For the Jane Austen Fan, But Not for the Faint of Heart

          The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”  Dr. Seuss

          After about two and half months, I have finally finished reading The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe. This is no small accomplishment for me because not only does this cement my status as a Jane Austen fan, but it also means that I successfully read 672 pages of pure melodrama without throwing in the towel.

          The story centers around the orphaned Emily St. Aubert. Victimized throughout the story, Emily holds onto the thought of her lover, Valancourt, to help her survive the capriciousness of her guardian aunt and the evil schemes of her uncle, the Count Montoni. After being spirited away from her native France, she is held captive by Montoni in the dark castle, Udolpho, until some servants and a fellow prisoner help her escape.  In an odd and slightly confusing twist, new characters are introduced after Emily is liberated and the story shifts away from the "mysteries of Udolpho" to a mystery surrounding Emily's deceased father. A sudden revelation about her beloved Valancourt also throws a wrench in the Emily's dreams of a happy ending. Thankfully, all the mysteries and conflicts are eventually resolved and every obscure plot line is miraculously connected at the end.

I bought my copy at the Jane Austen Center in Bath, U.K

          If the above summary was the entirety of the book in a nutshell, then I probably would consider my time well spent. Unfortunately, the melodramatic undertone of the book turned even the conclusion into an unsatisfying let down. One rule of thumb that my creative writing instructor instilled in me was that "if your characters are constantly feeling sorry for themselves, then it will be hard for the reader to feel sorry for them." There was so much sorrow, depression, self-pity, crying, fainting, over-wrought sensibilities, and borderline manic frenzy that any shade of sympathy I might have felt for the hero and heroine disappeared within the first 100 pages. I now understand how Jane Austen could write a satire poking fun at this Gothic novel. 

          My final complaint lies behind the wordiness of the text. I am a wordy writer. I fully and completely admit that. But my wordiness does not hold a candle to the plethoric verbiage used by Radcliffe. At first I appreciated her minute descriptions of the setting, but the high-minded sensibility that put the characters into raptures over every mountain and valley soon bogged me down. In short, if the descriptions had been edited a little, the book probably would have been cut in half.
        
          To be fair, the plot was engaging enough for me to continue reading with plenty of curiosity. Radcliffe did an excellent job of teasing the reader with hints of horror without fully expanding the story in that direction. I also appreciate what Ann Radcliffe was able to accomplish through her works. Not only was she one of the first successful female authors in the English language, but she pioneered in the Gothic genre and influenced other writers such as Edgar Allan Poe.
        
          I would recommend The Mysteries of Udolpho to any serious Jane Austen fan and to those who enjoy Gothic novels but aren't intimidated by long novels. The book overall receives 2 out of 5 stars from me: 1 star for the Gothic elements of the story and 1 star for the sense of accomplishment I got when I finally put the book down.

Radcliffe, Ann. The Mysteries of Udolpho. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.

Shalom, I'm Off to Israel!

19 pairs of socks rolled, taped, and stuffed in sandwich bags

I leave for Israel in about two weeks...this is stated with a mixture of absolute excitement and heightened nerves. Since I am a planner and I like being prepared in advanced for things, I practiced packing today. My sister generously has let me borrow her North Face Terra 65 back pack, which we have affectionately dubbed "Maximus".  Maximus has already survived three months in India, so I am very optimistic about our future together in Israel. I spent the better part of the evening squishing and squeezing nearly my entire wardrobe into the narrow but stretchy confines of the back pack. My sister, who is a veteran of international packing, was kind about my efforts, but stated that I needed to do a better job of it before I actually left. Considering that I didn't even get around to packing everything I need to take, I heartily agreed with her. But thankfully, after hoisting the load on my back with a lot of huffing and puffing, I found out that I am still 15lbs shy of the 50lb weight limit for checked luggage. I took that as a blessed relief.

Visiting Israel has been a dream of mine for a while. Naturally, the Land has spiritual significance for me, but over the years it has also taken on a deeper aspect; something that I don't even know if I could put into words.

History has always been a love of mine. I grew up watching and reading about heroes and villains during the great wars, especially WWII. Through that, I became very aware of Jewish history (apart from that which I had grown up hearing about in the Bible). From Anne Frank to Auschwitz, I learned about hatred and the drive to annihilate. I would look at pictures from the Holocaust and think, "These are real people. This really happened." I would wonder about who the people in the pictures were before the war. Were they happy? Did they laugh often? Did they see this coming or was it beyond their imagination? The sorrow of such things seemed to me like it would leave the Jewish people completely broken...

But then I look at the modern state of Israel. A thriving nation with a culture rooted deep in the Land. Israel is a miracle. I love what that says about God. Oh sure, there are plenty of modern critics and "holier than thou" types harping on the grandiose themes of the Bible until they philosophize the Jews into oblivion. But when God says things like, "Because you [Israel] are precious in My sight and honored, and I love you, I will give human beings in your place, and peoples in place of your life" (Isaiah 43:4, HCSB), I can't help but take Him literally.

"I love you." They are perhaps some of the most hackneyed words in the history of mankind, but when I read the above passage, I cried. It's so simple. Throughout all the struggles that Israel has been through, God is still saying, "I love you." What excuse do I have to do anything less?

I don't really know what to expect from this trip. I know that God orchestrated it, but the "why" is beyond what I can fathom. My heart's desire is that I will come away having been a blessing and being blessed in return. But, as always, the details I will leave up to God :)

A Regency Christmas

My copy of A Regency Christmas

          The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”  Dr. Seuss
         
          While I was browsing through my school's annual book sale last February, I came upon a little worn paperback that had the word "Regency" in the title. My immediate thought was "Hey, I love everything from the Regency Period [early 1800s England], so this book must be perfect for me." Thus, I paid a whopping $1 to take the little paperback home with me and it has sat on my shelf ever since.  
          Fast forward to December. In a spur of the moment decision, I pulled A Regency Christmas off my shelf and started to read it (gasp!) just in time for Christmas.
          The book is a collection of five short stories set in the Regency England all of which are written by different authors. The first story is "Three Good Deeds" written by Barbara Metzger. It follows three young boys who must make restitution for breaking a church window by doing three good deeds in their local village. The story is humorous and endearing because the boys end up plotting "good deeds" that greatly affects the lives of the adults around them (especially that of their attractive widowed mother).
          "Felicity's Forfeit" by Elisabeth Fairchild is the second story in the collection and it centers around a money strapped man with a title (I forget what kind of title) who must find wealthy spouses either for himself or his two sisters. Of course, he ends up falling for an American southern belle, Felicity (who drawls out her deep Georgian accent throughout the entire story), and his plans come perilously close to being ruined.
          The third story, "Second Chance" by Allison Lane, is about a governess with a secretive past who takes a job looking after her relative's children. The job becomes complicated when a family reunion during Christmas blurs the line between herself as an employee and the extended family that she played with as a child. An old love also enters the scene to complicate matters until she becomes terrified that all of her secrets will come bursting out. Naturally this story has a happy ending after the main character finally releases herself from her past and finally opens herself up to old love.
          The fourth entry to the collection is one of my favorites. "The Christmas Ornament" by Carla Kelly follows the matchmaking efforts of two families, one with a daughter who is too smart for her own good and the other with an academic son who has had no luck in romance. The narrative mostly follows the son and his bungled efforts to win the fair maiden. Finally, after lots of advice from wise fathers and several doses humility, the romance finally blossoms in such a way that left a huge smile on my face.
          The fifth and final story is "The Hounds of Heaven" by Edith Layton. This story was unique in the fact that I had absolutely no hope for the leading man. In short, he was a cad and philanderer. The story begins with this "prize" bachelor giving a marriage proposal to a sweet but strong woman, which she promptly rejects because he refuses to give a promise of absolute commitment to her. They both sink into melancholy (she really did love him) and the man is only rescued from his plunge into an alcohol ridden stupor by a puppy who happens to save his life. The puppy becomes very attached to the man and he to her, which eventually teaches him the true meaning of love and commitment. He is able to redeem himself in the eyes of the woman and she accepts his second proposal at the end of the story.
          I would like to note that, even though the stories are set in Regency England, they do not resemble Jane Austen's stories or writing style (sorry, I will always equate Regency with Miss Austen). However, this book is a good choice if you are wanting something light and humorous to cuddle up with on a rainy day. There is some language in a couple of the stories, but it wasn't bad enough for me to put the book down (which I have done before with other books). All in all, I would give A Regency Christmas 3 out of 5 stars; 1 star for humor, 1 star for enjoyable dialogue, and 1 star for giving me the warm fuzzies. 

Fairchild, Elisabeth, et al. A Regency Christmas. New York: Penguin Putnam, 1998. Print.