Ennui

by Maria Edgeworth

The shiftless Lord Glenthorn has money and a title but suffers from ennui—from boredom. When it is revealed to him that he is not, in fact, an Anglo-Irish earl, but the peasant Christy O’Donoghoe, he must face his changed circumstances in order to provide for a life and future for the woman with whom he has fallen in love.

First published in 1809, Ennui is a didactic novel by Maria Edgeworth, who, along with Jane Austen, was a preeminent female novelist of the early nineteenth century.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Ireland, British Literature, 19th Century, Humor, Comedy

260 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1809

About the author

Maria Edgeworth was an Anglo-Irish gentry-woman, a daughter of Richard Lovell Edgeworth, born in Oxfordshire and later resettling in County Longford. She eventually took over the management of her father's estate in Ireland and dedicated herself to writing novels that encouraged the kind treatment of Irish tenants and the poor by their landlords.

Reviews

[Laura]

Free download available at Project Gutenberg.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This satire on early nineteenth century society pokes fun at a pose commonly held in the high society of the time - that of being bored of everything. In addition to lampooning the rich, Edgeworth includes some social commentary about the Irish (and the Anglo-Irish landlords). A quick and easy read that has grown on me a bit since I finished it. I may end up increasing my rating at some time...

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the book's stated aim is to teach the reader how to escape from the ennui which afflicts the idle wealthy, it is far more entertaining than its premise suggests. The main character inherits a title, a large fortune, and near-complete absence of supervision at a very young age. He works his way through the usual diversions, from travel to extravagance to gambling without being able to shake off the deadly ennui which keeps creeping up on him. Finally, when seriously injured and taken for dead, he realizes how shallow all those who surround him are and heads off for his Irish estates. There he continues to fight ennui, but eventually gains an interest in life through an interest in his tenants and his neighbors just before an unexpected twist of plot robs him of his material wealth and forces him to start life again--happier than he ever was when wealthy.

[Sam Goodale · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book sucked ass. This is the kind of shit Oscar Wilde chewed up and spat out. Boring as hell with dumb characters. Random stag passage and gay love triangle couldn’t save this one. Gave me ennui.

[charlotte 🪴 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Low key has blood brothers vibes

This book js so interesting and really comes for the upper classes in the 1800s omg . But that ending . No thanks x

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than i expected!

[claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

protagonist is literally insufferable until he grows a conscience but the existential angst is relatable

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Also more of a 3.5 star! Honestly loved the beginning and adored the end but sometimes in the middle I just wanted to scream out “what are you talking about?!” I owe this to reading under time pressure for uni. I’m stuck between 3 and 4 stars - the novel itself is excellent but the reading experience was tiresome.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was definitely a high three and the final third of the book would easily have been a four star book. For the first two thirds, however, Lord Glenthorn’s ennui was a little contagious and instead of being comical it was too lethargic for its own good.

However, it all comes good in the end and this comic warning against the evils of excess lassitude and free time and its effects upon the brain and constitution is at times excellently written, while suffering from the same troubles as Rackrent Castle (ie a slack plot and a tendency to lapse into mere tale telling).

An enjoyable book, however, especially towards the end.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a heartwarming little story concerning the disasters of boredom and how it makes the worst of people. I do find it amusing to be reading this alongside The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life because despite the difference of time and gender, both authors focus on the importance of struggle and work in finding meaning in life.

[Karen]

* 1000 novels everyone must read: the definitive list

Selected by the Guardian's Review team and a panel of expert judges, this list includes only novels – no memoirs, no short stories, no long poems – from any decade and in any language. Originally published in thematic supplements – love, crime, comedy, family and self, state of the nation, science fiction and fantasy, war and travel – they appear here for the first time in a single list.

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ennui by Maria Edgeworth
Seven out of 10


Seeing that Ennui by Maria Edgeworth has been originally published in 1809 and it has no Wikipedia page per se – there is one for the author, but not for the book – and it only has nine reviews on goodreads – I am not sure we can call this a review, what do you think…by the way, it is perhaps the moment to call the alarm and say that given the unsatisfying attempt to get to grips with this comedy it appears that the scribbling will venture into the unknown and/or irrelevance – out of very few ratings, we may wonder what has happened in more than two hundred, years, why is it that it has not collected more reviews and a prominent presence on google, where it is much more obscure than say Fifty Shades of Grey…never mind that for most of the two centuries there has been no internet…

Nonetheless, Ennui is on the list of 1,000 novels Everyone Must Read - https://www.theguardian.com/books/200... - even if we can wonder why, in spite of the fact that even a superficial attack on the comedy – just as the under signed has engaged in – reveals that there is merit in it and the theme of Ennui as Taedium Vitae, spleen, boredom or even depression is just as relevant, important today as in the days of the Earl of Glenthorn, the difference being that if in the novel the idea of boredom is satirized and mocked – granted, the antihero does have ridiculous reasons for his affected condition – in the world of this age, depression is a mental condition, a problem that affects millions, nay, hundreds of millions maybe and it is probably, should we say surely, on the rise in a period of pandemic, when populations have had to stay at home, seen the multitudes of deaths, the loss of so many millions of jobs and a grim perspective.
For yours truly, it may be a pattern, for he has had the chance to enjoy, only he did not, another opus of the same author, Castel Rackerent http://realini.blogspot.com/2019/07/c... present on the same list of Novels We all Must Read and having the opposite effect, making the compilation lose prestige…I mean if Everyone Must Read this and the other alleged chef d’oeuvre, why is it that only nine notes and a little over one hundred readers have bothered to note on it and at the same time you get many millions for Dan Brown, Harry Potter and the like…there is a thing called The Wisdom of Crowds…’ the collective knowledge of a group of people as expressed through their aggregated actions or opinions, regarded as an alternative to specialist or expert knowledge.’

In the splendid The Philosopher’s Toolkit, Professor Patrick Grim writes about The Wisdom of Crowds and how it works, giving the example of a famous experiment when a crowd was asked to estimate the weight of a bull and they came so close as to be only off with 1% in the figure, albeit this works as in the other example, that of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, where one option given to the contestants is to ask the…crowd, which gives a very good answer on average, not because the average Joe knows so much, but because on the contrary, there is heuristics, and some in the public know the correct figures and the others are wildly off the mark, but when the wild mistakes are eliminated, you get the correct answer…

Now the question is, does this work for Ennui, which appears to have been dismissed by the Wisdom of the crowds, or is it another instance when so many can be so wrong…as in the United States of Erica – a wondrous name taken out of Lake Wobegon Days http://realini.blogspot.com/2020/08/l... – where maybe 60,000,000 Ericans have voted with the Very Stable Genius and may do so again, though it looks like the fool is well behind Joe Biden, just like he had been trailing Hilary Clinton in 2016 alas, and this is the perfect plea for the accusation, those who would say that the wisdom of the crowds is no such thing, if the result is so monstrous, it can be the Apocalypse of the crowds.
As for the Best Books from the aforementioned or my own, personal compilation, if you ask me, I would recommend as way better than Ennui, the glorious Lucky Jim http://realini.blogspot.com/2018/05/l... which is also present on the shorter All –TIME 100 Novels http://entertainment.time.com/2005/10... and any of the nine books by the same divine Kingsley Amis read so far by the under signed would be so much more rewarding http://realini.blogspot.com/2018/07/e...

You could also choose A Good Man in Africa http://realini.blogspot.com/2018/09/a... or Any Human Heart – which is what Boris Johnson has taken with him on holiday recently, An Ice Cream War by William Boyd, or White Man Falling http://realini.blogspot.com/2018/10/w... and you will be exhilarated by both Troubles http://realini.blogspot.com/2018/02/t... and The Siege of Khrisnapur by marvelous JG Farrell http://realini.blogspot.com/2020/01/t... in Magnum opera that combine exquisite, outstanding humor with drama, literary skill at its best.

Posted 23rd August 2020 by realini

[Ken Ryu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ennui definition: a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement. Lord Glenthorn is the personification of this noun. The affluent 20-something London bachelor is in a funk. He has no occupation and enough wealth to last a lifetime. Even the prospects of wooing a spouse does not lift his spirits. When he does get married, the marriage quickly unravels. It ends in her infidelity. She leaves the morose Glenthorn for her lover.

A visit from an elderly Irish woman who claims to have been his wet nurse and nanny finally shakes Glenthorn from his lethargy. He is dangerously injured in a horse accident. The kindly nurse stands by his side and helps bring him back from his life-threatening accident. She convinces Glenthorn to visit his lands and castle in Ireland. With his wife's abandonment, Glenthorn is ready for a change of scenery and sets out for Ireland. He is greeted by colorful people of all classes. Many approach Glenthorn for favors and handouts. He initially enjoys the excitement of Ireland and working with the people but soon tires of the duties and his inability to bring positive change.

A radical change of fortune visits Glenthorn. His old nurse shares a long kept secret. The secret and the subsequent life-altering impact cures Glenthorn of his ennui. He finally finds a purpose and a muse.

Edgeworth is an exceptional writer. This book is very good, although "Castle Rentrack" is more entertaining. She subtlety interjects her distaste of wealth inequality. She cautions how wealth can corrupt. She winds complex stories with sudden and interesting plot twists. She brings the reader different class people's profiles. We learn about the motivation, education, language and aspirations of the aristocratic and the working class poor. She contrasts Londoners and Irish people with skill. She introduces a number of well-defined characters. An excellent book that shows that money can corrupt and lead to decay.

[Canaan Meyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this quite a bit a first, but the second half was unsatisfying. From the major plot twist onward the narrative seriously lacks weight and stakes. This book is about wealth and how dissatisfying it can be, but based on the main character you’d think it the easiest thing in the world to give up. I really felt Lord Glenthorn’s journey from wealth to true satisfaction was never convincingly communicated as one of challenge. He always makes the right decision as soon as he moves to Ireland, and is subsequently rewarded for it as if all he had to do to turn the mysterious waves of fate in his favor was be a nicer rich person.

This also, and here is the real annoyance for me, completely ignores the spiritual/religious part of wealth and poverty. Edgeworth would have you assume that throwing away riches and working hard will always get you somewhere in life. News flash: life moves on its own! Hard work doesn’t enable a satisfying life even if it is a better alternative to gathering up a bunch of money for yourself. Look at Gatsby for example. Gatsby never suffers from the boredom Lord Glenthorn suffers from. He works just as hard as Lord Glenthorn does for the exact same thing (a woman) and where does that get him? Ennui does very little to address this reality, instead opting for something far more simplistic.

Three stars for the fact that this is situated in Northern Ireland and is valuable for portraying the historical conflict between the Irish and English through the lens of the upper class.

[MikeBy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another "I'm not sure how this got onto my To Read list." As far as I can recall I didn't read the Guardians 1000 books to read list, certainly not all 1000 of it, and this is nothing like my usual reads, however I suppose it must have popped up on the Readers also enjoyed list some years ago.

The main character is a terrible ass, but luckily has a series of unfortunate mishaps (after an accidental shooting, hearing his friends and wife preparing to put him in the ground, while his recently appeared nursemaid howls over his body) that step by step put onto a better path.

It also shows the prejudices against the Irish at that time, and seems quite unkind until later on when we see the reality compared to the incorrect observations of English gentlemen earlier on.

Definitely not a book for everyone, but I quite enjoyed it, and was pleased to see the change in our "hero". The ending was happy, perhaps a bit too good to be true, but it's nice to read something with a happy ending every now and then.

[Aimee Knupsky (bookchantment) · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are books to be read in context of the experiments in morality the authors proposed. That literature and drama could instruct us to regulate our baser emotions. There is a lot in this text to reflect upon in terms of sources of motivation, integrity, developing a sense of self and of purpose. It wouldn't be a horrible thing if the robber barons of our time cared about such warnings.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read if you like classics.

[Maggie Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diva down…then diva up???

[Macy Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

the earl is such a little diva!! has some really rich passages, especially tracking the earl’s perception of women and the motif of the Irish family

wish i could give 3.5 stars

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the moralising.

[Elena Herrero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clásico con un poco de todo y moraleja

[Caitie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably 4.5 stars

I actually enjoyed this a lot more than I expected