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মিস্টার মিসন'স উইল
Mean Mr. Meeson, the greedy and wealthy owner of a publishing house, disinerits his his forthright nephew.
246 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1888
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148 people want to read
About the author
H. Rider Haggard
1,568 books1,090 followersSir Henry Rider Haggard, KBE was an English writer of adventure novels set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and the creator of the Lost World literary genre. His stories, situated at the lighter end of the scale of Victorian literature, continue to be popular and influential. He was also involved in agricultural reform and improvement in the British Empire.
His breakout novel was King Solomon's Mines (1885), which was to be the first in a series telling of the multitudinous adventures of its protagonist, Allan Quatermain.
Haggard was made a Knight Bachelor in 1912 and a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1919. He stood unsuccessfully for Parliament as a Conservative candidate for the Eastern division of Norfolk in 1895. The locality of Rider, British Columbia, was named in his memory.
His breakout novel was King Solomon's Mines (1885), which was to be the first in a series telling of the multitudinous adventures of its protagonist, Allan Quatermain.
Haggard was made a Knight Bachelor in 1912 and a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1919. He stood unsuccessfully for Parliament as a Conservative candidate for the Eastern division of Norfolk in 1895. The locality of Rider, British Columbia, was named in his memory.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
December 21, 2017
I first found this title while doing research for my year-long project of reading in the area of the history of mystery/crime/detective fiction, but it didn't take too long to realize that this book really didn't fit into that category. In fact, there's a tag at the top of the cover that says "Classics Books Library: Suspense," but it's really one of those novels that sort of defies any attempt at pigeonholing, since it combines small touches of satire, shipwreck, adventure, romance, and a bit of tongue-in-cheek courtroom drama. And while I'd never give it the moniker of great literature, it's a lighthearted fun read and pokes fun not only at capitalist greed, the anonymity of the working man and as in Dickens' Bleak House, the legal profession and the plight of inheritors when a case gets stuck in Chancery court.
It's good for a relaxing afternoon read, fun, not too taxing on the brain; if that's the sort of story you're looking for, then you've found it.
for a brief, spoiler-free look at plot, you can go here to my reading journal:
http://www.britishreading.com/2017/12...
It's good for a relaxing afternoon read, fun, not too taxing on the brain; if that's the sort of story you're looking for, then you've found it.
for a brief, spoiler-free look at plot, you can go here to my reading journal:
http://www.britishreading.com/2017/12...
May 1, 2021
MR MEESON'S WILL is at best underwhelming. It has one very good scene involving a Titanic-like shipwreck, but other than that there's little to recommend it. Mr Meeson is an A-1 jerk. He's also a book publisher, which I suppose are one and the same. He cheats Augusta out of her royalties and as a result, Gus's kid sister dies. Gus leaves for New Zealand and Meeson ends up on the same voyage. Gus tells her story to everyone and they all shun him. Then comes the Titanic-like boat wreck. Gus and Meeson end up in the same lifeboat with two other sailors. They hit on an island. Meeson, dying, repents, and wants to make a new will leaving everything to nephew Eustace. There are no writing materials so one of the sailors tattoos the will on Gus's back. Meeson dies, the two sailors off each other, and Gus is rescued. From here the story turns into a comic love farce involving legitimizing Gus's back as a legal document.
H Rider Haggard is not known for his comedy writing and the final chapters are forced and belabored. But the boatwreck is well-done. Eventually somebody told HRH to string his action sequences together and minimize the romance. This resulted in the Allan Quatermain novels, and others of its kind. Everyone produces a few clunkers on the path to literary immortality and MEESON is one of them. Best to let it fall by the wayside and concentrate on the author's masterpieces.
H Rider Haggard is not known for his comedy writing and the final chapters are forced and belabored. But the boatwreck is well-done. Eventually somebody told HRH to string his action sequences together and minimize the romance. This resulted in the Allan Quatermain novels, and others of its kind. Everyone produces a few clunkers on the path to literary immortality and MEESON is one of them. Best to let it fall by the wayside and concentrate on the author's masterpieces.
July 16, 2020
আমার পড়া হ্যাগার্ড এর একাদশতম বই। এবং সবথেকে দুর্বলতম। কিন্তু তারপরেও চার তারা না দিলে পাপ হবে। হ্যাগার্ড সাহেবের লেখা যারা পড়েনি তারা অবাক হবেন দুর্বলতম লেখাকে কিভাবে চার তারা দেয়া যায় ভেবে। কারণ এটা হ্যাগার্ড এর লেখা। হ্যাগার্ড সাহেব আলাদা একটা স্ট্যান্ডার্ড সেট করে গেছেন।
August 22, 2011
"Mr. Meeson's Will" was first printed in book form in October 1888, after having first appeared earlier that year in "The Illustrated London News." It was H. Rider Haggard's 11th novel (out of 58), and one in which his experiences as both a writer and aspiring lawyer were given vent. The novel is at once a tale of adventure, a critique of the publishing industry in late 19th century England, and a satire on the English legal system.
In the book's first half, Augusta Smithers--our heroine and a successful author, who has unwittingly entered into an unfair contract with Meeson's publishing firm--takes passage on board a steamship bound for New Zealand, where she hopes to make a fresh start. Her enemy, Mr. Meeson himself, is on board the same boat, coincidentally, and when the ship sinks after a catastrophic collision with a whaler (in a disaster scene that predates a similar, fictional shipwreck in Haggard's 1905 novel, "The Spirit of Bambatse," not to mention the real-life Titanic disaster of 1912), Augusta, Meeson and several others are washed up on one of the lonely Kerguelen Islands, in the south Indian Ocean. Before his death, Meeson decides to alter his will and, having no other means of doing so, has that testament tattooed upon Augusta's back! This sets up the story for the book's second half, in which a huge court battle takes place regarding the validity of this document. What might have turned out to be a dry exposition of legal procedures in another author's hands is handled quite entertainingly by H. Rider, and the result is a book of adventure in the first half--the shipwreck and marooning scenes are especially fun--and interesting court battles in the second.
Haggard must have greatly enjoyed exposing the unfair practices of the publishing system that had tried to cheat him during his early career, much as Meeson & Co. had cheated Augusta. The book, though a lesser title in Haggard's bibliography--and probably a seldom-read one today, at least as compared to such other Haggard titles as "King Solomon's Mines" and "She"--offers ample entertainment value for the modern-day reader, and I do unreservedly recommend it. This book was, by the way, made into a film starring Lon Chaney in 1916, and called "The Grasp of Greed." If it's half as good as its source novel, I would love to see it one day.
In the book's first half, Augusta Smithers--our heroine and a successful author, who has unwittingly entered into an unfair contract with Meeson's publishing firm--takes passage on board a steamship bound for New Zealand, where she hopes to make a fresh start. Her enemy, Mr. Meeson himself, is on board the same boat, coincidentally, and when the ship sinks after a catastrophic collision with a whaler (in a disaster scene that predates a similar, fictional shipwreck in Haggard's 1905 novel, "The Spirit of Bambatse," not to mention the real-life Titanic disaster of 1912), Augusta, Meeson and several others are washed up on one of the lonely Kerguelen Islands, in the south Indian Ocean. Before his death, Meeson decides to alter his will and, having no other means of doing so, has that testament tattooed upon Augusta's back! This sets up the story for the book's second half, in which a huge court battle takes place regarding the validity of this document. What might have turned out to be a dry exposition of legal procedures in another author's hands is handled quite entertainingly by H. Rider, and the result is a book of adventure in the first half--the shipwreck and marooning scenes are especially fun--and interesting court battles in the second.
Haggard must have greatly enjoyed exposing the unfair practices of the publishing system that had tried to cheat him during his early career, much as Meeson & Co. had cheated Augusta. The book, though a lesser title in Haggard's bibliography--and probably a seldom-read one today, at least as compared to such other Haggard titles as "King Solomon's Mines" and "She"--offers ample entertainment value for the modern-day reader, and I do unreservedly recommend it. This book was, by the way, made into a film starring Lon Chaney in 1916, and called "The Grasp of Greed." If it's half as good as its source novel, I would love to see it one day.
April 21, 2020
কিশোর উপন্যাস। বেশ চমৎকার। এক বসায় পড়ে শেষ করার মতো। তবে মজা পেয়েছি দুটো কারণে।
প্রথমত, উপন্যাস লেখার সময়কালীন ইংল্যান্ডের সমাজ ও বিচার ব্যাবস্থা সম্পর্কে একটা ধারণা পাওয়া যায়। সেটা অনেকটা আমাদের বর্তমান সময়ের কাছাকাছি। উল্লেখ্য যে উপন্যাসটি সম্ভবত ১৮৮৫ সালে লেখা।
দ্বিতীয়ত, সেই সময়ে বৃটেনের মেয়েরা বেশ 'ক্ষ্যাত' ও 'আনস্মার্ট' ছিলো। তারা সেসময় তাদের পিঠের কাপড় উঠিয়ে পিঠ ও ঘাড় দেখাতেও মারাত্মক সংকোচ বোধ করতো। আর লোকেরা তাই দেখার জন্য বিস্তর ভীড় করতো। খোলামেলা পোষাক তো অনেক দূরের বিষয়। আর যদি অনুবাদক অনুবাদে তার নিজের মতো করে কিছু না মেশায় তাহলে বুঝা যায় তখনকার সময়ে বিয়ের বাহিরে নারী-পুরুষের অবাধ মেলামেশাটা ভালো চোখে দেখা হতো না। এ থেকে বুঝা যায়, তাদের এই 'আধুনিক' হয়ে ওঠা আসলে বেশিদিন আগের না। তাদের পোষাক-আশাক ও মেলামেশার এই সো কল্ড উদারতা আর ফ্রি হয়ে ওঠার ব্যাপারটা তাদের ঐতিহ্যের অংশও নয়। এটা অনেক পরে তাদের সংস্কৃতিতে ঢুকে বলে মনে হয়।
প্রথমত, উপন্যাস লেখার সময়কালীন ইংল্যান্ডের সমাজ ও বিচার ব্যাবস্থা সম্পর্কে একটা ধারণা পাওয়া যায়। সেটা অনেকটা আমাদের বর্তমান সময়ের কাছাকাছি। উল্লেখ্য যে উপন্যাসটি সম্ভবত ১৮৮৫ সালে লেখা।
দ্বিতীয়ত, সেই সময়ে বৃটেনের মেয়েরা বেশ 'ক্ষ্যাত' ও 'আনস্মার্ট' ছিলো। তারা সেসময় তাদের পিঠের কাপড় উঠিয়ে পিঠ ও ঘাড় দেখাতেও মারাত্মক সংকোচ বোধ করতো। আর লোকেরা তাই দেখার জন্য বিস্তর ভীড় করতো। খোলামেলা পোষাক তো অনেক দূরের বিষয়। আর যদি অনুবাদক অনুবাদে তার নিজের মতো করে কিছু না মেশায় তাহলে বুঝা যায় তখনকার সময়ে বিয়ের বাহিরে নারী-পুরুষের অবাধ মেলামেশাটা ভালো চোখে দেখা হতো না। এ থেকে বুঝা যায়, তাদের এই 'আধুনিক' হয়ে ওঠা আসলে বেশিদিন আগের না। তাদের পোষাক-আশাক ও মেলামেশার এই সো কল্ড উদারতা আর ফ্রি হয়ে ওঠার ব্যাপারটা তাদের ঐতিহ্যের অংশও নয়। এটা অনেক পরে তাদের সংস্কৃতিতে ঢুকে বলে মনে হয়।
October 20, 2016
Haggard operating in a more Dickensian mode. And possibly being a bit bitter about his experiences as a relatively fledgling author? (Who, admittedly, had already published at least two or three phenomenally successful and genre-creating novels.)
[spoilers abound for a book first published in 1888]
So the Meeson in question is the skinflint owner of a publishing house. At the beginning of the book, Our Heroine (Augusta Smithers, author of the phenomenally successful "Jemima's Hope") comes to Meeson's publishing house to beg for more money than is required by the terms of her contract. She is, needless, to say, unsuccessful. Meeson's nephew, Eustace, witnesses the altercation, has sharp words for his uncle and, as a result, is stricken from his uncle's will.
Gussie, we soon find, sought money on behalf of her poor, sick younger sister. With no money and (shortly) no sister, Gussie boards the good ship Kangaroo en route for New Zealand, where she hopes to start a new life with a distant cousin who is also, I believe, a priest?
(An aside: Although it has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the book proper, here's Planxty performing their song Good Ship Kangaroo.)
By unfortunate and wild coincidence, Augusta discovers she's sharing the ship with Meeson himself; fortunately, several of the first-class passengers, to say nothing of the captain himself, have read her book and are only too happy to bring her into their circle and to "cut" Meeson entirely.
And now Haggard enters his comfort zone: There's a shipwreck, most of the crew and passengers are lost, and Augusta, Meeson, a small boy and a couple of sailors find themselves marooned on Kerguelen Land. Meeson (old reprobate that he is) has a change of heart and wants to revise his will; but the only way to record the new will is to tattoo it upon Augusta's fair shoulders ...
Thence back to England and a reunion with Eustace (who, despite only having met her twice, is completely smitten; which feeling she entirely reciprocates) and a most extraordinary court case.
A relatively short, generally entertaining novel that, well, could have been shorter; partly because the Victorian style is somewhat on the wordy side (let me gather up some bricks to throw from within my glass house in that regard), but mostly because it just keeps going and going and going until it kind of slogs to a stop which, again, was kind of the style at the time. But nonetheless a pleasant way to while away an evening or two.
[spoilers abound for a book first published in 1888]
So the Meeson in question is the skinflint owner of a publishing house. At the beginning of the book, Our Heroine (Augusta Smithers, author of the phenomenally successful "Jemima's Hope") comes to Meeson's publishing house to beg for more money than is required by the terms of her contract. She is, needless, to say, unsuccessful. Meeson's nephew, Eustace, witnesses the altercation, has sharp words for his uncle and, as a result, is stricken from his uncle's will.
Gussie, we soon find, sought money on behalf of her poor, sick younger sister. With no money and (shortly) no sister, Gussie boards the good ship Kangaroo en route for New Zealand, where she hopes to start a new life with a distant cousin who is also, I believe, a priest?
(An aside: Although it has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the book proper, here's Planxty performing their song Good Ship Kangaroo.)
By unfortunate and wild coincidence, Augusta discovers she's sharing the ship with Meeson himself; fortunately, several of the first-class passengers, to say nothing of the captain himself, have read her book and are only too happy to bring her into their circle and to "cut" Meeson entirely.
And now Haggard enters his comfort zone: There's a shipwreck, most of the crew and passengers are lost, and Augusta, Meeson, a small boy and a couple of sailors find themselves marooned on Kerguelen Land. Meeson (old reprobate that he is) has a change of heart and wants to revise his will; but the only way to record the new will is to tattoo it upon Augusta's fair shoulders ...
Thence back to England and a reunion with Eustace (who, despite only having met her twice, is completely smitten; which feeling she entirely reciprocates) and a most extraordinary court case.
A relatively short, generally entertaining novel that, well, could have been shorter; partly because the Victorian style is somewhat on the wordy side (let me gather up some bricks to throw from within my glass house in that regard), but mostly because it just keeps going and going and going until it kind of slogs to a stop which, again, was kind of the style at the time. But nonetheless a pleasant way to while away an evening or two.
Want to read
April 27, 2019Synopsis: Mr. Meeson is a wealthy publisher. One of his employees ends up with his will tattooed on her back!
February 25, 2016
A brilliantly wicked lampoon upon the veniality of publishers that remains hilarious and true, even today. Nothing has changed in 126 years...
December 29, 2017
হ্যাগার্ড সাহেবের আরেকটি মাস্টারপিস, সাথে ইসমাইল আরমান এর ঝরঝরে অনুবাদ। এক বসায় শেষ করেছিলাম।
January 10, 2020
হেনরি রাইডার হ্যাগার্ডের উপর থেকে আমি কখনো আকর্ষণ হারাইনি । যদিও ব্যক্তিগতভাবে আমার তাকে খুবই রেসিস্ট মনে হয় ! কাহিনীর প্রয়োজনে কিনা জানি না তবে তিনি সব কাহিনীতেই সাদা মানুষদের প্রভু আর কালো মানুষদের দাস হিসেবে উপস্থাপন করেছেন ।
তবে রোমাঞ্চের জগতে তিনি য�� একচ্ছত্র অধিপতি সেটা অস্বীকারের কিছু নেই ।
তার লেখা যেকোনো বই পড়লেই মনে হয় যেন শিরদাড়া টান টান করে রাখা উত্তেজনায় ভরপুর একটা মুভি দেখে উঠেছি ।
গল্পের শুরু প্রথমে এক প্রকাশককে দিয়ে যে লেখকদের স্বত্ব কিনে নিয়ে তাদের বেতনভূক কর্মচারীতে পরিনত করে তাদের সৃষ্টিশীলতা ধ্বংস করে এবং তাদের দিয়ে ধর্মীয় বই লেখায় । ধর্মের এই রমারমা ব্যবসা করে সে অঢেল সম্পত্তির মালিক হয় ।
বিদ্রোহ করে এক তরুণী লেখিকা । সে পন করে করে না খেয়ে থাকলেও সে তার ইচ্ছার বিরুদ্ধে কিছু লিখবে না । ধনকুবের প্রকাশকের বিরুদ্ধে সে চালাতে থাকে তার দারিদ্রতার সংগ্রাম । তার প্রতি একটু সমবেদনা প্রকাশ করে নিঃসন্তান প্রকাশকেরই আপন ভাতিজা। এতে ক্ষিপ্ত হয়ে প্রকাশক তার ভাতিজাকে সম্পত্তিচ্যুত করে !
এদিকে ক্লান্ত ক্লিষ্ট মন নিয়ে লেখিকা দেশ ছাড়তে যায় যদি সমুদ্রের ওপারে তার দারিদ্রতার দিন শেষ হয় এই আশায় । একই জাহাজে ব্যবসায়িক কাজে অস্ট্রেলিয়া যাচ্ছিলো সেই প্রকাশকও ।
তারপর হয় জাহাজডুবি !
লেখিকা-প্রকাশক আশ্রয় নেয় এক জনবিরল দ্বীপে । বেঁচে থাকার আকুতি তাদের মতো চিরশত্রুকেও কাছে নিয়ে আসে । একসাথে তারা অপেক্ষা করতে থাকে উদ্ধারের !
এক পর্যায়ে প্রকাশকের মনে উদয় হয় পাপবোধ । মরার আগে সে তার ভাতিজাকে সবকিছু ফিরিয়ে দিতে চায় । কিন্তু তার জন্য তো নতুন উইল করতে হবে । তার জন্য দরকার কাগজ কলম । তাও সম্ভব কই এই নির্জন দ্বীপে ?
লেখিকার মনেও গোপন অনুরাগ থাকে প্রকাশকের ভাতিজার জন্য যে তার জন্য চাচার সাথে ঝগড়া করে সবকিছু হারায় ।
তাই লেখিকা এক অভূতপূর্ব সিদ্ধান্ত নেয় । সে কাটেলফিশের কালি দিয়ে উল্কি/ট্যাটু করিয়ে নেয় উইলটি তার পিঠে !
তারপর একসময় সে একাই বেঁচে ফিরে ইংল্যান্ডে ! হই-হুল্লোড় পরে যায় সারাদেশ জুড়ে তার সেই অভিনভ উইলটির জন্য ! আদালতে চলে উত্তেজনাময় বাকবিতন্ডা !
সবশেষে বলা যায় , খুবই একঁঘেয়ে কোনো এক সকালের জন্য এই বইটি হবে এক দারুণ খাবার । মনে হবে কোনো থ্রিলিং একটা মুভি ।কাহিনীর মোড় যে কোথা থেকে কোথায় ঘুরলো তা পড়ে চমকৃত হলেও নিরাশ হওয়া যায় না 😊
তবে রোমাঞ্চের জগতে তিনি য�� একচ্ছত্র অধিপতি সেটা অস্বীকারের কিছু নেই ।
তার লেখা যেকোনো বই পড়লেই মনে হয় যেন শিরদাড়া টান টান করে রাখা উত্তেজনায় ভরপুর একটা মুভি দেখে উঠেছি ।
গল্পের শুরু প্রথমে এক প্রকাশককে দিয়ে যে লেখকদের স্বত্ব কিনে নিয়ে তাদের বেতনভূক কর্মচারীতে পরিনত করে তাদের সৃষ্টিশীলতা ধ্বংস করে এবং তাদের দিয়ে ধর্মীয় বই লেখায় । ধর্মের এই রমারমা ব্যবসা করে সে অঢেল সম্পত্তির মালিক হয় ।
বিদ্রোহ করে এক তরুণী লেখিকা । সে পন করে করে না খেয়ে থাকলেও সে তার ইচ্ছার বিরুদ্ধে কিছু লিখবে না । ধনকুবের প্রকাশকের বিরুদ্ধে সে চালাতে থাকে তার দারিদ্রতার সংগ্রাম । তার প্রতি একটু সমবেদনা প্রকাশ করে নিঃসন্তান প্রকাশকেরই আপন ভাতিজা। এতে ক্ষিপ্ত হয়ে প্রকাশক তার ভাতিজাকে সম্পত্তিচ্যুত করে !
এদিকে ক্লান্ত ক্লিষ্ট মন নিয়ে লেখিকা দেশ ছাড়তে যায় যদি সমুদ্রের ওপারে তার দারিদ্রতার দিন শেষ হয় এই আশায় । একই জাহাজে ব্যবসায়িক কাজে অস্ট্রেলিয়া যাচ্ছিলো সেই প্রকাশকও ।
তারপর হয় জাহাজডুবি !
লেখিকা-প্রকাশক আশ্রয় নেয় এক জনবিরল দ্বীপে । বেঁচে থাকার আকুতি তাদের মতো চিরশত্রুকেও কাছে নিয়ে আসে । একসাথে তারা অপেক্ষা করতে থাকে উদ্ধারের !
এক পর্যায়ে প্রকাশকের মনে উদয় হয় পাপবোধ । মরার আগে সে তার ভাতিজাকে সবকিছু ফিরিয়ে দিতে চায় । কিন্তু তার জন্য তো নতুন উইল করতে হবে । তার জন্য দরকার কাগজ কলম । তাও সম্ভব কই এই নির্জন দ্বীপে ?
লেখিকার মনেও গোপন অনুরাগ থাকে প্রকাশকের ভাতিজার জন্য যে তার জন্য চাচার সাথে ঝগড়া করে সবকিছু হারায় ।
তাই লেখিকা এক অভূতপূর্ব সিদ্ধান্ত নেয় । সে কাটেলফিশের কালি দিয়ে উল্কি/ট্যাটু করিয়ে নেয় উইলটি তার পিঠে !
তারপর একসময় সে একাই বেঁচে ফিরে ইংল্যান্ডে ! হই-হুল্লোড় পরে যায় সারাদেশ জুড়ে তার সেই অভিনভ উইলটির জন্য ! আদালতে চলে উত্তেজনাময় বাকবিতন্ডা !
সবশেষে বলা যায় , খুবই একঁঘেয়ে কোনো এক সকালের জন্য এই বইটি হবে এক দারুণ খাবার । মনে হবে কোনো থ্রিলিং একটা মুভি ।কাহিনীর মোড় যে কোথা থেকে কোথায় ঘুরলো তা পড়ে চমকৃত হলেও নিরাশ হওয়া যায় না 😊
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 13, 2021
(Actually, read in the Project Gutenberg transcription, which has only a handful of typos.)
Has some good, rather satiric, scenes, but doesn't really have much focus. (Loooots of detail about hiring the lawyers, for example.) Haggard catches the turgid sentimentality of books like Jemima's Vow in some scenes--for example, a death early in the book. I did read King Solomon's Mines 50-ish (!) years ago, and Ayesha sometime later--did he barge in with florid editorializing in everything? Don't remember.
Anyway, it's an okay read with rather unmemorable characters; best part is the savage stuff on publishing.
Has some good, rather satiric, scenes, but doesn't really have much focus. (Loooots of detail about hiring the lawyers, for example.) Haggard catches the turgid sentimentality of books like Jemima's Vow in some scenes--for example, a death early in the book. I did read King Solomon's Mines 50-ish (!) years ago, and Ayesha sometime later--did he barge in with florid editorializing in everything? Don't remember.
Anyway, it's an okay read with rather unmemorable characters; best part is the savage stuff on publishing.
June 30, 2017
Set in the 1890's in Birmingham, England, the story has the Victorian the high profit publishing industry and the law, lawyers and courts as targets. It is a melodramatic farce in which the good guys are very good and the bad guys very horrible. There are also elements of romance and adventure.
The protagonist is young and beautiful Augusta Smithers, a gutsy, likable woman who stands up to meam publisher Jonathan Meeson andher efforts to obtain her due from the immense profits of her book. She is supported by Meeson's nephew who is disowned because of it.
The protagonist is young and beautiful Augusta Smithers, a gutsy, likable woman who stands up to meam publisher Jonathan Meeson andher efforts to obtain her due from the immense profits of her book. She is supported by Meeson's nephew who is disowned because of it.
March 12, 2017
4 stars from Sandy, read the full review at FANTASY LITERATURE
Disclaimer: just so you know, some of the books we review are received free from publishers
Editor’s note: Mr. Meeson’s Will is free in Kindle format
Mr. Meeson’s Will was first printed in book form in October 1888, after having first appeared earlier that year in The Illustrated London News. It was H. Rider Haggard’s 11th novel (out of 58), and one in which his experiences as both a writer and aspiring lawyer were given vent. The novel is at once a tale of adventure, a critique of the publishing industry in late 19th century England, and a satire on the English legal system.
In the book’s first half, Augusta Smithers — our heroine and a successful author, who has unwittingly entered into an unfair contract with Meeson’s publishing firm — takes passage on board a steamship bound for New Zealand, where she hopes to make a fresh start. Her enemy, Mr. Meeson himself, is on board the same boat, coincidentally, and when the ship sinks after a catastrophic collision with a whaler (in a disaster scene that predates a similar, fictional shipwreck in Haggard’s 1905 novel, The Spirit of Bambatse, not to mention the real-life Titanic disaster of 1912), Augusta, Meeson and several others are washed up on one of the lonely Kerguelen Islands, in the south Indian Ocean....4 stars from Sandy, read the full review at FANTASY LITERATURE
Disclaimer: just so you know, some of the books we review are received free from publishers
Editor’s note: Mr. Meeson’s Will is free in Kindle format
Mr. Meeson’s Will was first printed in book form in October 1888, after having first appeared earlier that year in The Illustrated London News. It was H. Rider Haggard’s 11th novel (out of 58), and one in which his experiences as both a writer and aspiring lawyer were given vent. The novel is at once a tale of adventure, a critique of the publishing industry in late 19th century England, and a satire on the English legal system.
In the book’s first half, Augusta Smithers — our heroine and a successful author, who has unwittingly entered into an unfair contract with Meeson’s publishing firm — takes passage on board a steamship bound for New Zealand, where she hopes to make a fresh start. Her enemy, Mr. Meeson himself, is on board the same boat, coincidentally, and when the ship sinks after a catastrophic collision with a whaler (in a disaster scene that predates a similar, fictional shipwreck in Haggard’s 1905 novel, The Spirit of Bambatse, not to mention the real-life Titanic disaster of 1912), Augusta, Meeson and several others are washed up on one of the lonely Kerguelen Islands, in the south Indian Ocean....4 stars from Sandy, read the full review at FANTASY LITERATURE
March 25, 2017
Thinly plotted and not particularly suspenseful. Seems designed solely to achieve the set piece of the tattooed will being shown in court and discuss the enforceability of the "document."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2018
Loved the tongue-in-cheek humor and our heroine, Augusta.
August 27, 2020
Excellent plot of the story.
January 10, 2022
বিখ্যাত প্রকাশক মি.মিসন, পুরো ইংল্যান্ড এ তার মত বিখ্যাত এবং ধনী প্রকাশক আর নেই।
তার প্রকাশনীতেই পাণ্ডুলিপি দিয়ে বিখ্যাত লেখিকা বনে গেলেন অগাস্টা স্মিদার্স, কিন্তু এই লেখিকার সাথে প্রতারণা করে তার পাওনা থেকে বঞ্চিত করলেন এই প্রতিভা চোষা প্রকাশক।
প্রকাশক এর ভাইপো ইউস্টেস এর হৃদয় যে ছিনিয়ে নিয়ে গেলো এই লেখিকা,
তার জন্যই চাচার সাথে ঝগড়া করে পথে বসতে হলো তাকে। চাচা ভাইপোকে সম্পত্তি থেকে বঞ্চিত করে একটা উইল করলেন এবং তার থেকেই যে শুরু এক মিষ্টি প্রেমের
অনবদ্য কাহিনী যাতে মিশে আছে ভয়, আতংক ভরা এক সমুদ্র যাত্রা, মৃত্যু থেকে ফিরে আসা এবং ভালোবাসার অভিনব সাক্ষী।
সবাইকে আমন্ত্রণ জানাচ্ছি হেনরি রাইডার এর মিস্টার মিসনস উইলস এ ডুবে যেতে যেখানে নিজ চোখেই না হয় প্রত্যক্ষ করলেন একটি উইল নিয়ে কিভাবে একটি প্রেমের পরিণতি দিতে পারে।।
তার প্রকাশনীতেই পাণ্ডুলিপি দিয়ে বিখ্যাত লেখিকা বনে গেলেন অগাস্টা স্মিদার্স, কিন্তু এই লেখিকার সাথে প্রতারণা করে তার পাওনা থেকে বঞ্চিত করলেন এই প্রতিভা চোষা প্রকাশক।
প্রকাশক এর ভাইপো ইউস্টেস এর হৃদয় যে ছিনিয়ে নিয়ে গেলো এই লেখিকা,
তার জন্যই চাচার সাথে ঝগড়া করে পথে বসতে হলো তাকে। চাচা ভাইপোকে সম্পত্তি থেকে বঞ্চিত করে একটা উইল করলেন এবং তার থেকেই যে শুরু এক মিষ্টি প্রেমের
অনবদ্য কাহিনী যাতে মিশে আছে ভয়, আতংক ভরা এক সমুদ্র যাত্রা, মৃত্যু থেকে ফিরে আসা এবং ভালোবাসার অভিনব সাক্ষী।
সবাইকে আমন্ত্রণ জানাচ্ছি হেনরি রাইডার এর মিস্টার মিসনস উইলস এ ডুবে যেতে যেখানে নিজ চোখেই না হয় প্রত্যক্ষ করলেন একটি উইল নিয়ে কিভাবে একটি প্রেমের পরিণতি দিতে পারে।।
April 4, 2014
Turns out I underestimated dear old Haggard. After reading a handful of his Allan Quatermain and Ayesha (She-who-must-be-obeyed) novels, I thought him a mediocre writer and a one-note storyteller who spent his whole career rehashing KING SOLOMON'S MINES.
MR. MEESON'S WILL totally changed my mind.
Apart from the fact that it lacks a character as cool as Quatermain, this book is in every way superior to all the other H. Rider Haggard novels I have read. KING SOLOMON'S MINES is the only one that even comes close.
MR. MEESON'S WILL is a delightful pastiche of several different genres. It starts off as a Dickensian drama, then becomes reminiscent of something by Jane Austen, then turns into an adventure story along the lines of Edgar A. Poe. Just when you think you've got a handle on it, the story reinvents itself as a legal farce worthy of Mark Twain, then wraps up with the kind of ending you'd expect from a lightweight Sandra Bullock rom-com.
Okay, so I guess the last part could have been better.
Still, even the romantic aspects, old-fashioned as they are, charmed rather than annoyed me. (Though I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the way our heroine becomes so traumatized over having to occasionally bare her shoulders in front of some men. My, how times have changed!) I usually avoid any novel that smacks too strongly of romance, but MR. MEESON'S WILL has led me to rethink that policy. I think I could actually see myself enjoying a full-on romance novel as long as it were written by Haggard.
Coming from me, that's high praise indeed.
MR. MEESON'S WILL totally changed my mind.
Apart from the fact that it lacks a character as cool as Quatermain, this book is in every way superior to all the other H. Rider Haggard novels I have read. KING SOLOMON'S MINES is the only one that even comes close.
MR. MEESON'S WILL is a delightful pastiche of several different genres. It starts off as a Dickensian drama, then becomes reminiscent of something by Jane Austen, then turns into an adventure story along the lines of Edgar A. Poe. Just when you think you've got a handle on it, the story reinvents itself as a legal farce worthy of Mark Twain, then wraps up with the kind of ending you'd expect from a lightweight Sandra Bullock rom-com.
Okay, so I guess the last part could have been better.
Still, even the romantic aspects, old-fashioned as they are, charmed rather than annoyed me. (Though I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the way our heroine becomes so traumatized over having to occasionally bare her shoulders in front of some men. My, how times have changed!) I usually avoid any novel that smacks too strongly of romance, but MR. MEESON'S WILL has led me to rethink that policy. I think I could actually see myself enjoying a full-on romance novel as long as it were written by Haggard.
Coming from me, that's high praise indeed.
November 18, 2012
I really enjoyed this. Unlike typical HRH, this isn't an adventure story. Well, it is in part, but the majority of it is a romance and legal story which centers on the question of whether a will tattooed on a person is valid. The characters are well drawn, with an unusual heroine, and although the outcome is predictable enough, it's still an engaging read.
In these days where the majority of women I know have one or more tattoos, it's interesting to see the prejudice that was prevalent a century ago.
In these days where the majority of women I know have one or more tattoos, it's interesting to see the prejudice that was prevalent a century ago.
March 23, 2015
Haggard's tale of the greed and selfishness in a big publishing house starts off as a satire on the workings of publishing companies, revealing a lightness of touch that is often absent in some of his more ponderous writing. The initial chapters are the highlight of this book but it is well plotted throughout and features a typical brave woman at the centre of the action.
October 28, 2011
Amazing, ridiculous, and about tattoos!
November 23, 2015
This is probably the most fun and interesting book I've read all year. If you love Victorian literature with a bit of wit and some fun legal quandaries, you'll enjoy this one.
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