- Hardcover: 373 pages
- Publisher: DOUBLEDAY; Book Club (BCE/BOMC) edition (1990)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0385413858
- ISBN-13: 978-0385413855
- Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 14.2 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 431 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #957,828 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Grand Dame of Romance Strikes Again,
By
This review is from: Snare of Serpents (Paperback)
I have recently endeavoured to read all my Victoria Holt. It was the first time I read Snare of Serpents (although I have read and re-read many of the author's works). I like Victoria Holt, so of course that tinges my level of enjoyment in this book.In this book, Davina Glentyre is a young girl in Edimburgh, who has lost her mother and who is neglected by her father. When the quiet of the house is disturbed by a shocking event, Davina discovers the hidden nature of her father. But soon more mysterious events unfold, as though a hidden hand is molding events to somber designs, and to isolate Davina. When Miss Grey replaces her former governess, Davina senses there is more than meets the eye, but she never expects events to climax with her father's death. Again a string of mysterious events leads to Davina being accused of the murder. When she is released with a verdict of "Not proven" Davina knows that it will be difficult to hold her head high in public. With the support of her friends, Davina finds a situation in South Africa. But when events take a turn for the worse, Davina is determined not to let the past repeat itself. Victoria Holt's historical romances don't just use historical settings, but they also include a lot of less widely known events that affect the plot and the characters in important ways. In this book, the Second War of Boer, provides a true background for some of the most climactic scenes of the book. And of course, they make a nice mental postcard too. Davina may seem naive for not connecting the dots, but she is also very young. Because her train of thought is known to us, we understand her reasoning better than she does, and it is more explicit to us than it must have been to her at the time. Also Davina is a particularly sympathetic character because her naïveté and her discouragement are also accompanied of very strong qualities, to believe in those she loves and though at many times she is helpless herself, to try to protect those she loves. Keep in mind this story and specifically its plot, is a bit of a hybrid between a gothic mystery and a coming of age novel. Also that this is one of those romances that is not so much about the man as it is about the girl's passage to womanhood. The men almost all play secondary roles and even so, most of the spotlight on male characters goes on Davina's father whose portrait is drawn from the perceptions of the women around him. The romantic hero does some heroic deeds but they truly remain in the background. In fact he probably has less lines than some other male antagonists.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews) 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another wonderful piece by Holt (4 1/2 stars)...,
By CoffeeGurl - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: SNARE OF SERPENTS (Hardcover)
In this suspenseful tale set in Edinburgh, Davina Glentyre couldn't be happier. Her father, a well-to-do banker, is a widower and her governess is her best friend. But then things fall apart when her governess is dismissed for having supposedly committed theft. Things get all the worse when Davina's father falls for and marries the new governess. It all goes downhill from there. Mr. Glentyre is found dead. He's been poisoned. It could be no one other than his new wife, right? Wrong. Davina is accused of committing the crime. Her reputation is ruined when she gets the verdict of "not proven." This verdict is not the same as "innocent," of course, and so she is ostracized from all decent society. She reunites with her old governess, whom she's always trusted, and both travel to South Africa to reopen an old school, both with nothing but making a clean slate on their minds. Only things don't run as smoothly as they had hoped. Diamond merchant Roger Lestrange poses big danger for Davina. To make matters worse, her past is making an unwelcome comeback...Snare of Serpents is everything a romantic suspense novel should be. It features the typical Victorian heroine: naïve and demure. It also contains a romantic hero with shades of grey. A dark and gothic atmosphere completes the formula. But what makes this novel different from the dime-a-dozen nonsense we get from today's authors is that this novel is original and well written. The Victorian era sounds genuine. You don't get the anachronisms you get from today's "historicals." There are also twists and turns, a well-woven storyline and good characterization. The ending is quite surprising. This one, like The Mistress of Mellyn, throws you off big time so that the resolution will most definitely shock you. I loved it. Snare of Serpents doesn't fall into the "classics" category. After all, it is only about nineteen years old and the title isn't quite popular, but it does have an old-fashioned feel to it that makes the novel appealing. Victoria Holt doesn't have quite the literary magic of Daphne du Maurier or the art for creating the perfect atmosphere like Mary Stewart, but her work is nevertheless wonderful. She is a revelation to me and I look forward to reading the rest of her backlist. 6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An innocent girl on trial for murder,
By A. Y. Smittle - Published on Amazon.com
The story takes place in post-Victorian Edinburgh. A bankers daughter begins (too late) to notice all is not perfect in her perfect household. Her mother dies. Her governess is let go under mysterious circumstances. And a bawdy new governess moves in to take her friend and her mothers place---and all other things. Her father is discovered dead from arsenic poisoning---and she is accused of murdering him. I was surprised at the end---I felt sure I knew who had killed the girls father----but I'm not good at guessing, I guess.The characters are pretty well thought out---theres a voyage to South Africa and the terrain is detailed. But the most standout of this book is the main characters illusions that the perfect way of life can go on uninterrupted. She certainly left one snare of serpents for another, too. Very well written and interesting. 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Great from Victoria Holt,
By JESSIE CALLAWAY - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Snare of Serpents (Audio Cassette)
Victoria Holt once again sweeps her readers into the life of another heroine, Davina. Through the audio version it almost sounds as if Davina might be telling you her story yourself. She is suspected of murder in Scotland but it can't be proven so she goes to South Africa to escape gossip but the nightmare continues there until in the end everything turns out all right and she ends up with the man of her dreams.
|
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
