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61st out of 577 books
—
644 voters
Life Mask
by
Emma Donoghue (Goodreads Author)
The bestselling author of Slammerkin vividly brings to life the Beau Monde of late eighteenth-century England, turning the private drama of three celebrated Londoners into a robust, full-bodied portrait of a world on the brink of revolution. In a time of looming war, of glittering spectacle and financial disasters, the wealthy liberals of the Whig Party work to topple a ty...more
Paperback, 672 pages
Published
September 5th 2005
by Mariner Books
(first published 2004)
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The author has recently broken into the literary mainstream following the critical acclaim for her most recent novel, Room, but for a decade previous, Donoghue had been quietly praised for her historical novels, usually mirroring the author's own life in dealing with the experiences of a lesbian character, and this work is no exception to those early writings. Our heroine, Eliza Farren, has dragged herself from a humble background, helped by her ambitious mother, to become the leading actress of...more
It was interesting to read from the point of view of 2012, that the problems of slander and innuendo were present in the days of the written and in-print words. Takes place in the late 1790's. Follows a small mixed group of aristocrats and well to do English men and women. Rumors are flying about the main characters, female, that they are possible "Sapphists" or lesbians. These women have men in their lives but the sexes were mostly separated in their everyday activities.
The aristocrats spent...more
The aristocrats spent...more
Life Mask is an incredibly detailed and long novel examining the intersecting lives of several of the Beau Monde in 18th century England. Here, Donoghue reanimates actual historical figures including the actress Eliza Farren, the Earl of Derby, the author Horace Walpole, and the sculptor Anne Damer. As with much of her fiction, Donoghue gives life to the struggles, anxieties, and loves of lesbians and gay men throughout history. While focused on the (sometimes) hidden homosexual lives, the great...more
Enjoyable and often fascinating novel by an lesbian Irish author about art, theater, and romantic entanglements in upper-class Britain at the turn of the 19th century. Thoroughly researched and full of great bits of social history, although honestly, I would have preferred slightly less detail on the politics of the period. (Not that the politics didn't make for an interesting comparison with current US politics, concerns about terrorism and homeland security and all!)
All of the main characters...more
All of the main characters...more
If you are fascinated by Whig politics in late 18th Century England, you'll love this book. If you're interested in the intersections of theater and the aristocracy in 18th Century England, you'll enjoy the book. If you're interested in cockfighting, horse racing, drinking, taking mistresses, and other "gentlemanly" pursuits, you will enjoy this book. If you are interested in the specific historical people who appear in the book, you will absolutely love it. But if you are looking for a an emoti...more
Well written interesting tale based on the lives of real people at the time of the late 1700 in English Society. Anne Damir is a widow and sculptor who faces acquisations of Saphism (lesbian relations), Eliza Farren is a stage actress courted by Lord Derby to become either his wife or his mistress and Lord Derby uses his influence in the House of Lords to try and advance the Whig cause against Pitt's domination.
Many famous names crop up throughout the story (not least Georgiana Duchess of Devons...more
Many famous names crop up throughout the story (not least Georgiana Duchess of Devons...more
I picked up Life Mask because I wanted historical lesbian romance. What I actually got was historical lesbian drama, which is not quite the same thing, and the not getting what I expected threw me off for the first third or so of the book. Then I fell into the story and all was forgiven. Although - although, my expectations of a romance did change my experience of the book, because the romance genre has tropes that a reader expects; like for instance, knowing from the get-go what the end game pa...more
Don't do it. Just don't. The problem is, the book needed a brutal and dedicated editor. Everything would have been okay if it was 200 pages shorter. At it's length it simply looses the momentum to bring the reader to the (inevitable) conclusion. The history of England is interesting though.
I hate it when authors do this - attempt historical fiction with characters that are cliched stereotypes unaffected by the monumental historical changes occuring around them. At over 600 pages this was an excrutiatingly detailed and accurate representation of late 18th century England (and I learned a lot) but the main characters could have been from lifted from "The Great Gatsby" or any current Hollywood gossip rag for all the depth and relevance they had. Portrayals of shallow aristocrats boas...more
As I read this book, the comments Jerry Seinfeld once made about his tv show came to mind: that it was "a show about nothing". This book is very similar in mood, tracing the lives of three main characters and the people surrounding them. Eliza Farren, the celebrated actress; Edward Smith-Stanley, Lord Derby, who was in love with Eliza but successfully held at arm's length for more than a decade; and Mrs. Anne Damer, a sculptor and mutual friend. Their intertwined lives and the scandals involvin...more
I´d like to plagarize from two reviews I read on Goodreads.
1. It´s no Slammerkin
2. What editor allowed this to be so long, for no reason?
1. It´s no Slammerkin
2. What editor allowed this to be so long, for no reason?
Historical fiction based on real people. The story spans about a decade, much of it during the French revolution, although that momentous series of events is only referenced as it impacts the members of the English aristocracy who are the main characters of the story.
I thought I would like this more than I did. Lots of period detail was in evidence that was interesting and seemingly well-researched (I'm no expert on the period), but all in all, the story proved kind of ho-hum. The pace was slow...more
I thought I would like this more than I did. Lots of period detail was in evidence that was interesting and seemingly well-researched (I'm no expert on the period), but all in all, the story proved kind of ho-hum. The pace was slow...more
SO. LONG.
Seriously, I'm a big fan of Donoghue, but this book just drags on and on... I just cannot engage with the huge portions of the plot that deal with British politics and the French Revolution, because I simply don't understand enough of that history. It doesn't help that so much of this context is conveyed by the conversations between characters, leaving little chance of simple and frank explanation. Great writing, neat characters, but I feel like I should have finished this days ago.
Edi...more
Seriously, I'm a big fan of Donoghue, but this book just drags on and on... I just cannot engage with the huge portions of the plot that deal with British politics and the French Revolution, because I simply don't understand enough of that history. It doesn't help that so much of this context is conveyed by the conversations between characters, leaving little chance of simple and frank explanation. Great writing, neat characters, but I feel like I should have finished this days ago.
Edi...more
I was introduced to Emma Donoghue through her previous novel "Slammerkin", and am currently reading everything she else she has written so far.
"Life Mask" is a complex novel, both in it's characters as well as in it's settings. The story follows the loves and lives of Eliza Farrow, actress, Lord Derby who is in love with Eliza, and Anne Damer, a sculptor who also appears to be in love with Eliza. Thus we are introduced to their triangluar relationship and become privy to open and closed secrets...more
"Life Mask" is a complex novel, both in it's characters as well as in it's settings. The story follows the loves and lives of Eliza Farrow, actress, Lord Derby who is in love with Eliza, and Anne Damer, a sculptor who also appears to be in love with Eliza. Thus we are introduced to their triangluar relationship and become privy to open and closed secrets...more
I enjoyed this book because I felt like it portrayed a really vivid portrait of life in Georgian England. The story was interesting and all the characters were unique and developed and had personalities. My biggest complaint with the book was that it was very long and, I felt like three quarters of the way through the book, it reset right to the start, so I felt as if I hadn't really gotten anywhere with my reading. Also, I felt as if it focused a lot on Anne and Eliza but it could have focused...more
Life Mask is a book of fiction, but walks arm in arm with fact. Ms. Donoghue pieced together the intricate lives of three people: the Earl of Derby, Mrs. Anne Damer (a widow and female sculptor) and Eliza Farren, born a nobody but reigns as Queen of Comedy at the Drury Lane Theater.
Ms. Donoghue sticks to the truth in this novel where it seems to matter the most. All of the people are historical people, aside from some of the servants.
Eliza is a very good actress and is called upon often for she...more
Ms. Donoghue sticks to the truth in this novel where it seems to matter the most. All of the people are historical people, aside from some of the servants.
Eliza is a very good actress and is called upon often for she...more
This novel is based on actual historical figures, and it’s set in England, around the time of the French Revolution. The protagonist is a sculptor, a rare occupation for women at that time, and there are rumors that she is a “Sapphist”. The novel is very well-written, but one does get frustrated with the slow pace at times. My feeling was that the author was being a little too scrupulous, making sure that everything jibed with the known facts. Only towards the end of the novel does her imaginati...more
This novel is set in the late 18th century among the British elite. It weaves the worlds of the aristocracy, the stage, and politics into a neat reflection of the times. The major characters are all real historical people; Donoghue obviously did a great deal of research into their biographies as well as the current events of the times. I felt like I got a very good feel for different political and social issues of the time and it was thoroughly intriguing.
My only criticism is that the book dragg...more
My only criticism is that the book dragg...more
This is a long book partly because the author paints a detailed portrait of the time. It lives in the art salons, theatres and drawing rooms of the time. Her earlier work the Sealed Letter focused on how little power women had at the time. this novel has another take on this aspect. Both men and women are devastated by gossip and anonymous poetry. It was impossible not to find parallels in today's 24 hour media cycle. I was driven to keep reading to find out more about the three main characters...more
It seems to me now that I mistakenly thought I would like Emma Donoghue's writing. I loved
Room
when I initially read it, and I loved
Astray
. Nothing else has had the same impact though, and when I re-read
Room
recently, I hated it and couldn't understand what I'd seen in it the first place.
Life Mask is one of her 18th century books. It deals with three principal characters of the Beau Monde: The Honorable Mrs. Anne Damer, the Queen of Comedy and Countess in Waiting Eliza Farren and her hap...more
Life Mask is one of her 18th century books. It deals with three principal characters of the Beau Monde: The Honorable Mrs. Anne Damer, the Queen of Comedy and Countess in Waiting Eliza Farren and her hap...more
Part of me feels like I should criticise this book for being too long, but for some reason that fact hasn't really reduced my opinion if it. It plodded along through the lives of 3 people in history; The Earl of Derby, with his political difficulties and estranged wife. Eliza Farren, a women born with very little who has risen to fame as The Queen of Comedy and caught the attention of the Earl of Derby. And Anne Damer, a rich widow turned sculptress, rumoured to be a lesbian.
The book tells of t...more
The book tells of t...more
Life Mask is reminiscent of The French Lieutenant's Woman...only much better (and, of course, set in a different era). Its style captures the period, politics, and flighty upper class beautifully. More importantly, the social critique fits the history and echoes contemporary issues (interference in foreign wars, the possibility of terrorism, government fear-mongering) in a way that helps the reader truly feel at home in the eighteenth century. And this critique, while strong, never feels heavy-h...more
I’m working my way through all of Donoghue’s novels. This one from 2004 is set in the Beau Monde of late 18th century England, a time when rapid and exciting changes in political thought clashed with a rigid conformity in the matter of social mores, especially in regard to women. One of the central narratives is the story of sculptor Anne Damer (based, like almost every character, on a real historical figure) and her attempts to live a life of integrity despite being dogged by rumors of “sapphis...more
This is a rambling book about the late 1700s England. Eliza Farren is an actress who has been accepted into the Beau Monde of the Lords and elite of England. She is the constant companion of Lord Derby (of the famous horse race). She is chaperoned by her mother and is waiting endlessly for the Lord's current wife to finally die. Eliza befriends Anne Damer, a scupltress and rumored lesbian. Friendship with Anne brings mockery and ridicule.
Although this book is the story of these characters, I fou...more
Although this book is the story of these characters, I fou...more
No Slammerkin, but still done very well. Very educational, set mostly among the paranoid upperclasses...I don't know what this period is call but it's revolutionary France time and the beginnings of the Romantics. A lot of interesting stuff about the society getting more liberal, fighting for the poor but then being completely terrified the masses will rise up and slay the aristocracy.
One of the main characters, I believe her name is Emma Farrin?, is an actress who FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF...more
One of the main characters, I believe her name is Emma Farrin?, is an actress who FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF...more
This book is not going to be for everyone. I personally found it strangely intriguing and I'm not entirely sure why. The thing about this book is that it follows the lives of an actress and a sculptor in late eighteenth century Britain, it spans several years of their lives and given that they are both moving in the exalted social circles of the Beau Monde, their lives are at times fairly trivial.
What I'm saying, in perhaps an excessively wordy way, is that the book isn't filled with thrills and...more
What I'm saying, in perhaps an excessively wordy way, is that the book isn't filled with thrills and...more
Oh, I love Emma Donoghue! This is historical fiction of the best kind -- actually based very closely on fact, using an impressive treasure trove of journals, letters, and biographies to flesh out historical figures with imagined details. The tale of two female friends in England in the late 1700s, rumored to have participated in a relationship barely imaginable at the time. There is a bit of drag towards the end, but overall the writing is fascinating. I have been recommending this book freely.
I'm giving up on this one 50 pages in -- I love everything else I've read by Emma Donoghue, but this one is boring me to tears. Excruciatingly detailed theater rehearsal and performance scenes, joined by a focus on late 18th century English politics -- just not my cup of tea. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of classic English literature and much historical fiction, but I feel absolutely no interest in these characters or their milieu. This is no page turner, that's for sure.
At 639 pages, this is a very detailed look into life in the 'Beau Monde' of late 18th century England. Donoghue offers overlapping love triangles and her usual blend of feminist and homosexual awakening, while also expertly weaving in the political history of the era. I learned so much and saw many parallels with today's politics. I especially liked seeing how the French revolution influenced England and how - just a few years later - the pendulum swung back to a more reactionary movement. I'm e...more
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Emma is the youngest of eight children of Frances and Denis Donoghue. She attended Catholic convent schools in Dublin, apart from one year in New York at the age of ten. In 1990 she earned a first-class honours BA in English and French from University College Dublin, and in 1997 a PhD (on the concept of friendship between men and women in eighteenth-century English fiction) from the University of...more
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“I tell you frankly, Mrs. Damer, the more I see of different nations, the less sure I feel about the pre-eminence of my own.”
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“The days of my vanity are over and heaven knows they weren't happy enough to regret”
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Mar 10, 2013 02:02pm