- Paperback: 592 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Classic (Oct 31 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0140436308
- ISBN-13: 978-0140436303
- Product Dimensions: 13.2 x 3.6 x 19.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 499 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #396,718 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Book Description
The esteemed English critic Q. D. Leavis declared Margaret Oliphant's heroine Lucilla to be the "missing link" in nineteenth-century literature between Jane Austen's Emma and George Eliot's Dorothea Brooke, and "more entertaining, more impressive, and more likeable than either." Miss Marjoribanks is perhaps the most famous novel in The Chronicles of Carlingford--Oliphant's popular series of short stories and novels chronicling the middle-class mores of a fictional English provincial town. The novel's heroine, Lucilla Marjoribanks, returns home to tend her widowed father and soon launches herself into Carlingford society, aiming to raise the tone with her select Thursday evening parties. Optimistic, resourceful, and blithely unimpeded by self-doubt, Lucilla is a superior being in every way, not least in relation to men. Margaret Oliphant's acclaimed biographer, Elisabeth Jay, has edited and introduced this Penguin Classics edition.
"A tour de force . . . full of wit, surprises, and intrigue . . . we can imagine Jane Austen reading Miss Marjoribanks with enjoyment and approval in the Elysian Fields." --Q. D. Leavis
"A tour de force . . . full of wit, surprises, and intrigue . . . we can imagine Jane Austen reading Miss Marjoribanks with enjoyment and approval in the Elysian Fields." --Q. D. Leavis
About the Author
Margaret Oliphant (1828-97) was a prolific Scots writer, author of over 100 books and innumerable articles. Early widowed, she was compelled to write for a living. She is best remembered for her 'Chronicles of Carlingford' series, which is set in a quiet country town near London. Religious themes predominate but the books are sharp and humorous. Elisabeth Jay has written a critical 'Biography of Margaret Oliphant' and edited Gaskell's 'Life of Charlotte Bronte' for Penguin Classics.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Miss Marjoribanks lost her mother when she was only fifteen, and when, to add to the misfortune, she was absent at school, and could not have it in her power to soothe her dear mamma's last moments, as she herself said. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Miss Marjoribanks lost her mother when she was only fifteen, and when, to add to the misfortune, she was absent at school, and could not have it in her power to soothe her dear mamma's last moments, as she herself said. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An unacknowledged gem!,
By
This review is from: Penguin Classics Miss Marjoribanks (Paperback)
This must be one of the funniest books I've ever read--I hadn't laughed out loud like this since Catch-22. The character of Miss Marjoribanks (that's pronounced "Marchbanks") is used by Oliphant both as a vehicle for social satire in the Victorian community and as an instrument to examine female modes of power in the Victorian home. The scene in which Miss Marjoribanks figuratively usurps her father's role as patriarch of the house by appropriating his place at the breakfast table is hilarious. Oliphant's book is wonderfully enjoyable and furtively serious--it may be light in tone, but it reveals a great deal about how a resourceful Victorian woman might seek modes and expressions of power within parameters that are very limiting.The main character of Miss Marjoribanks is not intended to "grow" or "develop"--part of the pleasure of her characterization and her story is in witnessing how her single-minded mania as social director of her community compells her to overcome the obstacles thrown in her way by the novel's narrative. Why should we arbitrarily expose this book to aesthetic standards created by a handful of canonical novels? Miss Marjoribanks's characterization is as valid as any found in Austen or Trollope (though not necessarily as great as the best of them)--we must keep in mind that there was much more to Victorian fiction than what is revealed in the small quantity of canonized examples still read today. Oliphant was immensely popular in her day, she was Queen Victoria's favorite writer, and there were many contemporary critics who considered her to be one of the best novelists of that period. In short, Oliphant's Miss Marjoribanks is a comic masterpiece, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to any reader of 19th-century British fiction.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worth the effort,
By
This review is from: Penguin Classics Miss Marjoribanks (Paperback)
Well I have certainly never met a character like Miss Lucilla Marjoribanks. At first I simply did not understand her motives, drive and determination to re-organize Carlingford society. It seemed such a waste of a strong character. This was a long read, not to be rushed and the further I was immersed into Lucilla's world, the more I came to admire her and the author for creating such an unusual woman. It was the last half of the book that really held my attention when Lucilla's life took an unexpected turn and she faced challenges previously unknown. Her confidence in her own abilities and the correctness of her thinking never wavered and was inspiring to read. It was not until the very end of the book that I began to understand what she was really all about and by then, I was completely captivated.
5.0 out of 5 stars
An absolute delight!,
By
This review is from: Miss Marjoribanks (Paperback)
What a great find, and refreshing as it lacks much of the high melodrama so common in most 19th century literature. Miss Lucilla Marjoribanks comes home from school determined to be a comfort to dear papa and sets the good doctor and the entire town on their ears, with her brilliant manipulations.The characters are wonderful, the story has lots of ups and downs that Lucilla is always capable of meeting with great ingenuiuty and fortitude. There are many wonderful moments and lots of laughter along with a few tears. Highly recommended, particularly for anyone who enjoys 19th century English literature.
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