What I've read this week

What I've read this week...

The Semi-Attached Couple by Emily Eden  

Emily Eden was a 19th century novelist compared to Jane Austen because of her style and wit. The Semi-Attached Couple was written in 1830 but published in 1860. It features two country families who are friends and rivals. The Douglases resemble the Bennets's from Pride and Prejudice: the parents married for money but have considerably less than their neighbors and have two sweet marriageable-age daughters. Most of the story revolves around the misunderstandings of a young married couple and the primary action takes place their house party. The cast of characters includes the young married couple, an innocent country maiden, a Society gossip, an heiress, a blase captain, a young lord and a rake. I thought the story was rather slow and not very interesting for the most part. There were too many characters and I didn't care for any of them. The plot about the newlyweds didn't interest me until 3/4 of the way through. The plot picked up toward the end but the story ended rather abruptly and predictably.

The Semi-Detatched House by Emily Eden
A wealthy young wife with a vivid imagination rents a semi-detached house and fears the worst of her neighbors. The neighbors, a matron and her two young-adult daughters, grandson and melancoly son-in-law, fear the worst of their neighbor too until a chance meeting brings them together. There is also a subplot about a scheming nouveaux riche businessman and his vulgar wife and her intelligent, witty niece. Though the subplot about the businessman was cleary anti-semitic, it was amusing because the characters were so over the top. The occupants of the semi-detached were kind and good and likeable. Everything turns out for the best. This is a sweet little novel.