Dragonwyck | Anya Seton

Dragonwyck | Anya Seton | Nice Job!

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Dragonwyck

	Dragonwyck Anya Seton Chicago Review Press, 2005 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 25 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

First published in 1944, Dragonwyck was a national bestseller that was made into a major motion picture starring Gene Tierney and Vincent Price in 1946. A classic gothic romance, the story features an 18-year-old Miranda Wells who falls under the spell of a mysterious old mansion and its equally fascinating master. Tired of churning butter, weeding the garden patch, and receiving the dull young farmers who seek her hand in marriage, Miranda is excited by an invitation from the upstate New York estate of her distant relative, the intriguing Nicholas Van Ryn. Her passion is kindled by the icy fire of Nicholas, the last of the Van Ryns, and the luxury of Dragonwyck, and a way of life of which she has only dreamed. Dressed in satin and lace, she becomes part of Dragonwyck, with its Gothic towers, flowering gardens, acres of tenant farms, and dark, terrible secrets. This compelling novel paints a marvelous portrait of a country torn between freedom and feudal traditions; a country divided between the very wealthy and the very poor. Poor tenant farmers at Dragonwyck, the European royalty who visit, and American icons such as Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, and the Astors are vividly brought to life. This is a heart-stopping story of a remarkable woman, her breathtaking passions, and the mystery and terror that await her in the magnificent hallways of Dragonwyck.

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well,,

Well,, Since so many others have already said what the book is about I will tell you my thoughts on the book.

I was a litte weary of this book at first. I mean, I'm a bookworm,but I used to always read a book only when someone was like "Hey read this book! It is so good!" This was really the first book I have really took a leap of faith on ,and let me say it was Totally worth it!I will be reading more of Anya's books in the future.

So, please take a leap of faith like me and read it.

Nice Job!

I first read this book at age 17, nearly 30 years ago. I pulled it from a dusty shelf at my grandfather's home. I loved it then; I was swept away into a history of which I knew nothing and an unconventional love story with supernatural elements. I have been thinking of it ever since and for the longest time could not find a copy anywhere (should have stolen granddad's!) I caught the movie version of it on the classics TV channel and was disappointed in Vincent Price's portrayal of Nicholas - he is not at all what I imagined while reading the book. However, since Anya Seton's books have been reissued, I now have my own copy which I finished reading yesterday. At last! I was just as riveted by it this go-around as I was at age 17. Yes, it is melodramatic. Yes, sometimes you must suspend disbelief. Yes, Nicholas is over-the-top. And I loved every minute of it. Part of why I appreciate it even more now is that there are no graphic sex scenes; Ms. Seton wrote this in an era where there were constrictions on such things, and she leaves enough to the imagination so that we get the picture without all the huffing, moaning and puffing. And it still makes for an exciting, titillating story - imagine that. So if you are of a mind for this sort of thing, "Dragonwyck" does not disappoint!

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A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME...

This is a beautifully written work of historical fiction, set in 1840s New York. It focuses on a young Connecticut woman, Miranda Wells, who sees a change in her station in life through a chance invitation by a wealthy distant cousin. Handsome, gallant, and a renaissance man in terms of his interests, Nicholas Van Ryn invites his young cousin to visit and stay at his lavish home in upstate Hudson, New York and act as a companion for his young daughter.

When she meets him for the first time, Miranda is smitten, as Nicholas is the embodiment of all her romantic yearnings. Moreover, her stay at his luxurious, palatial home on the Hudson River, a mansion with the fanciful name of Dragonwyck, is an answer to her prayers and a chance to escape the hard work and tedium that has been her lot on her family's Connecticut farm. Dragonwyck, however, has its share of secrets and a miasma of evil that lurks in its halls and grand rooms.

The only thorn in Miranda's side is her cousin's wife, Johanna, who does not care for having a younger, more attractive woman, bustling about the house and preening before her husband. Johanna finds ways to make her feelings understood by Miranda, but Miranda, reckless in her admiration for her cousin Nicholas and relatively naive, is somewhat obtuse. Moreover, there is a pre-existing undercurrent of tension between husband and wife in the Dragonwyck household of which Miranda is seemingly oblivious.

Miranda's presence exacerbates the tension in the household that, ultimately, ends in tragedy for all concerned. It is that tragedy that will, for Miranda, mark the beginning of a life journey that will provide some painful and unsettling lessons. It is a journey that will ensure a measure of painful self-discovery and remove the rose colored glasses through which she had viewed her world.

The book is well researched and redolent with information about the Dutch influence in New York and its aristocracy. It details many of the issues and traditions that were germane to the period and is richly descriptive of a way of life in New York, both downstate and upstate, that has since gone by the wayside. It intertwines a number of historical events and personages with the lives of those characters who are at the heart of this wonderful and vastly entertaining book. It is a book that will keep the reader turning the pages until the very last.

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Child to Adult

I read this book for the first time when I was 11 years old. (I started reading avidly at the age of seven, Heidi was my first book). I remember feeling at the time that Nicholas Van Ryn was a frightening, evil man and that the heroine, Miranda Wells was a brave girl caught up in circumstances beyond her control. Reading the book as an adult I can see that Nicholas is still an evil man, however, Miranda is, from an adult stand point, a silly, blind, vain teenager who runs headlong into to a situation where she has absolutely no control, believes what she wants to believe and completely ignores the cautioning of her parents. Sound familiar parents? Where at 11 I sympathized with Miranda, as an adult I can only feel she got what she deserved.

Aside from this one observation the book is worth a read, although not as enthralling as I once thought. This is a book I would take on vacation to the beach, enjoyable, but not thought provoking.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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