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53rd out of 271 books
—
1,241 voters
Dragonwyck
by
Anya Seton,
Philippa Gregory (Goodreads Author)
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 re...more
Paperback, 342 pages
Published
September 28th 2005
by Chicago Review Press
(first published 1944)
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Am I the only person who'd never heard of this?
Really, how did I miss a gothic romance starring Gene Tierney and Vincent Price even if I'd never heard of the book? I would have loved this as a teenager. There's a lot of great stuff in this book. The protagonist is not your average romantic heroine because she's vain, she's aching to abandon her home and family for riches, adventure, luxury. She's materialistic and without a spiritual center. Awesome. It's a relief to read about someone like her,...more
Really, how did I miss a gothic romance starring Gene Tierney and Vincent Price even if I'd never heard of the book? I would have loved this as a teenager. There's a lot of great stuff in this book. The protagonist is not your average romantic heroine because she's vain, she's aching to abandon her home and family for riches, adventure, luxury. She's materialistic and without a spiritual center. Awesome. It's a relief to read about someone like her,...more
33 likes · like · see review
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Jan 17, 2008
Tara
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who like gothic literature with depth
Recommended to Tara by:
Some book rack in Moore?
The first time I opened Dragonwyck was incidentally the first time I was exposed to Edgar Allan Poe. The novel opens with the poem "Alone," and Poe is one of the characters in this quintessential gothic tale. I first found this in a used book store when I was about 10 or 11, and every few years I am compelled to pick it up again, even though I know it through and through.
Dragonwyck is the story of Miranda Wells, a farm girl in upstate New York with dreams of a luxurious life she can never hope t...more
Dragonwyck is the story of Miranda Wells, a farm girl in upstate New York with dreams of a luxurious life she can never hope t...more
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I pulled this off my Southern grandama's shelf when I was in high school. It's a gothic romanc set in New York's Hudson River Valley. Miranda is the poor but beautiful girl who dreams of living in Dragonwyck. The creepy lord of the manor has a sickly wife and hires Miranda as his housegirl and, duh, falls for her. My memory is sketchy on the details but there is conflict and Miranda may or may not learn to be careful what she wishes for. In any event, I loved this book when I was 15. Whether it...more
4 likes · like · see review
Miranda Wells is too dainty and flighty to fit in with her hard working, puritanical farming family. When a distant cousin invites her to act as companion to his young daughter, she leaps at the chance and soon arrives at the beautiful gothic mansion of Dragonwyck. It is ruled by the autocratic Nicholas Van Ryn, who is so handsome, powerful, cultured that Miranda falls for him immediately. Nicholas is haunted by his first wife, who cannot give him the son he craves, and by Miranda's beauty. (vie...more
This is not a Gothic romance novel. This is a handbook concerning A) a sociopathic* personality, how its psychosis manifests in actions, words, and thoughts, and how with the smallest trigger, it spirals down into further depths of depravity and horror, and B) the warning signs of an abusive relationship, wherein a husband/boyfriend/lover mocks the low intelligence of his partner, disparages any independent thought, isolates his partner from outside influences, including friends and family, befo...more
10 likes · like · see review
Dragonwyck is a gothic romance in the vein of Jane Eyre, albeit set in America just before the Civil War. Nicholas Van Ryn is this novel's Rochester. A patroon in the dying days of feudal society, he clings to the trappings of fiefdom even when it becomes increasingly obvious that it is all going to end soon. He is also handsome, brooding, mysterious, and has a fat wife (Johanna) he doesn't care for to boot. So it's no wonder that his poor cousin Miranda falls hard for him when she comes to live...more
Normally I'm annoyed when an author throws real people into a historical novel, but I thought Anya Seton did it rather well. I never felt like I was being beaten over the head with how familiar she was with the authors in the book (Poe, Melville, etc), or that Miranda was lost behind all the other characters. I actually enjoyed the book so much that I'll probably end up buying it to read again, even though I haven't re-read a book in about four years (something you can do when you have a great l...more
3 likes · like · see review
This was my first introduction to Anya Seton's brand of American historical novel. I found it fascinating, in the way that she took themes of Victorian British novels and translated them into a 19th century American setting.
Published in the 1940s and set one hundred years earlier, this is the story of Miranda Wells, the daughter of a New York State farmer who is taken up by a rich second cousin and taken to his gothic home (complete with ghost) where she innocently falls for the master despite...more
Published in the 1940s and set one hundred years earlier, this is the story of Miranda Wells, the daughter of a New York State farmer who is taken up by a rich second cousin and taken to his gothic home (complete with ghost) where she innocently falls for the master despite...more
At first, Dragonwyck reminded me of Mansfield Park: the young girl summoned to live with her aristocratic relations--although in this case, it's American rather than English aristocracy--who trades poverty for their luxurious lifestyle. But that resemblance was shattered as soon as Nicholas Van Ryn appeared. He is no Sir Thomas, and certainly no Edmund Bertram. Nicholas is more like Maxim de Winter: glamorous, unapproachable, even unfathomable to Miranda. And when Miranda is introduced to Dragon...more
Read this because I liked the movie and it takes place where I live (shout-out to the historical aspects of Catskill and Hudson and everything down to NYC that made it into the story). I also tend to like stories about a sort of tortured love that can't really work set in Gothic manor houses. Go figure.
The movie follows the book very closely until about mid-way through. The movie puts more weight on the ghostly singing and playing from the Red Room and on the Dutch patroon chair. It also makes N...more
The movie follows the book very closely until about mid-way through. The movie puts more weight on the ghostly singing and playing from the Red Room and on the Dutch patroon chair. It also makes N...more
3 likes · like · see review
I first read this when I was a teenager and years later I saw the film with Gene Tierney and Vincent Price. The movie is excellent and highly recommended, but I loved the book more. Miranda Wells thought she was escaping a dreary life at home, but what she got was far worse. Her quick marriage to Nicholas Van Ryn after the death of his first wife, seems like a dream come true. But she soon learns that her charming husband has a far different nature behind closed doors. He is a cruel and evil man...more
I thought this was on my "to-read" list, and now I don't see it there. So why did I have the author and title written down when I went to the library?
I thought it was some sort of fantasy. Dragons, right?
So imagine my confusion to find myself reading a 1944 gothic novel set in pre-Civil War upstate New York. But it was great fun. I kept thinking of Rebecca, although the plot was actually much more traditional than that. I also really liked the ways this was historical fiction as much as it was g...more
I thought it was some sort of fantasy. Dragons, right?
So imagine my confusion to find myself reading a 1944 gothic novel set in pre-Civil War upstate New York. But it was great fun. I kept thinking of Rebecca, although the plot was actually much more traditional than that. I also really liked the ways this was historical fiction as much as it was g...more
How can it possibly be that I have NEVER read this book? I LOVED it! Many people told me that it was in the style of Rebecca and Jane Eyre, so it seemed a natural to me. I loved Katharine and Green Darkness many years ago but somehow this passed me by. I am a Hudson Valley girl and I have devoured gothic mysteries for years. I agree with many of the other posts that speak to the writing style and say that Miranda is not as well drawn a character as Jane Eyre and Nicholas is too evil but I pass o...more
Still not Katherine (all right, all right, I should just reread that already), but a reasonably good Gothic set in 1840s New York. Many of the standard ingredients are here, all well done: a young, beautiful naïve heroine comes to work as a governess in the magnificent mansion of a wealthy, dark, enigmatic man with a jealous wife. There are also a young, red-haired doctor, a mysterious and frightening servant, a family curse, and a ghost. Also, apart from the fairly effective Gothicness, there's...more
2 stars
I am in love with the Dragonwyck movie and thought I would give the book a shot. In this case I felt the movie far surpassed the book. The movie was more cohesive and concise with great dramatic flair, whereas the book felt more drawn out and tedious. I wanted to like this book but could barely force myself to plow through it. The abusive relationship between Miranda and Nicholas was disturbing. I think Miranda was intended to be a fanciful girl but to me she came across as foolish with n...more
I am in love with the Dragonwyck movie and thought I would give the book a shot. In this case I felt the movie far surpassed the book. The movie was more cohesive and concise with great dramatic flair, whereas the book felt more drawn out and tedious. I wanted to like this book but could barely force myself to plow through it. The abusive relationship between Miranda and Nicholas was disturbing. I think Miranda was intended to be a fanciful girl but to me she came across as foolish with n...more
Seton is a great writer. In her other titles, she wrote more with a sense of the history and times. Dragonwyck is a novel without that depth of historical events or places completely threaded into the story. So I ended up skimming and just reading the last chapter. I just can't hold my enthusiasm or interest if I am not getting a good dose of history. Dragonwyk is a good story, just not my style. It was an early book for Seton, so I will choose to believe that she improved her craft and re-focus...more
I first read this book when I was about ten years old; it was my first introduction to the gothic novel and have read it many times throughout the years. I always enjoyed the family curse and the ghost within the red room. Nicholas Van Ryn is a very cold character, full of his own ego and capable of committing unspeakable acts for his own gain. Miranda is a naive, shallow eighteen year old, who eventually becomes a stronger character, yet for her it is a case of 'be careful what you wish for'. T...more
I was interested because it was written in the 1940s and takes place in the 1840s. I kind of wanted to know what a 1940's Gothic romance best seller was like. It was pretty entertaining and I'll probably go find the movie.
While dark, it was a little too 'clean' for current standards. The heroine was way too superficial and vain; and her epiphany at the end and subsequent transformation felt just but heavy-handed. The real force of the book was the somewhat psychopathic Nicholas- he's the charac...more
While dark, it was a little too 'clean' for current standards. The heroine was way too superficial and vain; and her epiphany at the end and subsequent transformation felt just but heavy-handed. The real force of the book was the somewhat psychopathic Nicholas- he's the charac...more
I started this book at 9pm and turned the last page at 2am. The story and characters were riveting. I loved how Seton built up the suspense on each page and created the palpable tension between Nicolas and Miranda. This novel is very gothic (stately manors, ghosts, intrigue) but a very adept look at an abusive and controlling relationship. Many moments you want to shake Miranda and tell her to run, but Seton does a masterful job letting the reader feel how in a situation like Miranda's it is nev...more
Dragonwyck takes place on a large estate on the Hudson River in the 1830s. To some degree, it's a rather conventional gothic novel. As stated by Anya Seton in the Author's Note: "All Gothic magnificence and eerie manifestations were not at that time inevitably confined to English castles or Southern plantations!" Further classifying of Dragonwyck is difficult. It's a not-quite-romantic romance, full of history, with a dash of thriller added.
Miranda Wells leaves her father’s farm in Connecticut t...more
Miranda Wells leaves her father’s farm in Connecticut t...more
This 1944 American Gothic novel is in the same category as Annemarie Selinko's Desiree for me: I'm glad I got round to reading it but I wish I'd got to it sooner, because I would have enjoyed it a lot more in my teens.
Dragonwyck follows in the tradition of Jane Eyre and Rebecca as far as plot and tone are concerned. Farm girl Miranda is catapulted into high society when her wealthy cousin Nicholas van Ryn employs her as a governess. Like Seton's later, historical heroine, Katherine Swynford, Mir...more
Dragonwyck follows in the tradition of Jane Eyre and Rebecca as far as plot and tone are concerned. Farm girl Miranda is catapulted into high society when her wealthy cousin Nicholas van Ryn employs her as a governess. Like Seton's later, historical heroine, Katherine Swynford, Mir...more
I liked this book as it was quite gothic in its environment. The characters were typical, the beautiful heroine, the dark mysterious man, and the good looking fine charactered other "man in my life" figure. Taking place along the area of the Hudson River and NYC, the book evoked a setting that was both familiar and beautiful.
The rich of Dutch New York are explored with all their wealth, society, and social strata. Into that setting comes the beautiful Miranda, distant cousin to Nicholas a wealth...more
The rich of Dutch New York are explored with all their wealth, society, and social strata. Into that setting comes the beautiful Miranda, distant cousin to Nicholas a wealth...more
Miranda Wells is a naive farmer's daughter in 1840s Connecticut who daydreams of romance, wealth, and a different kind of life than the one she was born into. It seems that she will achieve at least the latter dream when a wealthy distant cousin, Nicholas Van Ryn, invites her to come live with his family in his upstate New York mansion. She is immediately transfixed by her mysterious, tempestuous cousin, while his food-obsessed wife, Johanna, takes an instant dislike to her and attempts to keep...more
Jul 08, 2008
Jessica
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those interested in psychological, romantic thrillers
This is a very odd book. It is interesting, and I couldn't put it down while reading it, but now that I have finished, I have no inclination to read it again, and indeed, feel slightly embarrassed that I read it at all. It feels so teenager-ish and melodramatic, plus the title makes it sound like some crazy science-fiction book.
It is a book in the same vein as Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca, though not quite as richly written. A young, simple, poor girl falls in love with a handsome, rich, mysterio...more
It is a book in the same vein as Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca, though not quite as richly written. A young, simple, poor girl falls in love with a handsome, rich, mysterio...more
1 like · like · see review
I always had a soft spot for Gothic novels like Rebecca and Jane Eyre, so Dragonwyck seemed like a must read to me, especially when a brooding and mysterious character like Nicholas Van Ryn is involved. Nothing could be more perfect!
Honestly, in the beginning, I had some troubles warming up to Miranda Wells. In the movie adaptation, she's more sympathetic and we easily relate to her wish to see the world, where in the book I found her a tad unpleasant and extremely snob. I wasn't very sure I was...more
Honestly, in the beginning, I had some troubles warming up to Miranda Wells. In the movie adaptation, she's more sympathetic and we easily relate to her wish to see the world, where in the book I found her a tad unpleasant and extremely snob. I wasn't very sure I was...more
A naive heroine is caught up in an evil gothic tale, set in an old manor, but not in England! This story takes place in America, but there's still a lord of the manor who oppresses his tenants. The setting, surprisingly, is in Manhattan, New York. The shallow but beautiful heroine marries a handsom, intriguing, and seemingly upstanding man, who turns out to be about as evil as you can get. Her search for the glamorous life doesn't turn out very well, but she does gain maturity.
When I was young, one of my Mother's strictest rules was that I was not allowed to read Harlequin romances. Every time she caught me with one, I would get a lecture about well-written literaure and be 'assigned' a new book to read. Each and every time my mom picked a book out for me, I was sure it was the best book I'd ever read...until the next book she picked out. Dragonwyck was one of my all time favorite Gothic romances. Well worth the lecture.
I loved the book as a girl. Recently I took it out of the library and was sooo disappointed. Am I wrong or is their major head-swimming going on here? (Head-jumping some call it.) Maybe I am too critical in my older age as I write a bit myself and try to keep in mind the POV I write in. But I couldn't keep track of things - maybe I just need to let myself go and READ.
Couldn't get more than half a chapter in before returning it.
Couldn't get more than half a chapter in before returning it.
I sure love a good gothic romance. Especially one where you can feel the Bronte influence. I've read this several times since I first found it a used book sale when I was in high school. A good read, with a slightly annoying main character, who learned and grew up a whole lot by the end of the book. Can't wait to watch the movie :)
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Anya Seton (January 23, 1904 (although the year is often misstated to be 1906 or 1916) - November 8, 1990) was the pen name of the American author of historical romances, Ann Seton.
Ann Seton was born in New York, New York, and died in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. She was the daughter of English-born naturalist and pioneer of the Boy Scouts of America, Ernest Thompson Seton and Grace Gallatin Seton....more
More about Anya Seton...
Ann Seton was born in New York, New York, and died in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. She was the daughter of English-born naturalist and pioneer of the Boy Scouts of America, Ernest Thompson Seton and Grace Gallatin Seton....more
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“Her lips were drawn to his like a moth to a flame.”
—
8 people liked it
“He was all sin and mystery, and Miranda feared the pleasures he offered as she feared the fires of hell. Yet when she succumbed at last, it was not because her body was weak but because her mind was curious.”
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2 people liked it
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