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Title: Dragonwyck by Anya Seton ISBN: 1-56849-484-X Publisher: Buccaneer Books Inc Pub. Date: 01 December, 1994 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $37.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (9 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME...
Comment: This is a beautifully written work of historical fiction, set in 1840s New York. It focuses on a young Connecticut woman, Miranda Wells, who sees a change in her station in life through a chance invitation by a wealthy distant cousin. Handsome, gallant, and a renaissance man in terms of his interests, Nicholas Van Ryn invites his young cousin to visit and stay at his lavish home in upstate Hudson, New York and act as a companion for his young daughter.
When she meets him for the first time, Miranda is smitten, as Nicholas is the embodiment of all her romantic yearnings. Moreover, her stay at his luxurious, palatial home on the Hudson River, a mansion with the fanciful name of Dragonwyck, is an answer to her prayers and a chance to escape the hard work and tedium that has been her lot on her family's Connecticut farm. Dragonwyck, however, has its share of secrets and a miasma of evil that lurks in its halls and grand rooms.
The only thorn in Miranda's side is her cousin's wife, Johanna, who does not care for having a younger, more attractive woman, bustling about the house and preening before her husband. Johanna finds ways to make her feelings understood by Miranda, but Miranda, reckless in her admiration for her cousin Nicholas and relatively naive, is somewhat obtuse. Moreover, there is a pre-existing undercurrent of tension between husband and wife in the Dragonwyck household of which Miranda is seemingly oblivious.
Miranda's presence exacerbates the tension in the household that, ultimately, ends in tragedy for all concerned. It is that tragedy that will, for Miranda, mark the beginning of a life journey that will provide some painful and unsettling lessons. It is a journey that will ensure a measure of painful self-discovery and remove the rose colored glasses through which she had viewed her world.
The book is well researched and redolent with information about the Dutch influence in New York and its aristocracy. It details many of the issues and traditions that were germane to the period and is richly descriptive of a way of life in New York, both downstate and upstate, that has since gone by the wayside. It intertwines a number of historical events and personages with the lives of those characters who are at the heart of this wonderful and vastly entertaining book. It is a book that will keep the reader turning the pages until the very last.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Generational Favorite
Comment: This book enjoys a special place in my grandmother's bookshelves, and both she and my mom always told me when I was little that I should read it someday. So a few years ago, on an extended vacation to my grandparent's house (which, I have to say, can be nearly as creepy at night as Dragonwyck) I picked up the book and curled up in a corner with it. I absolutely couldldn't put it down. Miranda is an engaging character who you instantly identify with because I think everyone feels sometimes the sense of oppression of their mundane lives. It definitely fits in nicely with the Gothic romance of the time, though doesn't *quite* stand up to Hawthorne's THe House of the Seven Gables. However, Seton's language is wonderfully detailed and captures the beauties and terrors of the moments to a point where you are nearly breathless. I highly recommend finding yourself a copy, no matter how dog-eared, and immerse yourself in Dragonwyck.
Rating: 5
Summary: Beware of answered prayers....
Comment: I searched for years for a copy of "Dragonwyck" and finally found an old copy in an East Hampton church sale. Why such a quest? Because I had seen the movie version with Gene Tierney and Vincent Price at least 10 times as a child. And the book is no disappointment--rather, it went beyond my wildest expectation! I've read it over quite a few times. The most appealing part for me is the early part of the novel, when Miranda is first in love with her handsome but remote cousin Nicholas, a married man whose daughter she is governess to. Seton captures the inexpressable longing of a crush that can never come to fruition. How every glance, every chance encounter takes on a significance to us alone. Then, the unthinkable happens, and Miranda gets her wish, marriage to Nicholas. But like most answered prayers, the reality bears no resemblance to the fantasy. In spite of riches and every kind of luxury, Miranda cannot find happiness in her marriage to Nicholas, a man incapable of spiritual and emotional intimacy. I highly recommend "Dragonwyck", for this wonderful plot and also its considerable research in the period, 1840s New York.
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Title: Green Darkness by Anya Seton ISBN: 0899669468 Publisher: Buccaneer Books Inc Pub. Date: 01 December, 1992 List Price(USD): $47.95 |
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Title: Devil Water by Anya Seton ISBN: 0848803183 Publisher: Amereon Limited Pub. Date: 01 January, 1977 List Price(USD): $35.95 |
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Title: Avalon by Anya Seton ISBN: 039508170X Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co (T) Pub. Date: 01 June, 1965 List Price(USD): $10.00 |
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Title: Turquoise by Setonm Anya ISBN: 0449230880 Publisher: Fawcett Books Pub. Date: 01 February, 1977 List Price(USD): $1.95 |
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Title: Foxfire by Anya Seton ISBN: 0449240177 Publisher: Fawcett Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 1979 List Price(USD): $14.50 |
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