Dragonwyck

by Anya Seton

Book Overview

In this magnificent novel set in nineteenth-century New York, a young woman looking for passion and purpose finds herself lost in a sprawling mansion whose long-buried secrets threaten to tear her whole world apart.

In the spring of 1844, the family of Miranda Wells receives an invitation from a distant relative, the wealthy landowner Nicholas Van Ryn, to visit his Hudson Valley estate, Dragonwyck. Eighteen-year-old Miranda,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0544223403
• ISBN13: 9780544223400
• Release Date: October 2013
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.3" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A true American gothic!

I am quite a big fan of classic gothic love stories. Jane Eyre is one of my all-time favorite gothic romances, which is why I cannot believe it took me so long to give Anya Seton's Dragonwyck a whirl. This is a wonderful, yet underrated piece of fiction, "a classic in the tradition of Jane Eyre and Rebecca," as the back cover blurb says. Set in the year 1844, Dragonwyck tells the story of Miranda Wells, an eighteen-year-old daughter of a strict farmer. She has romantic notions of being swept by her feet by a tall, dark and handsome man. She also dreams of a better life. So when she is invited to work as a governess for her cousin, the dark and dashing New York aristocrat Nicholas Van Ryn at the Dragonwyck estate, she feels her dreams are coming true. Dragonwyck is an enormous estate that is often visited by the European nobility and American gentry. And Nicholas is as handsome as the men in the romance novels she reads and, in spite of his being married to the unpleasant glutton Johanna, Miranda cannot help but fall for her charming, yet mysterious cousin. But Dragonwyck is full of dark secrets and mysteries, taken from a curse that began some generations ago. And the rent wars that go on between the disgruntled farmers and their proud, arrogant master make things all the worse. A local doctor, Jeff Turner, is in charge of helping the farmers change the farm-rent laws, and in the process more conflict ensues between the people in Hudson Valley and the Dragonwyck estate. There are more twists throughout the novel. This is one dark novel! The gothic elements aren't overdone here like I've read in some novels. Instead, the gothic elements blend quite well with a well-researched backdrop of the manor system and the New York gentry and a plot that is beautifully constructed and developed. This one is darker than Jane Eyre. I compare it to Jane Eyre because there are some similarities between these two novels (and it is also similar to North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell), but this one is an excellent love story in its own right. I enjoyed the characters. Even though it was obvious to me that Nicholas was the antagonist in this novel, I nevertheless fell in love with him. Anti-heroes have always intrigued me more than the sweet, good-doer types (in this case being Jeff Turner) and this character intrigued me from beginning to end. He is an enigma, very complex and unpredictable, for despite his reservations, condescending treatment to his workers, poor treatment of his young daughter, and other dark qualities, his love for Miranda is evident from the very first pages. Miranda romanticizes both Nicholas and the grandeur of Dragonwyck, and her realization of how things are really like with the farmers and the society people she wants to be accepted more than anything is staggering. Like all gothic novels, there are ghosts and an eccentric character, but these elements only enhance the overall sinister feel of this novel. I truly

a powerful love story and exploration of addiction

Anyone who has ever loved a drug addict or alcoholic will find a great deal of resonance in Anya Seton's powerful romantic novel "Dragonwyck." Miranda Wells, a young girl from a Connecticut farm family, finds herself in the world of old New York aristocracy, which is at first glamorous but becomes increasingly sinister and ugly as the veneer is stripped away. The confusion and torment of living with a man who loves his opium more than he loves her brings her to make some hard decisions, which in the end will save her sanity and her life. This is a very well-written novel about lost innocence and virtue regained through suffering. I loved this novel and highly recommend it!

A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME...

This is a beautifully written work of historical fiction, set in 1840s New York. It focuses on a young Connecticut woman, Miranda Wells, who sees a change in her station in life through a chance invitation by a wealthy distant cousin. Handsome, gallant, and a renaissance man in terms of his interests, Nicholas Van Ryn invites his young cousin to visit and stay at his lavish home in upstate Hudson, New York and act as a companion for his young daughter. When she meets him for the first time, Miranda is smitten, as Nicholas is the embodiment of all her romantic yearnings. Moreover, her stay at his luxurious, palatial home on the Hudson River, a mansion with the fanciful name of Dragonwyck, is an answer to her prayers and a chance to escape the hard work and tedium that has been her lot on her family's Connecticut farm. Dragonwyck, however, has its share of secrets and a miasma of evil that lurks in its halls and grand rooms. The only thorn in Miranda's side is her cousin's wife, Johanna, who does not care for having a younger, more attractive woman, bustling about the house and preening before her husband. Johanna finds ways to make her feelings understood by Miranda, but Miranda, reckless in her admiration for her cousin Nicholas and relatively naive, is somewhat obtuse. Moreover, there is a pre-existing undercurrent of tension between husband and wife in the Dragonwyck household of which Miranda is seemingly oblivious. Miranda's presence exacerbates the tension in the household that, ultimately, ends in tragedy for all concerned. It is that tragedy that will, for Miranda, mark the beginning of a life journey that will provide some painful and unsettling lessons. It is a journey that will ensure a measure of painful self-discovery and remove the rose colored glasses through which she had viewed her world. The book is well researched and redolent with information about the Dutch influence in New York and its aristocracy. It details many of the issues and traditions that were germane to the period and is richly descriptive of a way of life in New York, both downstate and upstate, that has since gone by the wayside. It intertwines a number of historical events and personages with the lives of those characters who are at the heart of this wonderful and vastly entertaining book. It is a book that will keep the reader turning the pages until the very last.

A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME...

This is a beautifully written work of historical fiction, set in 1840s New York. It focuses on a young Connecticut woman, Miranda Wells, who sees a change in her station in life through a chance invitation by a wealthy distant cousin. Handsome, gallant, and a renaissance man in terms of his interests, Nicholas Van Ryn invites his young cousin to visit and stay at his lavish home in upstate Hudson, New York and act as a companion for his young daughter. When she meets him for the first time, Miranda is smitten, as Nicholas is the embodiment of all her romantic yearnings. Moreover, her stay at his luxurious, palatial home on the Hudson River, a mansion with the fanciful name of Dragonwyck, is an answer to her prayers and a chance to escape the hard work and tedium that has been her lot on her family's Connecticut farm. Dragonwyck, however, has its share of secrets and a miasma of evil that lurks in its halls and grand rooms. The only thorn in Miranda's side is her cousin's wife, Johanna, who does not care for having a younger, more attractive woman, bustling about the house and preening before her husband. Johanna finds ways to make her feelings understood by Miranda, but Miranda, reckless in her admiration for her cousin Nicholas and relatively naive, is somewhat obtuse. Moreover, there is a pre-existing undercurrent of tension between husband and wife in the Dragonwyck household of which Miranda is seemingly oblivious.Miranda's presence exacerbates the tension in the household that, ultimately, ends in tragedy for all concerned. It is that tragedy that will, for Miranda, mark the beginning of a life journey that will provide some painful and unsettling lessons. It is a journey that will ensure a measure of painful self-discovery and remove the rose colored glasses through which she had viewed her world.The book is well researched and redolent with information about the Dutch influence in New York and its aristocracy. It details many of the issues and traditions that were germane to the period and is richly descriptive of a way of life in New York, both downstate and upstate, that has since gone by the wayside. It intertwines a number of historical events and personages with the lives of those characters who are at the heart of this wonderful and vastly entertaining book. It is a book that will keep the reader turning the pages until the very last.

A Generational Favorite

This book enjoys a special place in my grandmother's bookshelves, and both she and my mom always told me when I was little that I should read it someday. So a few years ago, on an extended vacation to my grandparent's house (which, I have to say, can be nearly as creepy at night as Dragonwyck) I picked up the book and curled up in a corner with it. I absolutely couldldn't put it down. Miranda is an engaging character who you instantly identify with because I think everyone feels sometimes the sense of oppression of their mundane lives. It definitely fits in nicely with the Gothic romance of the time, though doesn't *quite* stand up to Hawthorne's THe House of the Seven Gables. However, Seton's language is wonderfully detailed and captures the beauties and terrors of the moments to a point where you are nearly breathless. I highly recommend finding yourself a copy, no matter how dog-eared, and immerse yourself in Dragonwyck.