Letters from an Age of Reason: A Novel

by Nora Hague

The author's debut novel explores a forbidden interracial relationship that develops between the adolescent daughter of a prominent New York family and a pampered house servant of wealthy French-American slaveholders and spans the Civil War era and takes readers between New York and London. Reprint.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Romance, Historical, Civil War

656 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Rosina Lippi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was looking forward to this novel. I'm sorry I can't recommend it. I'm going to make a short list of things I think are important for historical novelists to contemplate, points where this novel went wrong.

1. If you want to tell your story in epistolary fashion, stay true to the form. Rarely do people recount whole conversations in letters using quotation marks and the conventions of fiction.

2. Letters are interesting because they provide a way to bring out the writer's personality in a way that limited third person POV narrative can't. If letters or journal entries are being juxtaposed, it's crucial that the two are strongly distinct from one another.

3. Pay attention to the details that make the character realistic within the setting. For example, in 1860, a person who has little money could hardly afford to send a thirty or forty page letter from New York to New Orleans. Nor could they afford the pap

4. If you find it absolutely necessary to write one character's dialog in an approximation of the dialect they speak, be careful that the character doesn't come across as stupid or caricatured -- it makes the author look lazy, and it demeans the character. Letters from an Age of Reason provides an example of exactly how not to handle dialect in dialog; I kept thinking of Prissy in Gone with the Wind, a high screeching: don know nuthin bout birthin no babies Miss Scarlet, dat's da trut!

5. A big, complex plot can be a great thing, or it can trip you up. Sometimes, less is more.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lacking A Sense of Authenticity

This book is presented as journal entries and letters. Arabella Leeds is sixteen years old when we first read her journal. Aubrey Paxton is a handsome young man raised in the south, we learn about him through the letters he writes to his grandmother.

I really wanted to love this book, it starts with a very interesting story of how a misunderstanding can seem to take on a life of it's own and how people's reaction to a misunderstanding can change the course of future events.

I liked the setting, and got a kick when I read that Arabella was going to Ithaca, NY for a Ladies' Circle meeting to commune with the spirits. I was in Ithaca yesterday myself.

There are many stories within this book that I thought were very interesting and well done. I enjoyed the story of Aubrey's childhood and his relationship with Thomas Paxton and how that evolved as he grew older. The story that surrounds Faith is also interesting and events presented on the evening Aubrey leaves home are compelling. What happens between Arabella and her family is also very interesting as is her relationship with Harlow Beckwith and the time they spend together.

I enjoyed the characters that Nora Hague created, I really liked the main characters Arabella and Aubrey as well as their friends and family and the relationships between them.

But I think this could have been a really wonderful reading experience if someone somewhere had offered Ms Hague some serious criticisms of the story. Unfortunately there are many things that just don't hold up to critical scrutiny.

There are the so called letters; the first letter is over a hundred pages long, and there are things included in Aubrey's and his grandmother's letters to each other that do not in any way have the ring of truth to them. I didn't believe that either person would truly share the intimate details that are included in the letters with the other. The letters themselves are full of dialog as in Arabella's journal, which is not how you would write a letter or a journal. And the content of many of the letters themselves were redundant. We had just learned important information about Aubrey's family history from his mother and then his grandmother's letter repeats what we already know.

It seems like the author was too attached to the idea of a epistolary book to abandon the letter and journal format. But in my opinion had she done so it would have made the book better. The alternating perspective, sometimes one line in one voice following one line in the alternate voice, detracted from the reading experience. I also thought Ms. Hague needed to develop Aubrey's voice more, it's strong in the first 'letter' he writes but beyond that it's difficult to get a sense of him as a person. He and Arabella sound very much alike despite the different type faces that their perspectives have. Third person point of view would have been a much better choice.

There are also contrivances of events that are not particularly believable. I won't enumerate them here but I thought that these interesting stories could have been pulled together more skillfully.

We know that Aubrey and Arabella will find each other, it's revealed on the back cover of the book. Unfortunately I thought there was a lack of vivacity between the characters once they are together.

I can see how many people would really enjoy this book. I liked it and I liked many of the stories in it, but because of the awkwardness and certain contrived events I have to give it three stars. I wouldn't say you shouldn't try it, do try it especially if you don't mind the issues I've mentioned.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arabella and Aubrey a high yellow pampered servant. .. meet and fall in love.

[Graceann · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the elements were purportedly in place for me to love this book. It contains a strong-minded heroine, an interesting hero, and was meant to be set out in epistolary form, one of my favorite fictional devices.

This is a situation where the interesting story is continually hampered by a narrative style that simply doesn't work, or is applied incorrectly, so much so that I almost gave up on it and actually finishing it took me 16 days, which is about ten days longer than usual for a book of this length.

Arabella Leeds is a young woman who knows her own mind, but is quite ahead of her time in her independent thinking, and this is sure to get her in trouble. Aubrey Paxton is an octoroon slave in New Orleans who is facing numerous demons, both external and self-inflicted. Surrounding these two is a cast of fascinating characters who either help or hinder, and sometimes you're not quite sure who will do which until an event occurs.

The book begins with diary entries from Arabella Leeds, a young woman who knows her own mind, but is about a century ahead of time in her independent thinking, and who is sure to be punished for it. So far, so good. Then we meet Aubrey, and that's when it starts to fall apart. Aubrey's "letter" to his grandmother (which we find out is taking place inside his head) is more than 150 pages long, and contains minute detail of his private encounters - something I don't think a lot of us would share with our Grandmas, no matter how close the relationship.

As I read, I couldn't help but think "this would be better served by just switching perspectives and not trying to call it epistolary." There are different fonts for Arabella and Aubrey, which, as a plot device, I loved. Sometimes they switched back and forth after only a word or two, which was truly interesting to read. There are slip-ups where one answers a question the other hasn't asked, however, or applies information that hasn't (yet) been supplied to him or her. The "diary entries" and "letters" contain word for word, quoted conversations, in a way never written in such a format. It brought me out of the story and made me focus on a disappointing technique, rather than what became a truly fascinating story of human relationships and life (as this author sees it) in the 1860s.

So, in the end, I liked the story, but I liked it in spite of the style of its telling. Five stars for the plot (dismissing the rather silly last five pages or so), and two for the execution. I can see what Miss Hague was trying to do here, and I applaud it. I just wish it had come together a tiny bit better.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a big fat novel published about 10 years ago. It had been waiting on my bookshelf and I finally got around to chosing it. I thoroughly enjoyed holding a real book for many hours over the past few weeks and living in the story. I really dont mind electronic books, but it was such a joy to read a real novel in book form. The story is a good one, and explores a number of taboo topics for the time period, which is pre and post US civil war. Not altogether believable, but great characters nonetheless and a good plot. I recommend it for anyone who wants to read a good old fashioned novel that deals with issues of feminism, raciism, friendship and romance.

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

One will notice that a lot of historical research was done here. All of the characters pop from the pages - even the ones you won't like. The hero - a mostly white former slave who passes for white - is very likeable, and I particularly enjoyed his journey throughout the book.

I read this beautifully written story years ago, and although there are a few places where it seems to drag, I plan on reading again soon!

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this novel. Character development, plot, theme, point of view—-you name it and it was spot on. One of the best reads I have had in years. I cheered for Arabella and Aubrey from the first page to the last. Superb coming of age novel.

[Laura]

great story about an interracial couple in the 1860s. the reader gets the perspective from a slave in LA and a society woman living in england during the civil war

[Faithe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not your typical civil war novel. Even though it is set during this turning point in American history, it isn’t focused on the battles, and barley focuses on the consequences or the war itself. None of the characters are fighting in the war, in fact, most of the novel takes place in France (and surrounding area).
There are two protagonists: Arabella Leeds, and Aubrey Paxton. The story is presented in their two different perspectives; Arabella writing in her journal, and Aubrey writing letters to his grandmother.
Arabella is a white girl. She isn’t what I would call a feminist, but is very much not interested in being the typical southern belle, much to her parents’ dismay. Arabella has a mind of her own; she questions everything, and does not believe everything blindly. Southern belles are always presented in these books as stubborn women who are controlled by the men in their lives. Arabella is not this kind of woman. She is bored by daily lives of the women her age, and thinks them trivial and ditsy. Eventually, she meets women more like herself when they move to France. Because she is sort of her own woman, you get to go along with her as she discovers who she is. Even to the most intimate places, when she questions her own sexuality. I might be biased because I am a woman, but I like reading Arabella’s journal entries better than Aubrey’s letters.
Aubrey is a slave, even though he looks white. His mother is a slave, and his grandmother was a slave who bought her freedom. They are house slaves, servants really. This too, is another way that this is not a typical civil war novel. The slave character is not even your typical slave character; he is not a field slave and so is kind of spoiled and doesn’t really have it all that rough as slave life goes. I think he gets punished like once? Maybe? They are presumably treated so well because, like in a lot of cases, Aubrey is the illegitimate child of the plantation owner (or so he was made to think). After a lot of tragic events occur, he runs away and hops on a ship and travels to France to reunite with his childhood “master,” Thomas Paxton, and his mother who moved to France with them.
This book switches perspectives (which is usually sometimes I don’t like). A bit will be Arabella’s journal entries, and then a bit will be Aubrey’s letters to his grandmother. Each is written and presented in a different font, making you even more aware that you are reading someone else’s point of view, just a little extra touch. The book begins with Arabella in 1860, and by the time it switches over to Aubrey’s letters, it is 1862. The time lines aren’t exactly lined up. Eventually, though, the time lines meet up as they get closer and closer to meeting each other. However, once the two finally meet, perspectives switch rapidly; back and forth every paragraph, sometimes in the middle of a sentence, sometimes after one word, which became an incredibly awkward and frustrating read. (At this point, the whole different font thing helps).
I was concerned at first about the switching of perspectives, as it is something that I rarely like in a book. But with this book, it worked; and seemed almost necessary considering the alternative. Being that she would do that annoying thing with the third person narrator. Some have suggested this would be better, but I think it would just make it weird considering the timelines aren’t the same.
The one thing about the book I thought weird was that the journal entries and letters are a bit too intimate for me; I would never write anything so personal in my diary. But I suppose journals were more sacred back then than they are for us now, because you better believe that people read your journal. She writes about exploring her own sexuality. She intimately describes masturbating and talking about how even when she loses her virginity, he could not satisfy her the way she could satisfy herself in the comfort of her own home. Those aren’t the things that I would be writing about in my journal. By the way, Aubrey eventually reads this journal!
The same exact situation occurs with Aubrey. He writes very intimate details about having sex with girls, and about how he got a girl pregnant. He also gives details about how he was almost raped on his voyage to France, and how his best friend put the moves on him on the way there too. Those moments are even more awkward when you keep in mind that all these letters are being read by his grandmother!
This makes it awkward and a bit lacking in authenticity.
This story is not lacking in plot twists and adventures. I could not put this book down! There are some boring bits, but they don’t last very long.

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review title: Pick the heart-healthy choice from the menu next time out
I have two pieces of advice for most first novelists:

1). You needn't say everything this time. Save some for your second time out. I can understand the pent-up desire, the great American novel pushing its way out of your pen, and the rush of worry that this might be your one and only chance if even this one makes it to print, so you must put it all in here. So here are nearly 650 pages of dense first novel from Nora Hague, and there is a lot of work getting through it. Work handsomely repaid with a fine story, but work nonetheless.

Interestingly enough, this was Hague's first novel, in 2001, and now a decade later remains the only one she is credited with on amazon.com. Perhaps in this case that first-novel fear of never having another chance was rightly reasoned.

2). The fictional device of letters or journal entries are hard to sustain without drawing attention to the frame and not the picture, the scaffolding and not the building. Here, the story is told through the journals of Arabella Leeds, the teen-aged and coming of age daughter of a wealthy New York family, and the never-sent letters from Aubrey Paxton, a pampered light-skinned New Orleans slave to his grandmother.

The "Age of Reason" in the title is not a reference to the historical time, the early years of the 1860s, as it was a time when reason had fled from public life, from culture, from politics, from personal relationships, blasted apart by war between and among the races and regions of the United States--and widely separated by race and region it takes nearly 350 pages of this back and forth journaling and letter-writing to bring these two characters together, at which point the story really gains steam--only to be brought to a crawl again by yet more never-delivered letters from Aubrey's beloved grandmother--which retell, from yet another perspective, the exact same events Hague has already related. While the devices make logical sense, and serve the cause of completeness, they leave little room for what feels like a rushed ending even after 650 pages. A simple narrative framework might have gotten the background established and the characters interacting in half the pages, with a more measured pace to a more complete ending in less than 500 pages.

Along the course of the novel, Hague includes historical details like events of the war at home, foreign perception (and fearful wonderings of Americans trapped abroad by) of the war, the rise of spiritism, the incipient struggle for women's rights, miscegenation among African-American slaves and the resulting perception of color gradations among their mixed offspring. Hague chews everything she bites off here, and in a testament to her writing skill actually carries it off pretty well despite the indigestion resulting from the size of the meal. In the end, Aubrey and Arabella stand out as strong characters fighting for reason despite their age and the age they lived in, and I cared enough to follow them through to the end.

But next time out, if there is one for Hague, she should pick from the light menu.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book I'd had for a while. It has 2 narrators Arabella, a privileged society lady from New York and Aubrey, a 'high yellow' houseslave from New Orleans. Told through Arabella's diary and Aubrey's letters to his grandmother, it's a very long book, which does drag in parts, mainly those concerning Arabella, but Aubrey's sections are fascinating. As unlikely as it seems their paths do eventually cross and leads to serious consequences. It's a good book on the whole but think it could've lost a few pages here and there which were slightly rambling.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this years ago as an "advance reader's edition". It has moved with me multiple times because I cannot bare the thought of getting rid of such a worthwhile read. I am definately NOT a fan of any "love story" but this one won me over. I am admittedly a sucker for the Civil War era and this is no "Cold Mountain" but well worth the effort of reading anxiously through it's almost 700 page bulk.

[Lizzie C · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book in a dusty box in the garage, when I was looking for something to do. The cover looked interesting so I started reading it. After the first few chapters I was hooked. I really enjoyed it. You come to really love the characters and sympthasize with what they are going through. Its a good read.

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good book. The writing style was interesting — everything was in the form of letters and journal entries. Different fonts were used to indicate different authors. I got so wrapped up in the characters that I was dismayed when the story ended just as I felt it was beginning! I’m hoping her second book is a continuation.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book many years ago. It was a very good read, with many plots and great characters. Here is a historical novel about American Civil War written with intensity, attention to detail and unexpected twists in a story. I remember that I enjoyed this book. I hope that the author has published something new.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story and premise had a chance to be amazing but the ridiculously long "letters" made it hard to get sucked into the story. Later on in the book Hague goes the opposite direction regarding the multiple POV style by switching back and forth every paragraph, sometimes in the middle of a sentence, sometimes after one word. It became an incredibly frustrating read.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was a little weird at first because I would get drawn into Arabella's story and then it would switch to Aubrey's story. The stories were so different and disconnected at first but as the stories came together it was impossible to put the book down. A really great book!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so glad I finally got around to reading this one, because it was really good. I admit, I judged it by its cover and thought it might be stuffy, melodramatic or just boring but it was none of those things. Well written, engaging and great characters.

[stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

a total bodice-ripper, but yet, really good? yes.

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read this a long time ago so I can't remember the details, but I quite enjoyed it at the time. A complete surprise since this was an impulse buy and I didn't know the author before.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweeping historical saga with such plot elements as interracial romance, suffragettes, morphine addiction, and lesbian innuendo, it's easy to see her mentor was E.L. Doctorow.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast easy historical novel about the life of a slave.

[Cyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great story, there were a few threads that did not get wrapped up in the end. Reaaly quite a bodice ripper.

[Molly Cashio · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the only books that kept me alone and in the bed for 6 days straight.

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good if you like any type of historical romance!

[Connie Bloch · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the story would have been just as good, probably better, as a narrative, it is a very good story that never moves too slow.

[Susan V · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.