Jan, 2025 Read

1.      A book by an author with a 2-syllable last name

(first book of my 2025 project: 6 classics before turning to 60)

The Scarlet Pimpernel

Author: Baroness Orczy

Genre: historical fiction

Number of pages: 323

First published: 1905

Setting: Paris in 1792

Rating: 5 stars

First sentence: A surging, seething, murmuring crowd of beings that are human only in name, for to the eye and ear they seem naught but savage creatures, animated by vile passions and by the lust of vengeance and of hate.

One sentence comment: I love this book, romantic and beautiful.

 The Scarlet Pimpernel is about this crazy time of huge change and serious danger, and this one super-rich guy basically ran a secret rescue squad. He and his team kept sneaking back into Paris to save all these people the French government was trying to hunt down.

 

2.      Free pick

(Second book of my 2025 project: 6 classics before turning to 60)

The Custom of the Country

Author: Edith Wharton

Genre: Classic fiction

Number of pages: 413

First published: 1913

Setting: New York and France

Rating: 5 stars

First sentence: ‘Undine Spragg – how can you?’ her mother wailed, raising a prematurely wrinkled hand heavy with rings to defend the note which a languid ‘bell-boy’ had just brought in.

One sentence comment: This book offers the most vivid insights into the evolving social dynamics in New York in the early 20^th century.

 

Edith Wharton's The Custom of the Country doesn't enjoy the same fame as some of her other novels. I suspect it's because critics haven't taken kindly to its villainous heroine. Undine, shallow and obsessed with money, is certainly unsympathetic. Yet, despite her comic portrayal, she doesn't suffer the tragic fate often meted out to 19th-century women who dared to defy societal norms. Undine actually gets what she wants. In a way, the story seems to applaud her dishonesty and unconventional boldness, which might leave some readers feeling a bit uneasy.

 

My heart really goes out to Ralph, Undine's first victim. He was a true gentleman from a distinguished family, a thoughtful soul who valued art above all else. Yet, he was forced to take on a soul-crushing job to keep up with Undine's extravagant spending. His tragedy lies in his fundamental belief in human decency. He simply couldn't comprehend the extent of her deceit. Ralph's story reflects the social upheaval of the time. It highlights how traditional values were crumbling, leaving those who clung to them bewildered and powerless to maintain the order they cherished.