Customer Reviews

Zofloya: or The Moor (Oxford World's Classics)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Zofloya is both fascinating to study and a really good read. The main character, Victoria, is a strikingly unusual protagonist and very much subverts the conventions of what was thought to be appropriate 'women's literature' at the time Dacre was writing. It works on a bunch of levels - you can analyse the moral structure of the novel, the images of violence, look at it in context of orientalist writing, compare it to Sade...or just enjoy the great writing that compels you to turn the pages as quickly as any modern Gothic novel would. This is one of my favourite books. I normally just buy the cheapest edition of a book, but in this case I'd highly recommend the Broadview copy for the interesting introductions and helpful contextual materials at the back.

This actually seems like two separate novels. The first section describes Victoria, a spoiled woman who's mother leaves her father for a libertine. The first Volume and a half describe her life and her attempts at becoming her own woman. But the telling is quick and boring. The second half tells of only a few months of Victoria's life, and her strange love for Zofloya, the moorish servant of her husband's brother. Fromt his point on, the novel becomes a harrowing tale of murder and revenge. Intensely violent, and very entertaining, the second half almost makes of for the rather lackluster beginning.

The text is of particular interst for its depiction of "subtle poison that which is extracted from and administered by books" (Dacre)The act of writing and reading are "sovereign poisons," an interesting notion from a woman writer in the early 19th century.

This was my first time ordering all of my books online for my college classes. I was a bit hesitant not being able to see the books before I purchased them, however, it turns out I didn't need to be. The book was in excellent condition, nothing to hinder my use of it for class. It was also much less expensive than I would have paid at the book store here. I haven't read the book yet, but it looks like it will be a great fit for the class.

Kim Ian Michasiw is the associate professor at my university (York U in Toronto!) and he's awesome. He brilliantly sets up his ideas in the introduction of this work and provides, as clearly as he can, something of a chronology (much is yet to be known about Dacre's life). The book is an interesting study in gothic literature and feminine writing circa Jane Austen.
Eighteenth-century trash, actually. Lots of sex and violence, elegantly written. Also interesting in its portrayal of race and the sexualization of "The moor". A perverse work, actually.