Clara Reeve

by Thomas M. Disch

Book Overview

Well received novel written by Thomas M. Disch. Clara Reeve is a Romantic Shelleyesque homage to the Gothic novels of the 19th century. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394484908
• ISBN13: 9780394484907
• Release Date: January 1975
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 442 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A GOTHIC NOVEL OF MYSTERY AND SUSPENSE...

Successfully written in the style of a Victorian gothic, the author does not fail to keep the reader in suspense with this page turner. Although the book's cover art is enough to allow the discerning reader to guess what is at the core of the mystery in the book, it does not diminish the pleasure that the reader will get from reading this densely plotted novel. In the classic style of a Victorian gothic, the reader is introduced to a rather naive, mid-nineteenth century young English woman, Clara Reeve, who finds herself at the vortex of a series of mysterious occurrences. Orphaned at a young age and left virtually penniless, she is adopted by her Aunt Lydia and her husband, Josiah Jerningham. Clara's life in the Jerningham house is a somewhat difficult and unhappy one, as her aunt's husband is not a particularly pleasant man, given as he is to bouts of domestic violence against Lydia and unmitigated harshness of manner towards Clara. There is little to brighten young Clara's life. While still in her teens, Clara she is invited to visit her father's brother, her elderly uncle, Lord Rhodes, who is a fabulously wealthy man. While visiting him, accompanied by her aunt Lydia, Clara re-acquaints herself with her cousin, Niles Visconti, who is only a few years older than her, whom she has not seen since the death of her parents. She finds he is now married to an Italian woman named Renata. Niles also has a manservant, Manfredo, to whom Clara takes a dislike. This visit to her Uncle Rhodes will eventually change her life and cause her to become embroiled in a set of mysterious and sometimes perilous circumstances. Those readers who enjoy Victorian style gothics need look no further than this book. Richly plotted and well-written, it perfectly captures the mood of the era in which the events take place. The story, which abounds with intrigues and mysteries, is replete with undercurrents of passion, petty jealousies, and desires. At the center of it all is the book's heroine. The author pays sly homage to the Victorian gothic by naming her heroine Clara Reeve, as that is the name of a well-known eighteenth century writer of the Gothic school, author of "The Champion of Virtue, a Gothic Story", which was later renamed "The Old English Baron." If one is a fan of the Victorian gothic, one will love this book and be unable to put it down until the last page is turned. Bravo!

A Dark Book with Lots of Surprises

This book is a modern novel in the guise of a Victorian novel. How appropriate that it was written by Thomas Disch, author of SF, horror, and mystery novels and poet.Like many classic Victorian novels, this is narrated by a naive heroine with a difficult life. Strange and bizarre things happen around her, but at first, she doesn't understand their significance.What is the secret of her delicate husband, Niles? What is her mother-in-law concealing? If you think you've figured out all the secrets... you're wrong.