A Quiet Adjustment (Byron Trilogy 2)

Series: Byron Trilogy

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I know it is probable that people talked in this very indirect flowery way at that time, but it irritated me. Much of this book concentrates on Byron's relationship with his sister and the scandal this provoked. How do you make Byron boring? Caricatures rather than nuanced people is a good way to start. Annabella Millebanke is presented as a spoiled, unlikable, shrewish woman rather than the reserved and intelligent woman she was. Byron is actually boring and one can hardly understand how this version of the poet captivated London. All the female characters are two dimensional, catty and vindictive.

Jun 20, Michele rated it did not like it. Impressive in the sense that the author took a famously fascinating character Lord Byron , threw in some incest, adultery and assorted bad behavior, and managed to create a totally boring book. By the end I was reading every fifth page or so. Aug 12, Jessica Chewiwie rated it did not like it.

This book had so much potential! It reveals its most intriguing plots offhandedly, while giving the reader constant frustration at its vagueness. I had to force myself to keep reading this, thinking that there must be a payoff somewhere. The first portion of the book drags on, but as a reader, it can be played off as the build up to interesting action. The second portion takes material that could be interesting, scandalous, and shocking, and buries it in a lazy haze of subtext. Subtext only work This book had so much potential! Subtext only works if there is real action to prompt it.

The third portion takes hints of scandal and turns it into a soap opera of gossip among a trio of bored women who decide to meddle in matters that affect them in no way. Most likely to have some kind of third act plot. My biggest frustration was the format used for conversation. There was very little actual portions of dialogue; instead, the author chose to refer to dialogue in summary. In a book that already feels like a chore to read these long, tedious passages, a bit of real dialogue would have broken up the monotony. I agree with many of the reviewers on here who noted that you feel nothing for the characters.

No one is fleshed out. What could have been interesting characters stayed unsure outlines. Though Markovits in interviews has claimed to be attempting to produce something like a nineteenth-century style to novelize the well-known story of Byron's marriage to Annabelle Milbanke, it doesn't seem Austen-ish so much as Jamesian.

There are nuanced and almost too-fussy examinations of motives, things left unsaid, aims hinted at without being spoken of directly. As in the previous novel, Byron himself is less the focus than the characters around him. He is the light inevitably cast on other Though Markovits in interviews has claimed to be attempting to produce something like a nineteenth-century style to novelize the well-known story of Byron's marriage to Annabelle Milbanke, it doesn't seem Austen-ish so much as Jamesian.

He is the light inevitably cast on others; their knowledge of themselves is shaped as much by self-examination as it is by brought into contact with him. When he leaves England and the novel , we are left in a roomful of women with 'good intentions' who work overtime to separate Byron from his sister Augusta. It's a little bit like being let in on a self-righteous circle of do-gooders, at least two of whom are not as good as they seem.

While there is art in the presentation of these characters, one cannot really feel sorry to see them go, unlike Byron, who is the most vibrant character here. In the previous novel, Markovits seemed to find a way to lend immediacy to the story of Polidori.

A Quiet Adjustment

Perhaps because he is rather more shackled to the facts of what actually happened here, Markovits is less able to make Annabelle as compelling a character in her own right. Others' mileage may vary. I really wanted to get into this book but it was too detailed and wordy so I stopped reading it. Mar 14, Rachel M rated it really liked it. The fact that this was a novel about Lord Byron was not the reason I wanted to read it I think it was because I liked the cover!

To everyone else, Annabella at the beginning of the novel is praised by everyone for her "angelic goodness. She is quiet, unusually intelligent, and also has a constant struggle with vanity. She has a high sense of her value and merits, and tends to see herself as somewhat supe The fact that this was a novel about Lord Byron was not the reason I wanted to read it She has a high sense of her value and merits, and tends to see herself as somewhat superior to others.

Which is exactly what attracts her to Lord Byron, the poet of the century. He is a brooding figure in social gatherings who seems to have the weight of the world on his shoulders, and feel things more deeply than others. She believes that they are "superior souls. Annabella soon discovers her mistake - she cannot make Lord Byron a better man.

If anything, the marriage causes her to let go of that pride in her own goodness, as she recognizes how weak she truly is. Though the writing was at times inscrutable, Markovits showed the transformation of Annabella's character with remarkable depth and insight.

I had to wonder, when I finished the book, at the idea that Annabella and Byron were "mismatched. But at the same time, I think nobody but a Lord Byron could have probably humbled Annabella in ways that would have helped her to grow. It seemed like all of her other suitors were so convinced of her goodness, that she could have easily retained all the weaknesses of her character without ever being challenged.

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Although Lord Byron was in many ways abusive and manipulative, her marriage to him did cause Annabella to grow and change in positive ways. May 20, Dominique rated it it was ok Shelves: But even though I am familiar with that writing style, and even like it, in some cases, I was thoroughly confused. I really had no idea what was going on in the main character, Annabella's, head.

It was like he buried the story and the characters in lots of flowery prose. I found myself getting lost in a paragraph, not in a good way either. In a way that was like, I wonder what I'm reading about now. And Oh my goodness. And even though I love Lord Byron, the book jacket was a lot clearer on the story and promised a lot that I feel the book didn't deliver on.

If I hadn't read that blurb on that jacket, I would never have understood what was supposed to be happening between the characters. Dec 13, Lynette rated it did not like it Shelves: To be fair, I only read a few chapters. I normally love historical novels, but the writing in this was just so pompous and pretentious that I couldn't continue. From the first page: Also, "The invitation itself had a kind of bullying brevity, which left little scope for demurral.

May 25, S. I nearly gave up on this book during the first or so pages which moved very slowly. Things picked up once the couple were married and he commenced being absolutely rotten to her in so many imaginative ways. However, once Lord B.

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I persevered and was left with a strong sense of how dull well-off women's lives could be in the early 19th C, nothing to do, no meaningful work, everything done I nearly gave up on this book during the first or so pages which moved very slowly. I persevered and was left with a strong sense of how dull well-off women's lives could be in the early 19th C, nothing to do, no meaningful work, everything done by invisible servants, and a woman must marry to have any standing in society.

This is an unusual book about the marriage of Lord and Lady Byron. I must admit that it took me a long time to read this because I was reading during my lunch break. Even though the author's style felt authentic to the early 19th century, at times it became very distracting and slowed the book's pace. This book might be interesting to avid fans of Lord Byron, but it's a little too cumbersome to be of interest to a broad audience.

It did, however, make me consider reading a more traditional biogr This is an unusual book about the marriage of Lord and Lady Byron.

It did, however, make me consider reading a more traditional biography of Byron. Jan 25, M Rothenbuhler rated it liked it. I enjoyed it very much and felt my mind a little more sharpened for having read it. It made me hate Lord Byron in a very sincere way, because it is basically the story of his one marriage. Prelude, duration, conclusion, aftermath; dissected into teeny tiny slivers.

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I should read a reliable biography of Lord Byron now, because I don't know how much of any of this fiction is based on fact. I actually didn't finish this - a very rare event for me. Avoid series that cross authors, unless the authors were or became aware of the series identification eg.

Also avoid publisher series, unless the publisher has a true monopoly over the "works" in question.

So, the Dummies guides are a series of works. But the Loeb Classical Library is a series of editions, not of works. Home Groups Talk Zeitgeist. I Agree This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and if not signed in for advertising.

Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms. Common Knowledge Series Byron Trilogy. Byron Trilogy Series by cover. Related places England, UK. How do series work? Byron Trilogy Series by cover 1—3 of 3 show all. A Novel by Benjamin Markovits.

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