Customer Reviews

Red Spider (Nonsuch Classics)

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This novel dates from 1887. It tells us about some poor country folk far from London as they try to survive on pennies per day. We spend most of our time with a very large (and very poor) family. The oldest daughter is named Honor, and she's just too good to be true. It's not like Dickens since it lacks wit. It's not like Hardy since it lacks depth.

The novel is full of country witticisms...lots of folk "saws." Mrs. Veale, the obvious villainess, recites them almost nonstop. There is also an old-fashioned vocabulary. The narrator will often use an arcane word and then give the current definition in parathenses. This is a very odd and jarring effect to encounter in the direct quotes. I much prefer the infrequent use of footnotes to explain something.

There are some vivid passages full of daily-life detail. The best one involves a town fair (called a Revel), which everyone in the little village attends. There is a lot of local color (yes, it's "colour" here) and some interesting accounts of the local superstitions that apparently everyone believes in. There's talk of a woman who can turn herself into a white rabbit and of a severed hand of a murderer, which can do all sorts of bidding. The title refers to a red spider that can apparently bring you good luck if it crawls into your pocket, and at the same time the heroine in her big red cloak is called a red spider.

In the end, the characters all seem one-dimensional. The ending is too pat.