Du Maurier, Daphne "Rebecca" - 1938

Du Maurier, Daphne "Rebecca" - 1938

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." Besides "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way" from Anna Karenina and "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ..." from "A Tale of Two Cities" probably one of the best known first lines of any novel. Even people who never read the books have heard them.

I have wanted to read this novel for a long, long time. I don't know why it took me so long to start it but I am glad I finally did. What a story! Definitely one of my favourites of all time.

I remember watching the film at least forty years ago, I have never forgotten it. Sometimes you don't want to spoil a book by watching the movie, sometimes it is the other way around.

This has not disappointed me. On the contrary. I am glad I watched the film first because I might have not liked it as much. But his way it was good.

The writing of this book is just superb. Whether it's a conversation or the description of a situation or a landscape, it couldn't have been done any better.

The description of the book says it all, I don't want to add more to spoil it for those who have not read it.

Just one last question: Any ideas on the name of the narrator. My thought was Kirstin or Kristin or Christine or Kerstin or whatever variations of that name, I've seen so many of them. However, I guess there is a reason why the author decided not to give her a name, it goes well with her status in the book, with her self-confidence - or lack of it.

From the back cover:

"'Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.'

So the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter remembered the chilling events that led her down the turning drive past the beeches, white and naked, to the isolated gray stone manse on the windswept Cornish coast. With a husband she barely knew, the young bride arrived at this immense estate, only to be inexorably drawn into the life of the first Mrs. de Winter, the beautiful Rebecca, dead but never forgotten...her suite of rooms never touched, her clothes ready to be worn, her servant - the sinister Mrs. Danvers - still loyal. And as an eerie presentiment of the evil tightened around her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter began her search for the real fate of Rebecca...for the secrets of Manderley."

Gotthelf, Jeremias "The Black Spider"

Gotthelf, Jeremias "The Black Spider" (German: Die schwarze Spinne) - 1842
A story that is probably as old as mankind. Several old legends are processed here. The eternal struggle between Good and Evil is described. The devil tries to bribe people. And anyone who doesn't keep their pact with him will be punished. I'm surprised they haven't made a movie out of it yet. Or maybe they did?

From the back cover:

"It is a sunny summer Sunday in a remote Swiss village, and a christening is being celebrated at a lovely old farmhouse. One of the guests notes an anomaly in the fabric of the venerable edifice: a blackened post that has been carefully built into a trim new window frame. Thereby hangs a tale, one that, as the wise old grandfather who has lived all his life in the house proceeds to tell it, takes one chilling turn after another, while his audience listens in appalled silence. Featuring a cruelly overbearing lord of the manor and the oppressed villagers who must render him service, an irreverent young woman who will stop at nothing, a mysterious stranger with a red beard and a green hat, and, last but not least, the black spider, the tale is as riveting and appalling today as when Jeremias Gotthelf set it down more than a hundred years ago. The Black Spider can be seen as a parable of evil in the heart or of evil at large in society (Thomas Mann saw it as foretelling the advent of Nazism), or as a vision, anticipating H. P. Lovecraft, of cosmic horror. There’s no question, in any case, that it is unforgettably creepy."

Leroux, Gaston "The Phantom of the Opera"

Leroux, Gaston "The Phantom of the Opera" (French: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) - 1910

 

This is my ninth Classic Spin and we were given #5. And it also coincides with another challenge I take part in: Paris in July.

My niece gave this to me. Thank you, Jessica. She had received it from a friend and said she'd never read it. I said I love classics and would gladly read it. And I am always interested in reading any classic book and loved most of them. So, I put the book on my classics spin list and the number was drawn. Looks like it was the right time for it.

The description of the story says that it's riveting. Maybe I already heard too much about it before but I thought I misunderstood the word. But no, it is supposed to be completely engrossing; compelling. Well, it is a little too "fantastic" for me, a little too gothic.

Well written and the characters come to life, though I didn't really care for any of them. I love the French language and I really like the French but I seem to struggle with their literature. I have no idea why.

I like a few of the songs written for the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber but I have never watched it. There must be a reason.

We read this in our international online book club in November 2023.

Some remarks from the discussion. The meeting was started with listening to the Phantom of the Opera signature song by Sarah Brightman and Steve Harley to make a suitable gothic atmosphere. 

The original story was much more a book than expected. It had a backstory, very visual storytelling, and a scary villain. Of course with old stories like this, it had not aged so well in terms of gender equality, but the mechanics and psychology of the phantom was quite interesting.

We were happy to know the original story now, compared to just the Lloyd Webber musical version.

From the back cover:

"First published in French as a serial in 1909, The Phantom of the Opera is a riveting story that revolves around the young, Swedish Christine Daaé. Her father, a famous musician, dies, and she is raised in the Paris Opera House with his dying promise of a protective angel of music to guide her. After a time at the opera house, she begins hearing a voice, who eventually teaches her how to sing beautifully. All goes well until Christine's childhood friend Raoul comes to visit his parents, who are patrons of the opera, and he sees Christine when she begins successfully singing on the stage. The voice, who is the deformed, murderous 'ghost' of the opera house named Erik, however, grows violent in his terrible jealousy, until Christine suddenly disappears. The phantom is in love, but it can only spell disaster.

Leroux's work, with characters ranging from the spoiled prima donna Carlotta to the mysterious Persian from Erik's past, has been immortalized by memorable adaptations. Despite this, it remains a remarkable piece of Gothic horror literature in and of itself, deeper and darker than any version that follows."

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft "Frankenstein"

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft "Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus" - 1818

I always wanted to read this book, it's one of the classics that doesn't really fit into my usual genre but it is definitely a classic. Apparently, one of the very first science fiction novels. Mary Wollstonecraft spent some time in Switzerland with her later husband Percy B. Shelley and Lord Byron when they decided to have a competition. Who would write the best horror story? I haven't read any of the two other authors but I'm sure Mary won this one.

Like I said, not my usual genre but our book club chose it as a solution to the lockdown procedures which prevented many of us to use our usual library and therefore, we needed something we could find online. Luckily, my son still has part of his books in our house so that I even had the book.

Frankenstein is not the monster, as people often believe. He's the creator. Although, maybe he has the touch of a monster in himself as he doesn't really care what will become of his creation. He is so ugly that he can't socialize and therefore becomes a monster.

This book is not just a horror story, there's a lot of psychology behind the scenes. We can look inside human beings, their dreams and their ambitions.

What I liked about the science fiction part, there are no strange explanations about how the being is created. You see this so often in films that they make something that is absolutely impossible in a way that you know wouldn't work. This way, there is nothing we can say was done incorrectly. We just have to imagine that it happened.

And before I forget, this is great writing. Not just the plot, also the style and technique are wonderful. Beautiful classic.

This was our international online book club novel in June 2020.

From the back cover:

"Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein when she was only eighteen. At once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of committed science student Victor Frankenstein. Obsessed with discovering the cause of generation and life and bestowing animation upon lifeless matter, Frankenstein assembles a human being from stolen body parts but; upon bringing it to life, he recoils in horror at the creature's hideousness. Tormented by isolation and loneliness, the once-innocent creature turns to evil and unleashes a campaign of murderous revenge against his creator, Frankenstein.

Frankenstein, an instant bestseller and an important ancestor of both the horror and science fiction genres, not only tells a terrifying story, but also raises profound, disturbing questions about the very nature of life and the place of humankind within the cosmos: What does it mean to be human? What responsibilities do we have to each other? How far can we go in tampering with Nature? In our age, filled with news of organ donation genetic engineering, and bio-terrorism, these questions are more relevant than ever."

Brontë, Charlotte "Villette"

Brontë, Charlotte "Villette" - 1853

I really loved this novel. As a fan of Jane Austen and someone who read all her novels and pamphlets, I am always on the lookout for more literature like hers. I think the Brontë sisters belong to the next best thing. I had not read "Villette" before and might not have come across it if I hadn't read "Becoming Jane Eyre" by Sheila Kohler.

It might be a little hard if you don't speak French because a lot of the conversations are held in French but there is a translation in the back of the book (at least in my edition but I would hope it's in all of them) and it's totally worth going through it anyway.

The novel is not just about a young girl who lost her family and has to look after herself, not easy at a time where the only decent way for women to keep alive is to get married. But Lucy is not someone who gives up easily, who gives in to her despair. She goes abroad and hopes to find something. And she gets rewarded for her courage. Her life still isn't easy but at least she knows she will not starve. And she finds some wonderful friends who stand by her.

The writing is very well done, the characters described perfectly. Apparently, Charlotte Brontë used a lot of material from her own life, so this can be seen as an autobiographical rendering of her own life in Brussels. This makes the story even more interesting.

There is only one question that gets no answer. Why is Lucy not telling anything about her family, her background? We don't learn anything about her before she turns up and is already in position where she needs to fend for herself.

There is not a lot more I can say about the book without spoiling the story for new readers. If you have read Villette and would like to talk about it, please, let me know.

If you liked "Jane Eyre", you will like this novel, as well. I will certainly read Charlotte Brontë's other novels.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2025.

From the back cover:

"Based on Charlotte Brontë's personal experience as a teacher in Brussels, Villette is a moving tale of repressed feelings and subjection to cruel circumstance and position, borne with heroic fortitude.

Rising above the frustrations of confinement within a rigid social order, it is also a story of a woman's right to love and be loved."

Or: "With neither friends nor family, Lucy Snowe sets sail from England to find employment in a girls' boarding school in the small town of Villette.

There she struggles to retain her self-possession in the face of unruly pupils, an initially suspicious headmaster and her own complex feelings, first for the school's English doctor and then for the dictatorial professor Paul Emmanuel. Drawing on her own deeply unhappy experiences as a governess in Brussels, Charlotte Brontë's last and most autobiographical novel is a powerfully moving study of isolation and the pain of unrequited love, narrated by a heroine determined to preserve an independent spirit in the face of adverse circumstances."

Setterfield, Diane "The Thirteenth Tale"

Setterfield, Diane "The Thirteenth Tale" - 2006

Margaret Lea is a non-fiction author who has written several biographies about dead personalities. Now she gets offered a job to write down the life of one of the most famous but also most secretive authors in England, Vida Winter. She has written twelve stories about her life, all of them more fictitious than any of her own stories which I probably wouldn't want to read. The titles look quite chick lit-ish but we don't have to read the stories in order to read "The Thirteenth Tale".

The author and her biographer find they have something in common, they are both twins and Margaret's mother has not coped well with the loss of the twin sister.

While Margaret listens to Vida's life story, she doesn't just get to know the twins Emmeline and Adeline and everyone else at Angelfield House, she discovers a lot about herself but also about the secret parts Vida doesn't tell. A big surprise waits at the end.

This is quite an interesting story, even though I wouldn't call it great literature. But nice to read.

As both of the protagonists love to read, especially classics, a lot of them are mentioned:
Ainsworth, William Harrison "The Spectre Bride"
Austen, Jane "Emma"
- "Sense & Sensibility"
Braddon, Mary Elizabeth "Lady Audley's Secret"
Brontë, Charlotte "Jane Eyre"
- "Shirley"
- "Villette"
Brontë, Emily "Wuthering Heights"
Collins, Wilkie "The Woman in White"
Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur "The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes"
Dickens, Charles "Hard Times"
Eliot, George "Middlemarch"
James, Henry "The Turn of the Screw"
Kingsley, Charles "The Water Babies"
Stevenson, Robert Louis "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide"
Trollope, Anthony "The Eustace Diamonds"
Walpole, Horace "The Castle of Otranto"

Even though I have not read all of them, I'd rather read the remainder than any of the books "written" by Vida Winter (according to the cover picture):
The Puppet Show
Rules of Affliction
The Birthday Girl
(13) Tales of Change and Desperation
Hauntings
Twice is Forever
Betwixt and Between
Out of the Arc

From the back cover:

"Reclusive author Vida Winter has created several 'biographies' for herself, each one different, but now she wants to tell the truth. When she asks Margaret Lea to write her biography Margaret is reluctant - not least because of the family secrets she herself is guarding so painfully.
Margaret's research takes her to Angelfield House and into Vida's enigmatic past - and what she uncovers sheds a troubling light on her own life."

While visiting Miss Winter in her bedroom, Margaret discovers a picture they talk about. It's called "Dickens' Dream" and was painted by Robert W. Buss.
There is some information on these pages:
Dickens Picture by Robert W. Buss
"Dickens Dream"
Robert Williams Buss 

Collins, Wilkie "The Woman in White"

Collins, Wilkie "The Woman in White" - 1859

After having read "The Moonstone" (which I really liked), I just had to read this one. I wouldn't be able to tell which one I enjoyed more, they are both marvellous.

First, I enjoy Wilkie Collins telling the story in so many voices, having it told in an "I" version throughout and still giving us the best view of every scene. I like that about his stories. Definitely have to read another one.

Then, I also loved the story itself, the characters, they really came to life. I could just imagine the way they looked like. The description of both the characters as well as the countryside etc. was just great.

What a fabulous author!

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2024.

From the back cover:

"'In one moment, every drop of blood in my body was brought to a stop... There, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth, stood the figure of a solitary Woman, dressed from head to foot in white'
'The Woman in White' famously opens with Walter Hartright's eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter becomes embroiled in the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his 'charming' friend Count Fosco, who has a taste for white mice, vanilla bonbons, and poison. Pursuing questions of identity and insanity along the paths and corridors of English country houses and the madhouse, 'The Woman in White' is the first and most influential of the Victorian genre that combined Gothic horror with pyschological realism."

I have also read "Armadale" in the meantime and thoroughly enjoyed that one, as well.

Collins, Wilkie "The Moonstone"

Collins, Wilkie "The Moonstone" - 1868

"The Moonstone" is said to be the first detective language in English. I'm not a huge fan of detective novels, however, I love English classic epistolary novels, and this is an outstanding one. His "multi-narration" method, the way all the different characters tell their part of the story, just fascinating. This way he can tell you every aspect of the story without revealing it all. Great style, captivating way to keep your eye on the ball, uhm, the diamond.

I couldn't put this down.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2024.

From the back cover:

"A fabulous yellow diamond becomes the dangerous inheritance of Rachel Verinder. Outside her Yorkshire country house watch the Hindu priests who have waited for many years to reclaim their ancient talisman, looted from the holy city of Somnauth. When the Moonstone disappears the case looks simple, but in mid-Victorian England no one is what they seem, and nothing can be taken for granted. Witnesses, suspects, and detectives take up the story in turn. The bemused butler, the love-stricken housemaid, the enigmatic detective Sergeant Cuff, the drug-addicted scientist, each speculate on the mystery as Collins weaves their narratives into a masterpiece of construction and suspense."

I also read “The Woman in White” and "Armadale", they are just as great.

Brontë, Emily "Wuthering Heights"

Brontë, Emily "Wuthering Heights" - 1847

"Wuthering Heights".  I love classic books. I love English classic books. I love English classic books from the 19th century. I love the Brontë sisters.

I just don't like this novel. I'm sorry. I would love to like it and I am sure there are novels from that era that I have liked because they were so much like the books I like. I just can't with this one.

Where do I start? I love the moors. I grew up in a moorish country. So, that can't be it. The story between Catherine and Heathcliff is interesting, at least at the beginning.

I'm just not into ghost stories. Not that I'm afraid of ghosts, you can't be afraid of something that you don't believe in. So, sorry Ms. Brontë but you were off to a good start, had a nice plot going there and then you "blew" it.

I know a lot of people will disagree with me but that's just how I feel.

I read "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë, and "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" by Anne Brontë, some wonderful creations. Just didn't like this one.

From the back cover:

"Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange, situated on the bleak Yorkshire moors, is forced to seek shelter one night at Wuthering Heights, the home of his landlord. There he discovers the history of the tempestuous events that took place years before; of the intense relationship between the gypsy foundling Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw; and how Catherine, forced to choose between passionate, tortured Heathcliff and gentle, well-bred Edgar Linton, surrendered to the expectations of her class. As Heathcliff's bitterness and vengeance at his betrayal is visited upon the next generation, their innocent heirs must struggle to escape the legacy of the past.

Emily Brontë's only novel, a work of tremendous and far-reaching influence, the Penguin Classics edition of Wuthering Heights is the definitive edition of the text, edited with an introduction by Pauline Nestor. In this edition, a new preface by Lucasta Miller, author of The Brontë Myth, looks at the ways in which the novel has been interpreted, from Charlotte Brontë onwards. This complements Pauline Nestor's introduction, which discusses changing critical receptions of the novel, as well as Emily Brontë's influences and background.

Emily Brontë (1818-48), along with her sisters, Charlotte and Anne, was one of the most significant literary figures of the 19th century. She wrote just one strikingly innovative novel, Wuthering Heights, but was also a gifted and intense poet."

Austen, Jane "Northanger Abbey"

Austen, Jane "Northanger Abbey" - 1818

First of all, I am a huge Jane Austen fan. I have read all of her novels, most of them several times.

"Northanger Abbey" is by far my least favourite Austen, it seems like it's written by a different person but that's normal since it's supposed to be a parody. Obviously, she seems to have portrayed the gothic novel quite well and I'm not much into those.

Another reason that this is quite different from her other novels is probably that it was published posthumously without her being able to revise it.

From the back cover:

"Catherine Morland is an Austen heroine unlike any other--youthful and naive, with a lively imagination fed by the popular Gothic novels she so loves to read. But when Catherine meets the wealthy and charming Henry Tilney during a vacation in Bath, and visits his family's sinister and mysterious estate, she begins to suspect that some of the dark doings she's read about just might be true... One of Austen's earliest works, Northanger Abbey offers fascinating insights into her perspective as a writer and a reader. The world's greatest works of literature are now available in these beautiful keepsake volumes. Bound in real cloth, and featuring gilt edges and ribbon markers, these beautifully produced books are a wonderful way to build a handsome library of classic literature. These are the essential novels that belong in every home. They'll transport readers to imaginary worlds and provide excitement, entertainment, and enlightenment for years to come. All of these novels feature attractive illustrations and have an unequalled period feel that will grace the library, the bedside table or bureau."

I read a lot of novels by or about Jane Austen. Find a link to all my reviews here.

I have reviewed "Northanger Abbey" a second time  as a member of The Motherhood and Jane Austen Book Club. Find that review here and a list of all my "motherhood" reviews here.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2022.

Brontë, Charlotte "Jane Eyre"

Brontë, Charlotte "Jane Eyre" - 1847

If you are a fan of English classics (like me), "Jane Eyre" is a definitive must.

Charlotte Brontë has created a wonderful, strong young woman. If she had lived today, she certainly would have gone exploring and conquering the world. But she doesn't live now. She is an orphan in Victorian England  who lives with an aunt who doesn't like her. After attending a school, she has to work as a governess for the children of Mr. Rochester.

But I don't want to give away too much, this is where the story starts.

If you like this story and writing, I can also recommend Charlotte's sister Anne's books (e.g. "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall"). Her novels are just as interesting and well written. I did not like Emily Brontë's book "Wuthering Heights", even though that is a very well liked and famous classic, as well.

Books about and/or related to the book:
Fforde, Jasper "The Eyre Affair"
Kohler, Sheila "Becoming Jane Eyre"
Rhys, Jean "Wide Sargasso Sea"

In the meantime, the novel was chosen and discussed in our book club.

This is what we talked about:
The book was suggested because our member said she reads it every couple of years. I think we were all very grateful that she suggested it because everybody really liked it. Some didn't like the part in school very much but we are aware that this is how it was at the time. The idea of charity for its own sake, because people want to help someone, only started recently.

We found Jane very mature for her age, again, probably the different time made children grow up quicker, especially if they had to fend for themselves. Most of us did not understand how she could go back to her aunt and forgive her. She surely showed a lot of strength there.

We also agreed that Charlotte Brontë was a fabulous feminist, willing to chance the future, writing a book at a time where women were not supposed to write those kind of books.

We were also told about a Turkish film about Jane Eyre, the story set in Turkey. Apparently, it changed the making of Turkish films.

Someone said the book was easy to read, easy to walk into. Again, we all agreed.

We discussed this in our international book club in January 2012.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2023.

From the back cover:

"Orphaned into the household of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead, subject to the cruel regime at Lowood charity school, Jane Eyre nonetheless emerges unbroken in spirit and integrity.She takes up the post of governess at Thornfield, falls in love with Mr. Rochester, and discovers the impediment to their lawful marriage in a story that transcends melodrama to portray a woman's passionate search for a wider and richer life than Victorian society traditionally allowed.

With a heroine full of yearning, the dangerous secrets she encounters, and the choices she finally makes, Charlotte Bronte's innovative and enduring romantic novel continues to engage and provoke readers."