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Vashti
First published in 1869. The author of nine novels, Augusta Evans Wilson was a pillar of Southern literature and the first American woman author to earn over $100,000.
356 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1869
About the author
Augusta Jane Evans Wilson
18 books4 followersAugusta Jane Wilson, or Augusta Evans Wilson, (May 8, 1835 – May 9, 1909) was an American Southern author and one of the pillars of Southern literature. She wrote nine novels: Inez (1850), Beulah (1859), Macaria (1863), St. Elmo (1866), Vashti (1869), Infelice (1875), At the Mercy of Tiberius (1887), A Speckled Bird (1902), and Devota (1907). Given her support for the Confederate States of America from the perspective of a Southern patriot, and her literary activities during the American Civil War, she can be deemed as having contributed decisively to the literary and cultural development of the Confederacy in particular, and of the South in general, as a civilization.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 23, 2012
One of the most heartbreaking books I have ever read. I read this book every night for a week, and seriously felt like crying myself to sleep every night. For those who like a bittersweet story of unrequited love, this is perfect. It reminded me slightly of Pride & Prejudice - but without the happy ending. Ultimately, at the end of the story, we are left with what could have been, what should have been, but was not.
February 27, 2021
Augusta Evans Wilson is my favorite Victorian writer. I love her writing style. I enjoyed this book, but not as much as "St. Elmo," "Macaria," "Infelice," and "At the Mercy of Tiberius." I only wish she had opted for a different ending for "Vashti." Otherwise, it was great read.
June 29, 2022
“Some women, – such, for instance, as we read of in novels, would meekly endure this trial, as one appointed by Heaven to wean them from earth; would fold their hands, and grow devout, and romantically thin and wan, – and get sweet, patient, martyr expressions about their unkissed lips; but I am in no respect a model heroine.”
“I am that anomalous creature, whom Balzac defined as ‘Angel through love, demon through fantasy, child through faith, sage through experience, man through the brain, woman through the heart, giant through hope, and poet through dreams.’”
“As for my name, Elsie persistently clung to Vashti, and verily there seems a grim fitness in her selection, – a dismal analogy between my blessed life and that of the discrowned Persian Queen.…I raise my weary eyes, the sleepless stars revengefully group themselves, and flash back to me, in burning characters, ‘Til death us do part.’”
“‘Til death us do part!’ Poor Maurice! Deserted and despised by your former parasites. After long years, my vows bring me back in the hour of your need. God grant you life, to redeem your past, —to save your sinful soul from eternal ruin.”
Augusta J. Evans Wilson's Vashti is a love triangle admonishing the morality of loyalty in spite of unrequited love–between spouses (Vashti and Maurice), between doctor and patient (Dr. Grey and Vashti), between guardian brother and adopted sister (Dr. Grey and Salome). Although Vashti may not end happily ever after, its author advocates, “A religion is true and rightly understood when it everywhere brings us back to the Beautiful.” Vashti dazzles!
“I am that anomalous creature, whom Balzac defined as ‘Angel through love, demon through fantasy, child through faith, sage through experience, man through the brain, woman through the heart, giant through hope, and poet through dreams.’”
“As for my name, Elsie persistently clung to Vashti, and verily there seems a grim fitness in her selection, – a dismal analogy between my blessed life and that of the discrowned Persian Queen.…I raise my weary eyes, the sleepless stars revengefully group themselves, and flash back to me, in burning characters, ‘Til death us do part.’”
“‘Til death us do part!’ Poor Maurice! Deserted and despised by your former parasites. After long years, my vows bring me back in the hour of your need. God grant you life, to redeem your past, —to save your sinful soul from eternal ruin.”
Augusta J. Evans Wilson's Vashti is a love triangle admonishing the morality of loyalty in spite of unrequited love–between spouses (Vashti and Maurice), between doctor and patient (Dr. Grey and Vashti), between guardian brother and adopted sister (Dr. Grey and Salome). Although Vashti may not end happily ever after, its author advocates, “A religion is true and rightly understood when it everywhere brings us back to the Beautiful.” Vashti dazzles!
August 30, 2017
Vashti or Until Death Us Do Part ... Yes! That is exactly how it is.
This book has its fair share of attributes that I dislike in a good story: Men with the idea that women should be quiet and candid all the time; characters so stubborn that you guess the end of the story in the first chapters, unhappiness, men and women so naive that you doubt this could ever happen in real life; too many references to greek gods, roman poets, painters and french cities....
In spite of that, I enjoyed profoundly this book. So it makes me wonder if my dis likeness for some of the features mentioned above is due more to my short comings as a reader than to the story.
Anyway, the best thing about this book is the extent and detail in which the author explores each of the characters. Evans writes about faulted, human people. Their internal struggles to conquer those attributes in their personality regarded as unworthy. And you don’t get bored by reading about them, on the contrary, you grow to like them and understand them. It is a sad story, beautifully told.
This book has its fair share of attributes that I dislike in a good story: Men with the idea that women should be quiet and candid all the time; characters so stubborn that you guess the end of the story in the first chapters, unhappiness, men and women so naive that you doubt this could ever happen in real life; too many references to greek gods, roman poets, painters and french cities....
In spite of that, I enjoyed profoundly this book. So it makes me wonder if my dis likeness for some of the features mentioned above is due more to my short comings as a reader than to the story.
Anyway, the best thing about this book is the extent and detail in which the author explores each of the characters. Evans writes about faulted, human people. Their internal struggles to conquer those attributes in their personality regarded as unworthy. And you don’t get bored by reading about them, on the contrary, you grow to like them and understand them. It is a sad story, beautifully told.
May 1, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this beautifully written Victorian novel, if not as much as the author’s previous work, St. Elmo. Vashti, or Until Death Us Do Part was rather different in tone–it was melodramatic enough to make St. Elmo look like a Love Inspired novel.
History and Reception: Vashti is the fifth novel by Victorian author Augusta Evans Wilson, published in 1869. She was a highly regarded and popular author at this time, having just two years prior published the bestselling St. Elmo. She had also married Colonel Lorenzo Madison Wilson in 1868, moving to a house called Ashland in Mobile, Alabama. Before Vashti was even printed, Mrs. Wilson received a check for $15,000 (equivalent to over $300,000 today) from her publisher. Though the novel did not become as popular as St. Elmo, it was still widely circulated. The author herself considered it, along with her later novel At the Mercy of Tiberius, one of her most polished works.
Synopsis/Blurb: Vashti opens with its protagonist, sixteen-year-old Salome Owen, awaiting the coming of her wealthy spinster guardian’s younger brother, Ulpian Grey. Her emotions toward him are at first negative, hating the thought that he might supplant her in Miss Grey’s will and leave her an outcast, as penniless as she was before Miss Grey took her in. But passionate Salome is unable to hate the noble Dr. Grey for long, and she soon finds herself hopelessly in love with him.
Dr. Grey, though, does not view his impetuous and hot-tempered devotee in the same way. Instead, his affections are captured by Mrs. Gerome, a despondent recluse living at the neighboring estate, Solitude. The rest of the novel follows the many strong-willed characters' tumultuous relationships and the revelation of Mrs. Gerome's secret.
Characters: To be honest, I don’t like the characters in Vashti as much as the ones from St. Elmo or Beulah. It isn’t that they aren’t well-written, for Mrs. Wilson could never produce a poorly written or developed character. Salome is a passionate, volatile, violent character, far different from most heroines. Her flaws were almost too prominent, and I did not enjoy reading about her as much as I did Beulah, Irene, Electra, or Edna. Dr. Grey, on the other hand, is not as compelling as most of Mrs. Wilson’s other heroes because he is too perfect–too morally superior to everyone else. Mrs. Gerome, quoting Madame de Chatenay, described him as “a soul that by accident met with a body, and tried to make the most of it”. If he had a fault, it would be that he lacked gentleness and sympathy to those less perfect than him. Mrs. Gerome did not deserve his love–not that Salome did either. As for Mrs. Gerome, I didn’t like her that much either, but appreciated her journey to faith.
Setting: Mrs. Wilson describes the setting beautifully. Most of Vashti takes place either in Miss Grey’s residence or neighboring “Solitude”, both located on the coast. “Solitude”, said by many to be cursed to bring death or injury to its occupants, and its secretive, prematurely white-haired resident, Mrs. Gerome, add a distinct touch of the Gothic to this novel.
Style: Mrs. Wilson’s style excels in Vashti. The book is written powerfully, elegantly, and beautifully. There are many obscure classical references, although to my perception not as many as in St. Elmo.
Theme: Vashti was called “a sad but moral story designed to warn young ladies against the sin of wilfulness”. Though this is part of the theme of the novel, it has many other themes as well. One of those is finding God in times of suffering. Like in all or most Augusta Evans Wilson books, the contrast between Christianity and other belief systems is portrayed. I recently learned that that was part of the author’s life and her own spiritual journey reflected Beulah Benton’s in Beulah. That was already one of my favorite books ever, and knowing it was based on the author herself makes it even better.
Content: One character frequently thinks and talks about suicide.
Quote:
“Gradually the moon sank so low that the sea could no longer reflect her beams, and as the mighty waste of waters slowly darkened, and the wind stiffened, and the song of the surf swelled like a rising requiem, the girl felt that all nature was preparing to mourn with her after the burial of her only hope of earthly peace.”
History and Reception: Vashti is the fifth novel by Victorian author Augusta Evans Wilson, published in 1869. She was a highly regarded and popular author at this time, having just two years prior published the bestselling St. Elmo. She had also married Colonel Lorenzo Madison Wilson in 1868, moving to a house called Ashland in Mobile, Alabama. Before Vashti was even printed, Mrs. Wilson received a check for $15,000 (equivalent to over $300,000 today) from her publisher. Though the novel did not become as popular as St. Elmo, it was still widely circulated. The author herself considered it, along with her later novel At the Mercy of Tiberius, one of her most polished works.
Synopsis/Blurb: Vashti opens with its protagonist, sixteen-year-old Salome Owen, awaiting the coming of her wealthy spinster guardian’s younger brother, Ulpian Grey. Her emotions toward him are at first negative, hating the thought that he might supplant her in Miss Grey’s will and leave her an outcast, as penniless as she was before Miss Grey took her in. But passionate Salome is unable to hate the noble Dr. Grey for long, and she soon finds herself hopelessly in love with him.
Dr. Grey, though, does not view his impetuous and hot-tempered devotee in the same way. Instead, his affections are captured by Mrs. Gerome, a despondent recluse living at the neighboring estate, Solitude. The rest of the novel follows the many strong-willed characters' tumultuous relationships and the revelation of Mrs. Gerome's secret.
Characters: To be honest, I don’t like the characters in Vashti as much as the ones from St. Elmo or Beulah. It isn’t that they aren’t well-written, for Mrs. Wilson could never produce a poorly written or developed character. Salome is a passionate, volatile, violent character, far different from most heroines. Her flaws were almost too prominent, and I did not enjoy reading about her as much as I did Beulah, Irene, Electra, or Edna. Dr. Grey, on the other hand, is not as compelling as most of Mrs. Wilson’s other heroes because he is too perfect–too morally superior to everyone else. Mrs. Gerome, quoting Madame de Chatenay, described him as “a soul that by accident met with a body, and tried to make the most of it”. If he had a fault, it would be that he lacked gentleness and sympathy to those less perfect than him. Mrs. Gerome did not deserve his love–not that Salome did either. As for Mrs. Gerome, I didn’t like her that much either, but appreciated her journey to faith.
Setting: Mrs. Wilson describes the setting beautifully. Most of Vashti takes place either in Miss Grey’s residence or neighboring “Solitude”, both located on the coast. “Solitude”, said by many to be cursed to bring death or injury to its occupants, and its secretive, prematurely white-haired resident, Mrs. Gerome, add a distinct touch of the Gothic to this novel.
Style: Mrs. Wilson’s style excels in Vashti. The book is written powerfully, elegantly, and beautifully. There are many obscure classical references, although to my perception not as many as in St. Elmo.
Theme: Vashti was called “a sad but moral story designed to warn young ladies against the sin of wilfulness”. Though this is part of the theme of the novel, it has many other themes as well. One of those is finding God in times of suffering. Like in all or most Augusta Evans Wilson books, the contrast between Christianity and other belief systems is portrayed. I recently learned that that was part of the author’s life and her own spiritual journey reflected Beulah Benton’s in Beulah. That was already one of my favorite books ever, and knowing it was based on the author herself makes it even better.
Content: One character frequently thinks and talks about suicide.
Quote:
“Gradually the moon sank so low that the sea could no longer reflect her beams, and as the mighty waste of waters slowly darkened, and the wind stiffened, and the song of the surf swelled like a rising requiem, the girl felt that all nature was preparing to mourn with her after the burial of her only hope of earthly peace.”
September 10, 2022
I absolutely enjoyed the writing of this book. The characters are interesting and nuanced. One of the main characters reminded me of Scarlett in Gone with the Wind. As a feminist, I sometimes had to scream in my pillow at some of the paragraphs but on the whole I fell in love with the scenery, the plot (even though I wanted it to end differently) and the mood of the writing. I am now hoping to read more of Augusta's novels. It was a delight. Though can border on being too righteous/religious at times.
September 14, 2020
Since neither of the main characters get their happy ending, this book may deserve a little more than 3 stars. I don't remember much about it, other than the ending, but I was pleased it wasn't the traditional romance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews