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Title: Precious Bane by Mary Webb, Howland Hilder ISBN: 0-268-01538-4 Publisher: Univ of Notre Dame Pr Pub. Date: October, 1980 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.92 (12 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent book, must be read
Comment: I've just read Precious Bane and it was very moving. It should be better-known, her style is excellent, the characterisations extremely vivid, and the twist in the plot at the end quite unexpected. Prue Sarn is not at all your typical wet 19th c heroine, she is intelligent, sensitive, and assertive (which is why she gets into trouble with the society of her day). The Precious Bane of the title is usually interpreted as being her hare lip, which is certainly a very prominent theme in the book, but it could also be interpreted as the money after her which her brother Gideon constantly strives, which causes so much misfortune. And the hero is really good too, an animal rights campaigner before his time.
Rating: 5
Summary: An amazing book
Comment: I inherited a 1920's hardcover copy of this book when my Grandmother died- it had always been one of her favorite books. When I read it, I begin to see why. My Grandmother was a person whose spirituality was unconventional, and this is a theme that strongly runs through this book. Traditional Christianity is there, but so is ecstatic spirituality inspired and manifested by nature. She sees God in nature. There are many many beautiful passages where the heroine is literally transported spiritually by the slight of flowers, or the songs of birds. Traditional beliefs and local magic are explored in detail and with an amazing lack of Judgement ( folklorists take note), and the Wizard, though he is not expected to go to Heaven, is a friend to a poor disabled girl and teaches her many good things. Her struggle for a "normal" life with her disability, a hare-lip, is very touching and inspiring. The author also deals with bigotry, persecution and rejection of those who are different, and the difficult question of what truly manefests Goodness- is Goodness something people truly strive for, or do most people simply go through life follow social pressures? Is the Wizard, who reached out to Prue and helped her with and open heart, a "better" person then the hard hearted comformity driven Churchgoes who would not even allow the Wizard's ( staunchly Christian) wife to enter their homes, condeming her to a lonely life?
There is Magic here, and unearthly beauty seen though the eyes of a sensative young girl, and what must have been a very different exploration of true human nature in those rigid times. A thoughtful, highly recommended book.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Precious Legacy
Comment: This book takes one back to a day when the timeless values were often the subject of literature, and language held beauties we seldom see today. It is a deeply touching evocation of a long ago world as remote as Middle Earth or Narnia. The meaning of the title is not clear to me, whether it is Prue's deformity or the passionate devotion to materialism of her brother, but I rather lean to the latter, since his life is so utterly poisoned by his addiction. Highly recommended.
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Title: Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym ISBN: 1559212438 Publisher: Moyer Bell Ltd Pub. Date: July, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons ISBN: 014018869X Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: February, 1996 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: These is My Words by Nancy Turner ISBN: 0060987510 Publisher: Regan Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler ISBN: 0399151613 Publisher: Putnam Pub Group Pub. Date: 22 April, 2004 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: Peace Like a River by Leif Enger ISBN: 0802139256 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: 20 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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