Reviews for The Home And Early Haunts Of Robert Louis Stevenson

The average rating for The Home And Early Haunts Of Robert Louis Stevenson based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-10-04 00:00:00 Brian K Saltzman This biography of George Eliot was published only three years after her death. Both writer and her subject are interesting from a historical perspective. Unfortunately, Blind is not always historically accurate, and seems to be responsible for peddling one of the great literary myths, namely, that George Eliot had one hand larger than the other - for a more detailed analysis of this, please refer to Kathryn Hughes book Victorians Undone. One of the most fascinating aspects of this biography, however, is the blatant attempt to fully exonerate Eliot for any moral censure that she still suffered posthumously for her relationship with George Henry Lewes. Blind writes almost as if it was perfectly acceptable for Lewes and Eliot to determine that they would live together as man and wife, despite the fact that he was still married. They began cohabiting prior to the enactment of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857, which was the first time that divorce became more generally available, however, as Lewes was considered to be complicit in his wife's adultery, there were no grounds available to him for divorce to be possible even after the coming into force of the Act. Blind is at pains to justify Eliot's choices, which were at odds with accepted social behaviours at that time. In short, at the time, it was somewhat scandalous that Eliot had moved in with a married man. Interestingly, Blind herself, financially self-sufficient, and a well-educated writer and intellectual, had an ongoing relationship with the painter Ford Madox Brown, although the nature of that relationship (and whether or not it was sexual) is often speculated upon. She perhaps had her own motivations to try and justify Eliot's relationship? Eliot was indeed a superb writer, and her novels are part of a rich legacy left by 19th century novelists, however, I think some more balance might have been appropriate. Nevertheless, Blind's biography represents a fascinating starting point for any scholar seeking to gain a greater understanding of the life of one of our greatest female authors.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-01-11 00:00:00 Christen Caos Hard, if not impossible to rate a book like this; Blind is, I think, the only contemporary critic of Eliot I've really read so far, and in light of everything we now know about Eliot, the book seems redacted, soft-footed. No mention of the heartbreaking affair she had in her youth with John Chapman; nothing about her infatuation with Herbert Spencer. We only know of these liaisons because of correspondence unearthed over the years that Blind didn't have access to. Blind also soft pedals Eliot's split with her religion and father, and the scandalous details of her honeymoon in Venice are untouched. But Blind weaves back and forth between Eliot's fiction and life, injecting observations and asides I found tremendously illuminating. It was much like getting the ear of an expert scholar, but one still rolling in enthusiasm over the material rather than lecturing at the podium. I'm already itching to get a look at her writings on the Romantics, her own "Ascent of Man." Plus, did you know her brother tried to assassinate Otto Von Bismarck? Neither did I. Holy hell.