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Victorian Short Stories: Stories of Successful Marriages
Elizabeth Gaskell, Thomas Hardy, George Moore, Walter Besant and Henry James are the contributors in this collection of short Victorian stories.
114 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1900
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142 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Gaskell
1,150 books3,788 followersElizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, née Stevenson (29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to simply as Mrs. Gaskell, was an English novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many strata of society, including the very poor, and as such are of interest to social historians as well as lovers of literature.
AKA:
Елізабет Гаскелл (Ukrainian)
AKA:
Елізабет Гаскелл (Ukrainian)
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 4, 2020
i am unsure if the subtitle of this book is supposed to be sarcastic or if it’s supposed to be taken serious.
either way this book shows anything but successful marriages -so let’s hope it’s meant sarcastically!
i really enjoyed gaskells and hardy’s stories in this book.
both had an actual plot, good characters and well done writing (surprising to me in three way that just earlier today i read another short story by gaskell and did not enjoy it at all, having decided from that that she isn’t for me in short format, only to be proven wrong only hours later by this book and it’s first story!)
those two stories really showed how marriage worked back than - a younger wife that basically has no ideas what being a wife means and marrying, either through need or must of some kind, a much older man and trying to figure out what that means to her and her life.
and even though those two stories share those basic plot points and characteristics they couldn’t be more different from each other.
i do highly recommend gaskells and hardy’s stories in this but recommend leaving it at that if your are a reader possible of not finishing a book since neither of the other stories is worth the read in my option.
all of them are not well developed, written or done well in any mentionable way.
either way this book shows anything but successful marriages -so let’s hope it’s meant sarcastically!
i really enjoyed gaskells and hardy’s stories in this book.
both had an actual plot, good characters and well done writing (surprising to me in three way that just earlier today i read another short story by gaskell and did not enjoy it at all, having decided from that that she isn’t for me in short format, only to be proven wrong only hours later by this book and it’s first story!)
those two stories really showed how marriage worked back than - a younger wife that basically has no ideas what being a wife means and marrying, either through need or must of some kind, a much older man and trying to figure out what that means to her and her life.
and even though those two stories share those basic plot points and characteristics they couldn’t be more different from each other.
i do highly recommend gaskells and hardy’s stories in this but recommend leaving it at that if your are a reader possible of not finishing a book since neither of the other stories is worth the read in my option.
all of them are not well developed, written or done well in any mentionable way.
May 15, 2020
Gostei bastante deste livro e é uma leitura que vos aconselho. Por se tratar de um livro de contos, falo primeiro sobre cada um destes contos (nove ao todo) e no final faço uma pequena apreciação global, que espero que sirva para vos dar vontade de ler este livrinho.
" História da Velha Ama" de Elizabeth Gaskell - um conto muito bem escolhido para introduzir esta colectânea de histórias sobre fantasmas!... Uma velha ama conta algo terrível que viveu no passado, quando a mãe dos ouvintes desta história ainda era uma criança. Uma antiga e imponente mansão inglesa assombrada e muitos segredos familiares ... alguns dos ingredientes perfeitos para uma boa história sobre almas penadas!
"A Casa Perdida na Rua C." de Dinah M. Mullock é uma comovente história de amor e de fantasmas. Gostei da duplicidade na abordagem ao amor, nos dois relacionamentos presentes. Por um lado, um amor tão forte que se estende para além da vida terrena, quebrando a linha entre o real e o irreal, e um outro amor, aparentemente também forte, mas que acaba por não ter futuro, apenas por circunstâncias mundanas da vida. O conto é uma história contada por alguém que não acredita em fantasmas, o que para mim lhe dá um toque especial.
"À Volta da Lareira" de Catherine Crowe : um grupo de pessoas, no qual a própria autora Catherine Crowe se encontra presente e participa, partilha várias pequenas histórias. Apesar de algumas se dizerem cépticas no que respeita a matérias do sobrenatural, o que é certo é que cada uma tem algo a contar sobre estranhas e inexplicáveis "visões do além". Gostei bastante e achei as histórias muito boas e interessantes.
"O Abraço Gelado" de Mary E. Braddon : mais um bom conto sobre assombrações. Um jovem inconsequente faz juras de amor que não cumpre, mas a sua amada suicida regressa para que ele nunca mais se esqueça do que prometeu...
"Não Tomar ao Deitar" de Rosa Mullholland é a lenda da "Estalagem do Diabo" e do seu ocupante: um homem misterioso que para ali se mudou, escolhendo viver na solidão das montanhas. É um bom conto, uma história trágica sobre poderosos feitiços de amor e bruxaria.
"A História de Salomé" de Amelia B. Edwards - um jovem viajante conhece Salomé em Veneza e fica impressionado com a sua beleza. Quando alguns meses mais tarde regressa a Veneza, decide voltar a procurá-la, mas ninguém o podia preparar para aquilo que iria encontrar... Mais um bom conto.
"A Verdade, Toda a Verdade e Nada Mais que a Verdade" de Rhoda Broughton : trata-se de um conto epistolar, composto pelas cartas que são trocadas entre duas amigas. Para ser prestável à amiga, Elizabeth procura em Londres uma boa casa para Cecília alugar. Apesar da procura difícil e morosa, acaba por encontrar uma casa maravilhosa com um valor de renda muito baixo... uma pechincha que se vai acabar por pagar bem cara...
"Realidade ou Ilusão" de Mrs. Henry Wood : este é mais um bom conto sobre amor, ciúmes, tragédia e obviamente... fantasmas!
"A Velha Casa do Caminho de Vauxhall" de Charlotte Ridell - um jovem orgulhoso e zangado anda na rua sem sítio onde passar a noite, sem nada para comer, à chuva e...sem chapéu! (atenção: o chapéu de um cavalheiro era um acessório bastante importante naqueles tempos :) ) Tudo por causa de uma zanga com seu pai que o levou a sair abruptamente de casa com juras de nunca mais voltar. Por sorte, quando tudo parecia perdido encontra um velho conhecido que lhe vale. William vem em seu auxílio e consegue garantir-lhe comida, abrigo e... um trabalho como detective do sobrenatural !... Um conto em três capítulos, muito interessante.
Não acredito em fantasmas. Também não gosto de ler livros ou ver filmes de terror com conteúdos sobrenaturais ou paranormais. Li também "Os Mistérios do Castelo de Udolfo" de Ann Radcliffe, um dos exemplos desta literatura gótica, leitura essa que não me impressionou... Por todos estes motivos e ainda mais alguns (por exemplo a edição que me parecia ser de fraca qualidade), este livro foi uma enorme surpresa. Não esperava gostar tanto quanto gostei e encontrar tantos contos de boa qualidade. Este livro foi sem dúvida uma boa (ainda que inesperada) experiência de leitura!
Usualmente nos livros de contos há aqueles que se destacam pela positiva e outros dos quais não gostamos, mas neste livro não consigo fazer essa distinção. É óbvio que alguns foram para mim mais interessantes que outros, mas gostei de todos sem excepção! Apesar de serem várias histórias, o sentimento global do livro é um todo muito coerente.
Apesar de não acreditar, como muitas outras pessoas em fantasmas, todos concordamos que existem muitos fenómenos que não conseguimos explicar. Todos nós já ouvimos histórias que nos deixam perplexos e que abrem as possibilidades à imaginação, ainda que apenas por alguns momentos. O que este livro na minha opinião conseguiu, é transmitir essa atmosfera "céptica" e até de "desafio" ao mesmo tempo que são relatadas histórias de factos ocorridos inexplicáveis. Ou é alguém que não acredita em fantasmas que nos conta a história, ou várias pessoas sem qualquer ligação vêem exactamente o mesmo fenómeno, enfim, as técnicas para alcançar este feito foram muitas e muito bem utilizadas pelas autoras destes contos, aqui muito bem reunidos em conjunto nesta edição.
Por tudo isto vos aconselho este livro!
Post completo no LinkedBooks
" História da Velha Ama" de Elizabeth Gaskell - um conto muito bem escolhido para introduzir esta colectânea de histórias sobre fantasmas!... Uma velha ama conta algo terrível que viveu no passado, quando a mãe dos ouvintes desta história ainda era uma criança. Uma antiga e imponente mansão inglesa assombrada e muitos segredos familiares ... alguns dos ingredientes perfeitos para uma boa história sobre almas penadas!
"A Casa Perdida na Rua C." de Dinah M. Mullock é uma comovente história de amor e de fantasmas. Gostei da duplicidade na abordagem ao amor, nos dois relacionamentos presentes. Por um lado, um amor tão forte que se estende para além da vida terrena, quebrando a linha entre o real e o irreal, e um outro amor, aparentemente também forte, mas que acaba por não ter futuro, apenas por circunstâncias mundanas da vida. O conto é uma história contada por alguém que não acredita em fantasmas, o que para mim lhe dá um toque especial.
"À Volta da Lareira" de Catherine Crowe : um grupo de pessoas, no qual a própria autora Catherine Crowe se encontra presente e participa, partilha várias pequenas histórias. Apesar de algumas se dizerem cépticas no que respeita a matérias do sobrenatural, o que é certo é que cada uma tem algo a contar sobre estranhas e inexplicáveis "visões do além". Gostei bastante e achei as histórias muito boas e interessantes.
"O Abraço Gelado" de Mary E. Braddon : mais um bom conto sobre assombrações. Um jovem inconsequente faz juras de amor que não cumpre, mas a sua amada suicida regressa para que ele nunca mais se esqueça do que prometeu...
"Não Tomar ao Deitar" de Rosa Mullholland é a lenda da "Estalagem do Diabo" e do seu ocupante: um homem misterioso que para ali se mudou, escolhendo viver na solidão das montanhas. É um bom conto, uma história trágica sobre poderosos feitiços de amor e bruxaria.
"A História de Salomé" de Amelia B. Edwards - um jovem viajante conhece Salomé em Veneza e fica impressionado com a sua beleza. Quando alguns meses mais tarde regressa a Veneza, decide voltar a procurá-la, mas ninguém o podia preparar para aquilo que iria encontrar... Mais um bom conto.
"A Verdade, Toda a Verdade e Nada Mais que a Verdade" de Rhoda Broughton : trata-se de um conto epistolar, composto pelas cartas que são trocadas entre duas amigas. Para ser prestável à amiga, Elizabeth procura em Londres uma boa casa para Cecília alugar. Apesar da procura difícil e morosa, acaba por encontrar uma casa maravilhosa com um valor de renda muito baixo... uma pechincha que se vai acabar por pagar bem cara...
"Realidade ou Ilusão" de Mrs. Henry Wood : este é mais um bom conto sobre amor, ciúmes, tragédia e obviamente... fantasmas!
"A Velha Casa do Caminho de Vauxhall" de Charlotte Ridell - um jovem orgulhoso e zangado anda na rua sem sítio onde passar a noite, sem nada para comer, à chuva e...sem chapéu! (atenção: o chapéu de um cavalheiro era um acessório bastante importante naqueles tempos :) ) Tudo por causa de uma zanga com seu pai que o levou a sair abruptamente de casa com juras de nunca mais voltar. Por sorte, quando tudo parecia perdido encontra um velho conhecido que lhe vale. William vem em seu auxílio e consegue garantir-lhe comida, abrigo e... um trabalho como detective do sobrenatural !... Um conto em três capítulos, muito interessante.
Não acredito em fantasmas. Também não gosto de ler livros ou ver filmes de terror com conteúdos sobrenaturais ou paranormais. Li também "Os Mistérios do Castelo de Udolfo" de Ann Radcliffe, um dos exemplos desta literatura gótica, leitura essa que não me impressionou... Por todos estes motivos e ainda mais alguns (por exemplo a edição que me parecia ser de fraca qualidade), este livro foi uma enorme surpresa. Não esperava gostar tanto quanto gostei e encontrar tantos contos de boa qualidade. Este livro foi sem dúvida uma boa (ainda que inesperada) experiência de leitura!
Usualmente nos livros de contos há aqueles que se destacam pela positiva e outros dos quais não gostamos, mas neste livro não consigo fazer essa distinção. É óbvio que alguns foram para mim mais interessantes que outros, mas gostei de todos sem excepção! Apesar de serem várias histórias, o sentimento global do livro é um todo muito coerente.
Apesar de não acreditar, como muitas outras pessoas em fantasmas, todos concordamos que existem muitos fenómenos que não conseguimos explicar. Todos nós já ouvimos histórias que nos deixam perplexos e que abrem as possibilidades à imaginação, ainda que apenas por alguns momentos. O que este livro na minha opinião conseguiu, é transmitir essa atmosfera "céptica" e até de "desafio" ao mesmo tempo que são relatadas histórias de factos ocorridos inexplicáveis. Ou é alguém que não acredita em fantasmas que nos conta a história, ou várias pessoas sem qualquer ligação vêem exactamente o mesmo fenómeno, enfim, as técnicas para alcançar este feito foram muitas e muito bem utilizadas pelas autoras destes contos, aqui muito bem reunidos em conjunto nesta edição.
Por tudo isto vos aconselho este livro!
Post completo no LinkedBooks
January 15, 2025
These marriages don’t seem all that success aye.
January 17, 2015
"Stories of Successful Marriages" is a rather interesting subtitle for this collection of five short stories. I can't decide if this is a deliberate attempt at irony, or a pointed insight on what might have passed for a "successful marriage" according to Victorian mores - apparently "Stockholm Syndrome" qualifies as "successful" in Victorian marital lingo.
"The Manchester Marriage" (Elizabeth Gaskell) - Probably the most romantic of the tales, and the most sentimental as well as the most predictable. For all that, I found it the most enjoyable.
"A Mere Interlude" (Thomas Hardy) - Thomas Hardy always seems to have a knack for creating stunningly flawed characters, and the female lead, Baptista, is no exception. Her flaw is that she has no self-esteem, confidence, or ambition, but seems content to a vapid existence where all decisions are made by others, including an abusive ex-boyfriend. The success of her marriage seems to be in that she eventually finally figures out a way to be at least moderately in charge of her own life, via being forced to take charge of her husband's children.
"A Faithful Heart" (George Moore) - Here's where the feeling of "Successful Marriage" being a euphemism for "Women enduring bullying men" really came to the fore. Speaking from the stance of a modern woman without children, I found the treatment endured by the Major's wife appalling, and could never imagine putting up with, let alone being thankful for, such contemptible conduct - but I suppose it is better than being cast off and censured as a fallen woman Victorian England. Still, it's galling that the Major never seems to get the just desserts that I wish were coming to him.
"The Solid Gold Reef Company" (Walter Besant) - Probably the most interesting aspect of this story is the way that it is told: almost purely through dialogue, with nearly no explanation of characters or who is speaking. It is left to the audience to deduce the characters and their motivations, thus making it a story in which truly, the characters really speak for themselves - there is no narrator to speak for them. I found some of the dialogue interesting, for 1895, with modish slang and terms of address that seemed quite ahead of their time. At the end of it, I felt such revulsion for the characters - shallow and insipid, with no narrator apologizing for them, either - that I welcomed the financial disaster that I suspect was just around the corner for them.
"The Tree of Knowledge" (Henry James) - In this short story, I am once again struck by Henry James' ability to spin out 50 or 100 words an impart absolutely zero information. Everything is hints and glimmers of hints, but nothing concrete, and it is impossible to imagine so many people having such lengthy conversations where no one actually says anything with any degree of certainty or conviction. One person hints, the other person assumes they understand the hints and give a hint back that they understand, to which the original person simply hints again - round and round, again and again, until 30 pages have gone by and no one has said a single word of sense. The best I could get out of this story was that a man is in love with another man's wife; man #2 is an insufferable idiot, and man #1 stays quiet about it to not upset the wife. Doesn't anyone think that the wife has known all along she is married to a blithering imbecile? Who would know such a thing better than her? And this is the great secret around which all the characters dance, with mincing steps, for years upon years? I have tried Henry James more than once, and finally, I am forced to conclude that the blithering idiot who dances about truths with mincing steps is, in fact, Henry James himself.
"The Manchester Marriage" (Elizabeth Gaskell) - Probably the most romantic of the tales, and the most sentimental as well as the most predictable. For all that, I found it the most enjoyable.
"A Mere Interlude" (Thomas Hardy) - Thomas Hardy always seems to have a knack for creating stunningly flawed characters, and the female lead, Baptista, is no exception. Her flaw is that she has no self-esteem, confidence, or ambition, but seems content to a vapid existence where all decisions are made by others, including an abusive ex-boyfriend. The success of her marriage seems to be in that she eventually finally figures out a way to be at least moderately in charge of her own life, via being forced to take charge of her husband's children.
"A Faithful Heart" (George Moore) - Here's where the feeling of "Successful Marriage" being a euphemism for "Women enduring bullying men" really came to the fore. Speaking from the stance of a modern woman without children, I found the treatment endured by the Major's wife appalling, and could never imagine putting up with, let alone being thankful for, such contemptible conduct - but I suppose it is better than being cast off and censured as a fallen woman Victorian England. Still, it's galling that the Major never seems to get the just desserts that I wish were coming to him.
"The Solid Gold Reef Company" (Walter Besant) - Probably the most interesting aspect of this story is the way that it is told: almost purely through dialogue, with nearly no explanation of characters or who is speaking. It is left to the audience to deduce the characters and their motivations, thus making it a story in which truly, the characters really speak for themselves - there is no narrator to speak for them. I found some of the dialogue interesting, for 1895, with modish slang and terms of address that seemed quite ahead of their time. At the end of it, I felt such revulsion for the characters - shallow and insipid, with no narrator apologizing for them, either - that I welcomed the financial disaster that I suspect was just around the corner for them.
"The Tree of Knowledge" (Henry James) - In this short story, I am once again struck by Henry James' ability to spin out 50 or 100 words an impart absolutely zero information. Everything is hints and glimmers of hints, but nothing concrete, and it is impossible to imagine so many people having such lengthy conversations where no one actually says anything with any degree of certainty or conviction. One person hints, the other person assumes they understand the hints and give a hint back that they understand, to which the original person simply hints again - round and round, again and again, until 30 pages have gone by and no one has said a single word of sense. The best I could get out of this story was that a man is in love with another man's wife; man #2 is an insufferable idiot, and man #1 stays quiet about it to not upset the wife. Doesn't anyone think that the wife has known all along she is married to a blithering imbecile? Who would know such a thing better than her? And this is the great secret around which all the characters dance, with mincing steps, for years upon years? I have tried Henry James more than once, and finally, I am forced to conclude that the blithering idiot who dances about truths with mincing steps is, in fact, Henry James himself.
December 10, 2009
I really enjoyed the first two stories (The Manchester Marriage by Elizabeth Gaskell and A Mere Interlude by Thomas Hardy). I also liked A Faithful Heart by George Moore. The last two I didn't like at all; Walter Besant'sThe Solid Gold Reef Company, Limited was badly written, and Henry James' The Tree of Knowledge was confusing and boring, in my opinion.
October 13, 2020
I loved all of them especially the ones by Gaskell, Hardy, and James. But successful marriages? That is the most ironic title this book can have. The marriages in this were quite opposite of successful.
July 31, 2022
I got Victorian Short Stories: Stories of Successful Marriages both because the Kindle version was free and because I thought all the stories were by Elizabeth Gaskell (author of favorites North and South and Wives and Daughters).
As it turned out, each of the five stories in the book was written by a different author: only the first was from Gaskell. But I generally like stories from this era, and it was an opportunity to read some new-to-me authors.
The first story, “The Manchester Marriage,” is by Gaskell. It opens with a Mr. and Mrs. Openshaw moving from Manchester to London. Mrs. Openshaw had formerly been married to a cousin who was lost at sea. She was known as Mrs. Frank then, and she and her ill daughter and mother-in-law took a small house and took in lodgers, one of whom was Mr. Openshaw. Mr. O., over time, took a particular interest in Mrs. Frank’s ailing daughter, devising ways to amuse her and procuring things to help her. He was not a sentimental man, but he liked how Mrs. Frank did things. He offered an unromantic proposal, but Mrs. Frank accepted. They got along well, had a good life, and the little daughter thrived.
Then Mrs. Openshaw’s first husband showed up.
The second story is “A Mere Interlude” by Thomas Hardy. Baptista Trewthen was thought to be “a young woman with scarcely emotions or character.” “No crisis had come in the years of her early maidenhood to demonstrate what lay hidden within her, like metal in a mine.” She trained to become a teacher, but with her first job discovered she hated teaching. An old bachelor proposed. She didn’t love him, but thought life with him would be better than teaching. So she accepted.
After her term was over, she was going to head to her parents house to prepare for the wedding. But she missed her boat, and the next one wasn’t due for a couple of days. She took a room and then went for a walk—and ran into her former boyfriend from college.
This one had a couple of unexpected twists after this point.
In “A Faithful Heart” by George Moore, a Major Shepherd is secretly married because he doesn’t think his sisters will approve of his wife. He has only a small house and allowance for his wife because “He had so many expenses: his club, his clothes, and all the incidental expenses he was put to in the grand houses where he went to stay.” But she managed. She didn’t care about Appleton Place, her husband’s estate home. Her only wish was to take her daughter to see it one day.
The fourth story is “The Solid Gold Reef Company, Limited” by Walter Besant. Reg loves Rosie, but he has no money, and she has no intention of marrying anyone without money. He leaves, she gets engaged a couple of times without ever marrying, he makes his fortune. Her father gives permission for Reg to call upon Rosie again. But though they both get what they want, it’s not exactly happily ever after.
The final story, “The Tree of Knowledge,” is by Henry James. Honestly, I had a hard time with this one. The author had a penchant for very long sentences made up of three or more clauses. I had sort of followed the thread, but I had to look up some other sources to understand the story.
Peter Brent is a writer who is close friends with a sculptor, Morgan Mallow. He doesn’t think Morgan is talented, however. He loves Mrs. Mallow from afar, but he has never acted on his feelings or indicated them to her in any way. He’s also godfather to the Mallows’ son, Lance.
When Lance wants to go to Paris to become a painter, Peter tries to discourage him. Peter is afraid either Lance will have the same level of talent as his father, or his eyes will be opened to good art and then he’ll know his father is a fraud. They both end up being surprised.
There is nothing at the beginning or end of the book to say when these stories were compiled together. Since most of them originally appeared in other publications, I am assuming that this compilation is recent. The publication date for this edition is 2012.
I don’t know what the compiler thought a successful Victorian marriage was. Not all of these marriages were what I would call happy. But if “successful” meant they made a go of it and stayed married, they were all successful.
I thought Gaskell’s story was very sweet. I didn’t like Major Shepherd in the third story or Rosie in the fourth. But each story had something to offer and enjoy and think about. It’s surprising how many twists and surprises came up in such short works. Short stories are not normally my favorite reading material, but I did enjoy these.
As it turned out, each of the five stories in the book was written by a different author: only the first was from Gaskell. But I generally like stories from this era, and it was an opportunity to read some new-to-me authors.
The first story, “The Manchester Marriage,” is by Gaskell. It opens with a Mr. and Mrs. Openshaw moving from Manchester to London. Mrs. Openshaw had formerly been married to a cousin who was lost at sea. She was known as Mrs. Frank then, and she and her ill daughter and mother-in-law took a small house and took in lodgers, one of whom was Mr. Openshaw. Mr. O., over time, took a particular interest in Mrs. Frank’s ailing daughter, devising ways to amuse her and procuring things to help her. He was not a sentimental man, but he liked how Mrs. Frank did things. He offered an unromantic proposal, but Mrs. Frank accepted. They got along well, had a good life, and the little daughter thrived.
Then Mrs. Openshaw’s first husband showed up.
The second story is “A Mere Interlude” by Thomas Hardy. Baptista Trewthen was thought to be “a young woman with scarcely emotions or character.” “No crisis had come in the years of her early maidenhood to demonstrate what lay hidden within her, like metal in a mine.” She trained to become a teacher, but with her first job discovered she hated teaching. An old bachelor proposed. She didn’t love him, but thought life with him would be better than teaching. So she accepted.
After her term was over, she was going to head to her parents house to prepare for the wedding. But she missed her boat, and the next one wasn’t due for a couple of days. She took a room and then went for a walk—and ran into her former boyfriend from college.
This one had a couple of unexpected twists after this point.
In “A Faithful Heart” by George Moore, a Major Shepherd is secretly married because he doesn’t think his sisters will approve of his wife. He has only a small house and allowance for his wife because “He had so many expenses: his club, his clothes, and all the incidental expenses he was put to in the grand houses where he went to stay.” But she managed. She didn’t care about Appleton Place, her husband’s estate home. Her only wish was to take her daughter to see it one day.
The fourth story is “The Solid Gold Reef Company, Limited” by Walter Besant. Reg loves Rosie, but he has no money, and she has no intention of marrying anyone without money. He leaves, she gets engaged a couple of times without ever marrying, he makes his fortune. Her father gives permission for Reg to call upon Rosie again. But though they both get what they want, it’s not exactly happily ever after.
The final story, “The Tree of Knowledge,” is by Henry James. Honestly, I had a hard time with this one. The author had a penchant for very long sentences made up of three or more clauses. I had sort of followed the thread, but I had to look up some other sources to understand the story.
Peter Brent is a writer who is close friends with a sculptor, Morgan Mallow. He doesn’t think Morgan is talented, however. He loves Mrs. Mallow from afar, but he has never acted on his feelings or indicated them to her in any way. He’s also godfather to the Mallows’ son, Lance.
When Lance wants to go to Paris to become a painter, Peter tries to discourage him. Peter is afraid either Lance will have the same level of talent as his father, or his eyes will be opened to good art and then he’ll know his father is a fraud. They both end up being surprised.
There is nothing at the beginning or end of the book to say when these stories were compiled together. Since most of them originally appeared in other publications, I am assuming that this compilation is recent. The publication date for this edition is 2012.
I don’t know what the compiler thought a successful Victorian marriage was. Not all of these marriages were what I would call happy. But if “successful” meant they made a go of it and stayed married, they were all successful.
I thought Gaskell’s story was very sweet. I didn’t like Major Shepherd in the third story or Rosie in the fourth. But each story had something to offer and enjoy and think about. It’s surprising how many twists and surprises came up in such short works. Short stories are not normally my favorite reading material, but I did enjoy these.
July 23, 2021
Extraña antología de cuentos de autores de la época victoriana. El título, poco acertado, puede llevar a parecer que se trata de otro tipo de cuentos.
Si bien es cierto que en los cuentos hay matrimonios, el tema no gira alrededor de ellos y mucho menos se les podría clasificar como matrimonios exitosos. Es un aviso para aquellos lectores que esperen historias almibaradas y románticas.
El cuento de Elizabeth Gaskell trata del desaparecido que reaparece años después y comprueba que su mujer ha rehecho su vida y no hay sitio para él.
Thomas Hardy nos presenta a una joven que justo antes de casarse toma una decisión precipitada y con funestas consecuencias, aunque al final todo vuelve a su sitio.
El matrimonio que nos relata George Moore nos muestra las desigualdades sociales en un matrimonio y como condicionan sus vidas. Una situación difícil de entender y aceptar desde nuestra mentalidad actual.
Walter Besant habla poco de matrimonio y sí de estafas y como afecta a las familias perjudicadas. El tema sería más bien la falta de escrúpulos de un hombre para contentar socialmente a su mujer.
El cuento de Henry James fue el más difícil de leer. De prosa densa nos habla de un triángulo, una pareja y su mejor amigo secretamente enamorado de la mujer, amistad que se mantiene por pretender no ver la falta de talento del marido artista. Será el hijo del matrimonio el que desencadene la historia, en la que en realidad no pasa nada. Narración psicológica, densa y sin acción importante.
Es un libro curioso, cuentos con poco en común entre ellos más allá de la época en que fueron escritos y un título muy poco acertado.
Si bien es cierto que en los cuentos hay matrimonios, el tema no gira alrededor de ellos y mucho menos se les podría clasificar como matrimonios exitosos. Es un aviso para aquellos lectores que esperen historias almibaradas y románticas.
El cuento de Elizabeth Gaskell trata del desaparecido que reaparece años después y comprueba que su mujer ha rehecho su vida y no hay sitio para él.
Thomas Hardy nos presenta a una joven que justo antes de casarse toma una decisión precipitada y con funestas consecuencias, aunque al final todo vuelve a su sitio.
El matrimonio que nos relata George Moore nos muestra las desigualdades sociales en un matrimonio y como condicionan sus vidas. Una situación difícil de entender y aceptar desde nuestra mentalidad actual.
Walter Besant habla poco de matrimonio y sí de estafas y como afecta a las familias perjudicadas. El tema sería más bien la falta de escrúpulos de un hombre para contentar socialmente a su mujer.
El cuento de Henry James fue el más difícil de leer. De prosa densa nos habla de un triángulo, una pareja y su mejor amigo secretamente enamorado de la mujer, amistad que se mantiene por pretender no ver la falta de talento del marido artista. Será el hijo del matrimonio el que desencadene la historia, en la que en realidad no pasa nada. Narración psicológica, densa y sin acción importante.
Es un libro curioso, cuentos con poco en común entre ellos más allá de la época en que fueron escritos y un título muy poco acertado.
February 8, 2022
A mixed bag, as is often the case in collections such as this. I'd already read the Gaskell story. It and the Hardy story were my favorites.
October 27, 2022
3.5 stars
February 24, 2025
I liked the stories by Elizabeth Gaskell and Thomas Hardy. But not the ones by Georgian Moore or Walter Besant. And I didn’t understand the one by Henry James.
February 2, 2014
I seem to agree with the other readers, the first three stories were very good and the last two not that good. The themes for "The Manchester Marriage" by Elizabeth Gaskell and "A Mere Interlude" by Thomas Hardy are similar, but with different consequences; I had decided after reading "Far From The Madding Crowd" and being disappointed to not read Hardy again and because of the short here, I'm giving him another chance with "The Woodlanders"
I have never heard of George Moore before, but his "A Faithful Heart" was very interesting. It is about an unsuitable marriage that is a success.
Like I said the other two stories weren't that entertaining. Walter Besant's story is just boring and jumping from events to events without even developing characters. I'm wondering why they included Henry James "Tree of Knowledge" since I don't see the link with the theme of marriage like the other shorts and, sorry to say, this story is just confusing... I tried reading it too late yesterday, and I thought that was the problem, but it was as bad this afternoon!
I have never heard of George Moore before, but his "A Faithful Heart" was very interesting. It is about an unsuitable marriage that is a success.
Like I said the other two stories weren't that entertaining. Walter Besant's story is just boring and jumping from events to events without even developing characters. I'm wondering why they included Henry James "Tree of Knowledge" since I don't see the link with the theme of marriage like the other shorts and, sorry to say, this story is just confusing... I tried reading it too late yesterday, and I thought that was the problem, but it was as bad this afternoon!
November 6, 2009
I've actually been considering purchasing a Kindle so I decided to try the Stanza app first just to test the waters as it were and this is one of the first books I uploaded.
My main interest was in reading Gaskell's short story which I enjoyed, same with the Thomas Hardy and even the George Moore, the other two not so much.
My main interest was in reading Gaskell's short story which I enjoyed, same with the Thomas Hardy and even the George Moore, the other two not so much.
November 5, 2014
Kind of a mixed bag. The moral of all these stories is pretty much the opposite of what they would be nowadays - don't make friends with your inlaws because they're just trying to trick you into revealing your clandestine marriage, for example, and don't marry for love, marry a random creepy old man because that's sensible apparently.
January 28, 2014
The first three stories are good. The fourth one is meh. The last one is a monster of commas and pretentiousness and confusion and is wholly awful, although I slogged through it for the GOOD OF MANKIND. Don't make that mistake yourself.
April 25, 2016
On the plus side these stories are written by some very famous authors. On the minus side if you are not familiar with the time period and its values you won't "get" the stories. To enjoy give yourself a Victorian time machine.
September 7, 2021
Marital expectations were different in this era, but love, respect, and companionship were still ideas being explored in other romance novels in that time so I don’t see the reason for the incredibly cynical and misogynistic look at marriage in these stories.
July 31, 2012
Project Gutenberg e-book produced by Juliet Sutherland, S. R. Ellison (March 2005)
Diverse stories, not all of them what one would call "happy", but always compelling. Enjoyed it a lot.
Diverse stories, not all of them what one would call "happy", but always compelling. Enjoyed it a lot.
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