Monday, May 30, 2016

Wives and Daughters

I just finished reading Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell.
And it was sooo good!!!!

I'm the kind of girl who loves old fashioned romances (you couldn't tell that from my blog, could you? :) and this was no exception. I loved how sweet and flower-like it was. It was just so good! I loved how old-fashioned it was. Of course, it was published in 1864, so of course it's old fashioned, but Elizabeth Gaskell wrote it to be set even earlier than that; she kept saying, "in those days" and such things. It was so quaint and sweet.

I'm not even sure how to begin reviewing this lovely book, so I guess I'll start with my favourite parts (In no particular order):
(Oh, and the movie actually did a wonderful job casting the characters, so I shall use pictures from it.)
  • I love how the Hamleys, especially Mrs. Hamley, take such a like to dear Molly. I feel like she deserves the best of everything, including the best people to love her, and so I love that they love her.
  • When Roger finds Molly crying and gives her that talk--Ahhh!!! I just loved Roger at that moment for Molly's sake. And then after that when he kind of took it upon himself to be her mentor, or guide, or whatever, I just loved that. And I loved how Molly appreciated it so and I loved how Roger found himself thinking about her and her problems so much. The whole thing with them was just lovely. 
And, thankfully, they did an excellent job with this scene in the movie. 
  • I like how Lady Harriet likes Molly and ends up helping her so much. I don't know what Molly would have done without her. 
  • The ending that Elizabeth Gaskell would have written was wonderful. The edition I read left off where she stopped, but it told everything she had said she would have written, so I knew how she would have ended it. And I loved it. Unfortunately, they didn't do the right ending in the movie, but that's okay. That's what imaginations are for, right?
  • I'm so glad Cynthia ended up being a friend to Molly. I was so afraid Molly's expectations would be disappointed and she would be too much like her mother, but I was glad when that wasn't the case. Of course, I don't like everything she did and put Molly through, but I'm glad they loved each other as real sisters. 

  • I quite enjoyed the scene where Molly gives Roger the rose--after he gave her the boquet! It was sooooo sweet! Dear Molly! Dear Roger!

Now for the thing I didn't like--and yes, there's one:
  • Osborne. I did not like Osborne Hamley. At all. (By the bye, he was also the only character that was cast very, very wrongly in the movie. Tall? Deep blue eyes? Nope. The fake Mr. Collins it is.) I can't exactly tell why I didn't like him, but I can think of a couple reasons. For one, he was, obviously, too full of himself. He was selfish. He didn't know much about restraint or reason. Now, this wasn't entirely his fault, as he had been raised to be a spoiled eldest son, but still--he was. Another reason was that he was careless. He didn't really think about things. He didn't think it through when he was married. He didn't think about it before he started spending time with the Gibsons. He didn't think about the fact that he knew he was married did not keep others from suspecting him of courting. I didn't like him. 
Of course there are some other little things I didn't like, but that was the major one. 

Anyway, it was such a wonderful book! I definitely recommend it to anyone who loves L. M. Montgomery, Jane Austen, or Louisa May Alcott, or even anyone who doesn't! (Okay, maybe not. If you don't like at least one of those authours, then don't take book recommendations from me.)

Have you read Wives and Daughters? What did you think?

11 comments:

  1. "If you don't like at least one of those authours, then don't take book recommendations from me." xD

    Awesome review!! You reminded me that I need to reread this book :) The movie is one of my all-time favorites, and I liked the book a lot when I read it. And yay, another Harriet fan! *high five* Also, I know exactly what you mean about Cynthia. I was afraid it'd turn into a stereotypical Cinderella story, but it didn't, and I loved that.

    Thanks again for this post! :D

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    1. Thank you! And thanks for agreeing! It's nice to have someone understand!

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  2. It's been awhile since I read Wives and Daughters, but I remember I really liked it. I loved Molly's relationship with her father. And her friendship/romance with Roger. Roger is such a sweet character, isn't he?

    I must admit, I'm not a huge fan of the movie. I did think some of the characters were very well cast, but they sort of fell flat for more...never quite "came alive" if you know what I mean. (Haha. Funny thing about Osborne, though. I can't remember what I thought of him in the book, but I think he was just about my favorite character in the movie, because for some odd reason he was the one character that I REALLY felt for. You can laugh at me, if you want. ;) Haha.)

    Anyhow, enough of my ramblings...

    This was a very nice review, Rae! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. I really should read Wives and Daughters again. :)

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    1. Yeah, I do know what you mean. But I watched the movie first, which makes a difference. Also, another reason I didn't like Osborne in the movie was because, as I mentioned, he was played by "the fake Mr. Collins" and I couldn't get that out of my mind, especially because they dressed VERY similarly. But the Osborne of the movie was more likable than the Osborne of the book, I'll give you that. :) And no, I shan't laugh at you. I can see why people would like him, I just don't. :)

      Thank you so much, Miss March! You're so sweet!

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    2. Haha. I totally understand about the whole Mr. Collins thing! The reason that didn't bother me was because I didn't even realize it WAS Mr. Collins until after I'd seen the movie. I'm pretty sure I watched P&P '05 first, but having only seen it once at that point, I wasn't familiar enough with Mr. Collins to recognize him in something else. So yeah. I was spared that pain. ;) Heehee.

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  3. I really liked your review, Rae! I also really like Wives and Daughters, both movie and book, so to find that you agree with me is also a fact in your favor. ;) Hehe.

    I was fine with the casting for Osborne because I already knew him as Osborne before I ever saw the '05 P&P. And as I'm not a '05 fan, he's still my Osborne. His death was always awful though, that beetle!! :P :P So gross!! Hahaha.

    As for one of my favorite scenes I would go with all the scenes with Lady Harriet (I wrote an entire post on her because I love her(!)), and that conversation where Molly argues with Mr. Preston. (Even though they are discovered and he's so smugly ungentlemanly about the whole thing!! Little bugger.)

    As for what I don't like--Mr. Gibson. I think he is very hard on Molly. Particularly in the movie. When he gets so violent and angry with her situation with Preston--I just want to shake him to help him remember that this is the daughter that he loves and he shouldn't treat her that way!!! Sorry, rant over. :D

    Again, nice review. Well done, my friend.

    ~Cordy

    P.S. Oh, and I know I might have said this before but I think it bears repeating, I really like your look. It's so simple but elegant. The color of the background is like a regency wallpaper. It's cheery and welcoming!

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    1. Thank you!

      Yes, unfortunately I saw P&P'05 first (however, I hated it. :). It just kind of ruined Osborne for me.

      "Little bugger." It makes me happy to hear Mr. Preston called that. Serves him perfectly right. :) I love that he gets defeated in the end.

      True, Mr. Gibson is rather stern and overbearing. Yeah, I didn't really know what to think of him, so I didn't include much of him in my review. He just--is. But I do agree with you. My favourite parts with him are when he actually shows that he loves Molly.

      Thanks, Cordy! For your comments and your kind words! I'm glad you liked the review--and the look!

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  4. I love this book and I love the movie! I haven't read the book in AGES though; I must reread it! Perhaps this summer? :-)

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    1. Isn't it wonderful? It probably is worth rereading; you can add it to your probably already long list of books to read! :)

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  5. I am adding Wives and Daughters to my summer reading list right now! *goes and does it*
    Lovely review, and now I must see the movie as well!

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    1. It is definitely worth reading! I loved the movie, too. Worth watching. :) Thanks for commenting!

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