to repeat by mid- length of the novel with far more interesting details embellishing the scene. Of course, I said Yes! It was a contrast far too delicious and fascinating to dive deep into, and so to carry me a little too imperiously into the story.
Fortunately, my expectations were met and the reading pleasure was full, in both mind and heart. This is a sort of miscellaneous chronicle with a main focus on the affairs of the heart, who are eventually so very absorbing. No chance to get bored reading about them, the way their characters are developed, and what amazing happenings affect them and their course of life.
There are couple of conclusions that the book offer to a keen reader. And the most pregnant one is told very directly. Jealousy kills love. Jealousy kills joy. Well, let’s cut it short, jealousy kills everything, if that everything was alive yet. The story is taking some good pages but it is really necessary to be so. This was not an easy couple to handle. And there was not only one thorn in the rose of their wedded life which led to disputes, some decade after their marriage. Well, religion was to be a factor of separation (he/Griffith is a Protestant, she/Kate is a devout fervent Roman Catholic), but in truth it is just a pretender, that’s not a real issue.
The power to love from Griffith’s side feels boundless and he claims towards Kate that love dwells within his heart. In truth he is in love, deeply and irretrievable, but he is not aware that within himself he has boundaries. One of those and the most critical is his jealousy. Beside it, there is fear that he might lose Kate, and he feels so miserly about it.
Psychologically, and physically, jealousy is a deadly poison that kills all love and all its joy. In a way, both main characters are in a big, still basic, misunderstanding. She loves him, but loves Church too, quite in a very despotic manner (she admitted freely to him “I am very fit to be an abbess or a nun; most unfit to be a wife” ), so he is afraid that he will be loved less, as if love can be divided, like a thing in quantity. He misses the fact, so does Kate, that love ultimately it is a quality. But it is such a rare, so rare quality, when you give as much as you want, still your sources are or remain inexhaustible. Never experienced that, sadly :(
I liked the story, in fact it is a genuine rollercoaster, yet I had liked better that Reade explained to me, like a beginner in reading, what is jealousy and why does it hurt so much. He says, not with these word of course, that jealousy is fundamentally one of the most prevailing areas of psychological ignorance about yourself, about others and more particularly, about relationship. He/Griffith thinks he knows what love is (*by the by, here is a good start too https://youtu.be/r3Pr1_v7hsw ) still he doesn’t know, and this misunderstanding creates his passion of jealousy, which is so deeply ingrained in him, so much that he cannot separate love from jealousy.
So, to sum up main faults of our unlucky fellow: in a way, love-sick Griffith becomes mean to others and phony, because he started pretending. He fell into a very common error and fruitful cause of misunderstanding. He goes and fancies that everybody is thinking of him, which is of course untrue. His lesson is that he needs to grow up, become a more and more authentic individual. Basically, he needs to love and respect himself first.
There is another very strong reason why this work gripped me well. I felt I was floating smoothly in two different boats: one drove me to recall The Golden Man by Jokai Mor (*there is a similar tale about bigamy, loving two women, but still with corresponding degree of passion and affection, including wealth, hidden relationships, run away from society to avoid being expose in some lawless situation…), and the other side triggered some really strong recollections of Clarissa, the history of a young woman of quality, by Samuel Richardson (*I have in mind the atmosphere when the action takes place, somewhere mid of 18th century, also there are some characters of same profound villainy and wit, smartness in their wrong-doings, including transfer of wealth between some families, with or without any blood relation…).
In my mind eyes, the characters are well drawn and keep very finely the pace with the development of the story. I have admired a lot the quick-witted girl that Kate proves to be. She is able to detect the depth of Griffith’s jealousy even before they marry, still he has a good point telling her, “you don’t know me, Kate, for as clever as you are.”
I thought of the past and fell into a sad reverie, recalling how it is to quarrel with good luck, and that, as ever, it seems that our foibles are our manias. Poor human nature! Me too, of course :D
PS0: I, thanks be to God, being in sound mind, memory and understanding, am aware I haven’t said anything relevant about the book yet, still I am of the opinion that keen brevity nowadays is better manner to convey the right message. The plot is 55% found on Wikipedia but without reading the book in full it has no real worth whatsoever, nor is it worth inquiring if the spark is missing.
PS1: I really liked Father Francis. He has qualities that make men welcome in every situation: good humour, good sense, and tact. And other good stuff :D
PS2: My heart is too full to speak, and let’s not forget a human does not speak by words alone. Still, we must take human nature as it is, and do for the best.
PS3: One last word, what use quarreling with a woman? :))
PS4: All true women love to protect; perhaps it is a part of the great maternal element; but to protect a man, and yet look up to him, this is delicious.
PS5: In truth we have all much to learn: let us try and teach one another as kindly as we can.
…
PS ‘n’: Once or twice, more or less, I felt that too, a strange feeling traversed my heart, it was a little chill, it was a little ache, it was a little sense of sickness, doubt, jealousy, suspense… We still follow our hearts, and get our way by hook or by crook. …but now I am changed and cured of this folly :D
March 5, 2015
What a Discovery!
Given that I have more than only one soft spot for Victorian literature – you could actually call it a case of chickenpox of soft spots for that epoch – I was quite surprised when a couple of weeks ago I first heard of Charles Reade, who seems to have been not only a very proliferous but also popular writer in his day and age (okay, he could not have been too proliferous out of his day and age). In order to make sure that Reade was not just some kind of Wilkie Collins – plodding, long-winded and campy – I asked another Goodreads member for some additional information on Reade and, liking what I heard, I gave him a try by starting with Griffith Gaunt, or: Jealousy.
And I liked even more what I read! In Griffith Gaunt Reade intended to show to what extremes a husband can be driven by jealousy. What came to my mind first was another Victorian novel dealing with this melancholy topic, namely Anthony Trollope’s gripping He Knew He Was Right, which is one of my favourite Trollope novels but which is completely different from Griffith Gaunt in, at least, two ways. None of us would probably read Trollope for action, suspense and sensation, and if they did, we might definitely admire them for their frugality. Trollope focuses on inner strife and conflict, and on how these conflicts affect social relations, and that is where his power lies. In Griffith Gaunt we also get a lot of glimpses into the characters’ inner lives, which are, by the way, quite convincingly drawn and rich in nuance, but Reade also provides us with a roller-coaster ride of action. Along these lines, we witness Katherine Peyton’s being torn between the noble and well-spoken George Neville, a wealthy suitor much favoured by her unprincipled father, and her long-time wooer, Griffith Gaunt, whose passion for jealousy at times frightens her. She even has to interfere and prevent a duel between these two men. Finally settling down with Gaunt, Katherine’s life will not be happy and calm for long because of a turbulent priest she falls in love with, and because of a plotting, underhanded servant, Caroline Ryder, who has taken a fancy to her mistress’s husband and is therefore ready to throw oil on the fire of the conjugal strife caused by the fervent clergyman. Griffith loses his temper, with terrible consequences, and then leaves his wife in order to get himself into some new scrape, which it was probably very courageous in Reade to bring before his Victorian readers’ eyes, and – last not least – Katherine is even charged with the murder of her husband, an event that turns the last third of the novel into a courtroom drama.
All in all, there is a lot of exterior conflict and action in the novel but Reade does not work with cardboard characters. Instead he creates very rich and lifelike characters and he even manages to maintain the reader’s sympathy for the eponymous hero regardless of all the monkey business he engages in. In this second respect Griffith Gaunt is also different from He Knew He Was Right, whose author is less lenient towards Trevelyan, the victim of the green-ey’d monster.
Reade’s style of writing is exuberant. The omniscient narrator makes all sorts of wry comments, he sometimes turns the novel into a play, and once he cannot refrain from spoofing legal English, when he turns a lawyer into the narrator for one chapter. You constantly get little gems like the following ones,
”’[…] What shall I do?’ ‘Wait till to-morrow,’ said Mr. Housman. (Procrastination was his daily work, being an attorney.)”
”[…] and Nature taught her that the best way to soften censure is – to be beautiful.”
The name of Gaunt had dwindled down to three since he left Cumberland, but a rich man never lacks relations.”
”Griffith smiled at all this with that lordly superiority the male of our species sometimes wears when he is behaving like a dull ass; and smoked his pipe, and resolved to indulge her whim as soon as ever he had got his hay in.”
If you enjoy a rather intrusive, but witty narrator and a plot in which sinister events come thick and fast but which also leaves room for character development, then I suggest giving Griffith Gaunt a try.
Given that I have more than only one soft spot for Victorian literature – you could actually call it a case of chickenpox of soft spots for that epoch – I was quite surprised when a couple of weeks ago I first heard of Charles Reade, who seems to have been not only a very proliferous but also popular writer in his day and age (okay, he could not have been too proliferous out of his day and age). In order to make sure that Reade was not just some kind of Wilkie Collins – plodding, long-winded and campy – I asked another Goodreads member for some additional information on Reade and, liking what I heard, I gave him a try by starting with Griffith Gaunt, or: Jealousy.
And I liked even more what I read! In Griffith Gaunt Reade intended to show to what extremes a husband can be driven by jealousy. What came to my mind first was another Victorian novel dealing with this melancholy topic, namely Anthony Trollope’s gripping He Knew He Was Right, which is one of my favourite Trollope novels but which is completely different from Griffith Gaunt in, at least, two ways. None of us would probably read Trollope for action, suspense and sensation, and if they did, we might definitely admire them for their frugality. Trollope focuses on inner strife and conflict, and on how these conflicts affect social relations, and that is where his power lies. In Griffith Gaunt we also get a lot of glimpses into the characters’ inner lives, which are, by the way, quite convincingly drawn and rich in nuance, but Reade also provides us with a roller-coaster ride of action. Along these lines, we witness Katherine Peyton’s being torn between the noble and well-spoken George Neville, a wealthy suitor much favoured by her unprincipled father, and her long-time wooer, Griffith Gaunt, whose passion for jealousy at times frightens her. She even has to interfere and prevent a duel between these two men. Finally settling down with Gaunt, Katherine’s life will not be happy and calm for long because of a turbulent priest she falls in love with, and because of a plotting, underhanded servant, Caroline Ryder, who has taken a fancy to her mistress’s husband and is therefore ready to throw oil on the fire of the conjugal strife caused by the fervent clergyman. Griffith loses his temper, with terrible consequences, and then leaves his wife in order to get himself into some new scrape, which it was probably very courageous in Reade to bring before his Victorian readers’ eyes, and – last not least – Katherine is even charged with the murder of her husband, an event that turns the last third of the novel into a courtroom drama.
All in all, there is a lot of exterior conflict and action in the novel but Reade does not work with cardboard characters. Instead he creates very rich and lifelike characters and he even manages to maintain the reader’s sympathy for the eponymous hero regardless of all the monkey business he engages in. In this second respect Griffith Gaunt is also different from He Knew He Was Right, whose author is less lenient towards Trevelyan, the victim of the green-ey’d monster.
Reade’s style of writing is exuberant. The omniscient narrator makes all sorts of wry comments, he sometimes turns the novel into a play, and once he cannot refrain from spoofing legal English, when he turns a lawyer into the narrator for one chapter. You constantly get little gems like the following ones,
”’[…] What shall I do?’ ‘Wait till to-morrow,’ said Mr. Housman. (Procrastination was his daily work, being an attorney.)”
”[…] and Nature taught her that the best way to soften censure is – to be beautiful.”
The name of Gaunt had dwindled down to three since he left Cumberland, but a rich man never lacks relations.”
”Griffith smiled at all this with that lordly superiority the male of our species sometimes wears when he is behaving like a dull ass; and smoked his pipe, and resolved to indulge her whim as soon as ever he had got his hay in.”
If you enjoy a rather intrusive, but witty narrator and a plot in which sinister events come thick and fast but which also leaves room for character development, then I suggest giving Griffith Gaunt a try.
May 19, 2014
I knew when I began my 100 Years of Books project – 100 years, 100 authors, 100 books – that I would have to seek out more Victorian authors that the ones I already love and the ones that I have always meant to read. And so I began to peruse books lists.
When I saw Charles Reade’s name I couldn’t place him at all but I spotted a book with a title that could have been an author name, and those books always intrigue me; I’m always interested to know characters deserving of such an honour. As I read more I became interested in both book and author. Charles Reade was once a very popular author; and, though his historical novel ‘The Cloister and the Hearth’ was his most acclaimed work, ‘Griffith Gaunt’ was his personal favourite. You might call it a sensation novel, and it is a sensation novel, but its much more than that. This is a book that grows from a melodrama, into a psychological novel, into a courtroom drama …
It proved to be one of my favourite kinds of book – the kind where the people, the places, the situations, everything becomes so real that I want to offer advice, explain things …. but of course I can’t, and I have to watch helplessly from the sidelines.
The story grows, completely and naturally, from the characters and their situations. They are wonderful characters, with such depth that they live and breathe.
There are strong women, who are so very memorable:
•Kate Peyton was the bright and intelligent daughter of a wastrel father. She had a strong Christian faith and she wanted her life to be centred around that, but she knew that she much choose one of her suitors to be her husband. She chose Griffith Gaunt, because she knew he loved her, because she was fond of him, and because she had received an inheritance that it had been thought was his.
•Caroline Ryder came into the Gaunt household as a maid. She was a selfish, conniving woman and she saw the Griffith Gaunt was insecure; his wife’s faith, her relationship with her confessor, that their home was hers and not his, her strength of character …. all of those things made him jealous, and the maid played on that until he snapped.
•Mercy Vint was an innkeeper’s daughter; an honest and caring young woman, who helped Griffith Gaunt when he was in trouble, without knowing anything about his, without asking or judging ….
The man whose story links them – Griffith Gaunt – is fascinating. Not a bad man, but a man whose life is undermined, maybe destroyed by jealousy. It’s a wonderful psychological study, and I couldn’t help but care about him as his life and his mind unravelled, even though he was doing so much harm and hurting so many people.
It was terrible to see a basically decent man driven to madness, by his own weakness, by his circumstances, and by the manipulation of a woman.
The narrative carries the story forward beautifully: the author is clearly captivated by the story he has to tell, and he shifts perspective, he allows characters to voice their thoughts and he speaks himself, always in the service of the tale that must be told. His prose is lovely, and I have to place him among the most readable of Victorian novelists.
It’s a difficult to speak of the plot without giving far too much away. But I can say that it is engrossing. Caroline’s malice, Mercy’s compassion, and most of all Kate’s faith, were tangible. I cared, and I was fearful of what might happen.
Many of the staples of the sensation novel are present, working with the story and the characters quite naturally. They are there for that, not simply for the sake of sensation.
The courtroom drama is the climax of the story, and it is completely absorbing. I really couldn’t predict how it would play out. The subservient secondary position of women, in society and before the law is brought into sharp focus. There are twists and turns, there are revelations, and there is wonderful, emotional drama.
I have read more sensational sensation novels, but never one so firmly rooted in real human character and emotion.
And I think that Charles Reade was right to be Proud of Griffith Gaunt: a forgotten novel that really should be remembered.
When I saw Charles Reade’s name I couldn’t place him at all but I spotted a book with a title that could have been an author name, and those books always intrigue me; I’m always interested to know characters deserving of such an honour. As I read more I became interested in both book and author. Charles Reade was once a very popular author; and, though his historical novel ‘The Cloister and the Hearth’ was his most acclaimed work, ‘Griffith Gaunt’ was his personal favourite. You might call it a sensation novel, and it is a sensation novel, but its much more than that. This is a book that grows from a melodrama, into a psychological novel, into a courtroom drama …
It proved to be one of my favourite kinds of book – the kind where the people, the places, the situations, everything becomes so real that I want to offer advice, explain things …. but of course I can’t, and I have to watch helplessly from the sidelines.
The story grows, completely and naturally, from the characters and their situations. They are wonderful characters, with such depth that they live and breathe.
There are strong women, who are so very memorable:
•Kate Peyton was the bright and intelligent daughter of a wastrel father. She had a strong Christian faith and she wanted her life to be centred around that, but she knew that she much choose one of her suitors to be her husband. She chose Griffith Gaunt, because she knew he loved her, because she was fond of him, and because she had received an inheritance that it had been thought was his.
•Caroline Ryder came into the Gaunt household as a maid. She was a selfish, conniving woman and she saw the Griffith Gaunt was insecure; his wife’s faith, her relationship with her confessor, that their home was hers and not his, her strength of character …. all of those things made him jealous, and the maid played on that until he snapped.
•Mercy Vint was an innkeeper’s daughter; an honest and caring young woman, who helped Griffith Gaunt when he was in trouble, without knowing anything about his, without asking or judging ….
The man whose story links them – Griffith Gaunt – is fascinating. Not a bad man, but a man whose life is undermined, maybe destroyed by jealousy. It’s a wonderful psychological study, and I couldn’t help but care about him as his life and his mind unravelled, even though he was doing so much harm and hurting so many people.
It was terrible to see a basically decent man driven to madness, by his own weakness, by his circumstances, and by the manipulation of a woman.
The narrative carries the story forward beautifully: the author is clearly captivated by the story he has to tell, and he shifts perspective, he allows characters to voice their thoughts and he speaks himself, always in the service of the tale that must be told. His prose is lovely, and I have to place him among the most readable of Victorian novelists.
It’s a difficult to speak of the plot without giving far too much away. But I can say that it is engrossing. Caroline’s malice, Mercy’s compassion, and most of all Kate’s faith, were tangible. I cared, and I was fearful of what might happen.
Many of the staples of the sensation novel are present, working with the story and the characters quite naturally. They are there for that, not simply for the sake of sensation.
The courtroom drama is the climax of the story, and it is completely absorbing. I really couldn’t predict how it would play out. The subservient secondary position of women, in society and before the law is brought into sharp focus. There are twists and turns, there are revelations, and there is wonderful, emotional drama.
I have read more sensational sensation novels, but never one so firmly rooted in real human character and emotion.
And I think that Charles Reade was right to be Proud of Griffith Gaunt: a forgotten novel that really should be remembered.
August 13, 2018
31 MAY 2018 - having read and loved The Cloister and The Hearth, I know I am in for a treat.
This is not yet available on Project Gutenberg. I will find out if I can do a proofing and make it free for everyone.
VOLUME 1:
3 JUN 2018 - Vol. 1, Chap. 5 - proofing is underway. I am enjoying this tremendously.
6 JUN 2018 - only 50 pages remaining. I am so involved in this story. I will request Vol. 2 for the week-end.
8 JUN 2018 - Vol. I is completed. -- Terrific!
8 JUN 2018 - Laura sent Volumes 2 and 3 via email today. Will begin proofing Volume 2 tomorrow. Thank you, Laura.
VOLUME 2:
11 JUN 2018 - Vol. 2, Chap. 4 - proofing is underway. This Volume starts out with a "gasp!"
12 JUN 2018 - Vol. 2, Chap. 9 - a mischief-making minx has entered the story. She needs to go!
13 JUN 2018 - Vol. 2 - proofing completed. -- Another terrific read!
VOLUME 3:
13 JUN 2018 - Vol. 3, Chap. 1 - Father Francis has admonished our protagonists and we are off to a sobering start.
14 JUN 2018 - Vol. 3, Chap. 9 - I cannot stop reading. Vol. 3 opens with a bang and has not slowed down. Oh, goodness - this is going to be one of the best books I have read this year.
15 JUN 2018 - Completed!
Review:
This is the best book I am likely to read in 2018. Oh, there will be others which rate 5 stars, of this I am certain; however, none will come close to the complexity, characters, and settings contained within Griffith Gaunt. I cried almost the entire time reading Volume 3. I wanted to somehow insinuate myself within the pages of Griffith Gaunt and advise these characters to appreciate what it is they have.
Soon, Griffith Gaunt will be available for free download at Project Gutenberg and when it is - please download it and read it. You will not be disappointed.
Update: Griffith Gaunt is now available at Project Gutenberg -
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/57685
Please note the cover is misleading. Griffith Gaunt is a 3-in-1 download. When you download from Project Gutenberg, you will have all 3 volumes in one download.
Thank you, Laura!
This is not yet available on Project Gutenberg. I will find out if I can do a proofing and make it free for everyone.
VOLUME 1:
3 JUN 2018 - Vol. 1, Chap. 5 - proofing is underway. I am enjoying this tremendously.
6 JUN 2018 - only 50 pages remaining. I am so involved in this story. I will request Vol. 2 for the week-end.
8 JUN 2018 - Vol. I is completed. -- Terrific!
8 JUN 2018 - Laura sent Volumes 2 and 3 via email today. Will begin proofing Volume 2 tomorrow. Thank you, Laura.
VOLUME 2:
11 JUN 2018 - Vol. 2, Chap. 4 - proofing is underway. This Volume starts out with a "gasp!"
12 JUN 2018 - Vol. 2, Chap. 9 - a mischief-making minx has entered the story. She needs to go!
13 JUN 2018 - Vol. 2 - proofing completed. -- Another terrific read!
VOLUME 3:
13 JUN 2018 - Vol. 3, Chap. 1 - Father Francis has admonished our protagonists and we are off to a sobering start.
14 JUN 2018 - Vol. 3, Chap. 9 - I cannot stop reading. Vol. 3 opens with a bang and has not slowed down. Oh, goodness - this is going to be one of the best books I have read this year.
15 JUN 2018 - Completed!
Review:
This is the best book I am likely to read in 2018. Oh, there will be others which rate 5 stars, of this I am certain; however, none will come close to the complexity, characters, and settings contained within Griffith Gaunt. I cried almost the entire time reading Volume 3. I wanted to somehow insinuate myself within the pages of Griffith Gaunt and advise these characters to appreciate what it is they have.
Soon, Griffith Gaunt will be available for free download at Project Gutenberg and when it is - please download it and read it. You will not be disappointed.
Update: Griffith Gaunt is now available at Project Gutenberg -
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/57685
Please note the cover is misleading. Griffith Gaunt is a 3-in-1 download. When you download from Project Gutenberg, you will have all 3 volumes in one download.
Thank you, Laura!
July 23, 2016
Charles Reade, once an extremely popular writer and now largely forgotten – if he is remembered at all, it’s only for his masterpiece, The Cloister and the Hearth – is generally considered a “sensation” novelist, along the lines of Wilkie Collins. Published in 1866, Griffith Gaunt; or, Jealousy, supposedly Reade’s favorite among his books, is a classic example of the genre. Not since Moses shattered the tablets at Mount Sinai have so many commandments been broken in the same place. Add in the commission of six of the Seven Deadly Sins (Sloth alone takes a holiday), and even a duel, and you have the ingredients for a thoroughly sensational sensation novel.
Griffith Gaunt was declared indecent upon publication, ostensibly due to its immorality, though its depiction of strong, even manipulative, female characters, including a scheming villainess (“a female rake...as dangerous a creature to herself and others as ever tied on a bonnet”), surely agitated (masculine) Victorian sensibilities. Today the novel would top the best seller list, and deservedly so. Reade’s prose is often, though not consistently, brilliant, and he is a master of the subtle authorial intrusion, his personality readily and pleasingly visible in his captivating and ever fresh narrative voice. (Reade employs storytelling devices at will: abruptly shifting an ongoing conversation into play format; allowing a character to temporarily assume the narrator’s role; speaking an aside to the reader; and so on. It makes for a never-a-dull-moment read.)
This is not a book for all tastes, and perhaps giving it five stars is being generous. (No, it’s not!) There is a healthy dose of melodrama in its early chapters, though one gets accustomed to it, attributing it to the emotional makeup of the characters. Plus, there is humor sprinkled here and there that subdues any rising pathos. Though you will find no Tess or Jude, the actors in Griffith Gaunt are fully fleshed and recognizable among one’s fellows, and most scenes, such as the long and engrossing trial, feel immediate and tangible. As our hero’s life slowly unravels, our sympathies are awakened and quickly become an umbrella encompassing a trio of characters. All of which cleverly leads the reader into a dilemma, both moral and emotional, come the resolution.
Charles Reade is akin to that other Charles, Mr. Dickens, in terms of sentimentality, as well as in purpose. In Griffith Gaunt he, too, makes a point about injustice, especially in the legal system and in the condescending view of a woman’s position in contemporary society. All in all, this is an engrossing, entertaining, finely written ‘forgotten’ novel, quite worthy of being remembered.
(Note: I suggest acquiring a copy from Google Books in PDF form. Better yet, if you have a couple dollars to spare, visit the Delphi Classics web site and purchase their edition of Reade’s complete works. In general, I have found Delphi Classics ebooks superior to any other edition of public domain literature.)
A few selections from Griffith Gaunt:
Now we all need a little excitement, and we all seek it, and get it by hook or by crook. The girl who satisfies that natural craving with what the canting dunces of the day call a "sensational" novel, and the girl who does it by waltzing till daybreak, are sisters; only one obtains the result intellectually, and the other obtains it like a young animal, and a pain in her empty head next day.
...female domestics are like the little birds: if that great hawk, their mistress, follows them about, it is a deadly grievance; but if she does not, they follow her about, and pester her with idle questions, and invite the beak and claws of petty tyranny and needless interference.
This, I think, is all needs to be told about the mere place where the Gaunts lived comfortably many years, and little dreamed of the strange events in store for them; little knew the passions that slumbered in their own bosoms, and, like other volcanoes, bided their time.
August 22, 2018
Really 3 and a half stars. Victorian historical novel set a hundred years prior. A bit melodramatic, but lots of fun to read.
November 7, 2015
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It's been a while since I've had a novel I can't put down, but this one did it for me. It's an easy read, with a soap-opera kind of plot (Victorian Sensationalism...what do you do?) involving marriage problems, love triangles, secret wives, illegitimate children, lovely characters, and ultimate reconciliation and forgiveness in a way that I wasn't anticipating. If you're looking for an easy classic, I'd recommend this one with 4.5 stars.
September 23, 2010
Excellent book: melodrama (bigamy, infatuated catholic priests); court room drama (female accused defends herself ably in a murder trial); social drama.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 4, 2023
absolute gem of an unhinged mess
July 18, 2021
Discover more forgotten novels at my website: https://adblankestijn.blogspot.com/p/...
March 26, 2016
Good old Victorian sensation fiction. I was oddly fond of Mercy, who really could have been deeply annoying.
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