Vanessa

This is the fourth and final novel in the main series of the author's Herries Chronicles, following the lives of the Herries family in the Lake District in the late 19th century and early 20th century, almost up to the time of the book's publication in the 1930s. The book begins with the death of the family's matriarch and heroine of the previous two novels, Judith Paris on her hundredth birthday in 1874. Her old rival Walter passes a few years later and the family rivalries descend to the younger generations, though these rivalries seem much less dramatic and vital than earlier ones. Vanessa, daughter of Judith's son Adam, is of course the heroine, shunned by most of the family, and loves her relation Benjie, who is similarly rejected show more by his kin. The relationship between these two is at the heart of the novel and they have an illegitimate daughter Sally. Apart from these characters, though, I found much of the novel more commonplace than its predecessors, and I thought it lost wind after Vanessa's death at the end of part 4 (of 5). However, the narrative still gave a sense of a strong flow of passing events and political and social changes, and beautiful descriptions of the Lake District countryside. I am sorry this series has ended. show less

Oh I have loved this series of books "The Herries Chronicles" Chronicling the lives of one family from the 1700s to the 1930s. From the 'Rogue' himself to Vanessa the Great Grandaughter. The depth of language is wonderful, describing the beautiful Cumbrian countryside and the feeling that the family had towards it is so comforting somehow! They had such wonderful, adventurous and bountiful lives! (totally fictional of course, but oh so grand!)
I really didn't expect to enjoy this series as much as I did, for whilst Sir HughWalpole was a highly respected writer of his time, he could be considered a little old fashioned for todays reader, but the slightly old fashioned writing style only added to the quaintness of the work and I didn't show more find it antiquated at all!
I loved each and every book and I know I will read them all again one day. Fantastic stuff!!! show less

The Rogue Herries chronicles have played a sentimental part in my life. I visited the Lake District two years ago and stayed in a beautiful cottage in Threlkeld. We visited Watendlath, the tiny little hamlet where the famous character Judith Paris lives. I had never heard of the chronicles, but love the historical Romantics, so got the first book and read it whilst in the Lake District. I immediately fell in love with the books, despite their mammoth size. They certainly are chronicles. The third book took a slight dip in pace, but this is a fine end to the series. It has taken me two years on and off to finish the series, so they have drifted in and out of my life in that time, including another trip to the Lakes in which I read the show more second book. This final book sees less of the Lake District, as the characters are mainly based in London, but they take regular trips back to all the old places featured in the original book, most of which I have visited. The Lake District truly is a magical place, and combining the fascinating landscape with a cast of deeply dysfunctional characters makes for a truly epic read for historical novel lovers everywhere. show less

I wasn't really expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. I picked it up because of a chance inference from a webcomic I read (see http://namesakecomic.com), which caused me to search for a major work of literature whose protagonist is named Vanessa. Walpole characterizes using language I would find tiresome from most authors -- "he was the sort of XX who YY" kind of things; however, somehow he ends up portraying something subtle about century-old-English-cultural-norm YY as well as about character XX when he does this. I also suspect that I am slightly biased toward any book that requires occasional reference to the 8-generation genealogical chart in the back flyleaf.