The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion

We've completed our journey with Tempest-he finally realizes who Lucio really is:
The Adversary, The Tempter, The Fallen Angel, The Bringer of Light.
In other words, Satan or Lucifer. And it sure took him a long, long time to figure that out.

Did he never wonder where all of Lucio's servants, the entertainers at the party, the ship's crew and Lucio's creepy servant came from?
What about a yacht called Flame that moved faster than any other ship on the planet?
And that strange vision of ancient Egypt, which felt terriby real?

Please share any of your opinions about the last segment, the book as a whole and your overall impressions of the characters.
Were there any characters who struck you as plausible? Over the top? Or just plain ridiculous?

If you could spend time with any of the characters, who would you choose?

What is your final assessment of Tempest's character?

Thanks for joining in this group discussion with me. It's bin a bit of a roller coaster ride!

I was glad Tempest didn't win Mabel Clare, though there's a hint that he might deserve her someday. I'm also unsatisfied with the idea that it's better to be poor, even very poor, and hardworking, rather than having money. Of course nobody needs the kind of money Tempest and Lucio had, but being absolutely broke doesn't usually aid creativity and strength, or even health. It seems like a message from the Beatitudes "blessed are the poor" about how you will get rewarded in Heaven, so no need to demand better social conditions. What if Tempest had used some of his wealth to set up funds for poor writers or other good purposes? Or would that just have been a way to look good, as we sometimes think about billionaires today? At least Tempest didn't build his own rocket!

As far as asking where things came from, we aren't all that different with the products we get being made in conditions we probably wouldn't approve of if we knew.

That last comment of yours is so true, Robin.

Maybe Corelli was angry at rich people in general, since she really had a cynical attitude to them all.

The ending was awfully predictable, though like Robin I wished Tempest would keep the money and use it to do good. Telling the authorities not to pursue the scamming solicitors seemed wildly irresponsible at best. It simply allowed the money to remain a force for evil in fresh hands.

Tempest himself remained oddly prideful and contrary. Going to live with his father-in-law would have been another opportunity for transformation and renewal, and I suspect that if a writer were telling this story today, that’s where it would head. As it is, Tempest simply went back to being ambitious about his writing again. Of course, that’s in line with the personal ethos of Corelli’s era—striving for success, pulling oneself up by the bootstraps. At least this book problematized some aspects of ambition!

The book made me think Marie Corelli herself was an interesting psychological study (Angel is going on my reading list). If we accept Mavis Clare as intended to be a self-portrait, then Corelli was extraordinarily gifted in self-deception. Mavis is so “Zen” about her critics, so at peace with herself, but the book keeps recurring to vituperation over the role of critics and whether critics or fans are the true arbiters of literary value, so Corelli in real life was far from at peace with her status and reputation.

One skill I will give her: she had a real gift for evoking vivid scenes. I could visualize every detail of the betrothal party, the tableaux, and the towers of ice at the end.

BTW, I looked up what kind of bird a “mavis” is (the one singing at the end, Tempest’s call to redemption): it’s a song thrush—not very showy in appearance but with a gorgeous song. (British members of the group might know this already but people from elsewhere probably don’t.) One of the symbolic touches in the book that might have been deft in a more skillful author’s hands.

I’m glad to have read this; I enjoy reading the popular fiction of other eras for what it reveals about the mores of the time. When I was an uncritical teenage reader I fell madly in love with Ouida’s novel Moths (another high society morality tale), but I couldn’t recommend that we try one of her books without rereading her work first.

I agree-the tableaux were very vivid indeed.

Around May 1 we will read The Portrait of Dorian Gray, which will be an interesting comparison.

I'm looking forward to it, Robin.

I should have made the connection between Ahriman (the Zoroastrian devil) and Rimanez.

Overall, I enjoyed the book for the vivid scenes and for some of Lucio's sarcastic humor. But the preachiness, especially in the last half, got on my nerves. And I agree with the rest of you that equating poverty with goodness is almost as problematic (and unhealthy) as equating wealth with goodness (I know I can't focus on work when I'm hungry). Money is a tool, and Tempest could have used it for good.

Well I didn’t expect a combination of a Scroogeesque/Crusoeesque moral redemption for Tempest. I was waiting ( I won’t say looking forward) to see him turning slowly on a wheel of fire being whipped by mischievous imps. The revelation was long and drawn out but, as Abigail said, beatifully descriptive and imaginative.

My question is why save Tempest and not Sybil? In this last section Sybil kept reappearing as a tormented soul. She was a ghostly apparition, a spectre wrapped in fiery serpents and an ugly, withered, mummified, Egyptian dancer. It is as if Lucio was inferring that you can’t keep a bad woman down. Lucio/Lucifer kept on his derogatory diatribe about women right to the end and did Tempest really deserve salvation after saying this about Diana?
’ I was glad too, in a way, to realize that the daughter of the American railway-king would be brought to the grand old house to air her ‘countess-ship,’ and look at her prettily pert little physiognomy in the very mirror where Sibyl had watched herself die. I do not know why this idea pleased me, for I bore no grudge against Diana Chesney,—she was vulgar but harmless, and would probably make a much more popular châtelaine at Willowsmere Court than my wife had ever been.’

I was intrigued with Lucio’s fascination with Egypt. Why was he so taken with the country? He had his pet beetle, his crew and servants probably came from there and he took Tempest on his final tour there.

Finally, I wondered what Lucio/Lucifer would do with the ‘hour in heaven’ granted because of the salvation of Tempest. Would he catch up with his angel mates or just bask in the gentle warmth, beauty and light rather than the raging heat of the fires he was used to?

I noticed that the author had more than a couple of very direct digs at people in her own society, some at the highest level. Her axe was grinding almost to the last paragraph.

Overall I am glad that I have read this novel. It has given me a taste of the genre and this author but I will probably avoid anything similar for quite a while.

I kept hoping Tempest would burn too. Why he of all people is spared is beyond me. Did he ever do anything unselfish?

One book by this author is enough for me as well.

While I don’t want to read this author again, I’m glad I read it. The author is definitely a very religious person. The whole book was based on biblical stories. The odd Egypt fascination could relate to the sodom and gorham story. Please excuse the spelling. The city destroyed by god due to its corruption. It was too preachy and religious for me, but agree the descriptions of the scenes were very good.

I agree that those more fluent in Bible stories would find richness in this book that probably passed over my head as often as not.

And Trev makes a good point that redemption is not offered to the women and in general their peccadilloes are treated more harshly than those of men.

Abigail wrote: "I agree that those more fluent in Bible stories would find richness in this book that probably passed over my head as often as not.

And Trev makes a good point that redemption is not offered to t..."
The lack of redemption for women can also be seen as biblical. After all, it’s all eve’s fault.

This is so much over the top. Against females, against anything that we might consider decent these days. I was going to say something much more nasty. But one has to consider when this was written. But does it make it any better? In the end this is a trash novel. A lot of it is the same now. It is not bad in itself. But this is really too much! The author never could get any favors these days. Sorry if I am a spoiler…

I agree with you, Detlef. This is a trashy novel.

I found this a fun and entertaining read for the first 3/5th or so, then it just degenerated into preachy religious melodrama-quite a disappointing end.

I rather felt that Corelli had too many things she wanted to discuss along with the interesting Devil/Satan story. First she wanted to give a more favourable view of women writers (first lampooned by Tempest and then his grudging admission that she/Mavis Clare is brilliant) and that they can be attractive as well as skilled, something that was likely not believed at the time. Second she wanted to address the Victorian hypocrisy and double standard for male vs female behaviour (and she rather undercuts her argument by killing off Sybil while allowing Tempest, by far the worse offender, a chance of redemption and perhaps even a second love), and finally she wanted to illustrate the adverse effect of excessive wealth and leisure on a person's work and specifically writing. Too many morals/lessons for one novel, I felt.

I was surprised that Diana married the Earl-I had thought she could do better, and while in some ways this felt a proto-feminist novel around Mavis Clare it was more a raising up one woman by contrasting with how awful and weak all the rest were, while being much more sympathetic to male characters.

Still, an interesting glimpse into Victorian society and reading habits, so thank you Rosemarie for organizing this read, and for everyone's great discussion so far!

Thank you, Frances!

It's been a pleasure to read such an unusual novel with the group.

Frances wrote: "I found this a fun and entertaining read for the first 3/5th or so, then it just degenerated into preachy religious melodrama-quite a disappointing end.

I rather felt that Corelli had too many things she wanted to discuss..."

Yes I agree and I couldn’t be sure, particularly when Tempest was speaking, whether an opinion of the author was coming through or just that of the selfish degenerate himself. For example, in just a couple of pages (between leaving Williwsmere and joining The Flame,)Tempest says all these……..

’ The love of money and the pains of taking care of it, embittered his days as it embitters the days of most men, and my unexpected munificence towards him burdened him with such a weight of trouble as robbed him of natural sleep and appetite.’ …..

‘My other servants I dismissed, each with a considerable gift of money, not that I particularly wished to benefit them, but simply because I desired them to speak well of me. And in this world it is very evident that the only way to get a good opinion is to pay for it!’….

‘ Because, however devilish a woman may be in her life-time, one is bound by all the laws of social hypocrisy to make an angel of her as soon as she is dead!’……

‘ Always full of my own self-importance, I judged this as great neglect on his part, and now that he was dead I felt no more than any of us feel now-a-days at the loss of friends. And that is very little,—we have really no time to be sorry,—so many people are always dying!—and we are in such a desperate hurry to rush on to death ourselves!’……

‘ I had no affections left, unless I may call the vague tenderness I had for Mavis Clare an affection. Yet, to be honest, this very emotion was after all nothing but a desire to be consoled, pitied and loved by her,—to be able to turn upon the world and say “This woman whom you have lifted on your shield of honour and crowned with laurels,—she loves me—she is not yours, but mine!” Purely interested and purely selfish was the longing,—and it deserved no other name than selfishness.’

And Corelli decides to save him……..with even the possibility of a friendship with Mavis in the future.

Even though I don’t normally read novels which go way beyond the bounds of credibility, it was good to have the opportunity in this group to try something different. Thanks Rosemary for your choice.

You're welcome, Trev.