- Hardcover: 342 pages
- Publisher: Headline Book Publishing (7 Jun 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0755303091
- ISBN-13: 978-0755303090
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.4 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,041,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Mysteries of Glass
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Product Description
Shena Mackay, Observer
‘Profound and lyrical, it's full of light and darkness and the most marvellous description’
Times Literary Supplement
‘Written with the delicate fluency of a storyteller utterly at ease with her craft'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I loved this book! I found it a wonderful demonstration of how everyday events are by far the most magical. The main characters are intensely memorable in their conciousness of the relationship that is forming between them, against all proper codes of conduct in 19th Century Britain - it illustrates perfectly that we do not choose who we love.. There are some books I guard carefully and this will certainly be one of them.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Sue Gee has created here a love story with true depth of feeling, displaying the sometimes darker side of country life in Victorian England. A melody of prose surrounds her central character, a young curate sent to assist an ailing vicar at a Herefordshire parish in the winter of 1860.
The young Richard Allen, still mourning his father's recent death, displays a genuine love for his God, his family whom he has left behind, the rural community he is to serve, and the countryside around his new basic and rustic home. However, all of his simple and profound ideals are challenged when he falls helplessly in love with a young married woman of important social standing. There is a wonderful purity and innocence to this love, and yet the young curate clearly also has a geniune talent for his vocation serving God... a very difficult predicament to be in and you can only feel sympathy for this young idealistic man.
The story is beautifully told; a compelling read. You cannot rush this book - you simply have to go with it at its own pace and I slowed my, usually quick, reading pace to appreciate this novel at its best. So much more than just another historical romance, I can recommended this novel highly.
The young Richard Allen, still mourning his father's recent death, displays a genuine love for his God, his family whom he has left behind, the rural community he is to serve, and the countryside around his new basic and rustic home. However, all of his simple and profound ideals are challenged when he falls helplessly in love with a young married woman of important social standing. There is a wonderful purity and innocence to this love, and yet the young curate clearly also has a geniune talent for his vocation serving God... a very difficult predicament to be in and you can only feel sympathy for this young idealistic man.
The story is beautifully told; a compelling read. You cannot rush this book - you simply have to go with it at its own pace and I slowed my, usually quick, reading pace to appreciate this novel at its best. So much more than just another historical romance, I can recommended this novel highly.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I had previously read Sue Gee's 'Reading in Bed' and absolutely loved it. Sorry to say that 'Mysteries' was far too slow for me, and I only got to page 75 before I reluctantly had to abandon it. Surely something has to happen in 75 pages apart from endless descriptions of weather and countryside, two meals and slow discourse? On the plus side the feel of the winter and the frozen countryside WAS very well written - just a bit too much of it. Although the ethos was 'of' the mid Victorian period, writing in such a slow burning way just didn't work for this 21st century reader. Anyway, I'm in the minority so maybe I just didn't try hard enough
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Poetic and Painterly Language
An immaculately researched and beautifully written novel about a Victorian curate who is sent to a small country parish on the Welsh borders, where he falls in love with the... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Kate Hopkins
plodding, predictable and unremarkable
I have to put a stop to the five-star frenzy here - this book is really not very good. I ALWAYS read right to the end of anything (and I have read some very poor stuff) but I could... Read more
Published on 25 Nov 2009 by Amy J.
A beautifully evocative read
This is my fourth Sue Gee book and by far the best to date though I loved the others too! She writes with the bleakness of D.H.Lawrence at times. Read more
Published on 23 Aug 2009 by Ruth Snow
Bewitching
There is no other word for it. From the first few pages we are drawn into a world that is exquisitely portrayed. Read more
Published on 3 April 2009 by A. Bolus
An outstanding read
This is a richly satisfying novel: complex characters, stunning prose, full of ideas and wonderfully shaped. Read more
Published on 29 Mar 2009 by Chaucer
Don't judge this book by its insipid blue cover ...
Because it is hauntingly, beautifully written, a story of forbidden love and Victorian hypocrisy. Sue Gee's descriptions of the passing seasons in a Herefordshire country parish... Read more
Published on 20 Sep 2008 by booksetc
A beautiful story
This is a charming book, the characters come to life from the page and the love story is gentle and incredibly romantic. I would recommend it thoroughly.
Published on 15 Aug 2008 by Alocin
A wonderful, lyrical book
This is the first book I had read by Sue Gee and it won't be the last. I loved it. From the first page I was hooked and everything was so beautifully described that I immediately... Read more
Published on 19 Oct 2007 by Mrs. KE Melia
Beautiful, lyrical writing
Sue Gee writes so well and so lyrically that I found myself feeling deeply for her characters. The sense of place is very strong and I loved the way she described the seasons and... Read more
Published on 12 Jun 2007 by Margaret Donkin
A beautiful read
This is a lovely gentle book full of well drawn images of the countryside. The character of Richard is three dimensional and as the story progresses you share his struggle to do... Read more
Published on 2 Jun 2007 by Ms Georgina L. Gowland
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