Miss Bates: Emma Revisited by Catherine Cliff

 

What is your favorite flower?  One of my favorites is the peony.  Mine just finished blooming for the year, or have they?  I still see a few buds left out there.

Happy Release Week and #bookbirthday for Miss Bates: Emma Revisited by Catherine Cliff.  I just finished this book today and am posting my review today a well.

Henrietta “Henrie” Bates is known from the book Emma by Jane Austen as a very boring elderly and poor spinster.  What was her life before this that brought her to a spot in life to be looked down upon by Emma?  This book tells the story of her life from her early childhood until after the events of Emma.

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This novel did a great job of really delving into what life would be like for a woman of limited means during the late 18^th century and early 19^th century.  It was disheartening to see how Henrie was reduced as she grew older as her means kept decreasing.  When your father does not save money to leave to his female heirs, they are left in dire straits.

·       It really made me think about what life would be like for such women in that time period and thankful for the rights we have today.  This is the life that Jane Austen lived and feared.  Luckily, she was never reduced as much as Henrie, but it could have happened if things had turned out differently.  This is what Mrs. Bennet feared for her daughters in Pride and Prejudice.

·       I liked how Henrie was a sharp person who was well aware of everything that was happening around her.  She put on a mask of happiness and silly prattle in order to survive in her world.  She needed extreme gratitude to help people to remember her as their gifts were often the only food she had.

·       Her love for Jane and having to give her up to ensure that she could have a better life was heartbreaking.

·       This is a well written literary novel and a good character story.

·       This is a dark take on the story of Emma and best for those that really hate the character of Emma.  While it was dark and I like Emma, I couldn’t put the book down and wanted to see what would happen next.

·       The very last couple of pages were the perfect ending for this book.

Favorite Quote: 

“But we, we undistinguished and unmarried women – we are like imaginary beings to the rest of the world.  We only have substance when we are before them.  What is it to forget someone imaginary?  - there can be no consequence. While to use it is the difference between living and dying.  The humiliation!”

Overall, Miss Bates:  Emma Revisited by Catherine Cliff is an intriguing and literary character study of Miss Bates and the plight of a poor single woman trying to make it in the past.

Book Source:  Thank-you to @catherinecliffwrites @pegasus_books @greatreadsbookpromofor a review copy of the novel as part of the Great Reads Promo Book Tour.