Clarentine

by Sarah Harriet Burney

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1796 edition. Excerpt: ... pied and perplexed, and just now I can think of nothing but this strange letter." "Well then," said Mrs. Denbigh, " I will leave you, for the present, to your own contemplations; but in the evening I am determined you shall go to the assembly--and what is more," added she, ' you shall dance with your little favourite, Johnny Westbury, if he will have you!" Clarentine, not believing this speech had any real meaning, made no opposition to the plan, and soon after Mrs. Denbigh left her. chap. xix. at dinner, when Mrs. Denbigh returned--" Well, Clarentine," cried she, "i have made a party for you to-night, and Johnny has half promised, provided a certain Hon. Miss Somebody, sister to a certain Lord Somebody, does not make her appearance in the ball-room till after the two sirst dances are over, he will do D a himself himself the honour to go down them with you." He is really too obliging!" said Clarentine, laughing; " but, dear Madam, is it true you have made this party?" "Yes, persectly true. I met Mrs. and Miss Manners at Mrs. Westbury's, and they have promised to call for you at the proper hour. Before you go, however, I desire I may see you with all your plumes and decorations: I am a prodigious judge of modern dress you know, and therefore, lest Johnny should criticise your taste, come and consult mine previous to his seeing you." "I am asraid," said Clarentine, smiling, "a dress so simple as that I shall wear will neither be worth your attention, Madam, or Mr. Westbury's." "Well, no matter how simple it is, if, according to Johnny's opinion, it is but fashionable: he would expire at the idea of dancing with you, if you had one grain too little or too much powder in your hair, or half a straw's breadth too long or too short a waist!..".

Genres: Classics

108 pages, Paperback

First published December 23, 2009

About the author

Sarah Harriet Burney (29 August 1772 – 8 February 1844) was an English novelist. She was the daughter of the musicologist and composer Charles Burney and half-sister of the novelist and diarist Frances Burney (Madame d'Arblay).

Source: Wikipedia

Reviews

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Clarentine was like reading Jane Austen in a funhouse mirror. There were so many elements I *almost* recognized, but then they became something else. Characters whispered hints of Lucy Steele, Mrs. Norris, Henry Crawford, and more.

The basic plot: Clarentine is a half-French, half-English orphan child who is dependent on the goodwill of extended family. First she lives with the Somersets, and becomes really good friends with William Somerset, who is about 7 years older than her. But then the father decides he can't be bothered with her any more and she goes and lives with a different set of family. She grows up in a fairly happy home with two boy cousins and two girl cousins and their widowed mother. However... her oldest cousin Edgar is massively infatuated with her during their teen years.

Meanwhile, William Somerset comes to visit a few times and he can see that trouble might be brewing if Edgar ever declares his passion for Clarentine. Actually, William is worried that Clarentine might get thrown out of the house. He doesn't want to freak her out too much, though, so he's just like, "Hey, in case anything bad ever happens, here is some money, and also I have this friend you could go and live with. Just... in case." Clarentine has no idea what he's talking about. But anyway, then William goes off to be in the Navy for a few years. A little more time passes, and... things start happening.

What I like about Sarah Burney's romantic leads is that the men are genuinely nice. They don't have to be reformed. They don't spar with the heroine. They are humble and sweet and you can tell they probably laugh a lot (except for those moments when they're feeling supremely crossed in love). I like that.

The characters wormed their way into my heart and, just like with "Traits of Nature," which I read last year, I was reading into the wee hours of the morning because I was so invested. So I consider a book has earned at least four stars from me if it does that. Especially one published in 1796! HOWEVER, there's a lot of odd behavior in this book that just doesn't feel quite natural. There's a character named Mr. Eltham who professes mad love for Clarentine and I could never get a handle on him. Like, I think he's a cad but then sometimes he's not written that way? And sometimes he seems practically drooling with insanity and other times he seems fine. It's weird. I also don't think it was rational for Clarentine to so completely misunderstand William Somerset's feelings for her.

Also, the book should be much shorter and some of the evil machinations of the Lucy Steele-type character should be condensed. In my opinion. When she was in full display I was actually kind of disgusted with this book. But then things simmered down and other characters sort of compensated for her nastiness. In particular I enjoyed Mr. Manners, who is a surprisingly invested matchmaker for a young single guy. You can feel him practically rolling his eyes and yelling, "Just KISS already!" while William and Clarentine are circling each other.

I do feel a little bad for the people who have been seeing my status updates and adding this book to their to-read list. I found it quite absorbing, but also experienced an absolute frenzy of frustration in the middle. If you're going to read a really long book by Sarah Burney, read Traits of Nature first. It's better.

I believe Jane Austen read this book three times, and although she didn’t like it very much by the third time (which I totally get), it’s kind of fun to think of some of the bits and pieces rolling around within her mind for a few years and possibly coalescing into something new and different. Although I know Jane was perfectly capable of inventing her own plots and characters, she didn't exist in a vacuum, and it's fascinating to get acquainted with some of the popular fiction that she read and re-read. Especially one like this, which is so obscure that there's no really good edition available to read. I borrowed it from Open Library (Volume 1 and Volume 2) and converted it into a Kindle file.

[Lona Manning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dear reader, do you dislike Mansfield Park's heroine Fanny Price? Do you think her a goody-goody, a crybaby, a doormat? Well, wait until you meet Clarentine, the titular heroine of a three volume novel by Sarah Burney, half-sister to the more famous Fanny Burney. Austen scholar Mary Waldron says Clarentine is an example of a popular literary type of the day: “an exemplary girl who battles with worldliness and vice, emerging ultimately victorious after innumerable tribulations, misunderstandings and accusations.”
As Waldron points out in Jane Austen and the Fiction of her Time, Austen may have drawn from the plot of Clarentine (1796) for Mansfield Park (1814). Clarentine lives in her uncle’s family, is persecuted and harassed by another aunt, “a Mrs. Norris-type figure,” who is afraid she will ensnare her cousin Edgar into marriage since they are growing up under the same roof. Clarentine is “banished to Sidmouth, where she is pursued by an attractive rake.”
The similarities to the plot of Mansfield Park are clear, yet, Mansfield Park is a masterpiece, while Clarentine is... well....
We are told that Clarentine’s diffidence is unaffected and her modesty is artless. Indeed, she never wastes an opportunity to let people know just how unpretending and artless she is. During a trip to Bath, the foppish Mr. Westbury, knowing that she has just come from London, asks her if the “public places” are busy. Clarentine lets him know “Oh, as to the public places, I know nothing.” When the kindly old widow who is superintending her in Bath bids her to dress for the ball, so that she can appraise her “plumes and decorations,” Clarentine sets her straight: “I am afraid, a dress so simple as that I shall wear will neither be worth your attention, Madam, or Mr. Westbury’s… I will endeavour, then, to be as correct in these matters as I can; but really I know so little of the business of a toilet that I am afraid I shall succeed very ill at last.”
Clarentine is more apt to take offense at improper remarks directed at her, rather than at anyone else; if she is, as Waldron contends, a model of “right conduct,” then “right conduct” means being constantly “confused,” or “surprised,” or “taken aback,” by a vulgarity, a too-effusive compliment, a too-familiar greeting, or a too-familiar glance of admiration.
Clarentine comes to believe that Captain Somerset, her guardian, is falling for a witty but immoral woman. Unlike Fanny Price, who keeps her heartache over Edmund and Mary Crawford to herself, Clarentine turns cold and haughty toward the captain, (a man who has just showered her with money and gifts, in his capacity as guardian). This is a turn of events he accepts gracefully, but with bewilderment. Captain Somerset might ably command a ship full of sailors, but figuring out one moody teenage girl is beyond him:
“Could I divine, my beloved Clarentine, what passes in that gentle bosom, and penetrate its secret sorrows [he pleads], with what earnest anxiety would I endeavour to alleviate them! You acknowledge,” added he, “some regard, some esteem for me, but when, when will those sentiments animate again into confidence and affection? You cannot have a grief in which, mysterious as you are, I do not participate; say then, sweetest Clarentine! tell me why that bitter sigh and these involuntary tears?”
Alas, the moment of éclaircissement is delayed for a few hundred more pages, because Clarentine’s rival shows up just at that moment, and the affronted heroine rushes into her room, locks the door and refuses to come down to dinner.
Our hero decides to propose to Clarentine by letter, probably because he fears an in-person proposal of marriage might be fatal to this sensitive plant. She accepts by return of post, and though it seems quite unnecessary for her to add that she is crying as she writes--I think he would be in no suspense on that point--she does let him know her eyes are blinded by tears. The fortunate man moves on to pleading with her to set a date for the wedding and contending with her bashful refusals to do so.
I agree that Sarah Burney's novel Traits of Nature is a better read.
(Review abridged from my blog post at "Clutching My Pearls" www.lonamanning.ca