A Lady of Quality

By: Frances Hodgson Burnett

Narrated by: Laurie Klein

Set in 17th century England, this marvelous tale is about Mistress Clorinda, a tempestuous stable brat born out of wedlock. It’s a story of rebellion, dark secrets and great love. At a young age Mistress Clorinda inspires her father, Sir Jeoffry Wildairs to publicly acknowledge her. She grows to be a strong, defiant, aggressive woman of great beauty, who triumphs over all. She survives her mother’s attempt to murder her, her nurses neglect, and her own checkered past, to become, at last, a lady of quality.

©2014 Books In Motion (P)2014 Books In Motion

Very Victorian!

This story is so maudlin and two dimensional you should get a medal for finishing it. I’m giving it an extra star for being a typical drama of the time, but it’s too dated even for me. I read that it was made into a play. Must have been popular in its time.

The language is that of a 19th century author trying to imagine how 17th century people spoke. It’s incredibly awkward and makes a histrionic story worse.

The narrator reads it partly as if it’s a children’s story, partly as if it’s a melodrama— which it was. I’m sure she did the best she could with a bad book but I think she could have helped improve it by reading it in a more modern style rather than mimicking the traditions of the age. You can also hear her turning the pages in the recording.

I loved The Making of a Marchioness and Burnett’s children’s stories. This book is just TOO typical of the Victorian era to make for good reading today.

Not what I expected

Being unfamiliar with Hodgson Burnett's novels for adults, I did not expect this to be gothic. I'm not particularly a fan of the genre, but I think the author did it justice with plenty of melodrama, bleak overtones, and desperation. However, I gave it three stars because the third act is underdeveloped and Clorinda's character arc is not particularly convincing. It's like the story is stalling for time until the revelations at the end.

Sweet and Surprising

Although this is not my favorite of the author’s books I did enjoy in overall. I agree with another reviewer that the description of the book is wrong and needs changing as Clorinda’s parents we’re actually married. The language is a little awkward perhaps but I like most of the characters and was taken by surprise many times throughout the book in a good way. I especially enjoyed the way that Clorinda grew as a person and how Ann influenced her without trying to change her.

Overall I enjoyed it very much and I really liked the way the reader expressed the emotions of the characters.

The reviewer called Laurie got it exactly right.

The language is stilted, awkward, clearly written by someone who didn't use it daily. Also, the description of the plot is totally wrong. Clo is not born out of wedlock, getting her father to acknowledge her provenance is not part of the plot.