Belinda (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Maria Edgeworth (Author), Kathryn J. Kirkpatrick (Editor), Kathryn Kirkpatrick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 19, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0192837095 | ISBN-13: 978-0192837097

The lively comedy of this novel in which a young woman comes of age amid the distractions and temptations of London high society belies the challenges it poses to the conventions of courtship, the dependence of women, and the limitations of domesticity. Contending with the perils and the varied cast of characters of the marriage market, Belinda strides resolutely toward independence. Admired by her contemporary, Jane Austen, and later by Thackeray and Turgenev, Edgeworth tackles issues of gender and race in a manner at once comic and thought-provoking. The 1802 text used in this edition also confronts the difficult and fascinating issues of racism and mixed marriage, which Edgeworth toned down in later editions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A superbly edited text and an informative introduction."--Gregory Maertz, St. John's University

About the Author

Kathryn Kirkpatrick is Assistant Professor, Department of English, Appalachian State University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (August 19, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192837095
• ISBN-13: 978-0192837097
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,129,361 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A joy to read, October 26, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Belinda (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

I started reading Belinda around 6pm and finally around 2:30am I decided that I had best go to bed and finish the book later. Well, 10 minutes later my light was back on and I stayed up until 6:30am finishing the book. Not even all of Jane Austen's work has done that to me!

The themes of gender and sexual attitudes, colonialism, religion, etc can easily be found in this work if you're interested in it for its scholarly value. However for the lay person it is a beautifully written, light read that is reminiscent of Austen's Mansfield Park or Sense and Sensibility (I certainly don't see many parallels to Pride and Prejudice as one reviewer did). If you're looking to go past Austen into early 19th century English literature, I would certainly recommend this book highly.

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Feminism and colonialism, December 9, 1999

By 

Ann (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Belinda (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

Besides this being as readable as Jane Austen, this book is witty and intelligent. It raises thought provoking questions about gender roles and transgression that suggest that Edgeworth was not an ordinary woman. Unfortunately, like many other 18th C. novels, the book ends with all the usual conventions intact. The women who cross dress (and the man who cross-dresses!) are returned to their spheres and/or married. Don't get me wrong though, this book is quite innovative. I don't know of many literary women having duels and stepping in iron traps that cut up their legs. Also particularly interesting is Edgeworth's treatment of colonialism: there is a cross-racial marriage that is entirely sanctioned. And yet the thought of the heroine marrying a creole is not approved. It is much better for her to marry an Englishman in the parliament. This is a delightful book that would entertain romantics and scholars. I would like to think that I am both, though.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Compulsively readable, May 19, 2008

By 

K. Huff (Radnor, PA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Belinda (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

I picked up Belinda when I heard that it was similar to Jane Austen. While there are parallels to Austen's work, Edgeworth differs in that she was slightly more worldly than Austen was.

In Belinda, we follow the story of a young woman of uncommon good sense, who, at the behest of her aunt, goes to stay with Lady Delacour in London. While there, Belinda meets Lady Delacour's protégé Clarence Hervey, with whom, of course, she falls in love. Mr. Hervey, however, may or may not be attached to another young lady. The book touches on colonialism when Mr. Vincent, a man with a deep secret, enters the picture and threatens to steal Belinda's heart.

The novel is an 18th-century "will they or won't they?" and the plot unfolds neatly, albeit dramatically. For a novel published in 1803, Belinda is highly (and compulsively) readable. It's a must read for anyone who loves Jane Austen.