Buried Worth is set in present-day Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. Samuel William Jarvis, a successful banker and bachelor, has an eye for beautiful things - including Catherine who lives with him in his oasis of a home just a stone's throw from Cheshire's border. He has achieved all his ambitions and yet refuses to marry Catherine - believing marriage to be 'just a piece of paper'. Likeable level-headed Catherine, channels her love of history into her teaching profession at the local high-school. Though understanding of her partner's take on wedded bliss, she has recently decided that married life is for her as her sister has announced her engagement. Determined not to be outdone, Catherine expects to be wearing Sam's ring before 29th February is over. With less than a week to Valentine's Day, Sam decides to find a gift as priceless as she is and one which will be the envy of her friends. Sam's search leads him down the 'Corridors of Time' where he discovers three exceptional gifts and, in doing so, embarks on an amazing journey of self-discovery.
Vivien Jones is Professor of Eighteenth-Century Gender and Culture at Leeds University, where she is also Pro-Vice Chancellor for Student Education. Vivien held a Junior Research Fellowship at the Hall soon after it became a mixed college. Her first book centred on Henry James, but after moving to Leeds in 1983 her research and publications have focused on issues of gender and writing in the eighteenth century. Her collection of primary documents, Women in the Eighteenth Century: Constructions of Femininity (Routledge, 1990) has become a widely-used textbook both in the UK and in the US. She has also edited a collection of specially commissioned essays entitled Women and Literature in Britain, 1700-1800 (Cambridge University Press, 2000). Key issues in her research include narratives of sexuality and representations of the figure of the prostitute in eighteenth century fictional and non-fictional texts, and the cultural significance of conduct writing. She has also edited Frances Burney’s Evelina for the Oxford World’s Classics series. Her publications on Mary Wollstonecraft include a memorial lecture at the 1997 BSECS conference, The Death of Mary Wollstonecraft, and an essay on Mary Wollstonecraft and the Literature of Advice and Instruction in the Cambridge Companion to Mary Wollstonecraft, edited by Claudia L. Johnson (Cambridge University Press, 2002). More recently she has focused on Jane Austen, with an edition of Austen’s Selected Letters which came out from the Oxford World’s Classics series, and a volume on Austen for OUP’s Authors in Context series.
I bought this book because it's based in Stoke-on-Trent. I was hoping to get either a good description of the area, or at least a history, but it never went into too many details.
I have definitely never read anything like this before. Is it paranormal? Kind of, but not really. That is never actually explained.
The main characters are not likable. I found Sam to be arrogant and self-centered, and Catherine to be shallow, although there seemed to be a reason for this in the end. Still made it difficult to enjoy the book. I prefer to, if not identify with the characters, at least like them.
The story lines for each of the object are very interesting, and I wouldn't have minded hearing more. In fact, they were more interesting than the main part of the story.
Although I could see where the author was going and why, the ending seemed a bit contrived. Sam, who spends most of the book explaining how he'd never want to get married, even though he loved Catherine, almost becomes a completely different person after a life-changing event. You don't experience this change with him, you have to wait until he explains it later. This makes his change seem unbelievable, even given his very lengthy explanation. Catherine, who seems somewhat nice at first, becomes a shallow golddigger who doesn't appreciate Sam and what he's been through. I kind of wanted to slap her.
I give it a 3 star, and I've added one for originality.