The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion

This book could easily have started with these words:

It was a dark and stormy night.
Poverty-stricken struggling author and journalist, Geoffrey Tempest is pondering where his next meal is coming from, and how he is going to pay the meagre rent for his garret.
But-lo and behold- he receives three letters which will change his life. The first is from an old friend, Boffles, who has done well in Australia and sent him a fifty pound note. The second letter is from a law firm-he is rich. A forotten uncle in South Africa has left him five million pounds.

Fingers shaking with excitement, with dramatic violin music playing in the background-Geoffrey opens the third letter-from a certain Lucio Rimanez who would like to make his acquaintance.

The story is told in first person as the author is narrating events that have already happened.
Are there any indicators as to what is to come? And how does the narrator feel about the events that are about to transpire?

Enter Lucio Rimanez!
What are your impressions of this character? Any indicators as to his true nature?

Tempest leaves his dreary lodgings and does send his former landlady all the owed rent and a bit more.

He moves into the same hotel as Rimanez, visits the solicitors, encounters the publisher who had refused his work, gets more suitable clothing off the rack, visits a tailor and even has time to lunch with Rimanez. The conversation during lunch deals with their philosophy of life.

What does Tempest want to do with his life?
What does Rimanez suggest he do with his wealth?
What are there attitudes to life in general?

Do you find anything disturbing so far?

Please feel free to discuss any other ideas that occurred to you while reading these chapters.

The beginning made me think how little has changed, with a small percent of rich people having more wealth than they know what to do with, and not working, while others work hard yet are desperately poor. The writer's plight reminded me of New Grub Street.

I think it's still hard for a new writer to get a break.
Tempest's comments about the wealthy not understanding hunger are still relevant today, unfortunately.

Some of the arguments made here could be made the same way today. Especially about the income gap. Interesting that our hero has no trouble leaving poverty behind and living the life of the idle rich with no social conscience. He wants to enjoy his riches all by himself and is encouraged by Rimanez do do so. He just wants revenge for his misfortunes as an author. He has no sympathy for others with similar issues. He looks down on the lower classes, he was never part of „those people“. We will see how that develops.
Rimanez is a somewhat enigmatic character so far with glimpses to his true nature here and there. He certainly encourages Tempest in his selfish behavior.
I was amazed by the description of women just as appendages to men without any will or intelligence of their own. I am not quite sure what to make of it at this point. There might be further developments in this area.

Detlef wrote: " Interesting that our hero has no trouble leaving poverty behind and living the life of the idle rich with no social conscience. He wants to enjoy his riches all by himself and is encouraged by Rimanez to do so..."

I was shocked by the way that Tempest so quickly dismissed and disregarded both the poverty stricken and women once he had gained wealth.

There was no thought of sharing his good fortune. His accusation that all his fellow writers deserved his contempt was clearly wrong. My thoughts about Tempest quickly turned from concern and pity to disgust because of the way he was going to selfishly use his windfall.

I asked myself if this was a sudden change of character, possibly because of making the acquaintance of Prince Rimanez, or if Tempest had always been mean and selfish. It could be that abject poverty had hardened his heart towards his fellow sufferers.

With regards to the prince, due to the numerous hints, clues and his first name being Lucio, I can’t help but speculate that there is something dark and sinister yet to be revealed.

I did notice that Lucio did not react well when the violinist in the room near Tempest's was playing "Ave Maria".

The beautiful insect reminded me that Beelzebub means Lord of the Flies. I doubt I would have picked up on a lot of the clues if it weren't for the title of the book.

Thanks for giving us the info, Robin. The title is a bit of a giveway as to the character, but what will his sorrows be?

I am wondering if the character's name "Tempest" is representative of something? An internal struggle? The upheaval that is bound to happen when Satan is messing around with his life?

I've just started chapter five. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. So far, a loan from a friend, a new friend who is promising the world, an inheritance... are his eyes wide shut? If it's too good to be true, it usually is.

Is there any significance to the second name, Rimanez? What about the name Amiel?

I noticed that Lucio trades in causing discontent. Geoffrey is thrilled to have received £5 million, and yet Lucio dismisses it as something he could run through quickly. G mentions his gratitude to his friend for sending the £50, and L replies I don't think much of his generosity considering he came into a mine worth a hundred thousand pounds sterling. . When G mentions the publisher may agree to publish his work if he pays for it himself, L replies ...-his pleasant hypocrisy in retiring to think it over, shows him to be a person of tact and forbearance.

I think the sorrow of Satan lies in his inability to return to heaven until ...Man himself redeem thee! Each human soul that yields unto thy tempting shall be a new barrier set between thee and heaven; each one that of his own choice doth repel and overcome thee, shall lift thee nearer thy lost home! When the world rejects thee, I will pardon and again receive thee,-but not til then. This is clearly a losing battle so far!

From the notes in the Oxford edition, I read that we do find out the significance of Rimanez later on in the book.

I do notice that Lucio is trying to take all the pleasure out of Tempest's good news with his cynical comments.

Note on Amiel: there seems to be no clear reason for Corelli's use of this name. It is said, traditionally, to be an anagram of Eliam(meaning kinsman of God in Hebrew).

It's also used as a last name, since there is Barbara Amiel, a former Canadian journalist, but that's a 20th usage, so it wouldn't apply in Corelli's case.

Tempest being such a huge jerk is kind of a relief, actually. It means I don't have to worry about what will happen to him, and just be entertained. And it is entertaining so far. It especially cracked me up when Rimanez said he had once been an editor.

Tempest is a jerk, as you put it, Lori, especially his opinions regarding women. I get the impression that he's never actually been in a relationship with a woman.

Rosemarie wrote: "Tempest is a jerk, as you put it, Lori, especially his opinions regarding women. I get the impression that he's never actually been in a relationship with a woman."

It's a nice contrast to Tenant of Wildfell Hall. I'm loving that book too, but since I really like Helen it's a bit of a nail-biter because I don't want anything too horrible to happen to her (I often forget they're fictional people!). It's sometimes a nice change to have an unlikeable main character so you can just enjoy the ride :-D

Lori wrote: "Tempest being such a huge jerk is kind of a relief, actually. It means I don't have to worry about what will happen to him, and just be entertained. And it is entertaining so far. It especially cra..."

I wasn't sure he started out that way, just really got "corrupted" quickly on receiving all that money-or perhaps that means he was a jerk all along but couldn't live it out on no money. It was just such a contrast between how much he loved his writing while poor to how quickly he seemed set to abandon it once rich.

His personality was completely overwhelmed by Lucio.

Rosemarie wrote: "His personality was completely overwhelmed by Lucio."

Tempest’s last candle died in his meagre lodgings just before the prince came into his room. So he met the prince in total darkness. Could this be yet another symbolic moment created by the author?

Quite possibly. There is also the loud thunder and bright lightening during the storm. Tempest is a weak character, but hopefully he retains some of his "soul", even though he doesn't believe in it,

Rosemarie wrote: "Quite possibly. There is also the loud thunder and bright lightening during the storm. Tempest is a weak character, but hopefully he retains some of his "soul", even though he doesn't believe in it,"

That was a great scene, with the lightning flashing just as they were "sealing the bargain," as it were.

Yes, another very "cinematic" scene in a time before cinema. Although theater loved those effects. Many years ago, when I was in grad school, I did a project on Romantic theater in France, that is in t he early-mid 19th century. Special effects were very popular, including thunder and lightning, volcanoes exploding, fires, floods, etc.

This is quite the melodrama! The opening scenes reminded me of the black-and-white horror movies of the 1930s and 1940s, like The Black Cat. The social satire is quite heavy-handed, though. The intro to my edition said Corelli was a huge seller in her day, far outpacing the great writers we know from the era. I can see people reading this in the tram on the way to work.

Tempest seems to be quite a shallow character for an author. On gaining his wealth, he seems to forget what he was a few days ago. There is no empathy in him for the fellow "starving men" like him. His views on women truly shocked me. He sees them as mere possession that he has to maintain and thinks that they have to pretty to compensate for his effort at maintaining them. Unfortunately, this kind of wealthy men still exists. I don't much care for Tempest at the moment, and as Lori says, it is also a relief so that we don't have to worry too much about him.

I've not formed any definitive opinion on Lucio, but he looks like a dark and corrupted character. He certainly seems to be a bad influence on Tempest. The first meeting between Tempest and Lucio takes place in the dark, and as Trev has mentioned, it could be symbolic of what may come of this new "friendship". The thunder and lightning when Lucio and Tempest made their "pact" were felt like a warning of sorts. Tempest is given chances to reconsider his decision to befriend Lucio both by Lucio himself and nature, but he seems quite ignorant of them. Lucio's anger and irritation after having heard the playing of "Ave Maria" is I thought another sign by the author to beware of him.

Although these first chapters have created a dark and foreboding atmosphere, I still find the story to be entertaining. :)

It is entertaining and fast-paced-no lengthy interior monologues here.

Unlike some readers, Tempest’s character is a bit of a barrier for me because I don’t find him really believable. I get that the story is allegorical, but I would find the allegory more palatable if there were a naturalistic character at the center. My sense of truly self-centered people (and Tempest seems totally self-centered) is that they don’t admit their self-centeredness openly, they cloak it in claims of virtue; so Tempest’s boasts about how he wouldn’t care for anyone but himself once he has his money did not ring true for me.

Tempest being or becoming so selfish really supports money corrupts. I, of course, see Lucio as the devil/satan. He says he was recently in Australia with boffo which makes me wonder. Did Boffo make a pact and did that pact lead Lucio to connect to Tempest.

I have the same impression-that Lucio found out about Tempest from his letter to Australia.

Deborah wrote: "Did Boffo make a pact and did that pact lead Lucio to connect to Tempest."

That was my impression. If I remember correctly, Tempest thought the tone of the letter sounded "off."

I am a little behind but hope to catch up. I think there is a reason the narrator (Tempest) is painting himself in such a negative light. It seems like he is looking back and telling the story. There are so many ways the plot can go from here. Why would he want us to not be sympathetic to his character? Guilt? Or is he such a “big jerk” that he doesn’t care what we think. Or something else? Can’t wait for the next section.

I get the feeling that he feels guilty about something-or that Lucio did something to ruin his life. But it's too early to guess accurately!

I'm finally able to get started on this - its better written than I thought it would be. This seems to flow well. but its the plot that may turn out to be more lacking than the writing. From this first part, I think the reader can pretty much figure out what most of the book will be like. But hopefully this will be fine as I expect the fun of this book will be in the getting there, which I hope will consist of entertaining events or personality reveals.

There was some discussion about how Tempest informs the reader of his self-centeredness. My take on this wasn't that Tempest was claiming these traits as self-criticism since these traits resulted in his downfall, but that he was revealing these traits with pride because those traits made him more of the 'uberman' able to thrive in society. I think the concept of the 'uberman' would have been floating around society at the time this was written.
I also see that trait as inate in Tempest, nurtured but not created by Lucio. The existence of such a trait in Tempest, which Lucio would have found out from either Boffles or a supernatural source, would have been what attracted Lucio to Tempest in the first place

Brian wrote: "I'm finally able to get started on this - its better written than I thought it would be. This seems to flow well. but its the plot that may turn out to be more lacking than the writing. From this f..."

I was also surprised by how easy a read it is, and interesting to give away the central idea in the title of the book.

I can see how this book would be popular. It's fast paced and has lots of dramatic characters, as well as the mystery of Lucio(to the characters in the book).

I like Deborah's suggestion that Boffles may have 'turned in' Tempest as part of his pact. I don't necessarily expect the initiation of Lucio's involvement with Tempest to be further clarified as supernatural stories, such as Dracula and Carmilla, often don't provide a clear answer to everything.