The Shuttle - Frances Hodgson Burnett

I have finally made my way to the end of The Shuttle which I had started as part of Persephone Reading Week way back at the start of the month.

I had ordered my copy of The Shuttle last year after reading, and absolutely loving, The Making Of A Marchioness by the same author. I had wanted to read The Shuttle as soon as it arrived at my house but I very patiently waited until Persephone Reading Week this year!

The Shuttle broadly tells the story of English gentleman from the country's upper classes heading across the seas to America to marry the wealthy daughters of that emerging country in order to attempt to bring the wealth and value back across to England and their failing estates and communities.

The Shuttle focuses specifically on one of these English men, Sir Nigel Anstruthers (possibly one of the most vile, evil and horrible characters I have encountered in literature) who marries sweet, innocent Rosalie Vanderpoel whose father is at the time one of the most wealthy American industrialists. Once Nigel and Rosalie are married they return to England to live on the Anstruther's dilapidated estate, Stornham Court. It is clear to the reader from the very beginning that Nigel has no love for Rosalie - he simply wants her money:

'I am supposed to be moonstruck over a simpering American chit - moonstruck! Damn!' But when he returned to his hotel he had made up his mind and was beginning to look over the situation in evil cold blood. Matters must be settled without delay and he was shrewd enough to realise that with his temper and its varied resources a timid girl would not be difficult to manage.

The Shuttle turned out to be a very difficult reading experience for me. I was still totally entranced by Hodgson Burnett's writing and her way of creating a world and characters for the reader to dive right into - the character of Betty Vanderpoel, Rosalie's younger sister, was my favourite by far;

'There are a good many girls who can be trusted to do things in these days', she said. 'Women have found out so much. Perhaps it is because the heroines of novels have informed them. Heroines and heroes always bring in the new fashions in character. I believe it is years since a heroine "burst into a flood of tears". It has been discovered, really, that nothing is to be gained by it'.

But overall I just felt frustrated and bogged down in the sadness of the novel and Rosalie's situation - being trapped in a loveless and hopeless situation. I am glad I stuck it out with the book though - the second half certainly offers more hope!

Persephone Reading Week

A big thank you to Claire and Verity for co-hosting the Persephone Reading Week which kicks off today.

I have been looking forward to this reading week for a while now - to be exact since very early this year when my copy of The Shuttle by Frances Hodgson Burnett arrived in the mail from Persephone Books. How good (and restrained!) have I been by putting that book aside until now??

I'm not sure that time will allow me to read any more Persephone Books than this one but I will be happy if I can just spend the week enjoying this book and joining in all of the Persephone fun that Claire and Verity have planned.

The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

I actually finished The Secret Garden at the beginning of January but for some reason I have been holding off on doing my review - partly because I really wanted to love this book - but I just didn't. After reading Hodgson Burnett's adult fiction The Making Of A Marchioness last year and absolutely loving it I expected the jump to The Secret Garden would be an easy one. I gave a beautiful hard covered, illustrated edition of the book to my god daughter last year for her 4th Birthday and her father told me he had started reading it to her one night and had stopped because he felt the topic areas were a little full on for a 4 year old. Now she just looks at the pictures until she gets a little older! I can see his point - the grief and loss described at the beginning of the book is quite confronting. At the time that the book was written death and illness would have been quite common place for children to see and hear about - but in our modern society children are often shielded from this aspect of life.

I have to say that I do love my edition of the book - beautiful to look at and hold in your hands and there is a wonderful and enlightening introduction by Alice Sebold which I read last.

I have gone over and over why this book didn't work for me. I have tried to place it in the context in which it was written and to some extent that has helped - but this book is still loved and raved about today by so many. I can certainly connect with the themes of hope and growth and I can appreciate the messages that the author was conveying through the story but I just didn't connect with the characters at all - and (I feel a little awful to admit this) I really did not like Mary at all!

I think I have to make my peace with the fact that this wasn't the book for me and continue on reading Hodgson Burnett's adult fiction which I am definitely in love with.

The Making of a Marchioness - Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Making of a Marchioness was given to me by the very insightful Sarah as part of the Persephone Secret Santa gift swap this year.

Just reading the description of the book on the Persephone site was enough to let me know I would most likely be enjoying this one greatly;

Part I, the original Marchioness, is in the Cinderella (and Miss Pettigrew) tradition, while Part II, called The Methods of Lady Walderhurst, is an absorbing melodrama; most novels end 'and they lived happily ever after' but this one develops into a realistic commentary on late-Victorian marriage. 'Delightful... A sparky sense of humour combined with lively social commentary make this a joy to read' wrote the Bookseller. Kate Saunders told Open Book listeners that she was up until two in the morning finishing this 'wildly romantic tale whose hero and heroine are totally unromantic' (Daily Telegraph); the Guardian referred to 'a touch of Edith Wharton's stern unsentimentality'; the Spectator wrote about the novel's 'singular charm'; and the Daily Mail stressed the 'sharp observations in this charming tale.'

I have not as yet read The Secret Garden (sad I know!) so this was my first experience of Hodgson Burnett's writing - and I loved it. The storyline, the writing style, the detailed descriptions of fashions and scenes and the characters themselves (in particularly Emily) all enchanted me - there is no other way to describe my reaction to this book - I was completely enchanted and charmed by the whole thing!

My only problem now is that I don't know what to read next to follow such an amazing book! Can anyone offer any suggestions? Also, what Persephone do you think I should order next?

Thank you so much Sarah - an excellent choice!