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According to Queeney
 
 
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According to Queeney (Hardcover)

by Beryl Bainbridge (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
RRP: £16.99
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According to Queeney + Every Man for Himself + Master Georgie
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Little, Brown; First Edition edition (6 Sep 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0316858676
  • ISBN-13: 978-0316858670
  • Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.4 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 670,202 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #28 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > B > Bainbridge, Beryl

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
In According to Queeney, a bold, often ribald and moving invention, Beryl Bainbridge takes the extravagant figure of Samuel Johnson, 18th-century scholar and wit, and brings his last 20 years to rumbustious life through the blunt and mocking observations of his mistress's firstborn daughter Queeney.

Hurtling her readers into small and great events in the company of Garrick and Goldsmith, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Fanny Burney and Boswell, the years spin by. Johnson's wearisomely quarrelling household in Johnson's Court draws him increasingly to the sublime excesses of Streatham Court, presided over by his adored Mrs Thrale (whose wifely duties include poultices to testicles). This odd ménage is gossiped about and gawked at as child births and deaths, comeuppances and flirtations, swallowed buttons and skirmishes on staircases reveal as well as obscure unpalatable shifts of affection to the ageing Johnson and the composed but outraged Queeney.

Bainbridge's handling of the troubled, demanding and contrite Johnson and of Queeney, first as child observer and then as reluctant adult correspondent, are especially vivid, quirky and captivating. And this creation of sheer delight is underlayed by a delicate attention to the vulnerabilities of the human heart. --Ruth Petrie

THE TIMES
'It is hard to think of anyone now writing who understands the human heart as Beryl Bainbridge does...'

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
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 (3)
4 star:
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3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Baffling but enjoyable, 7 Jan 2002
By R Hamblyn (London) - See all my reviews
This was an enjoyable, well-written but ultimately baffling book. It seems like it might have been an experiment to see whether it's possible to write about Johnson in a 'Johnsonian' way i.e. digressive, moody and episodic; if so, it works pretty well. If not, then I'm a bit stumped.
Like a number of Bainbridge's other excursions into historical fiction, like Master Georgie or the Birthday Boys, one is left wondering why the author chose the particular times and characters she's writing about; she doesn't seem particularly close to them; nor do they act as universals, so oddly do they behave. Still, she's a great writer of sentences. Some of them still go on ringing through my head weeks after reading them.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Well researched, 4 Jan 2003
By Gillian Caddy (Congleton, Cheshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: According to Queeney (Paperback)
Bainbridge has researched her subject well - I came away feeling that I had learned something about the characters of a number of famous names - James Boswell, Joshua Reynolds, Fanny Burney, etc. However, the tale itself felt disjointed at times with the technique of switching between centuries (Each chapter is interspersed with a letter from the older Queeney, looking back on her family acquaintance). Johnson himself seemed an improbably unattractive character in temperament for a much courted lady to be chasing. In fact, most of the characters have very few endearing features.

It was a pleasing enough book, but not as enjoyable as I thought it could have been.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Some interesting passages but ultimately disappointing, 26 Sep 2006
By A. BUTTERWORTH (London, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: According to Queeney (Paperback)
From the description on the back cover and extracts of reviews inside, I had high hopes of this book as a work of fiction based on real people and events from the late 18th century. In the event I found it rather dull. Characters appear without any attempt to explain who they were. Some of these are well known historical figures but in other cases it took most of the book to find out vaguely what their relevance was to Johnson's life. This would be fine for a reader who is an expert on Johnson, but for someone without that knowledge it was tiresome. A more serious criticism is that the book is a series of vignettes based on the last 20 years of Johnson's life and as such lacks a compelling story. I finished the book feeling that I had gained a little insight into the social history of the way Johnson and his friends lived, but not much else.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Booker Committee
This is novel number 16 for Ms. Beryl Bainbridge. In addition to these she has written an additional 4 works. Read more
Published on 19 Nov 2002 by taking a rest

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply excellent
Berl Bainbridge's lastest novel manages to completely involve you in the lives of her complex characters and give a vivid picture of Georgian times whilst also supplying a very... Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2002

2.0 out of 5 stars Why the rave reviews?
I read a lot of historical ficiton, and I was looking forwards to this one. It had a ton of excellent reviews and many people seemed to have greatly enjoyed reading it... Read more
Published on 2 Jan 2002

2.0 out of 5 stars View from the margin
I searched in vain for a plot or a person that I could care even slightly about. I read three-quarters of this book (and love historical fiction!) but I admit absolute defeat. Read more
Published on 26 Nov 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece
This is Beryl Bainbridge at the peak of her powers and it is a travesty that she has missed out on the Booker again. Read more
Published on 19 Sep 2001

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