Maid of Buttermere [Paperback]

Melvyn Bragg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1993

The story of an imposter and bigamist, who travels to the North where he marries "the maid of Buttermere", a young woman whose natural beauty inspired the dreams and confirmed the theories of a=early 19th century writers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bragg, the author of 15 previous books, has here combined fact and fiction to produce a remarkable tour-de-force, a penetrating psychological novel based on an actual court case of 1802. John Hatfield, ex-convict, forger and bigamist, decides to improve his fortune by impersonating Colonel Alexander Augustus Hope, a member of Parliament and brother of the Earl of Hopetoun. He sets out in a methodical fashion to seduce a young heiress and elope with her, thereby laying claim to her fortune. But while courting his intended victim in the Lake District, Hatfield falls in love with Mary Robinson, a local beauty, and marries her. Exposed as an imposter by a suspicious colonel, Hatfield flees. The Bow Street Runners are sent after him and the chase is on. Hatfield-Hope is gradually revealed as a man who is at once a pathological liar, a religious mystic and a philanderer with a huge sexual appetite, whose unflagging devotion to "his Mary" is oddly touching.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Set in early 19th-century England, this historical novel retells one of the great scandals of the time. Charming scoundrel John Hatfield, forger and bigamist, masquerades as an aristocrat and in this guise woos and marries Mary of Buttermere, famous for her beauty and goodness. When John's villainy is exposed, to great public outcry, poets Wordsworth and Coleridge spring to Mary's defense and a hectic chase ensues as John flees across England pursued by the Bow Street runners. Dense and slow moving at first, the novel's pace picks up by the second half and the fascination Hatfield exerted shines through. A complex story, packed with historical detail and psychological speculation, this will likely appeal to a small audience. Suggested for collections where there is a strong interest in literature. Beth Ann Mills, New Rochelle P.L., N.Y.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Sceptre (January 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340423730
• ISBN-13: 978-0340423738
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.2 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,523,866 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining read., July 30, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Maid of Buttermere (Hardcover)

This page-turner manages to keep readers interested for most of its five hundred or so pages, however is not what one would call an excellent novel. Bragg's brilliant use of historical detail, from dialect to geography, certainly makes the story come alive. It also, however, gives the impression that it is a true piece of period literature, when in fact the novel's plot, in particular the frequent sex scenes, render it a typical Harlequin-type romance, which soon grows tiresome