First published in 1864, this book was an immediate contemporary success and established Amelia Edwards' reputation as a novelist. The story of a young woman's growth from childhood to maturity is traced through her relationship with Hugh Farquhar whom she idolized from the first moment when, still a child, she meets him, already a mature man of the world. The development of their love from each other makes challenging and even painful demands upon them both before it reaches final fruition. The story of a spirited and talented heroine is set against the background of life in France, Germany and Italy and is rich in narrative and character. The vitality of Amelia Edwards' imagination and her vigorous dramatic sense animate the action and enrich by the extraordinarily wide range of her interests and knowledge.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
surprisingly good,
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This review is from: Barbara's History (Paperback)
Amelia Edwards was a talented organiser,launching Egyptology for the general public in Great Britain.This novel proves that she also could write well.I found this book well-paced and compelling.The characters are believable and the settings clearly presented.This is a tale well-told,without resorting to 21st Century obsessions to reach the reader.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great find,
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This review is from: Barbara's History (Paperback)
BARBARA'S HISTORY made Amelia Edwards' reputation as a serious writer of fiction. Readers and critics alike admired it in her day. I'm in total agreement with their judgment!
The heroine, Barbara Churchill, tells us the romance of her life in a first-person narration that makes the reader her friend and champion. We see her as a little girl, ignored by her proud, supercilious father in favor of a fashionable older sister. When she is sent to live with her rich aunt in Suffolk, we watch with delight as the quiet and rather intellectual little girl and the gruff old lady grow as fond as mother and daughter. And when Barbara meets Hugh Farquhar from the neighboring estate of Broomhill, we are totally in sympathy with her childish adulation of this older man of twenty-seven. Hugh is something of a male version of Amelia Edwards, a world traveler, daring thinker and connoisseur of all things cultural. We can enjoy Edwards' keen observations on art, history and even the future of the planet as filtered through Hugh. But unlike Edwards, the wild young man has acquired some experiences in his wanderings that cannot be spoken of in polite society. His mysterious past is just what a writer needs for a good plot. Barbara Churchill loves only one man her entire life, something we don't often see in our day. But it makes a delightful romance with plenty of opportunity for reversals, betrayals, foreign adventures and the ultimate triumph of love. Eccentric characters like the cantankerous aunt, the meek French Count and the crusty German art professor enrich the flavor of the narrative. I was certain I'd long since run out of great Victorian novelists when, one day, Amelia B. Edwards turned up on my Amazon recommendations. Now I'm slowly doling out her books to myself to prolong the pleasure.
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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Hugh Farquhar, Madame Brenner, Miss Whymper, Professor Metz, Lady Flora, Stoneycroft Hall, Paul Veronese, Civita Vecchia, Miss Dunham, Count de Chaumont, Lady Bayham, Farquhar of Broomhill, Sir Agamemnon Churchill, Edmund Churchill, Michael Angelo, Ida Saxe, Doctor Topham, Barbara Churchill, Sir Andrew, Herr Farquhar, Via Margutta, Aunt Sandyshaft, Conversation Haus, Professor Oberstein, Ashley Park Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
grand duke Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Hugh Farquhar, Madame Brenner, Miss Whymper, Professor Metz, Lady Flora, Stoneycroft Hall, Paul Veronese, Civita Vecchia, Miss Dunham, Count de Chaumont, Lady Bayham, Farquhar of Broomhill, Sir Agamemnon Churchill, Edmund Churchill, Michael Angelo, Ida Saxe, Doctor Topham, Barbara Churchill, Sir Andrew, Herr Farquhar, Via Margutta, Aunt Sandyshaft, Conversation Haus, Professor Oberstein, Ashley Park Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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9
books
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- The Oxford Chronology of English Literature by Michael Cox on 4 pages
- The Concise Oxford Chronology of English Literature by Michael Cox on page 374, and Index
- The Oxford Chronology of English Literature on page 65, and page 213
- Nineteenth-Century Short Stories by Women: A Routledge Anthology by Harriet Devine Jump on page 128
- Nineteenth-Century Short Stories by Women: A Routledge Anthology by Harriet Devine Jump on page 116
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