Voice of the People, The (The Collected Works of Ellen Glasgow - 24 Volumes) [Library Binding]

Ellen Glasgow (Author)

Product Details

• Library Binding: 444 pages
• Publisher: Classic Publishers
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582016437
• ISBN-13: 978-1582016436
• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,939,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Old fashioned Glasgow, February 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Voice of the People (Hardcover)

Glasgow takes the reader on a lengthy journey of the life of Nicholas Burr. Burr is the son of a poor, rural Virginia farmer and is considered low class. However to raise above his social class he reads books and buddies up with the local judge, who tutors him in law. The novel follows Burr's life as he grows up with his friends and the girl next door, Eugenia. Inevitably, there is a bond between the two but as life takes its course she realizes that he is too low class for her. Burr winds up being elected to the assembly and winds up as the governor of Virginia. He is loved and respected by the people despite his enemies' politics and is known as an honest man. However, Eugenia, his childhood sweetheart, had ran out of patience waiting for him to become success and marries someone else. She is in a loveless marriage, but realizes she missed marrying someone with more character. I found the book long-winded. I had a hard time getting any excitement out of the book, until almost 60% of the way through and then it was only a small blip on the radar. However, there were some picturesque descriptions of rural Virginia that were well done (the hard cover edition also includes at least 20 black and white photos). Reading the dialog from the Negro servants was also a battle in translation and most of the time not worth the effort. Nicholas was indeed a heroic character worthy of admiration but I found his treatment rather adumbrated. Like other Glasgow books, Glasgow's main characters always seem to be happy when they get over "the love thing" and wind up alone.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Early Glasgow, August 15, 2005

By 

Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voice of the People, The (The Collected Works of Ellen Glasgow - 24 Volumes) (Library Binding)

Nick Burr is the son of a poor farmer; he is about to apprentice in a law firm when he decides to take a job in a store instead (his family needs the money). He gets involved in politics and is dynamic and honest, and soon rises to the governor's chair. Later he is killed by a mob about to lynch a black man as he tries to intervene to stop it. Nick's love is for Eugenia Battle, whom he pursues throughout the novel; she is an upper-class girl who decides to marry within her own class and Nick's loss. Already in this early novel Glasgow is establishing two of her major themes as a writer: the role of race and class in Southern society. Her gift as a writer is evident here, though the story is slow in spots. Better efforts were to come.