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Edith Wharton and House of Mirth

May4

I finished reading The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. I’m still trying to figure out what the title means. If you know, don’t tell me. I’d like to figure it out myself.

I found this information about Edith Wharton:
She did not go to school, but educated herself by reading in her father’s “gentleman’s library,” and was given lessons by a governess
Another homeschooled genius.

I liked the book very much although it was sad. I was reminded of a professor I had in college who said something to the effect that every time he read Romeo and Juliet he hoped against hope that somehow the story would turn out differently, that Romeo would arrive at the right time or that Juliet would wake up just a little sooner. In The House of Mirth, the main character, Lily Bart, is always just a little too late or a little too trusting or a little too scrupulous or a little too unsure of herself. She’s trapped in a society that pushes her toward a materialistic and loveless marriage of convenience, and she tries to fight against the pressure. However, she never fights hard enough or soon enough, and of course, it’s obvious from the beginning that the novel must end in tragedy. Romeo and Juliet, Lily and Selden, neither couple can live happily ever after. At least, Juliet knows she wants Romeo. They’re just “star-crossed lovers.” Lily Bart knows how to get what she wants; unfortunately, she never does figure out exactly what it is she wants. May we, unlike Lily, figure out what is really important in life before it’s too late.

No Graves As Yet by Anne Perry

Feb13

I finished reading No Graves As Yet by Anne Perry. I enjoy her books; the characters and the relationships are always interesting. The mysteries she’s written previously are set in Victorian England. No Graves As Yet takes place just as World War 1 is beginning. In fact, Archduke Ferdinand is assassinated in the first few pages of the book. The main characters in the novel are two brothers, one of whom works for British Intelligence and the other of whom is an Anglican priest and a don at Cambridge. Although, as I said, I have read and enjoyed many of her mystery stories, something always disturbs me just a little about Anne Perry’s plots. There’s usually something that doesn’t quite connect. I don’t know if it’s poor editing or poor logic on my part or what. For instance, in No Graves As Yet, there is a character who we find out could have been on the scene at the exact time that a suspicious accident took place. Then, it seems to me that we’re supposed to assume that because this particular person could have been there, he was, and he either saw everything, or he’s a murderer. I notice these “assumption problems” in all of Perry’s mysteries. Some possibility is mentioned, and the reader is supposed to make a mental jump to assume that the probability is a fact. Even so, the settings and the characters are worth the read. I believe No Graves As Yet is planned to be the first in a series of four or five novels with the same main characters set in the same time period. I’ll be interested to see how the author develops the characters in the other books in the series.