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Avg. Rating: 3.5
A book with enough lessons to be worthwhile.
Harriet Byron has been one of my favorite literary characters since I read The History of Charles Grandison in college. I enjoy reading these books because the reader is provided insights into human nature that are simply lost on today's readers due to movie going and televison. This is a good version, it is much shorter and it is an easy read. I think more people should become familiar with classic literature.
In today's culture it seems in vogue to disregard tradtional staples and ideas and pursue modern thought, which isn't about modern thought at all. It is all a recycling of ideas, isn't it. Yet people feel locked into to modernity, and no one wants to go to our past and see our building blocks, so to speak.
Sir Charles Grandison is one of those building blocks, IMHO. I don't know that it ever could become a movie or broadway musical, and I know that those are important cultural elements, but the story is important. It is about decency and kindess and taking care of situations in the past without rushing foward into commitments like getting married to someone who expects you to have no past.
A college education is a really valuable tool in today's world, and I think everyone should get one and read the original versions of classic books. Some people simply do not have the opportunity or drive to attend college or university, and they don't have the time or money to pursue a love of classic literature. At that point, I think people should start investing in shorter versions that stay true to the meanings of the classics, and this book is appropriate for the person interested in classic literature but who is indeed too lazy or too uneducated or too without-opportunity to go ahead and read a full version.
Some people suffer from eye-strain, and that is another reason why they might prefer a shorter version of a classic book, but again, I urge people to read classics. You don't know what will speak to you. You don't know what will make you want to change your lifestyle and become a better person.
In a world dominated by psychiatry and hocus-pocus fixer-up ideas, reading books has lost it's thrill. Charles Grandison is a God-fearing man, and one aspect of this story that is never mentioned is that he chooses to STAY with his church and not change over to someone merely for love. I hope I am not ruining the story for anyone. I just think that true love doesn't ask you to become Catholic.
Another part of this story line is respect. Harriet respects her uncle and her grandmother, something that is lacking in today's world, altough prayer in school might make a difference. My kids were respectful until day one of public school, and then it was like I didn't know them. Why? Because they are introduced to books like Harry Potter, not the classics!
I don't know if someone looking for easy humor or bad language would read this book. It takes Thought with a CAPITAL T. I wish girls would read books like this in school, they are more thought provoking than Caddie Woodlawn and books that bore kids, but then they read Lord of the Flies It's all about blood and subconsious sexual acts.
One book I enjoyed, and believed in, was the Scarlet Letter, and I think that people who understood and appreciated that book will understnad this book, even though the lessons are lighter and the storyline doesn't show consquences realistically.
Better for readers than for researchers
The History of Sir Charles Grandison is a sweet, old-fashioned romance and "classic hero" story. This version shows emphasises Lady G and banter, and makes Grandison less anguished.
I am assuming anyone who reads this is somewhat familiar with the original. It is a fun, easy read, but to a grad student researching Richardson, I would recommend reading all of the editions.
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