The Green Dwarf (Hesperus Classics) (Paperback)

~ Charlotte Bronte (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Witty and engrossing, this early work displays the precocious intelligence, lively imagination, and flair for storytelling that Charlotte Brontë brought to perfection in her later fiction. Foreword by Libby Purves.

Lady Emily Charlesworth is in love with Leslie, a struggling artist. Lord Percy, a fierce, arrogant aristocrat, will do anything to lay his hands on Leslie’s chosen bride. As war breaks out between Verdopolis—Brontë’s imaginary political state—and Senegal, the lovers do battle for control of Emily’s heart. With its exotic m&#eacute;lange of political intrigue, amorous subterfuge, and Gothic scenery, The Green Dwarf reveals the dynamic and experimental nature of Brontë’s “long apprenticeship in writing.” Charlotte Brontë (1816–1855) is best remembered for her perennially popular novel Jane Eyre.

From the Publisher

Hesperus Press, as suggested by their Latin motto, Et remotissima prope, is dedicated to bringing near what is far—far both in space and time. Works by illustrious authors, often unjustly neglected or simply little known in the English–speaking world, are made accessible through a completely fresh editorial approach and new translations. Through these short classic works, which feature forewords by leading contemporary authors, the modern reader will be introduced to the greatest writers of Europe and America. An elegantly designed series of genuine rediscoveries.

Product Details

• Paperback: 116 pages
• Publisher: Hesperus Press (May 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843910489
• ISBN-13: 978-1843910480
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 3.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #189,334 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charlotte Bronte Never Fails to Inspire & Challenge Me!, June 13, 2005

By	Aimee Thor "Aimee Thor" (Xenia, Ohio) - See all my reviews

I have been a Bronte addict since the age of 14, and this book was a marvelous treasure! I was challenged in a new and refreshing way to rediscover the powerful intellectual genius that was the Bronte's works. A very interesting and altogether unique book, The Green Dwarf is like walking through a museum of Charlotte's mind! I love this book! If you want a deeper glimpse into the heart of the Bronte world, then definitely read this book, you will be inspired anew.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Green Dwarf : imagination and energy, June 13, 2007

By	J. Cameron-Smith "Expect the Unexpected" (ACT, Australia) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

While this may be viewed as Charlotte Bronte's most obvious attempt to imitate the historical romance of Sir Walter Scott (in particular The Black Dwarf), it is well worth reading for a glimpse of the energy and imagination of Charlotte Bronte as a 17 year old.

Those who are familiar with the juvenilia of the Brontes will recognise some of the fictional places and heroes. Those who are not may read for the sheer pleasure of encountering one of the earlier writings of Charlotte. There is an energy and creativity here that is, to me, less obvious in Charlotte's published novels.

Recommended to all Bronte fans but, specifically, for those who enjoy Charlotte's novels.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Charlotte Brontë's beginnings, October 2, 2005

By	Diane Schirf "www.slywy.com" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Green Dwarf: A Tale of the Perfect Tense by Charlotte Brontë. Recommended.

The Green Dwarf demonstrates that literary achievement owes perhaps as much to experience and craft as to ability.

Set in the exotic colonial city of Verdopolis in Africa, The Green Dwarf is awkward on its own as a novella. It's framed at the beginning as a tale within a tale; the recuperating Lord Charles, apparently a renowned literary figure, requests his venerable friend Bud to tell him a story, which turns out to be the story of the green dwarf. There are references near the beginning and end to "Captain Tree," who would apparently figure in other juvenilia by the Brontë siblings.

A time-worn adage about writing is to "write what you know." The Green Dwarf exemplifies the practical reason for this bit of wisdom; the Brontë siblings did not know Africa, so little of Verdopolis resembles a colonial African city or town. Even the descriptions of hills, glens, and forests, save for the occasional mention of a palm, evoke an English or Scottish setting, not an African one. It's also never revealed in which part of the vast African continent Verdopolis lies. The nature of the "African Olympic Games," the characters' names, the occasional anachronism, and the plot of a lady in distress lend the Green Dwarf the air of a fairy tale in a fictional setting.

Interestingly, Brontë's imagination is perhaps limited by her chronological age and her social and cultural experience and milieu. The piece villain says, "Beautiful creature . . . Behold me, fair lady, and know into whose power you have fallen!" A more mature or modern writer might hint at something more sinister to follow, as Brontë will later hint at Rochester's depravity and his paternity of his ward Adele, but after this ominous line the kidnapper merely gloats and then leaves to serve his country.

The Green Dwarf's beginning and early Napoleonic aside are nonsensical, its language overblown, and its plot awkward (and interrupted by authorial intrusions such as, "It may now be as well to connect the broken thread of my rambling narrative before I proceed further."). Brontë's imagination shines through at times, in whimsy, in images, and in words. The ailing Lord Charles is fed a diet that consists of, among other delicacies, ". . . stewed cockchafers . . . and roasted mice." In his rambles, he suddenly comes upon the green, foam-covered sea, which his "excited fancy" sees as a plains covered with "white flowers and tender spring grass and the thickly clustered masts of vessels . . . transformed into groves of tall, graceful trees, while the smaller craft took the form of cattle reposing in the shade"-quite a vision for the recovering poet. And Bertha's comment upon the arrival of Lady Emily answers its own question: "But what have you brought such a painted toy as this here for? There's no good in the wind, I think."

Brontë foreshadows the significance of the "carroty-haired hero of the cart and asses" when he defeats Colonel Percy's magnificent steeds and chariot in a race. She also cleverly keeps him a man of mystery: How did he win the race? How did he happen to be at the right place at the right time to find Colonel Percy's servant "at a very lonely part of the road"? If he is more than human, why does he need Colonel Percy's money to pay for his vices? Or is he a representative?

In many ways, The Green Dwarf reads more like a play than a novella. with the awkward authorial intrusions serving as scene breaks. Even the Ashantees and their king Quashie are mere plot devices who enter the scene, breathe wind into the plot's sails, and add nothing to the drama.

Work on The Green Dwarf and other juvenilia undoubtedly fired Brontë's continued interest in writing. She achieved success when she left Verdopolis and Africa behind and focused her imagination and her ability to convey it on what she knew and had experienced-the often difficult, lonely, isolated lives of independent, intelligent women in the 19th century, women who, like Jane Eyre, do what they believe is right at the cost of their own happiness.

Diane L. Schirf, 2 October 2005.