The Women of Eden

Eden #4

by Marilyn Harris

Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Romance, Gothic, Historical, British Literature, Fiction

602 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Harris was born on June 4, 1931, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the daughter of John P., an oil executive, and Dora (nee Veal) Harris. Harris was educated in her home state, attending Cottey College from 1945 to 1951, then transferring to the University of Oklahoma, from which she received a bachelor of arts degree in 1953 and a master of arts degree in 1955.

Harris's first collection of short stories, King's Ex, was published by Doubleday in 1967. After that Harris proved a prolific author, publishing seventeen books, including novels, short stories, romance/ historical fiction and children's fiction in a twenty-year period from 1970 to 1989. These works, in addition to those listed above, include In the Midst of Earth (1969), The Peppersalt Land (1970), The Runaway's Diary (1971), The Conjurers (1974), Bledding Sorrow (1976), The Portent (1980), The Last Great Love (1981), Warrick (1985), Night Games (1987), and Lost and Found (1991). Harris's work has received a wide readership; in 1983, nine million of her books were in print, and her work has been translated into many languages, including French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, and Japanese. She has also been an author in residence at Oklahoma's Central State University.

She died January 18, 2002.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth book of the Eden series.

In this book, the author shows how John Murrey Eden dominates all Eden women. The main plot is based on the story of Lady Mary Eden, John's cousin, when during a ball in Eden Castle mets the American journalist Burke Stanhope.

The remaining female characters, Elizabeth Eden, Lady Lila Harrigton Eden, Countess Harriet Eden, and Dhari will suffer in John's hands, an authentic psychopath in my humble opinion.

This is last volume I would read in this series since according to other friends, they are not so great as the previous ones.

[Sarah Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t have much to say about this Eden brick—which is odd, given that so much happens on-page. But there are plenty of reviews that detail John’s dirty deeds & WTFery, so you can peruse those to spoil yourself as much as you’d like. ;)

At its core, WOMEN OF EDEN is a fine example of neo-Victorian domestic horror. I can honestly say I didn’t find the WTFery particularly shocking in & of itself (excepting poor Lila’s demise—that was gross), but my ho-hum reaction is probably because I’ve read many books set in this era with similar villainy; even so, it’s impressive that John manages to cram so much asshole behavior into a single tome.

...Which leads me to why I rated it 4 instead of 5.

Quite simply, Harris dropped the ball. She took John from a sympathetic (albeit flawed) loner with trust issues & an Oedipus complex, then turned him into a whackadoodle maniac who beats women & literally froths at the mouth when crossed. John’s villainy isn’t understandable, or sympathetic, or even logical—rather, he’s a cartoon caricature of himself. It’s like it’s not even the same guy. So, ok...let’s suppose Harris woke up & decided to give her own MC the Boromir treatment. I’d argue that he wasn’t written in such a way as to make that a feasible progression from Book 3, though I have no control over Harris’ decision. But even if she could justify such a mutilation, WHY?? What’s the point?! There are ways John’s less-humane side could’ve been cultivated. Ways that are subtle. Ways that are truly creepy. Instead, she turns him into a lolzy, raving, ultimately pathetic lunatic. Is this only to redeem him in Book 5? If so, she screwed up majorly, because she made him so awful that the reader doesn’t want to see *THIS* version of John redeemed. Why should we care whether he climbs out of the pit that was foisted upon him when all his better traits have been squashed, written out, or ignored entirely? *shrug*

Overall, it just makes me want to skip Book 5 & move on to AMERICAN EDEN, because I’m very interested in Mary & Burke’s new branch of the Eden family tree. But I’ll force myself to pick up #5 anyway, because I’m that special kind of OCD who doesn’t believe in skipping series installments. 🙄

....Anyway. I give WOMEN OF EDEN 4 stars because it’s well-written & truly difficult to put down for sleeping or food. Also, I still love Elizabeth & poor sweet Richard—they deserve better, & I hope their fates are improved in the next book.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear God, what a ride this book turned out to be! Never have I despised a character as much as John Murrey Eden--vile, corrupt, psychologically FUBAR-ed. Possibly the most evil of the Eden Lords. And of course, I loved every single moment. I've yet to write reviews on the previous three novels, but do yourself a favor and snatch them up if you find them. What little romance exists between the pages is overshadowed by the holy-shit-did-I-just-read-what-I-think-I-just-read of it all.

[Misfit · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Unfortunately he'd tried to remake human beings in his own image, and had found flesh and blood to be less malleable to his will than iron and brick."

Against the odds, John Murrey Eden carved out a huge financial empire and he rules it all - including the Women of Eden - his childlike wife Lila, his foster mother Elizabeth, his Indian mistress Dhari and his cousin Mary. Unfortunately, John's passion for protecting his women ultimately becomes an obsession, and the more the women resist him the greater is his need to control them, until love finally becomes hate and madness sets in...

This is one of those those books where the plot description is better left on the minimal side, you really do want to read it for your self (besides, as soon as this review is finished I can move on to book five). You'll find plenty of murder, madness, mayhem, rape, treachery, betrayal, deceit and Lord knows what else inside of these 600 pages. John sinks just about as low as it can go when he needs to regain control over his loved ones (and that's not just the women),

"Effortlessly he fashioned a noose, dropped it around his neck, shrugged off the cloak, for he would not need its warmth where he was going, and stepped off the trunk, filled with books documenting the wisdom and folly of ancient philosophers, into an abyss where neither wisdom nor folly counted for much..."

I loathed John and was turning the pages waiting and praying for pay back time. I loved Burke and Mary's story (can I have a Burke of my very own?), and really hope they get some HEA time in the next book after all that John and the evil Miss Veal and her evil girl's school put her through. And Lila, poor innocent Lila. Sniff. What can I say but READ THESE BOOKS.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Murrey Eden: one gloriously sick bastard.

[Suzy Vero · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Women of Eden, takes place in 1871, ten years after the last book ended and is about John Murrey Eden and the women around him … Lila, his wife; Harriet, his mother who lives at Eden castle with her blindness; Elizabeth who raised him; Dhari, his lover; and Mary his cousin. The romance in this book (closed door style) is Mary’s with an American, Burke Stanhope, tho overshadowing that is the ghastly and grim tale of John.

Although John’s now the head of the most successful business empire in England, he has sunk to the depths of cruelty, paranoia, selfishness, anger … there’s absolutely nothing to like about him at all compared to the previous book. Remorseful? Almost never and then only briefly.

John is … “A man who was capable of transforming the world, yet who could not transform himself.”

“In their special ways the women of Eden had given their lives to the glory, comfort and pleasure of John.”

This is definitely a challenging intense read .., so much sadness, many deaths, rape, horrific and even sadistic torture scenes .., plus infidelity and the tragic secondary story of John’s cousin James and his lover Bertie.. both professors at Cambridge.

Overall, this isn’t a likeable book.., I assume the author wanted it that way, tho it did keep me riveted to every page just to see who was still alive at the end. A masterpiece of a study of a deeply flawed terrible man who did not find grace or redemption by the end of the story. Hopefully he does in the next book! Most importantly, the writing and storytelling are superb. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Rebecca Huston · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the more brutal and emotionally wearing of the series. No one in this is safe from John Murrey Eden's machinations and plots. Not at all for the sensitive or timid. However there are some great descriptive passages and one that is especially tender, and proving that you don't need marathon, gonzo sex to show you love someone. Four stars overall.

To read the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Marily...

[جليس الكتاب · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Eden the Psychopath! Horror, nothing went right throughout except at the end! But we keep reading and hoping to get to the other book!! This engagement is well done by Mrs. Harris.

[Mermarie]

In 2019+JME.



I started this lovely skinless under the coach-wheel book two years ago or so. I left it unread; I'm coming back, I swear. I have to. Harris is a damnable apparition you gotta exorcism with revisit, or you'll never be able to meet your own demons head on, I think.

I drank a White Russian. No go. I poured a shot of top-shelf Bourbon. I ventured into my gotta kill this squirrel to survive till who knows when wild child mode & rifle the pockets of a toothless & bloated drunk loafer to buy bologna & bread ruthlessness.

Ah, straight bourbon! Rummaging through the piles of recent Regencies and love-letting books of late, I found myself. There she is!

We bleed through these books (Lots of Bodice Rippers and HF that's enough to tear the walls down) at random; it never really leaves much of an impression on us, and I think that's what is so terrifying about Harris's books: you're going to get to the filth you've been hiding in your own carefully laid veneer and it's really really revealing in your discomfort. Visible or otherwise.

Smokey Robinson's Being with You came on Youtube today and that's the theme song I listened to exclusively during my incarceration with book #3, and it brought back some demons I try to avoid! Well, here's to 2019, you raw-hemmed, ass-shot mother heifer, High Confessor Harris.

But first, the Christmas decor & tree. They have to be taken down and put away before I can start. I couldn't stand a glimmery reprieve inbetween strangling breaths this one is gonna induce me with; I cannot stand the intermissions, just push through the gut-shot and get it over with now that the time is here. (So says the woman who has spent years avoiding this monster... hypocrisy at its finest!)

[Carrie Dalby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite because John Murrey Eden is such a selfish jerk, but the ending was satisfying. I look forward to hearing more about Mary--hopefully that will come in later stories.
Cried twice, but no sobbing like with the other three books, so 4 out of 5 stars.

[annodluvsbks · Rating 5 out of 5]

#4 in the Eden series: This is the best historical fiction/romance series that I've read. From book 1-4 have been so good and well written. The Eden family is a dysfunctional family with lots of skeletons in the closet. The MC John Murray Eden has turned into a controlling tyrant trying to control everyone's lives. I couldn't wait to see what would happen yet dreading to see what he would do next. Now it's on to book 5. This is an old series, but I highly recommend it!

[BRNTerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, excellent read. Many chef's kisses to you, Ms. Harris. There was never a dull moment in these 600 pages. I've had this gem in my possession for two months short of 13 years. This was deep, dark and disturbing. This takes place 9 years after the previous one, The Eden Passion , and spans one full year, May 1870-May 1871. John is said to be 37. The previous book takes place between May 2, 1851-May 3, 1861. John is 15 when it starts so he'd be 25 when it ends, making him thirty-four 9 years later when this book begins. The author has made him three years older for some reason. His blond hair is mostly gray now. He's one sick and deranged human being and I wouldn't want him any other way. I do think you should read the previous one before you read this so relationships will make sense.

John is nothing like he was in the previous book. He's a different character altogether. He seems to have lost his mind and has become a madman. He's out to make everyone miserable and truly succeeds. He's physically abusive towards women, Dhari, Elizabeth, Mary, and verbally abusive to all.

 

I think John's blonde wife Lila is just a few years younger than him. I got the impression she was in her early teens when John went off to war at age 17. In the previous book she had visions of all sorts and the townsfolk were scared of her but her visions were never mentioned in this book. They have a strange relationship. They only have sex when John wants another baby. She dreads it and has had many miscarriages. I assume the thought of pregnancy is why she dreads sex though it wasn't made clear. We don't really know anything of what she's like outside of the pregnancy stuff. She's basically in this story to suffer and suffer she does. They have two sons, Stephen, 4, Frederick, 2.

Dhari is John's Indian mistress who he brought home with him in the previous book. There's no interaction between her and Lila and I don't even know if Lila knows she's her husband's mistress. She did absolutely nothing for this story.

Aslam is Dhari's eighteen-year-old son who John thinks of as a son. He's kind of a bland character and I don't know why he's even in the story other than to be a cohort of John's. The only time we see him is when he's with John.

Richard, John's cousin and son of his aunt Harriet, is twenty-seven and I'm not sure if he's a student at Cambridge or what, but he lives there or near there. He's in a secret relationship with professor Bertie Nichols, who teaches there. John tries his best to ruin it, unbeknownst to Richard, since he can't stand someone being happy and hates "sodomites." It's very tragic and I didn't see what happened coming since it happened without warning. I wish it had been drawn out more and not so abrupt. 

Poor Mary, John's twenty-one-year-old cousin. She's blonde and blue-eyed. She's the daughter of Harriet, John's aunt, who was married to his uncle James Eden, and younger sister to Richard. John's overly protective of her and is out to sabotage her and orchestrates something horrific. He later ships her off to Miss Veal's School for Young Females where bad things happen to her. I think Mary's a bit disturbed herself anyway because she comes on to him and contemplates suicide in front of two others.

Burke Stanhope is Mary's love interest. He's American and almost 15 years older than her. They barely know each other and I wish they'd have known each other longer and had developed more of a relationship. His mother Caroline was another pointless character. She was clearly mentally ill before the awful deed that happened. There was already so much going on in this book that that incident wasn't needed.

Every few pages for the entirety of this book and the one that came before it (and probably the first two too) the author uses the word "commenced" and it's maddening!! She also refers to several characters by their full names most of the time and I don't understand why.

Harriet was in the previous two books. We see her again in this one, much to my surprise.

See my reviews for the first three in this series:

This Other Eden

The Prince of Eden
The Eden Passion

[Meredith is a hot mess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review to come




The rest of this isn't a review. Just notes.

Some of my favorite reviews for this book are 5 star reviews. I'm a bit let down The Eden Passion & The Women of Eden were not as much as a success for me as the first two books, but I did find this book entertaining. I completely skimmed two subplots (Richard's & Lila's; I saw no point in enduring that torture). There's a major trigger warning with Richard I'm going to come back to.

I'm on my phone now, but I am going to come back to this review and articulate why this series is so meaningful to me. It's been cathartic to read. I swear Marilyn Harris must have come from a multi generational dysfunctional family that has passed down wealth/family inheritance via property because the way she has written the interpersonal relationships throughout the generations of the Eden family is so incredibly realistic. On a smaller scale I can relate to it.


This book was not as horrifying as I'd thought it would be. At times it felt very comedic. I was not as emotionally invested in any of the characters as I was in This Other Eden & The Prince of Eden which is why I think I was more unmoved by the dark/tragic elements of this book. JME was a fascinating character study I'm going to come back to in this review though. His subplot with the Times was the highlight of this book for me

[Virginia Tican · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do not have a quarrel about the writing, it is superb by the way. But the subject matter of incest and homosexuality are subjects I steer away from. VC Andrews have already prepared me for these and these topics have disturbed me then and they still do now. But I did read George R.R. Martin's books re~novels on A Song of Ice and Fire and watch the HBO series but maybe because the setting was a fantasy though as real as can be, 'Thrones will have to do for me on these same subjects. PS ~ I got as far as Cambridge May 10, 1870 re~ Richard's & Bertie's relationship (hinted at during Harriet's conversation with John after his intercourse with Lila plus I got the feeling that Lady Mary is the product of John's Oedipus Complex with Harriet. I do not know anything, after all, this is the first book I had from this author and I did not even finish it and will not be reading anything of this nature from her again.

[De Culver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Women of Eden

Page turning visit to Victorian England studies the delicate dance between social convention and personal individuality. Excellent multi dimensional characters!

Book three in the series, but the first I have read. Now I have to start at the beginning and read the others

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The entire series (7) is a great look at way things were in these period pieces starting in 1890 and ending with WWW I. Takes place mostly in England and a little in India and America.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best of the books so far.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 4 women of Eden that John tried to control and destroy, but in the end they all leave him for there new lives.

[Dacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another gut-wrenching messed up work of literature-every time I think I can predict what will happen, Marilyn Harris always surprises..

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still own this book, but I had no clue it was part of a series at all. In fact, if this isn't the first in the series, then it was not apparent by reading it that I had missed some of the back story. Maybe this is due for a re-read.

[Amanda Ellison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 4 out of 5 in Eden Saga. Good book. My favorite of the 5 is book #2-"The Prince of Eden". But this book covers what becomes of Edward's son, John & to James's kids, Richard & Mary. Introduces John's wife & 2 sons, as well as his mistress & her young son. Good book.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible story ! This whole series grabs you and you have to keep reading !

[Stefanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of a series. I think this is the second or third book in the series. Very good read.

[Linda Sayer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this book. Is John Murrey Eden's behaviour somehow supposed to be explained by the ruthlessness necessary for success? But he is just so unpleasant and I kept waiting for some kind of redemption which would make his behaviour bearable.
When I read the first Eden book I began to think it would be impossible to see the redemption of Thomas, but it came. Love is the great redeemer.
But JM Eden is too much for me. The 'punishment' he arranges for Mary is just too awful; the suffering he causes his wife is just too awful...
And there is never any redemption.