Nancy

by Rhoda Broughton

Rhoda Broughton (1840-1920) was a novelist. During her lifetime she was one of the Queens of the Circulating Libraries. She developed a taste for literature, especially poetry, as a young girl. Her first two novels appeared in 1867 in Dublin University Magazine. By 1890 she had published 14 novels over a period of 30 years in Bentley publishing house. She never got rid of the reputation of creating fast heroines with easy morals, which was true enough for her early novels, and thus suffered from the idea of her work being merely slight and sensational. Very often Broughton's women are strong characters and with them she manages to subvert traditional images of femininity. This culminates in A Waif's Progress (1905), in which Broughton creates a married couple who turns everything traditional upside down and the wife fulfills the stereotypes of an older, rich husband. Her other works include Cometh Up as a Flower (1867), Nancy (1873), Doctor Cupid (1886) and A Beginner (1893).

396 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1873

About the author

Rhoda Broughton was a popular British (Welsh) novelist and short story writer.

Reviews

[Autumn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suppose technically speaking, this book is kind of awful. But if I were teaching some imaginary course on gender, class and colonialism, it would be on the syllabus with Northanger Abbey and Jane Eyre. There's a lot to dissect in here, although I have a feeling, knowing absolutely nothing about the author, that she wasn't out to make any political statements. Unless you have a soft spot for this era of Brit lit (or are teaching my cross-listed English/women's Studies course) probably wouldn't waste time with this one.

[Rosemary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I downloaded this and another of Rhoda Broughton's books because I was passing a lovely hidden-away house on a lockdown walk a mile or two from my home last winter, and saw a blue plaque saying that this writer I'd never heard of had lived there. In her day the house had a view of Oxford that was painted by Turner, but now the view is spoilt by a raised reservoir built a few yards in front of the house, while new university buildings menace it from behind.

Anyway, I was surprised by this novel for several reasons. First, it's written in the present tense, which seems very unusual for an English novel of the 1870s. Second, marriage comes early in the book, not at the end. Third, it was a lot better written than I expected. Admittedly my expectations were extremely low.

I can't give it four stars because it follows that annoying trope of the "pointless misunderstanding" where something that could have been cleared up by a few plain words goes on and on causing tedious friction between the characters. But it has some charming moments, and I think it well deserves three stars.

I'm now almost looking forward to Alas!, which has even lower ratings on Goodreads...

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the first part of this - the family relationships (what a paterfamilias!), the tone of the narrator, I thought I was onto a real winner. But the central portion starts to drag, and because I had invested in Nancy so heavily I found it really difficult to read. There's also the saddest deathbed since Beth in Good Wives, and then a rather abrupt end which left me wanting more explanations. I won't search out any more of this author, I was too harrowed.

[Huda · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had two problems with this book: firstly, the basic premise - a 19 year-old girl from a large and lively family decides to marry a man almost 30 years older. Hmm. It's a bit as if one of the Bastable children married a friend of Father's...
Secondly, once married, their relationship becomes fraught with misunderstandings so contrived and prolonged that I found myself muttering, "Oh, for goodness sake!" at increasingly frequent intervals. Eventually there's a rather abrupt reconciliation over a deathbed, which reads as if the author felt the same way. Having said that, the early part of the book, with its descriptions of Nancy's family, are entertaining, while Nancy herself is an attractive character before the book gets bogged down.

[Deb]

Oh those silly Victorians! At least we know that the trophy wife syndrome has been going on for a long time - added to a few small lies, deathbeds, and some injured dignity, it makes for a tedious too-long tale.