The Bucaneers
Being curious about Lady Grantham, an American heiress who married an English Earl on OBS' Downton Abbey, I picked up Edith's Whaton's last novel The Bucaneers. This novel and PBS mini-series (which I watched at the same time as reading the book) is about women like Cora, Lady Grantham. The story opens in Saratoga (or Newport in the mini-series) in the 1870s where new money people congregate in the summer months because they were not welcome in Newport. The heroine is dreamy sixteen-year-old Annabel "Nan" St. George. Nan is a bit jealous of her older sister Virginia and friends Lizzie and Mabel Elmsworth for being "out" and able to attend parties and balls, though the invitations are not forthcoming due to the lack of eligible men. Nan is befriended by the dashing Conchita Closson. Conchita was raised in Brazil and is now doing a season in Saratoga with her mother, step-father and brother. The Clossons are not generally accepted in polite society for their shocking behavior. Mrs. Closson is rumored to be a divorcee who smokes cigars and Conchita smokes cigarettes, dances with her skirts hiked up and behaves loudly and brashly. Mrs. St. George hires an English governess, Laura Testvalley, to come and refine Nan to keep the girl away from Conchita's influence. However, Mr. St. George has business dealings with Mr. Closson and needs the women to cultivate a friendship. At first Nan is resistant to the idea of having a governess, but the passionate Italian-Englishwoman shares her kind heart and love of romantic poetry and art with her young pupil. Miss Testvalley isn't the only English person in Saratoga. Richard Marable, a younger son of the Marquess of Brightleasea (you must pronounce it "Brittlesee") is also in Saratgoa. His head is quickly turned by the vivacious Conchita and soon a wedding is in the works. Dick Marable helps Conchita's friends orchestrate a scheme that will get them invited to rub elbows with the most select people. Unfortunately, the result is a practical joke that goes wrong and the St. George and Ellmsworth girls are snubbed. Miss Testvalley suggests the girls go to London for a season. The girls will acquire some much-needed social cachet and perhaps even find husbands.
The rest of the book takes place in England where the girls succeed beyond Miss Testvalley's wildest dreams. With the help of Miss Testvalley's American friend, Miss March, and Conchita, now Lady Richard Marable, the girls are introduced to the most eligible gentlemen including Dick's older brother Lord Seadown and Ushant, the Duke of Tintagel. They also meet an ineligible gentleman, Guy Thwarte, who needs a fortune and fast. Only Guy understands dreamy Annabel and her deep interest in life beyond material objects. Yet even Annabel gets caught up in the gaiety of life in England. The young women quickly discover that life is not a fairy tale. The old dowagers look down on the forward, free-speaking Americans, the gentlemen are not always what they seem and money is always always an issue.
The novel remained uncompleted at Edith Wharton's death. I read a version completed by Marion Mainwaring based on Wharton's original synopsis. The book was adapted for television by BBC and aired on PBS's Masterpiece Theater in 1995-1996.
There are numerous differences between the mini-series and the book as there usually are. In this case I believe the mini-series is better because it explains a lot more of the social and political nuances and exactly what the term "bucaneers" means. It illuminates the differences between the loud "new money" Americans and the staidness of traditional upper class English life. Even the villains come across as sympathetic once the viewer understands exactly what their lives have been like and how dependent they are upon the rules that govern society. Also, the book is filled with lengthy internal monologues that slow the story down considerably. Plus the mini-series has fabulous costumes (though the ladies spent a lot of time in their undergarments) and beautiful scenery. I recommend doing what I did and reading Part I of the book, then watching episode 1, and then returning to the book and then the DVD. Both the book and the miniseries are much better when taken together. I got a much better understanding of the nuances of the story that way. I think that those who like Edith Wharton, Elizabeth Gaskell and other nineteenth and early twentieth century novelists will enjoy this story too.
There are numerous differences between the mini-series and the book as there usually are. In this case I believe the mini-series is better because it explains a lot more of the social and political nuances and exactly what the term "bucaneers" means. It illuminates the differences between the loud "new money" Americans and the staidness of traditional upper class English life. Even the villains come across as sympathetic once the viewer understands exactly what their lives have been like and how dependent they are upon the rules that govern society. Also, the book is filled with lengthy internal monologues that slow the story down considerably. Plus the mini-series has fabulous costumes (though the ladies spent a lot of time in their undergarments) and beautiful scenery. I recommend doing what I did and reading Part I of the book, then watching episode 1, and then returning to the book and then the DVD. Both the book and the miniseries are much better when taken together. I got a much better understanding of the nuances of the story that way. I think that those who like Edith Wharton, Elizabeth Gaskell and other nineteenth and early twentieth century novelists will enjoy this story too.
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