The Maid of Buttermere

Rating:
Summary: Holiday Reading for pseudo-Romantic or 18th-19th-c. types
Review: This book sat unread on the shelf for close to five years. I would pick it up and put it down at regular intervals. However, circumstances in my life changed, and I developed an appreciation for the Romantic period. While I'm not sure I would recommend this book to a specialist, it makes an enjoyable read for the neophyte. Unfortunately, it is a bit too true to its Romantic roots, and the plot takes second place to the exploration of character and fine feeling. Also, isn't Melvyn Bragg supposed to be a horrible old man? If one is defining horrible in terms of whiteness, gender and an Oxbridge education . . .

Rating:
Summary: An entertaining read.
Review: This page-turner manages to keep readers interested for most of its five hundred or so pages, however is not what one would call an excellent novel. Bragg's brilliant use of historical detail, from dialect to geography, certainly makes the story come alive. It also, however, gives the impression that it is a true piece of period literature, when in fact the novel's plot, in particular the frequent sex scenes, render it a typical Harlequin-type romance, which soon grows tiresome