Dinah Maria Mulock CraikRezensionen

A modern fairy tale, beautiful in spirit and unusual in theme and setting. Relates the story of little Prince Dolor and his magic cloak, telling how, with the help of the fairy who is godmother to all children, he learned to endure affliction with cheerfulness and fortitude, and eventually came into his own.

This book was a 2-day vacation for me.
In the current lockdown situation, it's the best I can hope for.
But... it's pretty good!

With my Kindle in my hand and Google Maps on my laptop, I "traveled" Cornwall right along with Mrs. Craik and savored the bleak and stunning beauty of St. Michael's Mount, "Lizard," Tintagel, and more. In this age of high definition photography and Google Street View, there are worse things than armchair traveling with a witty and thoughtful Victorian lady novelist. I highly recommend the experience, and I will probably try to do it with other Victorian travelogues that I happen upon.

Mrs. Craik, middle-aged at the time of this trip in 1881, has longed to travel to Cornwall for most of her life. Finally she decides to do it, along with two young girls (her daughters?). For two weeks, they scramble along rocky shores, savor ocean sunsets, and eat the most delicious afternoon tea meals, with lots of clotted cream. There's Arthurian myth, there's beautiful landscapes, there's storm and sun, there are lovable hostesses and unfailingly helpful guides. It's a glorious time.

It's a relatively short read, which is good, because you will spend SO much extra time Googling and side-tripping while you read.

Note: This would probably be a 3-star read without the aid of Google Maps :) These are places you really need to have a visual on.

Hated the narrator on the audio book.

Rebound

I read this as a child. As an adult, it felt too moralistic. The note at the end of my version explains that the author was born in 1826, so while the publication date is 1983, it is, as it says on the verso, a reprint.

Quality chick-lit at the level of minor Jane Austin, this novel is an alternating hers/his journals and letters which unfold a romance covering for arguments for anti capital punishment, prison reform and New Testament over Old Testament theology . The subtlety may have been better than that of contemporaneous Dickens.½

The main part of this story was a lovely tale of friendship between an invalid boy and an orphan as they age. It was interesting to read a Victorian story written by a woman that was not a sensation story. This one had social messages, such as the ones you would find in Dickens, but also had quite a bit of moralizing in it. I didn't 100% love everything in this one but I was sobbing by the end so I guess that tells you something! I'm glad that some of these lesser known novels are being repackaged and rereleased.

http://webereading.com/2016/02/mental-health-and-victorian-or-modern.html½

I would've liked this better if the narrative voice was a little less intrusive. The narrator/author tells us that this originated as an oral bedtime story for her daughter, and the style very much reflects that. It actually reminded me quite a lot of the episodic tales that my mother told me as a very small child. That made be feel warmly toward the story in general, but as an adult, I still found it a bit... hmm, not quite condescending, but perhaps a bit too... instructive?

The prince of the story is orphaned in infancy, and worse, partially paralyzed due to an accident. His uncle seizes his rightful throne, and has the boy imprisoned in a remote tower, with only a criminal nursemaid for company. But what no one knows about is the boy's (fairy?) godmother, who gifts him with a magic traveling cloak and some words of wisdom.

His cloak (a symbol for the power of imagination?) allows him to learn about the world, to such a degree that when the time comes for him to claim his rightful place as a just ruler, he is able to rise to the occasion...

I went to Art Park back in the 80s, an outdoor theater-on-the-grass, to see a musical of The Little Prince. I was like, “Wait a minute, this isn’t the story! What’s with all the planets?” Silly me. It was an adaptation of the Little Prince called The Little Prince and the Aviator, and not what I was thinking at all. The book I loved was The Little Lame Prince by Miss Mulock (Dinah Maria Mulock Craik). My copy is by M. A. Donohue & Co. and has no copyright date. I'm guessing circa 1914 based on the dates of the publishers other books listed in the ad at the back of my book (at 40¢ each). I had no idea when I read it that it was originally published in 1875.

A bumbling nurse drops the baby prince on his christening day and cripples him. His fairy godmother sees it happen. The Queen dies, then the King dies, and his Uncle locks him in the tower where he stays for 15 years. A depressing story, now that I think of it, until his godmother brings him a magic cloak. With it he is able to travel all over the world. As he grows he is told that he is the true King. When the wicked Uncle dies the people find out that the Prince is not dead as they had been told and becomes the King. Anyway, typical Victorian gloom and doom writing. I did love the idea of a magic traveling cloak, but I think what I got out of it was the handicap child’s ability to overcome adversity, although most likely not the intention of the author. This was the first read alone chapter book I read as a child that had tragedy and death so it had quite the impact on me.

It is part of my top five all time favorite books listed here http://historysleuth.org/2013/03/childhood-books-shape-your-life/

I knew nothing about this book when I started reading it - it was part of a collection I rescued from my grandparents house.

I found "John Halifax, Gentleman" to be a surprisingly easy and compelling read. Amongst other novels that I have read that were written at a similar time, I would say that it is most similar to Elizabeth Gaskell's works, although perhaps with stronger moral tone.

I'd recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys the classics.½

I identified with the little lame Prince.

John Halifax, Gentleman is an excellent study of a town's social caste system based upon wealth and religion and the effect that system had on one family and young man in particular.

This is possibly the second book I borrowed from The free Library of Philadelphia. Images from this book, as well as all the books in this collection, still crowd my mind when I read.

My Childhood collection represents books I remember reading and loving as a young boy. Some are orginal ones I owned, but, unfortunately, most are replacement copies from yard sales, flea markets, and used book stores. I am always on the lookout for a dozen or so, and I am always trying to remember and add new titles. --JJM, 10/15/05

Book Description: Chicago: Albert Whitman and Co, 1930. Second Large Printing. Hard Cover. 8vo - over 7�" - 9¾" tall. 128pp in blue cloth boards with pastedown and gilt stamped titles on cover and spine. A lovely copy of this elegant book although without DJ. Pictorial endpapers. Unmarked, unbumped, unworn.

I think this must be the edition. There is no copyright, but the flyleaf has an inscription dated 1909.