What do you think?
Rate this book
Lover or Friend?
Excerpt from Lover or Friend?:
"If this were the case when Geraldine was a mere girl, it was certainly not altered when the crowning glories of matron hood were added to her other perfections. Six months ago Geraldine Ross had left her father's house to become the Wife of Mr. Harcourt, of Hillside; and in becoming the mistress of one of the coveted Hill houses, Geraldine had not yet consented to lay down the sceptre of her home rule."
"If this were the case when Geraldine was a mere girl, it was certainly not altered when the crowning glories of matron hood were added to her other perfections. Six months ago Geraldine Ross had left her father's house to become the Wife of Mr. Harcourt, of Hillside; and in becoming the mistress of one of the coveted Hill houses, Geraldine had not yet consented to lay down the sceptre of her home rule."
488 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1890
About the author
Rosa Nouchette Carey
256 books6 followersRosa Nouchette Carey wrote about forty novels, many of which achieved great popularity. Her fiction focused on domestic and family themes, and her plots and characters generally reflected a conservative outlook. In her youth, Carey tried to quench her longing to write, believing that it was impossible to combine literary achievement with a useful domestic life. But her writing won out, and she never married. Although her literary reputation was not high, her works sold well, remaining in print from 1868 until 1924.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 17, 2013
So here's the thing: I liked it except for the parts where I hated it. And it's really LONG.
When I started, it reminded me a little bit of Emma because there is a young heroine (Audrey) and a gentleman (Michael) more than a decade older than her who is practically family, and he disapproves of her growing friendship with a certain lady (Mrs. Blake). So far I thought, this is comfortable territory. But except for the happy ending where Audrey and Michael do in fact end up together, there are no other similarities, and this is a very original story.
Audrey's father is master of a school for boys. His most recently hired teacher is a young man named Cyril Blake. Cyril comes with his mother and two younger siblings, and they are such an out-of-sorts, unique family that Audrey's heart goes out to them and she immediately befriends all of them. Cyril falls in love with her, and when she finds out, she rejects him at first. But she values his friendship so much and when she hears that he is planning to leave town, she can't bear it, and she accepts him. Her family is less than pleased, because Cyril doesn't have any social standing or money and still has a while to go before his career can be called distinguished. But when they see that Audrey is set on it, they tolerate the situation and even admit how much they like Cyril.
Drama ensues: Cyril's mother, Mrs. Blake's, story is that she is a widow. WRONG! She is married to a man of humble origins who has until recently been in prison for several years. When this is found out, by accident, it changes everything. It is universally agreed that Audrey cannot marry Cyril, the son of a felon. Audrey bows to her family's wishes, but says that she will always consider herself engaged to Cyril, even if they can never marry. Everyone is super depressed by this whole thing because Cyril himself is so noble and full of promise and no one has a fault to find with him, just his lineage.
This far, I can kind of tolerate the thought process of her family--in the world they live in, Audrey's married life would be burdened with the prejudice of her neighbors, and they want to spare her that.
When Cyril leaves town, Audrey begs her old friend Michael to go with him and be his friend, look out for him, help him find a good job, etc. This Michael does faithfully. All seems to be going as well as it can, until one day Cyril sees an old, intoxicated man about to be hit by a train and goes to save him, receiving a mortal wound in the process. Audrey is rushed to his bedside, and he dies. Everyone honors Cyril for this last noble action, but their attitude is also like this: "Well, his life was just going to be a long awful misery anyway because he was the son of a felon, so it's just as well." And that's the part that made me mad. But, of course, the book was a product of its time.
While Audrey is recovering from the death of her fiance, she admits certain truths to herself, like the fact that she was never eager to set a date for her wedding, she wasn't as much in love as Cyril was, etc. At the same time, she starts to yearn more and more for the company of Michael, her tried and trusted friend. He's always been there, and pretty much always been in love with her, but has been prevented from saying anything, first because he was recovering from serious battle injuries that left him more or less an invalid for life, and second because he has little money.
Well, his health starts improving, and then his uncle dies and leaves him a fortune. Of course, at that point, Audrey got engaged to Cyril. But many months after Cyril's death, Michael finds himself unable to help speaking to Audrey about his feelings. At first she is pretty shocked. He goes away on a trip to give her time to get used to the idea. She thinks she's not really cut out for married life. Eventually, though, she realizes that she can't do without Michael, so she sends for him and they get married.
The Audrey-Michael plot was very sweet...but the tortuous way of getting there by way of all the Cyril drama was a little much.
When I started, it reminded me a little bit of Emma because there is a young heroine (Audrey) and a gentleman (Michael) more than a decade older than her who is practically family, and he disapproves of her growing friendship with a certain lady (Mrs. Blake). So far I thought, this is comfortable territory. But except for the happy ending where Audrey and Michael do in fact end up together, there are no other similarities, and this is a very original story.
Audrey's father is master of a school for boys. His most recently hired teacher is a young man named Cyril Blake. Cyril comes with his mother and two younger siblings, and they are such an out-of-sorts, unique family that Audrey's heart goes out to them and she immediately befriends all of them. Cyril falls in love with her, and when she finds out, she rejects him at first. But she values his friendship so much and when she hears that he is planning to leave town, she can't bear it, and she accepts him. Her family is less than pleased, because Cyril doesn't have any social standing or money and still has a while to go before his career can be called distinguished. But when they see that Audrey is set on it, they tolerate the situation and even admit how much they like Cyril.
Drama ensues: Cyril's mother, Mrs. Blake's, story is that she is a widow. WRONG! She is married to a man of humble origins who has until recently been in prison for several years. When this is found out, by accident, it changes everything. It is universally agreed that Audrey cannot marry Cyril, the son of a felon. Audrey bows to her family's wishes, but says that she will always consider herself engaged to Cyril, even if they can never marry. Everyone is super depressed by this whole thing because Cyril himself is so noble and full of promise and no one has a fault to find with him, just his lineage.
This far, I can kind of tolerate the thought process of her family--in the world they live in, Audrey's married life would be burdened with the prejudice of her neighbors, and they want to spare her that.
When Cyril leaves town, Audrey begs her old friend Michael to go with him and be his friend, look out for him, help him find a good job, etc. This Michael does faithfully. All seems to be going as well as it can, until one day Cyril sees an old, intoxicated man about to be hit by a train and goes to save him, receiving a mortal wound in the process. Audrey is rushed to his bedside, and he dies. Everyone honors Cyril for this last noble action, but their attitude is also like this: "Well, his life was just going to be a long awful misery anyway because he was the son of a felon, so it's just as well." And that's the part that made me mad. But, of course, the book was a product of its time.
While Audrey is recovering from the death of her fiance, she admits certain truths to herself, like the fact that she was never eager to set a date for her wedding, she wasn't as much in love as Cyril was, etc. At the same time, she starts to yearn more and more for the company of Michael, her tried and trusted friend. He's always been there, and pretty much always been in love with her, but has been prevented from saying anything, first because he was recovering from serious battle injuries that left him more or less an invalid for life, and second because he has little money.
Well, his health starts improving, and then his uncle dies and leaves him a fortune. Of course, at that point, Audrey got engaged to Cyril. But many months after Cyril's death, Michael finds himself unable to help speaking to Audrey about his feelings. At first she is pretty shocked. He goes away on a trip to give her time to get used to the idea. She thinks she's not really cut out for married life. Eventually, though, she realizes that she can't do without Michael, so she sends for him and they get married.
The Audrey-Michael plot was very sweet...but the tortuous way of getting there by way of all the Cyril drama was a little much.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 17, 2022
Only took me a year to make this into a free audiobook, with one or two chapters a week.
https://soundcloud.com/g1hkk9pkpteg/s...
The story would somewhat benefit from being read or listened to faster than that.
This is a very satisfying look at how people might actually live in the period. Sometimes the so-called 'classics' can be a bit po-faced. Here, the characters joke and take the piss out of each other. It's not realism as such, but is certainly close enough to be interesting just on that front.
I gather this author was dismissed as writing 'pleasant little woman's books' or some such. Whilst the emphasis is certainly on the character's feelings rather than dramatic turns of events, although there a number of shocks and twists, don't get me wrong; it certainly has something to say about what mores were actually like in that period. Most of the characters operate under a strict moral code, however they are human enough to realise they can't manage it all the time, and there are other kinds of characters in it. (One is so atrociously irritating, it provides colour to the proceedings).
Nevertheless, despite it's length, it contains no filler. Some of the side plots seem to be like that early on, but it certainly does not end up that way. The only ding for the book is because of the final shock. It's a bit convenient. Nevertheless, the characters, the developing situations, and the setting are so satisfying up to this point, I would hardly not recommend this book off the top of it.
https://soundcloud.com/g1hkk9pkpteg/s...
The story would somewhat benefit from being read or listened to faster than that.
This is a very satisfying look at how people might actually live in the period. Sometimes the so-called 'classics' can be a bit po-faced. Here, the characters joke and take the piss out of each other. It's not realism as such, but is certainly close enough to be interesting just on that front.
I gather this author was dismissed as writing 'pleasant little woman's books' or some such. Whilst the emphasis is certainly on the character's feelings rather than dramatic turns of events, although there a number of shocks and twists, don't get me wrong; it certainly has something to say about what mores were actually like in that period. Most of the characters operate under a strict moral code, however they are human enough to realise they can't manage it all the time, and there are other kinds of characters in it. (One is so atrociously irritating, it provides colour to the proceedings).
Nevertheless, despite it's length, it contains no filler. Some of the side plots seem to be like that early on, but it certainly does not end up that way. The only ding for the book is because of the final shock. It's a bit convenient. Nevertheless, the characters, the developing situations, and the setting are so satisfying up to this point, I would hardly not recommend this book off the top of it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews