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Graustark #2
Beverly of Graustark
Far off in the mountain lands, somewhere to the east of the setting sun, lies the principality of Graustark, serene relic of rare old feudal days. The traveler reaches the little domain after an arduous, sometimes perilous journey from the great European capitals, whether they be north or south or west—never east.
250 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1904
15 people are currently reading
197 people want to read
About the author
George Barr McCutcheon
295 books19 followersGeorge Barr McCutcheon was an American popular novelist and playwright. His best known works include the series of novels set in Graustark, a fictional East European country, and the novel Brewster's Millions, which was adapted into a play and several films.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
July 27, 2021
In his sequel to Graustark GBM introduces another American to the titular fictional country and provides the reader with another exciting, witty, romantic shell game. It rattled along at a good pace, devoid of any literary pretention, and kept me thoroughly engaged throughout.
The only thing I didn’t like was the final plot twist, to which I can only say “PLLLBBBTTTT!”
(I’m sorry; were you looking for the highbrow book reviews? I think you may have taken a wrong turn. Keep going; they’re around here somewhere. There’s a good chap…)
My next book: Avengers vol. 8: Enter the Phoenix
The only thing I didn’t like was the final plot twist, to which I can only say “PLLLBBBTTTT!”
(I’m sorry; were you looking for the highbrow book reviews? I think you may have taken a wrong turn. Keep going; they’re around here somewhere. There’s a good chap…)
My next book: Avengers vol. 8: Enter the Phoenix
July 18, 2014
I bought this used book for the cover, and decided to read it before cutting it up for journal making. Instead, I'm going to keep it on the shelf. For what this book is, I think it's great. Written in 1904 it's a tale of a rich beautiful southern American girl who takes off for the foreign country of Graustark (we don't really know where this is, except it seems to be in Eastern Europe not far from Vienna or St. Petersburg). Beverly follows home a friend who happens to be a princess. There is war, bandits, a royal court, intrigue, a handsome mysterious stranger, and of course, a dastardly villain. Will all turn out all right in the end? If this had been written earlier, I think it's the kind of book that Jane Austen's characters would be delighted to read on the sly. It was a bestseller in 1904.
February 1, 2017
Another masterpiece by Mr. McCutcheon! I didn't even see the final plot twist coming, and did it floor me!
Well written, with lots of exciting twists and turns, and beautiful, lovable heroine, and a dashing, handsome (OHHHH so handsome! :D) hero, with vile villains and conniving plots.
When Princess Yevett and her husband are called to Graustark, after the evil Prince Gabrielle escapes his prison cell, perky and "frisky" American Southern belle, Beverly, manages to talk her parents into letting her follow her best friend to spend the summer months with her. After desertion by her escort in the mountains, she is befriended by a dashing bandit and crew. Baldos, the goat hunter, remains a constant puzzle to Beverly, and she tries her hardest to unravel it, while unconsciously falling in love with the mysterious man in exile.
I did find dear Beverly a little trying, with her keeping up the pretense that long, and then, just at the last, realizing she was encouraging him (gasp-did she not know that long long ago, when she gave him the rose??), without being sure she loved him. But other than that she was a sweet and naive character that I could relate to pretty well.:)
Well written, with lots of exciting twists and turns, and beautiful, lovable heroine, and a dashing, handsome (OHHHH so handsome! :D) hero, with vile villains and conniving plots.
When Princess Yevett and her husband are called to Graustark, after the evil Prince Gabrielle escapes his prison cell, perky and "frisky" American Southern belle, Beverly, manages to talk her parents into letting her follow her best friend to spend the summer months with her. After desertion by her escort in the mountains, she is befriended by a dashing bandit and crew. Baldos, the goat hunter, remains a constant puzzle to Beverly, and she tries her hardest to unravel it, while unconsciously falling in love with the mysterious man in exile.
I did find dear Beverly a little trying, with her keeping up the pretense that long, and then, just at the last, realizing she was encouraging him (gasp-did she not know that long long ago, when she gave him the rose??), without being sure she loved him. But other than that she was a sweet and naive character that I could relate to pretty well.:)
November 19, 2008
This book is yet another of my favorites. McCutcheon writes similar to Louisa May Alcott, so you need to be in the right mindset to begin this book. Once you start reading, you won't stop.
The story is absolutely ingenuous and it will completely surprise you. You fall in love with the characters from the beginning. They make you laugh! McCutcheon did an amazing job. This book simply makes you squirm with excitement.
The final clincher? George Barr McCutcheon is the only male author I know who writes a good romantic novel. His trilogy about the fictitious realm of Graustark all feature an adventurous plot and some happy-ending romance.
This book was written in 1904. I'm proud to say that I own an original copy, with hand-drawn and hand-colored pictures.
The story is absolutely ingenuous and it will completely surprise you. You fall in love with the characters from the beginning. They make you laugh! McCutcheon did an amazing job. This book simply makes you squirm with excitement.
The final clincher? George Barr McCutcheon is the only male author I know who writes a good romantic novel. His trilogy about the fictitious realm of Graustark all feature an adventurous plot and some happy-ending romance.
This book was written in 1904. I'm proud to say that I own an original copy, with hand-drawn and hand-colored pictures.
August 9, 2011
My grandma gave this to me when I was young...possibly because it has my name in the title. I know that coincidence made me think for the longest time that this was MY book in more than just ownership. I have fond memories of it.
June 3, 2009
A great adventure/romance, also worthy of a Disney Movie.
December 20, 2018
Better than Graustark and Prisoner of Zenda! Less kissing, no killing. Contains mild language. Even so, I really like this book!
February 12, 2022
Beverly of Graustark is a notable step down from Love Behind the Throne. It fails to be entertaining or thoughtful. It's almost comical how inept it is, in how inane and annoying the characters are, in how telegraphed some of its reveals are, in how unintentionally offensive it is, but the one thing holding me back from recommending this as a form of bile fascination is the fact that it's boring as sin.
Beverly Calhoun, the daughter of a southern (and this is important, as the narration likes to remind us that she's from the South) war hero and congressman, is a socialite living in Washington D.C. She's best friends with her neighbor, Yetive, Princess of Graustark for Reasons™. Yetive and her husband Grenfall Lorry must return to Graustark to tend to the escape of a dangerous, politically prolific prisoner — Gabriel the prince of the neighboring Dawsbergen. Despite Graustark being in the midst of a full-blown international crisis (at least in theory), Beverly, being a sheltered, young American woman with no sense of gravity or stakes, decides it'll be a grand old time to take a trip to Graustark. Once she arrives, she is attacked by vagabonds and is saved by a group of bandits, led by a man going by Baldos. Beverly decides to impersonate the princess for Reasons™. When she and the group arrive at the capital city of Edelweiss, Yetive and the other members of the court go along with Beverly's ruse for Reasons™. They allow Beverly to appoint Baldos, a total stranger to the important position of guardsmen for Reasons™. Beverly and Baldos find themselves falling for one another for Reasons™. Baldos is suspiciously mysterious for Reasons™, but don't worry, Yetive, Lorry, and most other people in positions of power unconditionally trust him for Reasons™.
I'm sure most readers will know how the relationship shakes out as soon as they start reading, especially if they read the first book. But hey, it's no secret that many stories operate under the philosophy that the journey is more important than the destination.
Unfortunately, both are pretty bad in Beverly of Graustark's case.
I found myself not caring about the events of the story and this was mostly thanks to its uninspired characters.
As the main character, Beverly is perhaps the biggest offender here. Perhaps the only positive thing I can say about her is that, unlike Grenfall Lorry, she's not threatening to shoot someone every chapter.
Even if Beverly and Lorry differ in actions, they both feel like obnoxious, boisterous tourists. Lorry is the type of tourist that thumps his chest while threatening to kill everyone over every slight. Beverly, meanwhile, is the type of tourist to constantly stomp her foot, pout, and demand to speak to the manager. She's the type of tourist who keeps talking about how her friends back home will totally fuck up whoever's unfortunate enough to earn her ire. But why tell when I can show?
"He can't scare a Calhoun, no sir-ee. I'll telegraph for my brother Dan to come over here and punch his head to pieces."
"I would sooner die. Would to heaven my father were here, he would shoot you as he would a dog!"
"They wouldn't dare! Uncle Sam would annihilate them! In a week."
Quotes like these make Beverly about as charming as a seasick crocodile. When I describe Lorry and Beverly as reading like boisterous Americans in a foreign country, I'm tempted to write it off as satire, but the rest of the story doesn't match this. And even if it is satirical, it doesn't make it any less grating to read. Both Lorry and Beverly have a chip on their shoulders, but as obnoxious as it is, at least Lorry is enough of a character to attempt to act out on his feelings. Beverly requests for people to do things in her stead, making her a very passive character. She's very uninteresting, as she seldom struggles. The entire royal court essentially goes along with her charade because she's an American and she happens to be friends with Yetive, despite the story doing little to make me believe in their friendship.
The other major character of the book is Baldos. Well, "character," as he comes across more like a prop. His entire shtick is to be mysterious and handsome while Beverly swoons over him for standing there. Throughout the story, Baldos is obtuse for very little reason other than the story says he should be. And I don't buy the excuse that it’s to hide his identity — his absolute refusal to play ball when anyone asks him basic questions goes beyond pragmatism. The story tries to set up a mystery about his identity, but paradoxically, he's so mysterious that you know where the story is going with it a mile away. It doesn't help that the story very plainly lays out the fact there are two royals unaccounted for. When things are wrapping up, McCutcheon tries to fake us out with the more interesting scenario that he isn't royalty. But this backfires because when it is revealed that he is a prince, it's all the more unsatisfying.
Count Marlanx, the commander of the Graustarkian military, serves as the story's primary antagonist, and not for a good reason. Marlanx oversees the guards and casts heavy suspicion on Baldos throughout the story. McCutcheon does his damndest to characterize Marlanx as an utter asshole, but I wasn't picking up what he was putting down. The only reason Baldos, a complete stranger, and apparent foreigner, is put in such a prestigious position is because of nepotism and Beverly's crush on him. Baldos, as stated before, is cagey to a ridiculous extent. The story takes place during a state of emergency. In short, Baldos is a huge security risk, yet the story largely characterizes Marlanx as being unreasonable for no reason other than McCutcheon needed him to be the villain. Oh, but don't worry, McCutcheon doesn't want you to think because that would be hard. It's revealed towards the end that the only reason Marlanx dislikes Baldos is because he has the hots for Beverly. It would have been stupid, but the story could have revealed that Marlanx himself was the spy and his suspicion of Baldos was an attempt to throw others off the trail. But no, he's the villain because he was horny on main. All the goddamn possibilities in the world and McCutcheon went with the absolute most pedestrian option imaginable.
And that's probably the biggest problem with Beverly of Graustark — it's a bore.
The plot of the first book wasn't strong by any means, but it was solid. Throughout the story, I had a good idea of what Lorry was doing and why he was doing it. This isn't the case with Beverly of Graustark.
While there was a fair bit of energy during some of the early chapters, all sense forward thrust screeches to a halt once they arrive in Edelweiss. There, we're treated to a lot of meandering. The backdrop of the escaped prisoner doesn't really inform the tone. There's nothing wrong with a slice-of-life story, but those stories hinge on having the strong characterization that Beverly of Graustark lacks.
There's a lot of repetition — Beverly fawns over Baldos being a handsome coat rack, she asks him a question, he's obtuse, she cries, convinced he doesn't love her. Rinse and repeat. Ad. Fucking. Nauseam.
Oh, and the story reveals that Baldos knew Beverly wasn't the princess early on, making this feel like a waste of time.
But I'll take boring, because when Beverly of Graustark isn't boring, it's uncomfortably dated.
Pick your flavor — do you prefer a taste that's insidious, somewhat sour, with you only realizing you shouldn't have eaten when you're running for the porcelain throne? Beverly of Graustark has that.
There's the sense of American exceptionalism that's carried over from the first book. This is perhaps the reason why books about a fantastical European country are framed through the lens of two Americans who have no connection to said country. It's not a way to provide an "in" to Graustark. Once you get into it, the story really isn't much about Graustark at all — it's about America. It's always about how much the Graustarkians love Americans, about how Lorry is so dashing, how Beverly is so beautiful. The characters don't have much problem navigating this new world because of course they don't — they’re Americans, the greatest class of people in the world. "What do you mean you can't marry a commoner as a princess? In America, every (rich, White, Protestant, straight, cis person) is nobility!" "What's that? Does this law say I can't do that? Well, how about you rip that up and let me do what the fuck I want because it's the American way."
The majority of these stories take place in the royal palace, not exploring the land of this fictional setting. Probably because it's more important to focus on what these Americans are doing instead of getting to know a world beyond them.
And I get it — this was written by a white guy born in the 19th century. These stories really came out before American pride was shaken up. It makes sense why McCutcheon is so "rah, rah, go Team America." That said, I can't find it disappointing. I picked up these books to go to a new world but they're largely predisposed with propping up America at the expense of Graustark's potential.
Beyond the way the story is framed, you also see the age in the narration. What, with the casual romanticization of Manifest Destiny and glossing over the atrocities committed against Native Americans to achieve it. I also hate to sound regionalist, but there's a...questionable romanticization of the South and you can really feel that McCutcheon is a man born a scant year after the Civil War and has a notable fascination with it.
And I'm certain one could find the entire thing an interesting time capsule, but unfortunately, I came expecting a fairy tale and it starts to fall flat when you realize that the main ingredient of a fairy tale is romanticizing an aspect of life you love or yearn for. Naturally, if you don't share the same ideals as the author, your fairy tale might be less Disney, more Brothers Grimm.
But that, dear reader, is just one flavor of datedness.
You might prefer a taste that's more immediately arresting. You might wish for the taste of battery acid, with you immediately realizing your folly as your stomach does flips and you see stars? Beverly of Graustark has that, too.
Ladies, gentlemen, everyone in between, and everyone beyond, I present to you the PoC's dilemma when delving into fiction of the past. Society as a whole still isn't accepting, but it was far, far worse in the past. Reading old works is a gamble. If you're lucky, your identity will be ignored. If you're unlucky, your identity will be rendered a caricature.
I'd like to introduce Aunt Fanny, Beverly's black maid.
That description alone should ring alarm bells — the black maid is already a well-documented stereotype (and that's not even getting into the fact that Fanny is described as old, so she doubtlessly would have been a family slave), doubly so with "Aunt" as a title. But it gets worse.
The lady opens her mouth.
"Yas, ma'am, Miss-yo' highness, hit's monstrous fine fo' yo', but whar is Ah goin' to sleep? Out yondah, wif all dose scalawags?"
"Fo' de Lawd's sake, missy, co'se, Ah did, but yo' all kindeh susprise me. Dey's p'etty bad skun up, missy; de hide's peeled up consid'ble. But hit ain' dang'ous,-no, ma'am. Jes' skun, 'at's all."
"Good Lawd, Miss Bev'ly, dey'll chop us all to pieces an' take ouah jewl'ry an' money an' clo'es and ev'ything else we done got about us. Good Lawd, le's tu'n back, Miss Bev'ly. We ain' got no mo' show out heah in dese mountings dan a-"
Did ya catch that? If you didn't don't worry — I didn't bother because to preserve my sanity, I skipped all of Aunt Fanny's lines. There was a character who spoke similarly in the last book, but at least his identity was subtle and he was a very minor character. We don't get that luxury here. Fanny is on full display and the message is clear — “look at those stupid black people, aren't they so hilarious!?”
Aunt Fanny is just offensive on every level. She made me feel that I, as a Black person, have no damn business reading this book. If the fucker was alive, McCutcheon would doubtless be surprised that I'm literate.
At the end of the day, Beverly of Graustark fails everything it attempts. It's pedestrian when it wants to be exciting, the characters are so wooden that it fails to be romantic, and it fails to be a compelling fairy tale. At this point, I don't see these books significantly improving.
Anyway, see you guys again whenever I decide to read the next book in the series.
Beverly Calhoun, the daughter of a southern (and this is important, as the narration likes to remind us that she's from the South) war hero and congressman, is a socialite living in Washington D.C. She's best friends with her neighbor, Yetive, Princess of Graustark for Reasons™. Yetive and her husband Grenfall Lorry must return to Graustark to tend to the escape of a dangerous, politically prolific prisoner — Gabriel the prince of the neighboring Dawsbergen. Despite Graustark being in the midst of a full-blown international crisis (at least in theory), Beverly, being a sheltered, young American woman with no sense of gravity or stakes, decides it'll be a grand old time to take a trip to Graustark. Once she arrives, she is attacked by vagabonds and is saved by a group of bandits, led by a man going by Baldos. Beverly decides to impersonate the princess for Reasons™. When she and the group arrive at the capital city of Edelweiss, Yetive and the other members of the court go along with Beverly's ruse for Reasons™. They allow Beverly to appoint Baldos, a total stranger to the important position of guardsmen for Reasons™. Beverly and Baldos find themselves falling for one another for Reasons™. Baldos is suspiciously mysterious for Reasons™, but don't worry, Yetive, Lorry, and most other people in positions of power unconditionally trust him for Reasons™.
I'm sure most readers will know how the relationship shakes out as soon as they start reading, especially if they read the first book. But hey, it's no secret that many stories operate under the philosophy that the journey is more important than the destination.
Unfortunately, both are pretty bad in Beverly of Graustark's case.
I found myself not caring about the events of the story and this was mostly thanks to its uninspired characters.
As the main character, Beverly is perhaps the biggest offender here. Perhaps the only positive thing I can say about her is that, unlike Grenfall Lorry, she's not threatening to shoot someone every chapter.
Even if Beverly and Lorry differ in actions, they both feel like obnoxious, boisterous tourists. Lorry is the type of tourist that thumps his chest while threatening to kill everyone over every slight. Beverly, meanwhile, is the type of tourist to constantly stomp her foot, pout, and demand to speak to the manager. She's the type of tourist who keeps talking about how her friends back home will totally fuck up whoever's unfortunate enough to earn her ire. But why tell when I can show?
"He can't scare a Calhoun, no sir-ee. I'll telegraph for my brother Dan to come over here and punch his head to pieces."
"I would sooner die. Would to heaven my father were here, he would shoot you as he would a dog!"
"They wouldn't dare! Uncle Sam would annihilate them! In a week."
Quotes like these make Beverly about as charming as a seasick crocodile. When I describe Lorry and Beverly as reading like boisterous Americans in a foreign country, I'm tempted to write it off as satire, but the rest of the story doesn't match this. And even if it is satirical, it doesn't make it any less grating to read. Both Lorry and Beverly have a chip on their shoulders, but as obnoxious as it is, at least Lorry is enough of a character to attempt to act out on his feelings. Beverly requests for people to do things in her stead, making her a very passive character. She's very uninteresting, as she seldom struggles. The entire royal court essentially goes along with her charade because she's an American and she happens to be friends with Yetive, despite the story doing little to make me believe in their friendship.
The other major character of the book is Baldos. Well, "character," as he comes across more like a prop. His entire shtick is to be mysterious and handsome while Beverly swoons over him for standing there. Throughout the story, Baldos is obtuse for very little reason other than the story says he should be. And I don't buy the excuse that it’s to hide his identity — his absolute refusal to play ball when anyone asks him basic questions goes beyond pragmatism. The story tries to set up a mystery about his identity, but paradoxically, he's so mysterious that you know where the story is going with it a mile away. It doesn't help that the story very plainly lays out the fact there are two royals unaccounted for. When things are wrapping up, McCutcheon tries to fake us out with the more interesting scenario that he isn't royalty. But this backfires because when it is revealed that he is a prince, it's all the more unsatisfying.
Count Marlanx, the commander of the Graustarkian military, serves as the story's primary antagonist, and not for a good reason. Marlanx oversees the guards and casts heavy suspicion on Baldos throughout the story. McCutcheon does his damndest to characterize Marlanx as an utter asshole, but I wasn't picking up what he was putting down. The only reason Baldos, a complete stranger, and apparent foreigner, is put in such a prestigious position is because of nepotism and Beverly's crush on him. Baldos, as stated before, is cagey to a ridiculous extent. The story takes place during a state of emergency. In short, Baldos is a huge security risk, yet the story largely characterizes Marlanx as being unreasonable for no reason other than McCutcheon needed him to be the villain. Oh, but don't worry, McCutcheon doesn't want you to think because that would be hard. It's revealed towards the end that the only reason Marlanx dislikes Baldos is because he has the hots for Beverly. It would have been stupid, but the story could have revealed that Marlanx himself was the spy and his suspicion of Baldos was an attempt to throw others off the trail. But no, he's the villain because he was horny on main. All the goddamn possibilities in the world and McCutcheon went with the absolute most pedestrian option imaginable.
And that's probably the biggest problem with Beverly of Graustark — it's a bore.
The plot of the first book wasn't strong by any means, but it was solid. Throughout the story, I had a good idea of what Lorry was doing and why he was doing it. This isn't the case with Beverly of Graustark.
While there was a fair bit of energy during some of the early chapters, all sense forward thrust screeches to a halt once they arrive in Edelweiss. There, we're treated to a lot of meandering. The backdrop of the escaped prisoner doesn't really inform the tone. There's nothing wrong with a slice-of-life story, but those stories hinge on having the strong characterization that Beverly of Graustark lacks.
There's a lot of repetition — Beverly fawns over Baldos being a handsome coat rack, she asks him a question, he's obtuse, she cries, convinced he doesn't love her. Rinse and repeat. Ad. Fucking. Nauseam.
Oh, and the story reveals that Baldos knew Beverly wasn't the princess early on, making this feel like a waste of time.
But I'll take boring, because when Beverly of Graustark isn't boring, it's uncomfortably dated.
Pick your flavor — do you prefer a taste that's insidious, somewhat sour, with you only realizing you shouldn't have eaten when you're running for the porcelain throne? Beverly of Graustark has that.
There's the sense of American exceptionalism that's carried over from the first book. This is perhaps the reason why books about a fantastical European country are framed through the lens of two Americans who have no connection to said country. It's not a way to provide an "in" to Graustark. Once you get into it, the story really isn't much about Graustark at all — it's about America. It's always about how much the Graustarkians love Americans, about how Lorry is so dashing, how Beverly is so beautiful. The characters don't have much problem navigating this new world because of course they don't — they’re Americans, the greatest class of people in the world. "What do you mean you can't marry a commoner as a princess? In America, every (rich, White, Protestant, straight, cis person) is nobility!" "What's that? Does this law say I can't do that? Well, how about you rip that up and let me do what the fuck I want because it's the American way."
The majority of these stories take place in the royal palace, not exploring the land of this fictional setting. Probably because it's more important to focus on what these Americans are doing instead of getting to know a world beyond them.
And I get it — this was written by a white guy born in the 19th century. These stories really came out before American pride was shaken up. It makes sense why McCutcheon is so "rah, rah, go Team America." That said, I can't find it disappointing. I picked up these books to go to a new world but they're largely predisposed with propping up America at the expense of Graustark's potential.
Beyond the way the story is framed, you also see the age in the narration. What, with the casual romanticization of Manifest Destiny and glossing over the atrocities committed against Native Americans to achieve it. I also hate to sound regionalist, but there's a...questionable romanticization of the South and you can really feel that McCutcheon is a man born a scant year after the Civil War and has a notable fascination with it.
And I'm certain one could find the entire thing an interesting time capsule, but unfortunately, I came expecting a fairy tale and it starts to fall flat when you realize that the main ingredient of a fairy tale is romanticizing an aspect of life you love or yearn for. Naturally, if you don't share the same ideals as the author, your fairy tale might be less Disney, more Brothers Grimm.
But that, dear reader, is just one flavor of datedness.
You might prefer a taste that's more immediately arresting. You might wish for the taste of battery acid, with you immediately realizing your folly as your stomach does flips and you see stars? Beverly of Graustark has that, too.
Ladies, gentlemen, everyone in between, and everyone beyond, I present to you the PoC's dilemma when delving into fiction of the past. Society as a whole still isn't accepting, but it was far, far worse in the past. Reading old works is a gamble. If you're lucky, your identity will be ignored. If you're unlucky, your identity will be rendered a caricature.
I'd like to introduce Aunt Fanny, Beverly's black maid.
That description alone should ring alarm bells — the black maid is already a well-documented stereotype (and that's not even getting into the fact that Fanny is described as old, so she doubtlessly would have been a family slave), doubly so with "Aunt" as a title. But it gets worse.
The lady opens her mouth.
"Yas, ma'am, Miss-yo' highness, hit's monstrous fine fo' yo', but whar is Ah goin' to sleep? Out yondah, wif all dose scalawags?"
"Fo' de Lawd's sake, missy, co'se, Ah did, but yo' all kindeh susprise me. Dey's p'etty bad skun up, missy; de hide's peeled up consid'ble. But hit ain' dang'ous,-no, ma'am. Jes' skun, 'at's all."
"Good Lawd, Miss Bev'ly, dey'll chop us all to pieces an' take ouah jewl'ry an' money an' clo'es and ev'ything else we done got about us. Good Lawd, le's tu'n back, Miss Bev'ly. We ain' got no mo' show out heah in dese mountings dan a-"
Did ya catch that? If you didn't don't worry — I didn't bother because to preserve my sanity, I skipped all of Aunt Fanny's lines. There was a character who spoke similarly in the last book, but at least his identity was subtle and he was a very minor character. We don't get that luxury here. Fanny is on full display and the message is clear — “look at those stupid black people, aren't they so hilarious!?”
Aunt Fanny is just offensive on every level. She made me feel that I, as a Black person, have no damn business reading this book. If the fucker was alive, McCutcheon would doubtless be surprised that I'm literate.
At the end of the day, Beverly of Graustark fails everything it attempts. It's pedestrian when it wants to be exciting, the characters are so wooden that it fails to be romantic, and it fails to be a compelling fairy tale. At this point, I don't see these books significantly improving.
Anyway, see you guys again whenever I decide to read the next book in the series.
December 22, 2010
Since this was my father's, my copy is actually a Grosset & Dunlap with illustrations by Harrison Fisher.
It's not really your typical 1904 romance. Yes, the hero is in disguise. Yes, the heroine is very much a Gibson Girl (haughty, proud, reserved, queenly). It is set in a mythical country in the Balkans. All that -- but dog-gone it, McCutcheon can write an action story!
The characters are interesting - sort of. After several novels, I'm finding the Gibson Girl effect boring, and though this girl isn't so much of one as other heroines in other books, she is somewhat naive and her one-note story angle got a little tiresome. The guy is not shown to his best advantage in the love scenes, but, unusually, it's when he's not declaring his love for her that you fall in love with him!
Even so, I found this to be a page-turner. Yes, the ending was as predicted, but I still wanted to know how it worked out!
I think this might be number 2 or 3 in McCutcheon's Graustark series, but aside from a few 'reminders' of previous story-lines, it stands on its own quite well. So really 3 1/2 stars, as I'll probably return to Graustark sometime.
It's not really your typical 1904 romance. Yes, the hero is in disguise. Yes, the heroine is very much a Gibson Girl (haughty, proud, reserved, queenly). It is set in a mythical country in the Balkans. All that -- but dog-gone it, McCutcheon can write an action story!
The characters are interesting - sort of. After several novels, I'm finding the Gibson Girl effect boring, and though this girl isn't so much of one as other heroines in other books, she is somewhat naive and her one-note story angle got a little tiresome. The guy is not shown to his best advantage in the love scenes, but, unusually, it's when he's not declaring his love for her that you fall in love with him!
Even so, I found this to be a page-turner. Yes, the ending was as predicted, but I still wanted to know how it worked out!
I think this might be number 2 or 3 in McCutcheon's Graustark series, but aside from a few 'reminders' of previous story-lines, it stands on its own quite well. So really 3 1/2 stars, as I'll probably return to Graustark sometime.
August 19, 2014
George Barr McCutcheon’s second novel in his Graustark series features some of the same characters from Book One, however, the original main characters take a step back to allow a few new faces to take centre stage.
Beverly is a young American woman who gets to know Yetive, the Princess of Graustark, through her highness’s American consort. Events transpire than Beverly and her servant travel to Graustark to meet the royal couple. The Americans end up stranded only to be helped out by a band of vagabonds, whose leader – Baldos, the hero of the story – proves himself to be a real charmer.
The opening quarter of the novel appealed to me the most, during which time Beverly, Baldos, and the gang are wandering about in the wilderness. Once they reach Graustark the story becomes patchy.
With Beverly, George Barr McCutcheon has created one of his best female characters. She’s witty, confident, and beautiful – what more could a man want? Yet this great character alone isn’t enough to raise the book to greater heights.
That said, ‘Beverly of Graustark’ is well worth checking out.
Beverly is a young American woman who gets to know Yetive, the Princess of Graustark, through her highness’s American consort. Events transpire than Beverly and her servant travel to Graustark to meet the royal couple. The Americans end up stranded only to be helped out by a band of vagabonds, whose leader – Baldos, the hero of the story – proves himself to be a real charmer.
The opening quarter of the novel appealed to me the most, during which time Beverly, Baldos, and the gang are wandering about in the wilderness. Once they reach Graustark the story becomes patchy.
With Beverly, George Barr McCutcheon has created one of his best female characters. She’s witty, confident, and beautiful – what more could a man want? Yet this great character alone isn’t enough to raise the book to greater heights.
That said, ‘Beverly of Graustark’ is well worth checking out.
April 8, 2014
This book has a copy write of 1904. It belonged to my father-in-laws father. I like old books for their feel of heavy paper and the old illustrations. This was definitely a romantic story that was far fetched but fun to read as a grown-up fairy tale. I liked the book as a particular dated genre.
April 5, 2007
My romantic teen self found this book to be lovely. Re-reading it as an adult, I see some pretty terrible racism and sexism. I feel nostalgic about it for the magical feeling it gave to me as a kid. But the reservations are mounting.
Read
June 1, 2009Didn't care for it. Hard to follow
August 19, 2016
Purchased for the Harrison Fisher illustrations, read and kept for the wonderful over the top melodrama. It's quite fun, actually. Purchased another for my shop.
Want to read
August 24, 2019This novel was filmed in 1926 starring Marion Davies.
Read this book online for free through Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/6801/...
Read this book online for free through Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/6801/...
September 15, 2020
This was the first McCutcheon book I'd ever read, and I thought it was simply amazing. That's why I'm giving it 4 stars... for nostalgic reasons. However, it's a fairly run-of-the-mill romance.
July 12, 2024
Ashamed to say that I ended up enjoying this one more than the first, despite the gross reverence for the Old South and even grosser racist caricature that was the heroine’s Black nurse-cum-maidservant “Aunt Fanny”. Yet the plot — a mysteriously noble and well-spoken mountain man who might be one of three missing princes running around in disguise but resolutely maintaining that he is a simple guard and continuing to pretend he belives the heroine to be the princess of Graustark (and she keeping up the pretense with him) long after they both know the other knows it’s just a game – was fun, and the fact that the hero was NOT a red-blooded American who must constantly demonstrate his brash superiority and undaunted aw-shucks attitude made him infinitely less grating. Plus, the deceptions about identity multiply to a ridiculous degree, making the last few chapters a scream.
However, I suspect that the 1926 film— which changes the plot completely and has Beverly disguising herself as a man to substitute for a royal cousin—is much better.
However, I suspect that the 1926 film— which changes the plot completely and has Beverly disguising herself as a man to substitute for a royal cousin—is much better.
May 9, 2020
I knew it was one of my mother's favorites.
This book is from another time! As I read, I imagined my mother as a young woman reading this same story. I can see why she loved it.
Outside of that connection, I probably would not have finished it.
The story is a good one. Lots of adventure! Just not my cup of tea.
Plus the racist depiction of the black servant was hard for me to get past. Books and movies added to the ignorant beliefs of white people that persist today.
This book is from another time! As I read, I imagined my mother as a young woman reading this same story. I can see why she loved it.
Outside of that connection, I probably would not have finished it.
The story is a good one. Lots of adventure! Just not my cup of tea.
Plus the racist depiction of the black servant was hard for me to get past. Books and movies added to the ignorant beliefs of white people that persist today.
December 2, 2021
I enjoyed this fantasy story.
Nice escape from some of the books I have been reading,
Besides, my name is Bevery so I enjoyed seeing my name in a character.
Nice escape from some of the books I have been reading,
Besides, my name is Bevery so I enjoyed seeing my name in a character.
October 11, 2023
Loved this book! So many twists and turns. I was not aware that this was book 2 of 3. It did not seem to matter though. Now to find the other 2.
July 21, 2024
Great book, I listened to the audiobook version on YouTube. I will leave the link below so that everyone can enjoy it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y5B0...
April 7, 2025
So far, it's the best out of the two Graustark books I have read. The ending caught me completely off guard, but it made perfect sense, and the way the secret was never let out is amazing
December 3, 2019
Incredibly silly and cringe-worthy, yet within its genre (Ruritanian romance, according to Wikipedia) could be a lot worse. Plus, there are a few very unintentionally funny parts.
April 16, 2014
worth a second read with all the twists!
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