Lady Lilith is a nick-name given to the main character Lady Barbara Neave because of her tendency to behave in an innocent through amoral way. Lilith was Adam's first wife, before Eve, according to the Talmud and a wife who lived before the advent of evil in the Garden of Eden.
Barbara's reputation has proceeded her to London with great attention to the upper reaches of society during the years before the First World War. Barbara first gains noteriety by being in a plane crash (surviving) because she persuaded the pilot to take her up. Next she is involved in an auto crash (chauffeur is killed) due to her persuading a friend to take the the car (chauffeur is bribed) without permission. The incident all but ruins her place in society but she bounces back by playing up to the drama and tragedy of the thing in the Illustrated Paper. Next she is present at a seance escorted by the same friend of the car crash, where one member of the group drops dead during a session with the Medium. Three strikes--but Barbara is not out!
She spurns all proposals of marriage opting to wait for the man who cares nothing for her (!)---a situation which looks impossible in the crowds of egible and smitten London bachelors. Eventually her hope turns up in the character of George Waring, a stiff, humorless, conservative barrister. Here is one fellow who not only doesn't care about her but goes to great lengths to avoid her. She sets out, successfully, to catch him through various subtrifuges. He show more eventually pursues her--which brings Barbara to a personal crisis of identity. Just who and what is she? The personalities of both Barbara and George are scrutinized and eventually pegged by readers as war looms and the two main characters struggle to connect. The ending is far from satisfactory but then this is the first installment in McKenna's trilogy, The Sensationalists).
Although McKenna has fallen out of favor with most readers today, his depiction of the life of innocent frivolity in London-before-the Great War, has considerable charm. Whether intentional or not, McKenna's subtexts in this novel call out to 21st century readers e.g. Barbara's loss of a female sibling=wildness, anorexia, and self-loathing; Barbara's relationship with her father=conquering a suitor who initially cares nothing for her, etc. all told with wide-eyed innocence. show less
Barbara's reputation has proceeded her to London with great attention to the upper reaches of society during the years before the First World War. Barbara first gains noteriety by being in a plane crash (surviving) because she persuaded the pilot to take her up. Next she is involved in an auto crash (chauffeur is killed) due to her persuading a friend to take the the car (chauffeur is bribed) without permission. The incident all but ruins her place in society but she bounces back by playing up to the drama and tragedy of the thing in the Illustrated Paper. Next she is present at a seance escorted by the same friend of the car crash, where one member of the group drops dead during a session with the Medium. Three strikes--but Barbara is not out!
She spurns all proposals of marriage opting to wait for the man who cares nothing for her (!)---a situation which looks impossible in the crowds of egible and smitten London bachelors. Eventually her hope turns up in the character of George Waring, a stiff, humorless, conservative barrister. Here is one fellow who not only doesn't care about her but goes to great lengths to avoid her. She sets out, successfully, to catch him through various subtrifuges. He show more eventually pursues her--which brings Barbara to a personal crisis of identity. Just who and what is she? The personalities of both Barbara and George are scrutinized and eventually pegged by readers as war looms and the two main characters struggle to connect. The ending is far from satisfactory but then this is the first installment in McKenna's trilogy, The Sensationalists).
Although McKenna has fallen out of favor with most readers today, his depiction of the life of innocent frivolity in London-before-the Great War, has considerable charm. Whether intentional or not, McKenna's subtexts in this novel call out to 21st century readers e.g. Barbara's loss of a female sibling=wildness, anorexia, and self-loathing; Barbara's relationship with her father=conquering a suitor who initially cares nothing for her, etc. all told with wide-eyed innocence. show less
A novel of adventure and action on one level; a novel of psychological terror on another. Stevenson structures his narrative around themes of family pride, rivalry between brothers, and psychotic dominance whose power eventually destroys everyone.
The story of the Durie family is "framed" in the discovery of a hundred-year old manuscript written by the narrator, Ephriam Mackellar. A feud between the two Durie brothers: James, the elder and the Master of Ballantrea, and Henry, the younger, his pawn, span the period of history of the Scottish rebellion and battle of Culloden to the early settlement in the New World. The Master, supporter of the losing side in the rebellion and reported killed,actually escapes. Henry, not aware that his brother still lives, succeeds to the title, the estate and his brother's betrothed, Alison Graeme. The Master returns, to the surprise of his family, and proceeds to squander all the money he can get from the estate.
A third level of the narrative twines within this action, through the discovery of papers written by a fellow soldier of the Master, who related their adventures after fleeing from Culloden
(captured by pirates and becomming pirates themselves, acquiring and hiding treasure, committing a series of murders evidently for gain as well as for the fun of it).
Meanwhile the psychological "cat and mouse" game between James and Henry reaches flash point when Henry realizes that the evil James is planning to corrupt Henry's son as well as show more seduce his wife. They fight a duel. James is killed but his body mysteriously disappears before the family can establish his actual death.
Eventually James reappears, alive and well, at Ballantrea and the family decides to flee secretly to America. James discovers their new home and follows them. Meanwhile there is a political attempt (though feeble) to reinstate James as true Master of Ballantrae in England which causes Henry to loose his reason. The eventual show-down between the two brothers results in one of the worst fates of an evil-doer in literature. Let me just say that the "cat and mouse" game intensifies, the hidden treasure (real or imaginary) spurs horrific consequences to the searchers and James pays the price.
Power and control over others through psychological intimidation winds throughout the narrative. Vital pieces of information are witheld at crucial points from crucial characters and there is uncertainty of the reliability of certain narrators. Stevenson places the reader in the delicious position of sorting out what exactly is happening and attemping to determine the how and why of James and Henry's actions. The Master of Ballantrae will keep you thinking long after you finish the novel. show less
The story of the Durie family is "framed" in the discovery of a hundred-year old manuscript written by the narrator, Ephriam Mackellar. A feud between the two Durie brothers: James, the elder and the Master of Ballantrea, and Henry, the younger, his pawn, span the period of history of the Scottish rebellion and battle of Culloden to the early settlement in the New World. The Master, supporter of the losing side in the rebellion and reported killed,actually escapes. Henry, not aware that his brother still lives, succeeds to the title, the estate and his brother's betrothed, Alison Graeme. The Master returns, to the surprise of his family, and proceeds to squander all the money he can get from the estate.
A third level of the narrative twines within this action, through the discovery of papers written by a fellow soldier of the Master, who related their adventures after fleeing from Culloden
(captured by pirates and becomming pirates themselves, acquiring and hiding treasure, committing a series of murders evidently for gain as well as for the fun of it).
Meanwhile the psychological "cat and mouse" game between James and Henry reaches flash point when Henry realizes that the evil James is planning to corrupt Henry's son as well as show more seduce his wife. They fight a duel. James is killed but his body mysteriously disappears before the family can establish his actual death.
Eventually James reappears, alive and well, at Ballantrea and the family decides to flee secretly to America. James discovers their new home and follows them. Meanwhile there is a political attempt (though feeble) to reinstate James as true Master of Ballantrae in England which causes Henry to loose his reason. The eventual show-down between the two brothers results in one of the worst fates of an evil-doer in literature. Let me just say that the "cat and mouse" game intensifies, the hidden treasure (real or imaginary) spurs horrific consequences to the searchers and James pays the price.
Power and control over others through psychological intimidation winds throughout the narrative. Vital pieces of information are witheld at crucial points from crucial characters and there is uncertainty of the reliability of certain narrators. Stevenson places the reader in the delicious position of sorting out what exactly is happening and attemping to determine the how and why of James and Henry's actions. The Master of Ballantrae will keep you thinking long after you finish the novel. show less
The plot of Bhowani Junction is told from three separate points of view with the narrative voices of Victoria Jones (the product of a mixed marriage of English and Indian parents); her one-time lover, Patrick Taylor, also from a mixed family and the main character, Rodney Savage, a colonel in the British Army in India. Their individual narratives involve the situation in India during the twilight of the Raj and the anticipation of the eventual turn-over of power from the British to the indiginous population. Also involved is the love story of first Victoria and Patrick, then Victoria and her Sikh co-worker, and finally Victoria and Savage.
Strong points to Masters for his spot-on description of the racial and social divides of India, the plight of the racially mixed Anglo-Indians and the ever-present challenges of the Indian climate. A side plot involves an Indian terrorist and a plot to blow up a railway tunnel but most of the novel centers on Victoria and her attempts to come to terms with herself, her sexuality and her racial identity.
Strong points to Masters for his spot-on description of the racial and social divides of India, the plight of the racially mixed Anglo-Indians and the ever-present challenges of the Indian climate. A side plot involves an Indian terrorist and a plot to blow up a railway tunnel but most of the novel centers on Victoria and her attempts to come to terms with herself, her sexuality and her racial identity.