A picaresque novel of the remarkable life of a liberated 19th-century woman.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Scholarly research and an imaginative plot are the linchpins of Begiebing's beguiling second novel (after The Strange Death of Mistress Coffin). A historian taking inventory of a Massachusetts archive stumbles across a kunstlerroman (artist novel) written by feisty Allegra Fullerton, who details her adventures as a traveling portrait painter in 19th-century New England. Begiebing presents Allegra's memoirs in formal, lustrous period language, and his meticulously evoked settings, dialogue and characters provide a seamlessly authentic entry into the era. Widowed in 1836 at the age of 20, Allegra returns to the New Hampshire farm where she was raised, but rather than endure the drudgeries of farm life, she decides to use her gift for creating "true likenesses." Accompanied by her brother Tom, who serves as her "assistant-promoter-protector," Allegra takes to the road to earn their livelihoods by "limning" the features of both the living and the dead (through then-fashionable memorial portraits). Though clients are initially skeptical of the idea of a woman painter, Allegra's work speaks for itself, and soon they are flush from her commissions. A wealthy textiles manufacturer in Worcester, Mass., provides a lucrative assignment for Allegra, but his degenerate son drugs, abducts and holds her hostage, expecting an "intimate friendship" with his prisoner. Escaping after months of captivity, Allegra is taken to a home for fallen women, where she is befriended by early feminist Margaret Fuller, who arranges for her stay at a utopian commune. Reunion with a joyful Tom leads to tragedy, and Tom goes abroad while Allegra returns to Boston, but her world expands as she learns the principles of transcendentalism. Her studies with master painter George Spooner lead to a trip to Italy, where she meets art critic John Ruskin. She becomes a celebrated artist, blossoming amid the political upheavals in a rapidly changing society. Saturated with vivid period detail, sprinkled with rousing feminist sentiments, if occasionally slowed by didactic discourse on the meaning of art, the novel will keep readers engrossed in its intelligent heroine's adventures. Reproductions of 19th-century portraits provide a visual supplement to this first-rate tale. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Begiebing's fourth bookAhe published the acclaimed Death of Mistress Coffin in 1991Aintroduces contemporary readers to the nuances and concerns of the 19th century through the fictional diary of itinerant artist Allegra Fullerton. An appealing, independent, and spunky woman who would be deemed extraordinary in any era, Fullerton begins her reminiscences shortly after the untimely death of her husband in the late 1830s. Accompanied by her brother, Fullerton tweaks gender norms by traveling throughout New England and painting the portraits of anyoneAthe upstanding as well as the less respectableAwith the cash to hire her. Her musings about each locale make for amusing and often intriguing reading. Art, philosophy, religion, slavery, sexual propriety, suffrageAall are addressed with candid clarity. Although the language of the era is sometimes difficult for modern readers, the effort it takes is ultimately rewarded. Highly recommended.AEleanor J. Bader, Brooklyn, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The History is Stronger than the Fiction,
By A Lover of Good Books (Gill, MA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Adventures of Allegra Fullerton: Or, A Memoir of Startling and Amusing Episodes from Itinerant Life--A Novel (Hardscrabble Books-Fiction of New England) (Hardcover)
If you enjoy visiting the 19th century and appreciate authors who get things right, you'll enjoy this book.The author has done a workmanlike job of recreating New England and Italy in the 1840s. There are guest appearances by Ruskin, Margaret Fuller, and visit to a historically accurate idealistic community. You'll learn a lot about the world of American artists in this period too. Unfortunately, I found this novel weak as a novel. Though the plot provides a lot of opportunity to show us conflict, resolution, and character development most of the action takes place offstage. Allegra's personality is static. Though she writes in a first person voice she displays little or no hint of internal emotional conflicts despite a life filled with moral and ethical problems of the sort that would have generated 100s of pages of agonized reflections in the work of her mentor, Margaret Fuller, or, indeed, that of any other woman of her period. Allegra described illicit sex so matter of factly that my feeling was that the author had imposed a 20th century male personality onto this supposedly 19th century female character. I found it very hard to believe that a woman like Allegra woud so easily blew off a suitor with whom she had had sex--to say nothing of the ease with which she recovers from months of captivity by her would-be rapist, and the way she gets through an adulterous affair with her teacher with only a few tears. Real women, no matter how strong their artistic gifts or dedication might be, go through more than this even now when dealing with such issues. A 19th century woman raised in rural, church-going New England, would have gone through far more. The ending of the novel is disconnected from the story line and is a major deus-ex-machina disappointment which leaves us completely unsatisfied on a dramatic level too. This might be acceptable in a biography but a novel should have a more aesthetic form, starting and ending in places that makes sense in terms of character development and plot climax and resolution. I'd suggest that the author might do better choosing stories with male protagonists, since his outlook and interests seem to me to be so much more male than female. Having slogged through Margeret Fuller's diaries myself, (and those of many other early 19th century women) I've found that the truly interesting thing about these women is how different their mental lives are from ours today. It does them a disservice to paint them as being free of the very strong culturally induced emotional conflicts they had to break through to become the heroic feminists they were.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Portrait of an Unconventional Woman,
This review is from: The Adventures of Allegra Fullerton: Or, A Memoir of Startling and Amusing Episodes from Itinerant Life--A Novel (Hardscrabble Books-Fiction of New England) (Hardcover)
This book is an inside look at life in another time, from the perspective of an unconventional woman. Allegra Fullerton stuggles to pursue her passion for art within the conventions of 19th century society. Widowed at a young age, Allegra flees her uncle's farm to pursue the unconventional life of an itinerant portrait painter. With the help of her brother, she travels the countryside painting mothers and children, old maiden aunts, anyone who can pay her modest commission. The journal format of this book allows the reader a glimpse into the 19th century psyche. Allegra recounts the sometimes bizarre events of her life in a typical Victorian fashion. She maintains her self-control at all times, seldom allowing her feelings to compromise the persona of the respectable widow she has created for herself. She is a product of her own time, and Begiebing carefully avoids the pitfall of so many historical novels; that is, portraying historical characters with modern day character traits, so that 21st century readers can more easily "relate" to them. Begiebing keeps his characters' reactions true to the time period, thus preserving the book's historical integrity. For Allegra and her contemporaries, the appearance of respectability matters above all else. But appearances can be deceiving, as Allegra learns firsthand in her encounter with Joseph Dudley. By all appearances a respectable gentleman, Dudley is not at all what he seems. Imprisoned against her will, Dudley leads Allegra on a sordid journey through the alleys and backstreets of 19th century Boston. The shifts in Allegra's character are subtle. Like so much of 19th century society, the "real" Allegra is hidden beneath the brittle shell of respectability. She is a sensual woman in every sense of the word; she is deeply affected by the beauty of the world, as well as its ugliness. Begiebing's formidable knowledge of the time period gets the better of his writing occasionally. I found myself skimming through pages of esoteric discussions on art, women's rights, the supernatural. All very interesting subjects within their own rights, but not very effective in advancing the novel's plot. The scholarly tone of much of the writing makes for a slow read, but worth the effort. History buffs will appreciate the accurate historical detail, as will anyone else who enjoys a realistic peek at the past.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty good but not enthralling.,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Adventures of Allegra Fullerton: Or, A Memoir of Startling and Amusing Episodes from Itinerant Life--A Novel (Hardscrabble Books-Fiction of New England) (Hardcover)
I agree with the previous reviewer who said the "history is stronger than the fiction" and also with her viewpoint that the author needs to learn more about the female perspective. There was not enough emotion coming through on our heroine's part, and women are emotional beings, especially after being kidnapped and held captive for months! Also, her guilt did not come through realistically after she betrayed her benefactress (her art teacher's wife), who was nothing but kind to her. Our good-at-heart heroine would have been plagued with guilt and it would be much more fraught with emotion than was written. I did like learning the history of the era, and think it was good in that respect. At first I found the language and details tedious but I think this style of writing and speaking was just the thing back then, and so it made the book more realistic as a diary of a woman of the 1800s. This is a book I could easily put down between chores, but I did enjoy this book overall.
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