Lily of the Valley

Even though I read a fair number of nineteenth century novels, and am accustomed to the pacing and language, The Lily in the Valley was a real reminder of just how much novel writing has changed in almost two centuries.

This book definitely comes from another time. Told in the form of a long letter written by Félix de Vandenesse, it is a young man’s look at his life to date, and a justification for how he has turned out. As the novel starts, the reader learns that the letter was prompted by a request from a young woman, Natalie de Mannerville, whom it appears Félix is courting.

A self perceived victim of an unhappy upbringing (“I was so totally ignored that the servants felt sorry for me”), overshadowed by a handsome and talented show more older brother, Félix early on seems to take joy in wallowing in his neglect.

Back at home, age twenty, he insisted at going to his first ball, an event being held to honour the Bourbon restoration. Here he made the mistake of kissing the shoulder of an unknown woman, only to be immediately overcome with shame and remorse. Unconnected to this event, his mother sent him to the country, to a family in Frapesle. The family knew the mysterious woman, and Félix was introduced. Mme de Mortsauf was a beautiful woman in a difficult marriage.

Over the next few years, Félix tried to woo her. Meanwhile, she insisted not only that she would not have an affair, but also that he must not try in any way to indicate that this was his wish. This conflict is a large part of Félix’s letter to Natalie. Little did he realise just how much of himself he revealed. During this time, he embarked on a coveted career, “fortunate to please the Louis XVIII”. In this he was aided in no small way by Mme de Mortsauf, her connections, and her invaluable advice. Through Mme de Mortsauf,’s excellent advice to Félix, we learn much about what it took to rise in society and influence in early nineteenth century France.

It is in this portrayal of manners, of settings indoors and out, of everyday country life as led by the wealthier classes, that the novel excels. Interspersed with letters between Mme de Mortsauf and himself, which Félix dutifully copied for Natalie, it is almost a manual in how to make that climb to the top. Enter the Lady Dudley, the complete opposite of Mme. Once again, Félix unwittingly reveals himself.

The novel ends with Natalie’s tart reply to all this. show less

beautiful love story
By sally tarbox on 15 Sept. 2011
Format: Paperback
This was apparently Balzac's favourite work and I can see why. It's written as a letter from a young man to his lover who has demanded to know his past. Felix has a sad early life as a child rejected by his mother (a theme Balzac also focusses on in 'A Woman of Thirty'). But then he meets the beautiful Madame Mortsauf, and the developing love between them, maternal at first, later passionate yet- at her insistence- always chaste, forms the main part of the book. The descriptions of the Mortsauf family, with the irascible, almost insane, husband who makes his wife's life so hard, and the two fragile children; and of the Touraine countryside are exquisite. The years of show more unfulfilled love roll by and Felix falls prey to a sensuous Englishwoman; 'Lady Arabelle...was the mistress of the flesh; Mme de Mortsauf was the wife of the spirit' causing much torment to his true love. It's a beautiful book, and finishes with a short response from his lover to these revelations...Balzac at his best show less

Beautiful and strange, a sentimental parenthesis in the "Human Comedy", this book was inspired by Balzac's own romantic love triangle which he was working through at the time. The book has a very interesting, very curious structure. An epistolary novel of sorts, it's constructed by the triptych of three letters, one book length one flanked by two short notes. The bulk of the book is contained in the second "letter", a long, passionate retelling of the writer's experience locked in indecision between the love of two starkly different women.

A very humorous ending, by the way!

Fransız devrimi sonrası dönemde genç bir adamın orta yaşlı aristokrat bir aileden gelen evli bir kadına duyduğu aşkı konu alan eserde. Kadında genç adama aşıktır fakat aşkları tensel bir temastan ziyade gönülden hissedilen bir aşk olup kavuşamayan bir çiftin hazin hikayeside denilebilir...Kitapta yer yer duyguların betimlemeleri o kadar güzel işlenmiş ki insan ister istemez karakterin duygularını kendi benliğinde hissedebiliyor. Karakterlerin içinde yaşadıkları çevreninde betimlemeleri o kadar güzel verilmiştir ki sanki karakterle aynı mekanda yaşıyormuş hissi uyandırıyor okurda..

Balzac tem a habilidade de escrever uma história simples e subvertê-la completamente pelo seu final. Isso começa quando Félix de Vandenesse entra na casa de Lady Dudley, a esposa de duas gerações, logo após a morte da condessa de Mortsauf, e a encontra em família, enquanto de Marsay olha as botas com singular atenção.
A mordacidade da carta de Natália de Manerville, ao final, completa o livro perfeitamente.

Librarything couldn't find the edition that I read. Translated, badly, by Katharine Prescott Wormeley. I obtained this some time ago when we had a holiday in the Loire Valley staying in a lovely bed and breakfast in Chinon. Whilst I was making the reservation I asked the proprietor if there was any fiction I could read that was based in the area. This is what he suggested. As it turns out it is an awful, mid 19th century French version of Barbara Cartland. A young man anguishing about two women he falls in love with simultaneously with disastrous results. Badly translated without any feel for readabiity and as monotonous as anything you could think of. All you can say is that the young man deserved his fate in the end. Thank goodness show more the holiday was better than the book. show less

Traumatized boy (probably Balzac himself) falls in love with a married woman who could be as old as his mother. Fate parts them from each other but he tries to make up with her daughter after his lover's death...