34 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Bodice Ripper with a Brain, April 7, 2006
Part of what makes reading wonderful is that there can be divergent opinions of the same book; such is the case here, I'm surprised to say. Usually I find I agree with the majority in the reviews given here on Amazon, but not so in this case.
I find historical and period fiction are joys to read, particularly when plot and history combine with excellent research and writing talent to transport the reader to another time. With The Alchemist's Daughter, I felt that most of the pieces were in place for a winning read - the book was beautifully written, the research was deep and thoughtful. I expected a book of heft and intrigue, but was shocked to instead find a thinly-disguised romance novel with a plot that was both tiresome and predictable. I found the characters were mostly half-sketched, stereotypical, one-dimensional and dislikable to a fault. There were several points where I digustedly closed the book; though I did manage to reopen it and finish.
My gentle recommendation would be for those readers looking for historical fiction of a wee bit weightier variety to turn to The Other Boleyn Girl, The Crimson Petal and The White, Year of Wonders or any of Margaret George's fine books in lieu of this frothy, somewhat irritating eye-roller.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a gem of a read, February 28, 2006
Unfortunately, a great many books are released each month, all clamouring (whether they merit it or not) for attention, so that it is rather easy for out of the ordinary gems to be missed. Such, sad to say, is the case of Katherine McMahon's "The Alchemist's Daughter." McMahon's novel was a fantastic and absorbing read -- I was absolutely riveted, and if you're looking for something fresh, and a little different from the usual, I'd really recommend you try "The Alchemist's Daughter" -- it's worth the hardcover price!
While Sir John Selden has spent a lot of time and effort on his only daughter's, Emilie, scientific education, he has, unfortunately, also brought her up in seclusion on his estate in Buckinghamshire. This, of course leaves Emilie vulnerable to the manipulations and influence of others. So that, when a dashing adventurer, Robert Aislabie, comes calling just around the time when Emilie's raging hormones are at their height (she's reached her seventeenth birthday), she finds herself quite vulnerable to Aislabie charms. Going against her father's wishes, Emilie insists on marrying Aislabie and leaves her father's home in order to live with her new husband in London. But, in spite of all its noise and liveliness, Emilie soon finds herself feeling out of place in London and with her husband's friends -- her wonderful education seems not to have prepared her for London's dazzling society. Intimidated and numbed by all she sees and is experiencing, it will be a while before Emilie removes the blinders from her eyes, realises who and what she is and so, become the woman her father always hoped she would be...
While one of the previous reviewers was correct to note that this was not a happy book, I did think that the novel ended on an uplifting note, full of hope and promise. This is a novel about personal growth and maturity, even if the growth didn't take place until the final chapters of the book. As such, it is quite possible for readers to grow impatient and irritated with Emilie. And while Emilie isn't the most engaging of heroines, I would argue that one should always remember that in spite of all her education, this is still a young teenager, who was brought up in seclusion and who had very little intercourse with society for most of her young life. That Emilie is always quick to blame others for the shortcomings in her life, her quickness to anger, and the fact that she moves about for much of the book in a kind of daze, allowing Aislabie to run her life is, completely understandable. Emilie definitely has blinders, and it will take the course of the book for them to come off and for her to finally act (instead of merely reacting) in order to undo some of the damage her indifference and anger has wrought.
I thought that "The Alchemist's Daughter" was a wonderful and worthwhile read. For me, the author successfully recaptured the feel and mood of the period; so that even though she didn't go in for overly luxurious and vivid descriptions, such was her prose style that I was able to "see" the dark and shabby rooms at Selden, the lush green of the estate, and the colour and opulence of the London drawing rooms. Also wonderfully done was her character portrayals -- especially those of Sir John Selden, the Reverend Shales and Robert Aislabie. More than any others, these characters defied stereotypes and leaped off the pages. Reading "The Alchemist's Daughter" was a pleasure and a treat -- much like the pleasure I had when I first discovered Charlotte Smith and Eliza Haywood, and it is a novel I'd recommend heartily for anyone interested in the historical novel genre.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely atmospheric, September 12, 2007
This book is one of the most gothic I've ever read and it's done extremely well. I've always considered Jane Eyre to be the pinnacle of gothic and I have to say that this book is very successful in being nearly as atmospheric as that work. I really felt like I was transported into Emilie's world. This was, for me, the high point of what is a well-written and engrossing novel, even though I figured out some of the plot revelations well before the author wrote about them.
Emilie is an interested and rather complex character. I'm not sure I exactly sympathized with her. I certainly found her situation sympathetic and I thought the constraints with which she was raised were very harsh. Still, she at times acts so irrationally that I found it hard to relate to her. She's certainly the type of person who's extremely intelligent and yet very much lacking in common sense--which only stands to reason when considering the fact that she is isolated from nearly all society throughout her whole life. Still, there were times when I wondered if she had a brain in her head and she was often far too passive for my liking. She seemed so detached from her circumstances that I think this is why I couldn't really relate to her. I'm not sure if this was intentionally done but it actually works given the setting of the novel. I didn't necessarily like Emilie but I didn't dislike her either and I found her story extremely compelling.
What also interested me about this novel was the author's unvarnished look at the times in which Emilie lived. I liked how she stripped away the sparkling veneer or society and showed how shallow and indifferent the rich often were to the plight of the poor. The character that best exemplifies this is Aislabie and it is the casual indifference of characters like him that give this novel so much resonance and such a gothic flavor. The members of this novel's high society are so busy trying to make money or holding card parties or building themselves stylish mansions that they don't have time to deal with the very real issues suffered by their social inferiors.
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