The Angelic Avengers

What a peculiar gothic melodrama. ‘The Angelic Avengers’ was first published in 1946 but reads like something a hundred years older. And yet there is an ambivalence and strangeness to it that doesn’t feel Victorian at all. The story concerns two eighteen year old girls, Lucan and Zosine, who are old friends from school. When disaster strikes, they are thrown upon their own resources. Both are distinctly independent minded and wish to find some way to support themselves together. Eventually an employment agency sends them to live in rural France with an English vicar and his wife. After an initial period of contentment, they realise that their guardians are up to something sinister. I found the responses of our two heroines to show more their discoveries somewhat inconsistent, as they both seesaw between helpless gothic heroine and determined woman of action. Nonetheless, there is something subversive about the young women’s resistance, with the help of an older black woman who used to be Zosine’s nanny. The prose is rather overwrought in the Romantic style, but very atmospheric. At times I wondered if events were veering into the supernatural, as there are some distinctly odd conversations about the devil. In fact, it’s the unsettling conversations that form the most memorable aspect of the book. After toying with tragedy, the ending is disappointingly conservative. show less

A translation of a Danish story written during the Nazi occupation. The supposed "Jane Austen style" romance is a thinly veiled story of the horror of the Nazi regime. The German censors either didn't recognize the hidden message, or didn't dare admit the evil presence at the heart of the story was the Third Reich. An interesting piece of history - and a good story too!

paperback

England og Frankrig, ca 1840
Indeholder kapitlerne "1. To veninder", " En ensom ung pige", " Lucans beslutning", " Samtale om aftenen", " Flugt", " Rejsefæller", " Zosine", " Den lyserøde kjole", " Zosines fødselsdagsbal", " En sælsom balkavaler", " Samtale ved daggry", " En falden storheds eftermæle", " På ruinerne", " Tante Arabellas brev", " Imod hele verden", " Pastor Pennhallow", "2. Sainte-Barbe", " I et fremmed land", " Dagligt liv", " Clon", " Mazeppa", " Fru Pennhallows formaninger", " Pastor Pennhallows gamle elev", " En sjæl blev givet bort", " I måneskin", " Er vi rivaler?", " Pastor Pennhallow holder en præken", " To herrer fra politiet", " Anklagen", " Forsvar", " Frikendelse", " Bod og bedring", " Samtale om show more natten", " Rosa", " Zosines beslutning", "3. Rosa bliver hævnet", " Masker", " Fader Vadier", " Pastor Pennhallow rejser bort", " Hvor er min hat", " Et besøg om aftenen", " En uventet forbundsfælle", " Tante Arabellas brev endnu en gang", " Rebet og øksen", " Olympia endnu en gang", " Nyt fra England", " Pastor Pennhallow kommer hjem", " Rebel endnu engang", " To breve", " Joliet", " Madame de Valfonds historie", " Der bliver stille på Sainte-Barbe", " Tror du det ikke", " Nu ses vi aldrig igen".

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