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I fell in love with this book immediately upon starting.
In her Introduction 'Author to the Reader', Sand describes a painting by Hans Holbein the Younger. I knew I was in for a treat when I thought that this story would be based on that picture. At the very least, I became familiar with the picture and the inscription beneath it:
"In toil and sorrow thou shalt eat The bitter bread of poverty. After the burden and the heat, Lo! it is Death who calls for thee."
As Sand continues to state:
"I have all ...more
In her Introduction 'Author to the Reader', Sand describes a painting by Hans Holbein the Younger. I knew I was in for a treat when I thought that this story would be based on that picture. At the very least, I became familiar with the picture and the inscription beneath it:
"In toil and sorrow thou shalt eat The bitter bread of poverty. After the burden and the heat, Lo! it is Death who calls for thee."
As Sand continues to state:
"I have all ...more
An idyllic look at country life in France. Germain is a widowed ploughman on his in-laws farm. His family suggest he remarry for his and his children's happiness. They recommend a widow in a nearby town, but she has many other suitors and he has fallen in love with the young shepherdess from his village. This is full of old customs and superstitions like the pool mentioned in the title of the book. A good read.
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This is my second book by George Sand, the first being Indiana which I found overly melodramatic. I much preferred The Devil's Pool. It is perhaps a much romantisised account of country living, but I respect the effort - especially since Sand wrote in the preface that she was so tired of reading books, and looking at art, where poor people were always wretched and either criminals or in need of saving.
The story of a still grieving widower who is looking for a new mother for his young children wa ...more
The story of a still grieving widower who is looking for a new mother for his young children wa ...more
When an author picks a landmark named after the devil for the title, one can anticipate a moral tale. Sand goes one better, with the whole first chapter is a bit of a dissertation on the use of art to teach moral lessons, contemplating an engraving by Holbein with death assisting a laborer to plough his field. To her mind, the idea that art can encourage people by suggesting that suffering is redeemed in death, offering punishment or reward, is limited, instead she thinks it is through the gentl
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A simple story, which is not even close to sinister as the name applies. A widower & father of three wishes to marry again quickly before he is too old. A woman is suggested to him, a widower, who lives in a village a short journey away. His (lady) neighbor wishes to join him to look for employment in that town and on the way they fall in love.
Boxall's 1001 books to read before you die. ...more
Boxall's 1001 books to read before you die. ...more
Mar 02, 2017
Claire
marked it as to-read
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review of another edition
Shelves:
1001-books-to-read-before-you-die
Mar 13, 2020
Emma Spoor
rated it
liked it
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review of another edition
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2018
May 01, 2021
John Dishwasher
marked it as to-read
