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A review by annabelws23
The Beth Book by Sarah Grand
3.0
As most Victorian books are wont to, this would have benefited from being 150/200 pages shorter. There is a great deal of the minutiae of Beth's childhood given in great detail that could have been lost - but as it is semi-autobiographical, I can see why Sarah Grand waxed lyrical.
That being said, I kept picking it up for Beth's precious nature, humour and feisty give-no-inches to the dreadful men she is surrounded by (all of whom conspire to keep her in a place she won't be boxed into). The New Freewoman is certainly in no short supply here. The book is a study of the ways women's intelligence and identities were suppressed in favour of men and interrogates gender in a way that feels ahead of its time. I appreciated the fact that Beth is allowed to succeed, and does not succumb to the conditions of her life as the wife of an abusive doctor.
Not my favourite Victorian Woman's novel or my favourite VMC, but an interesting read nonetheless.
That being said, I kept picking it up for Beth's precious nature, humour and feisty give-no-inches to the dreadful men she is surrounded by (all of whom conspire to keep her in a place she won't be boxed into). The New Freewoman is certainly in no short supply here. The book is a study of the ways women's intelligence and identities were suppressed in favour of men and interrogates gender in a way that feels ahead of its time. I appreciated the fact that Beth is allowed to succeed, and does not succumb to the conditions of her life as the wife of an abusive doctor.
Not my favourite Victorian Woman's novel or my favourite VMC, but an interesting read nonetheless.