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John Halifax, Gentleman
John Halifax, Gentleman By Dinah Mulock Craik Edited by Lynn M. Alexander
This 1856 novel, one of the most beloved of the Victorian period, follows the life, from childhood to death, of an orphaned boy who grows to become a wealthy and powerful leader in his community. The young John Halifax is taken in by Abel Fletcher, a Quaker tanner, and forms a close friendship with Fletcher's son, Phineas. Through hard work and integrity, John overcomes obstacles to find domestic happiness and material success. His achievements symbolize those of England in the early nineteenth century, and this novel captures the ambition and ebullient optimism of the growing Victorian middle class.
This Broadview edition includes a critical introduction and full annotation; the idea of the "gentleman" in Victorian culture, labour unrest in the early nineteenth century, and women's roles in Victorian England are explored in the broad selection of contextual documents.
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1856
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About the author
Dinah Maria Mulock Craik
306 books65 followersDinah Maria Craik (born Dinah Maria Mulock, also often credited as Miss Mulock or Mrs. Craik) was an English novelist and poet. She was born at Stoke-on-Trent and brought up in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.
After the death of her mother in 1845, Dinah Maria Mulock settled in London about 1846. She was determined to obtain a livelihood by her pen, and, beginning with fiction for children, advanced steadily until placed in the front rank of the women novelists of her day. She is best known for the novel John Halifax, Gentleman (1856). She followed this with A Life for a Life (1859), which she considered to be the best of her novels, and several other works. She also published some poetry, narratives of tours in Ireland and Cornwall, and A Woman's Thoughts about Women (1858).
She married George Lillie Craik a partner with Alexander Macmillan in the publishing house of Macmillan & Company, and nephew of George Lillie Craik, in 1864. They adopted a foundling baby girl, Dorothy, in 1869.
At Shortlands, near Bromley, Kent, while in a period of preparation for Dorothy's wedding, she died of heart failure on 12 October 1887, aged 61. Her last words were reported to have been: "Oh, if I could live four weeks longer! but no matter, no matter!" Her final book, An Unknown Country, was published by Macmillan in 1887, the year of her death.
After the death of her mother in 1845, Dinah Maria Mulock settled in London about 1846. She was determined to obtain a livelihood by her pen, and, beginning with fiction for children, advanced steadily until placed in the front rank of the women novelists of her day. She is best known for the novel John Halifax, Gentleman (1856). She followed this with A Life for a Life (1859), which she considered to be the best of her novels, and several other works. She also published some poetry, narratives of tours in Ireland and Cornwall, and A Woman's Thoughts about Women (1858).
She married George Lillie Craik a partner with Alexander Macmillan in the publishing house of Macmillan & Company, and nephew of George Lillie Craik, in 1864. They adopted a foundling baby girl, Dorothy, in 1869.
At Shortlands, near Bromley, Kent, while in a period of preparation for Dorothy's wedding, she died of heart failure on 12 October 1887, aged 61. Her last words were reported to have been: "Oh, if I could live four weeks longer! but no matter, no matter!" Her final book, An Unknown Country, was published by Macmillan in 1887, the year of her death.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
October 24, 2019
I really loved this book. It was beautifully written, with such a powerful storyline, following two men over the course of more than forty years of their lives. I loved the relationship between Phineas and John and really loved all the twists and turns in the narrative. A great read.
October 13, 2011
This book has restored my faith in Victorian literature after some doubt crept in with Harrison Ainsworth and Bulwer Lytton, groan.
Napoleonic wars, bread riots, religious intolerance, industrial revolution....it's all here in the life of this most perfect of heroes. Don't read it if you don't like overt piety, it's full of that, but it grows naturally from the characters as Mrs Craik develops them. This from the very beginning, as the hero meets the narrator:
" "and it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit unto the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul." And this day, I, a poorer and more helpless Jonathan, had found my David."
Gulp. The relationship between these boys deepens and matures as their lives entwine, even through the marriage of the hero - and here's a lovely description of his courtship of Ursula:
"No coquettish exactions, no testing of either's power over the other, in those perilous small quarrels which may be the renewal of passion, but are the death of true love."
The author has a message to impart, and won't be sidetracked. How about this:
"the mother of the family had in perfection almost the best genius a woman can have - the genius of tidiness."
I wish I'd been a Victorian! All right, it is somewhat sentimental in parts, not as funny as Dickens, or as acute as Trollope, or as deep as Eliot - but a great read for a long train journey.
Napoleonic wars, bread riots, religious intolerance, industrial revolution....it's all here in the life of this most perfect of heroes. Don't read it if you don't like overt piety, it's full of that, but it grows naturally from the characters as Mrs Craik develops them. This from the very beginning, as the hero meets the narrator:
" "and it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit unto the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul." And this day, I, a poorer and more helpless Jonathan, had found my David."
Gulp. The relationship between these boys deepens and matures as their lives entwine, even through the marriage of the hero - and here's a lovely description of his courtship of Ursula:
"No coquettish exactions, no testing of either's power over the other, in those perilous small quarrels which may be the renewal of passion, but are the death of true love."
The author has a message to impart, and won't be sidetracked. How about this:
"the mother of the family had in perfection almost the best genius a woman can have - the genius of tidiness."
I wish I'd been a Victorian! All right, it is somewhat sentimental in parts, not as funny as Dickens, or as acute as Trollope, or as deep as Eliot - but a great read for a long train journey.
November 27, 2022
This book is Victorian values examplified.
A good read to get the feels around Christmas time.
I like that there is, as in all of the author's novels I've read so far, a character considered outside society back than: the chronically ill Phineas, who tells the story of our actual protagonist the poor orphan John Halifax. Their relationship is heartwarming, as is the family life portrayed later in the book. It's a wholesome experience which really takes you back in time.
However, I felt like the main characters were a little too good, most of their flaws and edges come purely from how I as a modern reader perceive them. I still cared deeply for them, but it made the book feel less believable and pretty cheesy. In general, much of the later plot is quite schmaltzy. While in John's early life we discuss employee unrest, inequality, troubled parent - child relationships etc. - while still done in the most Christmas movie kind of ways, these are still interesting topics - the conflicts from John's life as husband and father seem soap-opera-like in comparison. How effectively emotions are transported to the reader helps this book a good deal, though.
A good read to get the feels around Christmas time.
I like that there is, as in all of the author's novels I've read so far, a character considered outside society back than: the chronically ill Phineas, who tells the story of our actual protagonist the poor orphan John Halifax. Their relationship is heartwarming, as is the family life portrayed later in the book. It's a wholesome experience which really takes you back in time.
However, I felt like the main characters were a little too good, most of their flaws and edges come purely from how I as a modern reader perceive them. I still cared deeply for them, but it made the book feel less believable and pretty cheesy. In general, much of the later plot is quite schmaltzy. While in John's early life we discuss employee unrest, inequality, troubled parent - child relationships etc. - while still done in the most Christmas movie kind of ways, these are still interesting topics - the conflicts from John's life as husband and father seem soap-opera-like in comparison. How effectively emotions are transported to the reader helps this book a good deal, though.
April 23, 2011
I've got an old Everyman edition dated 1941.
I think it's time for a 'John Halifax , Gentleman' revival. I saw it as a TV drama in the 70's but it hasn't been dramatised since.
From chapter 1 my heart ached for lonely Phineas and brave, homeless John and I cried at the end. I was worried that it would be boring and although it preaches a bit, it's a moral story about working hard, living a good life and being a good parent, it's far from boring. There's a lot in it about that time; steam engines, 'rotten boroughs', a character goes to fight 'Bonyparty', they read Coleridge and Byron. Really really lovely story.
I think it's time for a 'John Halifax , Gentleman' revival. I saw it as a TV drama in the 70's but it hasn't been dramatised since.
From chapter 1 my heart ached for lonely Phineas and brave, homeless John and I cried at the end. I was worried that it would be boring and although it preaches a bit, it's a moral story about working hard, living a good life and being a good parent, it's far from boring. There's a lot in it about that time; steam engines, 'rotten boroughs', a character goes to fight 'Bonyparty', they read Coleridge and Byron. Really really lovely story.
October 5, 2023
It's no a bad book but it is a bit... boring.
2.5*
2.5*
August 13, 2022
I sought this book out, because I so loved the author's other book, _Olive_. Both are 5 star reads for me.
I have trekked through the Victorian era in my reading in recent years, and have begun exploring authors who are not as well known as the Brontës, Gaskell, Dickens, etc. Authors such as George Gissing and Margaret Oliphant and Harriet Martineau. I believe Dinah Maria Craik is my best find.
This book is a rags-to-riches story, the story of an orphan becoming a man, the story of a marriage, a family, and a fruitful heritage. Craik imbues her books with the Bible, with Shakespeare, with science (Jenner's smallpox innoculations were mentioned), with history, with art. They are unabashedly Christian, which I suppose would be considered preachy to many. But I love the underpinnings of deep faith lived out in wrestlings with forgiveness and betrayal and misunderstanding, and learning to bear the cross of suffering.
In both books, the author has sensitively portrayed disability, sickness, invalidism, and death. Her insights are rich, and though the books are lengthy, they are well worth the investment of time.
I have trekked through the Victorian era in my reading in recent years, and have begun exploring authors who are not as well known as the Brontës, Gaskell, Dickens, etc. Authors such as George Gissing and Margaret Oliphant and Harriet Martineau. I believe Dinah Maria Craik is my best find.
This book is a rags-to-riches story, the story of an orphan becoming a man, the story of a marriage, a family, and a fruitful heritage. Craik imbues her books with the Bible, with Shakespeare, with science (Jenner's smallpox innoculations were mentioned), with history, with art. They are unabashedly Christian, which I suppose would be considered preachy to many. But I love the underpinnings of deep faith lived out in wrestlings with forgiveness and betrayal and misunderstanding, and learning to bear the cross of suffering.
In both books, the author has sensitively portrayed disability, sickness, invalidism, and death. Her insights are rich, and though the books are lengthy, they are well worth the investment of time.
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May 22, 2021🎁 FREE on Amazon today (5/22/2021)! 🎁
September 5, 2017
I began reading a well-loved copy of this upon my 18-year-old daughter's recommendation, while visiting at the charming Quail Hollow Farm homestead where she is interning at this CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Upon my return home I requested it by inter-library loan and received a copy from Chicago, copyright 1859, pages near to crumbling. I began jotting notes halfway through.
Today's reader is hard pressed to understand the brotherly love expressed here. The story's narrator is the life-long friend of the John Halifax, whom he met by chance when John was but eleven, recently left an orphan, and who is committed to being the best person he can be.
Unlike most stories, this one follows John to his last breath and a little beyond.
p. 276 Single-handed or not, every man ought to do what he can. And no man knows how much he can do till he tries.
p. 291 After these words from the Holy Book (which the children always listened to with great reverence, as to the Book which their parents most loved and honored, the reading and learning of which was granted as a high reward and favor, and never carelessly allowed, or -- horrible to think!-- inflicted as a punishment), we ceased smiling at Guy, who in his turn ceased to frown.
P. 314 Yet, in truth there was some reason for the young man's fears; since even in those days, Catholics were hunted down both by law and by public opinion, as virulently as Protestant non-conformists. All who kept out of the pale of the national church were denounced as schismatics, deists, atheists--it was all one.
p. 322 There are few things which give a man more power over his fellows than the thoroughly English quality of daring.
p. 346 But always at home. Not for all the knowledge and all the accomplishments in the world, would these parents have suffered either son or daughter--living souls entrusted them by the Divine Father--to be brought up anywhere out of their own sight, out of the shelter and safeguard of their own natural home.
p. 347 (narrator describes a look exchanged as like the one depicted in the painting A Huguenot, on St. Bartholomew's Day refusing to shield himself from danger by wearing a Roman Catholic badge
by Sir John Everett Millais Bt PRA (1829-96) (Google to see painting)
p. 350 He wiched--since the higher a man rises, the wider and nobler grows his sphere of usefulness--not only to lift himself, but his sons after him;--lift them high enough to help on the ever-advancing tide of human improvement, among their own people first, and thence extending outward in the world whithersoever their talents or circumstances might call them.
P. 413 But the right made its way, as, soon or late, the right always does; he believed his good name was able to defend itself, and it did defend itself; he had faith in the only victory worth having--the universal victory of Truth; and truth conquered at last.
p. 414 ... but blood is blood, and education and haabits are not to be easily overcome.
p. 437 In marriage there must be perfect unity;--one aim, one faith, one love, or the marriage is incomplete, unholy--a mere civil contract and no more.
p. 438 Do you recognise what you were born to be? Not only a nobleman, but a gentleman; not only a gentleman, but a man--man, made in the image of God.
p. 441 ...whatever he found to do, he did immediately. Procrastination had never been one of his faults...
p. 450 There are so many sad things in life that we have to take upon trust, and bear, and be patient with--yet never understand.
p. 451 the author rephrases a stanza from the poem "Maidenhood" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ---"Standing with reluctant feet, Where womanhood and childhood meet," and assuming at once the prerogatives and immunities of both.
p. 455 ...believing that a woman cannot too soon learn womanhood's best "mission"--usefulness, tenderness, and charity.
p. 484 Children, we were so happy, you cannot tell. He was so good; he loved me so. Better than that, he made me good; that was why I loved him. Oh, what his love was to me from the first! strength, hope, peace; comfort and help in trouble, sweetness in prosperity. How my life became happy and complete--how I grew worthier to myself because he had taken me for his own! And what he was--Children, no one but me ever knew all his goodness, no one but himself ever knew how dearly I loved your father. We were more precious each to each than anything on earth; except His service, who gave us to one another."
Vocabulary:
p. 278 propinquity : In social psychology, propinquity (from Latin propinquitas, "nearness") is one of the main factors leading to interpersonal attraction. It refers to the physical or psychological proximity between people. Propinquity can mean physical proximity, a kinship between people, or a similarity in nature between things ("like-attracts-like")
"A murmur arose from the crowd of mechanics and laborers, who, awed by such propinquity to gentry and even nobility, had hitherto hung sheepishly back; but now, like all English crowds, were quite ready to "follow the leader", especially one they knew."
p. 286 parricidally : Parricide (Latin: parricida, killer of parents or another close relative) is defined as:
the act of murdering one's father (patricide), mother (matricide) or other close relative, but usually not children (infanticide).
the act of murdering a person (such as the ruler of one's country) who stands in a relationship resembling that of a father
a person who commits such an act
Various definitions exist for the term parricide, with the biggest discrepancy being whether or not the killing has to be defined as a murder (usually killing with malice aforethought) to qualify as a parricide
"Dust of the dead ages, honorable dust, to be reverently inurned, and never parricidally profaned by us the living age, who in our turn must follow the same downward path."
p. 311 opprobrious : op·pro·bri·ous (-prbr-s)
adj.
1. Expressing contemptuous reproach; scornful or abusive: opprobrious epithets.
2. Bringing disgrace; shameful or infamous: opprobrious conduct.
"A Papist, most likely--I mean a Catholic." (John objected to the opprobrious word, "Papist.")
p. 312 Luddites : The Luddites were a social movement of British textile artisans in the nineteenth century who protested – often by destroying mechanized looms – against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work and changing their way of life. It took its name from Ned Ludd.
"And have all the country down upon me for destroying hand-labor? Have a new set of Luddites coming to burn my mill and break my machinery?"
p. 414 Reference to Daniel O'Connell of Derrynane : The ancestral home of Daniel O'Connell, Derrynane House is a public museum commemorating one of Ireland's leading historical figures and arguably the greatest ever Irishman, known by the nation as the Great Liberator.
Barrister, early civil rights activist, politician and statesmen, Daniel O'Connell was a huge figure amid the upheavals of the early 19th Century in Ireland
..."she doubted if even Daniel O'Connell had more popularity amongh his own people than John Halifax had in the primitive neighborhood where he had lived so long."
p. 447 nonplussed : non·plussed/nänˈpləst/Adjective
1. (of a person) Surprised and confused so much that they are unsure how to react.
2. (of a person) Unperturbed
"The deed was so new--so unlike anything that had been conceived possible, expecially in a man like Lord Ravenel, who had always borne the character of a harmless, idle, misanthropic nonentity--that society was really nonplussed concerning it."
p. 478 Reference to August 1, 1834 : The act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was passed in 1807 and after this date British sea captains could be fined £100 for every slave found on board their ships but it did nothing to free the already enslaved population in the Caribbean. The Abolition of Slavery Act was finally passed by the British Parliament in 1833 and came into force on 1 August 1834.
"Many may remember that day; what a soft, grey, summer morning it was, and how it broke into brightness; how everywhere bells were ringing, club faternities walking with bands and banners, school children having feasts and work people holidays; how in town and country, there was spread abroad a general sense of benevolent rejoicing--because honest old England had lifted up her generous voice, nay, had paid down cheerfully her twenty millions, and in all her colonies the negro was free."
The British government had to compensate West Indies planters for losing their cheap labour. They were given £20 million (more than £1 billion in today's money). To help raise some of the money freedom medals were struck and the profits went towards underwriting the compensation claims. The British felt good about banning something most of them had felt good about having - or at least their parents and grandparents had.
p. 481 mentioned as the main character's favorite poem by the poet whose given name the narrator bears: The Happy Shepherd
Thrice, oh, thrice happy, shepherd's life and state!
When courts are happiness' unhappy pawns!
His cottage low and safely humble gate
Shuts out proud Fortune with her scorns and fawns
No feared treason breaks his quiet sleep,
Singing all day, his flocks he learns to keep;
Himself as innocent as are his simple sheep.
No Syrian worms he knows, that with their thread
Draw out their silken lives: nor silken pride:
His lambs' warm fleece well fits his little need,
Not in that proud Sidonian tincture dyed:
No empty hopes, no courtly fears him fright;
For begging wants his middle fortune bite:
But sweet content exiles both misery and spite.
Instead of music, and base flattering tongues,
Which wait to first salute my lord's uprise;
The cheerful lark wakes him with early songs,
And birds' sweet whistling notes unlock his eyes
In country plays is all the strife he uses;
Or sing, or dance unto the rural muses;
And but in music's sports all difference refuses.
His certain life, that never can deceive him,
Is full of thousand sweets, and rich content;
The smooth-leaved beeches in the field receive him
With coolest shades, till noontide rage is spent;
His life is neither toss'd in boist'rous seas
Of troublous word, nor lost in slothful ease:
Pleased and full blest he lives, when he his God can please.
His bed of wool yields safe and quiet sleeps,
While by his side his faithful spouse hath place;
His little son into his bosom creeps,
The lively picture of his father's face:
Never his humble house nor state torment him:
Less he could like, if less his God had sent him;
And when he dies, green turfs, with grassy tomb, content him.
Phineas Fletcher
http://www.poemhunter.com/
Today's reader is hard pressed to understand the brotherly love expressed here. The story's narrator is the life-long friend of the John Halifax, whom he met by chance when John was but eleven, recently left an orphan, and who is committed to being the best person he can be.
Unlike most stories, this one follows John to his last breath and a little beyond.
p. 276 Single-handed or not, every man ought to do what he can. And no man knows how much he can do till he tries.
p. 291 After these words from the Holy Book (which the children always listened to with great reverence, as to the Book which their parents most loved and honored, the reading and learning of which was granted as a high reward and favor, and never carelessly allowed, or -- horrible to think!-- inflicted as a punishment), we ceased smiling at Guy, who in his turn ceased to frown.
P. 314 Yet, in truth there was some reason for the young man's fears; since even in those days, Catholics were hunted down both by law and by public opinion, as virulently as Protestant non-conformists. All who kept out of the pale of the national church were denounced as schismatics, deists, atheists--it was all one.
p. 322 There are few things which give a man more power over his fellows than the thoroughly English quality of daring.
p. 346 But always at home. Not for all the knowledge and all the accomplishments in the world, would these parents have suffered either son or daughter--living souls entrusted them by the Divine Father--to be brought up anywhere out of their own sight, out of the shelter and safeguard of their own natural home.
p. 347 (narrator describes a look exchanged as like the one depicted in the painting A Huguenot, on St. Bartholomew's Day refusing to shield himself from danger by wearing a Roman Catholic badge
by Sir John Everett Millais Bt PRA (1829-96) (Google to see painting)
p. 350 He wiched--since the higher a man rises, the wider and nobler grows his sphere of usefulness--not only to lift himself, but his sons after him;--lift them high enough to help on the ever-advancing tide of human improvement, among their own people first, and thence extending outward in the world whithersoever their talents or circumstances might call them.
P. 413 But the right made its way, as, soon or late, the right always does; he believed his good name was able to defend itself, and it did defend itself; he had faith in the only victory worth having--the universal victory of Truth; and truth conquered at last.
p. 414 ... but blood is blood, and education and haabits are not to be easily overcome.
p. 437 In marriage there must be perfect unity;--one aim, one faith, one love, or the marriage is incomplete, unholy--a mere civil contract and no more.
p. 438 Do you recognise what you were born to be? Not only a nobleman, but a gentleman; not only a gentleman, but a man--man, made in the image of God.
p. 441 ...whatever he found to do, he did immediately. Procrastination had never been one of his faults...
p. 450 There are so many sad things in life that we have to take upon trust, and bear, and be patient with--yet never understand.
p. 451 the author rephrases a stanza from the poem "Maidenhood" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ---"Standing with reluctant feet, Where womanhood and childhood meet," and assuming at once the prerogatives and immunities of both.
p. 455 ...believing that a woman cannot too soon learn womanhood's best "mission"--usefulness, tenderness, and charity.
p. 484 Children, we were so happy, you cannot tell. He was so good; he loved me so. Better than that, he made me good; that was why I loved him. Oh, what his love was to me from the first! strength, hope, peace; comfort and help in trouble, sweetness in prosperity. How my life became happy and complete--how I grew worthier to myself because he had taken me for his own! And what he was--Children, no one but me ever knew all his goodness, no one but himself ever knew how dearly I loved your father. We were more precious each to each than anything on earth; except His service, who gave us to one another."
Vocabulary:
p. 278 propinquity : In social psychology, propinquity (from Latin propinquitas, "nearness") is one of the main factors leading to interpersonal attraction. It refers to the physical or psychological proximity between people. Propinquity can mean physical proximity, a kinship between people, or a similarity in nature between things ("like-attracts-like")
"A murmur arose from the crowd of mechanics and laborers, who, awed by such propinquity to gentry and even nobility, had hitherto hung sheepishly back; but now, like all English crowds, were quite ready to "follow the leader", especially one they knew."
p. 286 parricidally : Parricide (Latin: parricida, killer of parents or another close relative) is defined as:
the act of murdering one's father (patricide), mother (matricide) or other close relative, but usually not children (infanticide).
the act of murdering a person (such as the ruler of one's country) who stands in a relationship resembling that of a father
a person who commits such an act
Various definitions exist for the term parricide, with the biggest discrepancy being whether or not the killing has to be defined as a murder (usually killing with malice aforethought) to qualify as a parricide
"Dust of the dead ages, honorable dust, to be reverently inurned, and never parricidally profaned by us the living age, who in our turn must follow the same downward path."
p. 311 opprobrious : op·pro·bri·ous (-prbr-s)
adj.
1. Expressing contemptuous reproach; scornful or abusive: opprobrious epithets.
2. Bringing disgrace; shameful or infamous: opprobrious conduct.
"A Papist, most likely--I mean a Catholic." (John objected to the opprobrious word, "Papist.")
p. 312 Luddites : The Luddites were a social movement of British textile artisans in the nineteenth century who protested – often by destroying mechanized looms – against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work and changing their way of life. It took its name from Ned Ludd.
"And have all the country down upon me for destroying hand-labor? Have a new set of Luddites coming to burn my mill and break my machinery?"
p. 414 Reference to Daniel O'Connell of Derrynane : The ancestral home of Daniel O'Connell, Derrynane House is a public museum commemorating one of Ireland's leading historical figures and arguably the greatest ever Irishman, known by the nation as the Great Liberator.
Barrister, early civil rights activist, politician and statesmen, Daniel O'Connell was a huge figure amid the upheavals of the early 19th Century in Ireland
..."she doubted if even Daniel O'Connell had more popularity amongh his own people than John Halifax had in the primitive neighborhood where he had lived so long."
p. 447 nonplussed : non·plussed/nänˈpləst/Adjective
1. (of a person) Surprised and confused so much that they are unsure how to react.
2. (of a person) Unperturbed
"The deed was so new--so unlike anything that had been conceived possible, expecially in a man like Lord Ravenel, who had always borne the character of a harmless, idle, misanthropic nonentity--that society was really nonplussed concerning it."
p. 478 Reference to August 1, 1834 : The act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was passed in 1807 and after this date British sea captains could be fined £100 for every slave found on board their ships but it did nothing to free the already enslaved population in the Caribbean. The Abolition of Slavery Act was finally passed by the British Parliament in 1833 and came into force on 1 August 1834.
"Many may remember that day; what a soft, grey, summer morning it was, and how it broke into brightness; how everywhere bells were ringing, club faternities walking with bands and banners, school children having feasts and work people holidays; how in town and country, there was spread abroad a general sense of benevolent rejoicing--because honest old England had lifted up her generous voice, nay, had paid down cheerfully her twenty millions, and in all her colonies the negro was free."
The British government had to compensate West Indies planters for losing their cheap labour. They were given £20 million (more than £1 billion in today's money). To help raise some of the money freedom medals were struck and the profits went towards underwriting the compensation claims. The British felt good about banning something most of them had felt good about having - or at least their parents and grandparents had.
p. 481 mentioned as the main character's favorite poem by the poet whose given name the narrator bears: The Happy Shepherd
Thrice, oh, thrice happy, shepherd's life and state!
When courts are happiness' unhappy pawns!
His cottage low and safely humble gate
Shuts out proud Fortune with her scorns and fawns
No feared treason breaks his quiet sleep,
Singing all day, his flocks he learns to keep;
Himself as innocent as are his simple sheep.
No Syrian worms he knows, that with their thread
Draw out their silken lives: nor silken pride:
His lambs' warm fleece well fits his little need,
Not in that proud Sidonian tincture dyed:
No empty hopes, no courtly fears him fright;
For begging wants his middle fortune bite:
But sweet content exiles both misery and spite.
Instead of music, and base flattering tongues,
Which wait to first salute my lord's uprise;
The cheerful lark wakes him with early songs,
And birds' sweet whistling notes unlock his eyes
In country plays is all the strife he uses;
Or sing, or dance unto the rural muses;
And but in music's sports all difference refuses.
His certain life, that never can deceive him,
Is full of thousand sweets, and rich content;
The smooth-leaved beeches in the field receive him
With coolest shades, till noontide rage is spent;
His life is neither toss'd in boist'rous seas
Of troublous word, nor lost in slothful ease:
Pleased and full blest he lives, when he his God can please.
His bed of wool yields safe and quiet sleeps,
While by his side his faithful spouse hath place;
His little son into his bosom creeps,
The lively picture of his father's face:
Never his humble house nor state torment him:
Less he could like, if less his God had sent him;
And when he dies, green turfs, with grassy tomb, content him.
Phineas Fletcher
http://www.poemhunter.com/
January 19, 2023
This book was very enjoyable.
The only thing John Halifax knows about himself is that his father was a "gentleman," and through the book he makes his inner gentleman manifest. He doesn't want handouts; he wants to show how dependable he is, to move up in the world with honor. Although he makes an early error of judgment, for the most part he makes the right decisions and manages to thrive without alienating the people around him. The story of a life well-lived.
Although John Halifax's life is interesting enough, there are other elements that make the work exceptional:
-The narrator, Phineas, has a certain undefined physical disability that makes it difficult for him to walk long distances and makes him something of a recluse (I imagined something like polio). John befriends and supports Phineas without robbing him of his dignity as a person.
-Phineas' father is a Quaker, which causes issues with the largely Anglican community in which he lives. Quakers are suspect and occupy a lower legal status, particularly because they are pacifists and do not testify in courts of law.
-The novel includes several historical factors, including wars with the Napoleonic French, famine/bread riots, an economic crisis, smallpox, industrialization, and the emancipation of slaves. These elements not only add color but are important in the development of the plot.
I'm pleased to have discovered Dinah Craik and look forward to reading more of her works!
The only thing John Halifax knows about himself is that his father was a "gentleman," and through the book he makes his inner gentleman manifest. He doesn't want handouts; he wants to show how dependable he is, to move up in the world with honor. Although he makes an early error of judgment, for the most part he makes the right decisions and manages to thrive without alienating the people around him. The story of a life well-lived.
Although John Halifax's life is interesting enough, there are other elements that make the work exceptional:
-The narrator, Phineas, has a certain undefined physical disability that makes it difficult for him to walk long distances and makes him something of a recluse (I imagined something like polio). John befriends and supports Phineas without robbing him of his dignity as a person.
-Phineas' father is a Quaker, which causes issues with the largely Anglican community in which he lives. Quakers are suspect and occupy a lower legal status, particularly because they are pacifists and do not testify in courts of law.
-The novel includes several historical factors, including wars with the Napoleonic French, famine/bread riots, an economic crisis, smallpox, industrialization, and the emancipation of slaves. These elements not only add color but are important in the development of the plot.
I'm pleased to have discovered Dinah Craik and look forward to reading more of her works!
March 24, 2023
I wanted to read this book as it is where my Grandad found the name for my Mum. I wasn’t sure what to think when I started but I was soon drawn in. It is a really well written book that I will always cherish
May 19, 2015
Damn those lady novelists. If it wasn't for George Eliot, or Elizabeth Gaskell or those bothersome Brontës, Mrs Craik would have been remembered as being one of the better Victorian women writers. This is the only book I know that is set in Tewkesbury and one of the few (Cider with Rosie, The Choir) that are set in Gloucestershire. Which may be one of the weaknesses and I am afraid there are many. Dinah Craik tries to tell the history of Britain through the life of John Halifax; the problems of the rural poor, the Napoleonic wars, bread riots, parliamentary corruption, the fight against industrialisation, the industrialisation itself, the economic crises, smallpox, the advance of medicine through the work of pioneering figures such as Gloucestershire's own Edward Jenner, the establishment of the United States as a second great economic power. She tries to do too much and rural Gloucestershire (poor Tewkesbury had to watch the various revolutions from across the rivers) isn't the best of places to stand in order to tell the social and economic history of the nation 1780-1835.
The novel is engaging once you get used to the ever intrusive narrator. (If I found I wanted to tell Phineas to leave the family in peace and go and get a life of his own how did the Halifax family feel towards him?...I'm pretty sure we'd get a different slant from Ursula's pen!). The canvas is too broad but it just about holds together. One might be left with the impression that Gloucestershire came through the period rather well because John Halifax managed to save it from impending disaster after impending disaster. Another twenty such as he and Britain may have conquered the entire world!
It is over sentimental, written in the style of Robinson Crusoe, a style that was hugely out of date even in 1856.
But for all that, it is worth reading and, once you eliminate the narrator, quietly moving at times. It has a caring Christian message but a kind of caring Christian feeling that lets you know your place and where only the exceptional have any chance of exercising any degree of social mobility.
One could see it as a nineteenth century companion piece to Pamela in that both could be sub-titled, "Virtue Rewarded", but that is really where comparisons stop. Richardson was a master craftsman who understood his world; Mrs Craik would end up with much green ink on her work.*
*Teachers in England are advised to correct students' work with a green pen these days.
The novel is engaging once you get used to the ever intrusive narrator. (If I found I wanted to tell Phineas to leave the family in peace and go and get a life of his own how did the Halifax family feel towards him?...I'm pretty sure we'd get a different slant from Ursula's pen!). The canvas is too broad but it just about holds together. One might be left with the impression that Gloucestershire came through the period rather well because John Halifax managed to save it from impending disaster after impending disaster. Another twenty such as he and Britain may have conquered the entire world!
It is over sentimental, written in the style of Robinson Crusoe, a style that was hugely out of date even in 1856.
But for all that, it is worth reading and, once you eliminate the narrator, quietly moving at times. It has a caring Christian message but a kind of caring Christian feeling that lets you know your place and where only the exceptional have any chance of exercising any degree of social mobility.
One could see it as a nineteenth century companion piece to Pamela in that both could be sub-titled, "Virtue Rewarded", but that is really where comparisons stop. Richardson was a master craftsman who understood his world; Mrs Craik would end up with much green ink on her work.*
*Teachers in England are advised to correct students' work with a green pen these days.
February 13, 2013
John Halifax: young orphan, poor boy, friend, hard worker, kind.
John Halifax: a gentleman in the very best sense of the word. He may not have wealth, rank or position, but he has integrity, character, principles, faith, and the love of a good woman.
I loved this story. We first meet John when he is kind to an ill boy, befriending him, caring for him. We follow John as he meets and marries the love of his life, Ursala March. I loved that this was the tale of a happy marriage, where both parties truly become one in purpose, in faith, in love for their young family. We watch as John becomes well respected throughout his community, as he becomes wealthy, a man of influence. He uses that influence in quiet, righteous ways. His life is not free from trial or adversity but he meets it all with confidence in God and His plan.
John Halifax: a gentleman in the very best sense of the word. He may not have wealth, rank or position, but he has integrity, character, principles, faith, and the love of a good woman.
I loved this story. We first meet John when he is kind to an ill boy, befriending him, caring for him. We follow John as he meets and marries the love of his life, Ursala March. I loved that this was the tale of a happy marriage, where both parties truly become one in purpose, in faith, in love for their young family. We watch as John becomes well respected throughout his community, as he becomes wealthy, a man of influence. He uses that influence in quiet, righteous ways. His life is not free from trial or adversity but he meets it all with confidence in God and His plan.
January 6, 2018
John Halifax was a devoted husband, father and friend. His story, narrated by his best friend, Phineas, although old fashioned, inspired me to want to be a better person, to love others deeper, and to never give up. He never forgot where he came from and he was grateful and faithful to the people that helped him succeed. He also never allowed his success to change him as he continued to live simply and to share his wealth. He was a smart, mostly self educated, innovative man. He loved his wife deeply and he was a hands on father. His children regarded him with love and the utmost respect. He knew from whom all his blessings flowed and walked the walk...he was a good man, he really was a gentle man.
November 13, 2012
There's a lot of Dickens influence here. It also reminds me of Gaskell's North and South with the dreary English weather and a focus on working class and their sometimes violent clashes with the gentry. The narrative structure is interesting in that the narrator is not the hero--I'm not sure this works all the time. John Halifax fluctuates between strong hero and whiny romantic. Thankfully he grows out of the whiny and became a much more steady and interesting character later in the book. This is a long one, following John Halifax through his whole life. The heroine, like many in Dickens, is too perfect to be believed, but that is a minor gripe in a book well worth reading.
August 16, 2012
This book was a gift from my Grandmother to her soon to be husband around 1917. The book was so fragile I couldn't read it, but found it on my Kindle for free! Now one of my favorite books for numerous reasons. It is filled with much wisdom, &, examples of perseverance, honesty, hard work, self sacrifice, integrity, humility & true love - doesn't get much better than that! Enjoyed every page & highly recommend this book.
November 15, 2012
This old forgotten classic was a delightful read in that by reading about old fashioned values, integrity, and honor, made me want to do better and be better, especially as a help meet. I suppose many would say it is nothing more than moralizing hero worship, but I find that it is something society is in need of at the moment. I will probably read it again and recommend it to my husband.
November 7, 2024
it’s a 4⭐️ for me! i really enjoyed the book even though it was quite long, but it was really easy to read and very entertaining (but sometimes a bit predictable)
i tend to be a bit anxious at the idea of reading classics as i usually either hate them or love them, but this one was great! i’d recommend it to anyone who would like to get started in victorian fiction but who’d like an easy read that involves a bit of drama!
i tend to be a bit anxious at the idea of reading classics as i usually either hate them or love them, but this one was great! i’d recommend it to anyone who would like to get started in victorian fiction but who’d like an easy read that involves a bit of drama!
December 31, 2014
John Halifax, Gentleman (1856) is a classic of the Victorian era. It is the story of a David and Jonathon-like friendship. It is also about a long and happy marriage. But mostly it recounts the life of a man who never backs down from his principles. The book proposed the “revolutionary” idea that a man is not a gentleman primarily because of wealth and title, but because of integrity, honor and hard work.
Halifax is a poor orphan who works his way up from poverty; his story is narrated by Phineas Fletcher, a sickly boy whom he befriends.
Later when Phineas asks how he will get on in the world, Halifax replies that he has “NIL” to which Fletcher replies, “Except youth, health, courage, honor, honesty and a few other such trifles.” These trifles made Halifax one of the most beloved characters in Victorian literature.
This is a slow-moving but satisfying book. It uses old fashioned words like “discomfited” and “sententious”. But it is no more sentimental than, say, Little Women, and much less moralistic than Elsie Dinsmore. I have read novels in which the hero or heroine are too good to be true (Little Lord Fauntleroy comes to mind), but I did not find this to be the case with John Halifax.
There is one teeny-tiny episode of bad theology, but for the most part this book celebrates true manliness and womanliness, the joys of family life, and the virtues of walking in God’s ways.
Halifax is a poor orphan who works his way up from poverty; his story is narrated by Phineas Fletcher, a sickly boy whom he befriends.
Later when Phineas asks how he will get on in the world, Halifax replies that he has “NIL” to which Fletcher replies, “Except youth, health, courage, honor, honesty and a few other such trifles.” These trifles made Halifax one of the most beloved characters in Victorian literature.
This is a slow-moving but satisfying book. It uses old fashioned words like “discomfited” and “sententious”. But it is no more sentimental than, say, Little Women, and much less moralistic than Elsie Dinsmore. I have read novels in which the hero or heroine are too good to be true (Little Lord Fauntleroy comes to mind), but I did not find this to be the case with John Halifax.
There is one teeny-tiny episode of bad theology, but for the most part this book celebrates true manliness and womanliness, the joys of family life, and the virtues of walking in God’s ways.
November 28, 2018
One of the lesser read C19th novels and I can see why. I was curious to read a novel which is positive about progress, both social and industrial and to that end there are a number of good episodes herein.
However, this tale is told in a style bordering on adulation. Indeed, you may wonder if the narrator is gay? It would be so much more interesting if he was but sadly, this is a novel neither brave enough to go there nor have considered such a direction, or thought it proper.
Essentially, the author is presenting her ideal man, which is fair enough but her tone is syrupy, twee and mawkish. The story of the child Muriel embraces all three itself. There is also a good deal of religiosity. Indeed the religion is so heavy handed here that even a Victorian would probably find it overdone.
So, an interesting curio if you want to broaden your knowledge of C19th novels but not really worth choosing otherwise. There could be a good film/TV series made of this but it would need to tone down the religion a lot and presented as a love between Phineas and John. The first third of the book would barely need a change in the dialogue.
However, this tale is told in a style bordering on adulation. Indeed, you may wonder if the narrator is gay? It would be so much more interesting if he was but sadly, this is a novel neither brave enough to go there nor have considered such a direction, or thought it proper.
Essentially, the author is presenting her ideal man, which is fair enough but her tone is syrupy, twee and mawkish. The story of the child Muriel embraces all three itself. There is also a good deal of religiosity. Indeed the religion is so heavy handed here that even a Victorian would probably find it overdone.
So, an interesting curio if you want to broaden your knowledge of C19th novels but not really worth choosing otherwise. There could be a good film/TV series made of this but it would need to tone down the religion a lot and presented as a love between Phineas and John. The first third of the book would barely need a change in the dialogue.
July 7, 2021
It is difficult to review this beautiful little book because on one hand it is so full if goodness and right and on the other hand the 21st Century woman in me is so cynical that much of it felt contrived, almost to the point of unbelievability. Several times I had to quell my tendency to dismiss the integrity of a character based solely on the idea that no one is that good. But, in truth, many people ARE that good and true and honest. And it wasn't that bad things didn't happen in the story, because they did, but the handling of those bad things was so righteous and unerring that I found myself doubting or inserting the evils of my day into their 200-years-ago lives. These things are my problem, not that if the author.
But it was a beautiful and uplifting story and one I definitely recommend--especially if you need a break from the deceptive, entitled, and selfish messages of these modern times.
But it was a beautiful and uplifting story and one I definitely recommend--especially if you need a break from the deceptive, entitled, and selfish messages of these modern times.
September 23, 2021
Grade: A
I had to read this for my university degree (so this rating is slightly skewed in the sense that it’s a 5 star rating compared to other classics I’ve read, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as a 5 star modern read).
It’s hilarious how much I was dreading reading this book and how much I loved it! To the people who say this book is similar to Great Expectations: can you read?! This book was so much more interesting and relatable and hard-hitting - I cried at one point and felt like crying several other times. The only times I cried in Great Expectations was when I saw how much more I had to read!
I loved all the characters, I felt the writing style was so modern and yet so gorgeous, and I truly cared about practically every event and storyline. Wow!
I had to read this for my university degree (so this rating is slightly skewed in the sense that it’s a 5 star rating compared to other classics I’ve read, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as a 5 star modern read).
It’s hilarious how much I was dreading reading this book and how much I loved it! To the people who say this book is similar to Great Expectations: can you read?! This book was so much more interesting and relatable and hard-hitting - I cried at one point and felt like crying several other times. The only times I cried in Great Expectations was when I saw how much more I had to read!
I loved all the characters, I felt the writing style was so modern and yet so gorgeous, and I truly cared about practically every event and storyline. Wow!
February 28, 2012
I'm surprised that this author pulls me in because she writes a bit like Dickens (makes sense since it's about the same time period) and I have trouble reading Dickens. I enjoyed Young Mrs. Jardine more but I stuck this out through a library version, an old bought copy and finally the last page on gutenberg (the print in my old copy kept getting smaller and smaller in the back :S )
Definitely lengthy and kind of like an entire life story. Full of morals and religious brevity.
Definitely lengthy and kind of like an entire life story. Full of morals and religious brevity.
May 11, 2009
A fun and bizarre Victorian novel about a self-made "gentleman" in the early decades of the 19th c. Reads like a cross between Dickens (characters include an orphan with a work ethic and a sickly, disabled man) and Eliot (sustained psycho-social investigations).
The editing isn't great in this edition, but don't stay away because of that.
The editing isn't great in this edition, but don't stay away because of that.
October 1, 2012
I only got this book because my mother told me she got her name, Muriel, from a character in the book. I was curious, but didn't expect to read much. It is a long book. I found I could hardly put it down, even though the language was quaint by our modern standards. I can see why it was so popular in its day.
January 13, 2013
I absolutely enjoyed this book.
I loved how strong the family ties were and how in-depth the characterization was. It was beautifully written.
I couldn't help thinking how reminiscent the book was with how things are today…..the divide between those that have and those who have not.
It is definitely one book I would love to read again in the future.
I loved how strong the family ties were and how in-depth the characterization was. It was beautifully written.
I couldn't help thinking how reminiscent the book was with how things are today…..the divide between those that have and those who have not.
It is definitely one book I would love to read again in the future.
November 15, 2016
This is book is more deserving of five stars than anything i've read this year.
Everyone in the world should read this book,
it is such a beautiful honest and unassuming lesson in humanity and just good and simple love.
This novel should be called John Halifax, Socialist and it should be taught in every school!
Everyone in the world should read this book,
it is such a beautiful honest and unassuming lesson in humanity and just good and simple love.
This novel should be called John Halifax, Socialist and it should be taught in every school!
August 26, 2012
This book belonged to my mother. She gave it to me, along with several other of her cherished books this past Christmas. The inscription inside is from her Aunt Mena in 1936 given to mom for Christmas.
September 17, 2014
Interesting read. Captured quite a few quotes from it. For example, "I have seen many a face that was more good-looking—never one that looked half so good." Be prepared for quite a lot of religious stuff when picking this up.
June 4, 2012
Loved it. John Halifax really was a gentle man, my all time favourite of the period.
November 13, 2012
I think this book was most excellent, and that anyone who calls himself a Christian should be sure to read it and emulate the lessons taught by Mr. Halifax to his family.
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