The Making of a Marchioness

by Frances Hodgson Burnett and Mrs. Hodgson. Burnett

Book Overview

"He felt the scent and the golden glow of the sunset light as intensely as he felt the dead silence which reigned between himself and Hester almost with the effect of a physical presence."
--- Frances Hodgson Burnett, Emily Fox-Seton

First published in 1901, The Making of a Marchioness follows thirty-something Emily who lives alone, humbly and happily, in a tiny apartment and on a meager income. She is the one that everyone...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1500867535
• ISBN13: 9781500867539
• Release Date: August 2014
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 190 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A really, really charming novella.

I got a little tired of hearing the protagonist described over and over again, but overall this little story delivers exactly what I wanted and expected based on the author and description.

Fabulous

Emily Fox-Seton is poor--not desperately so, but genteel. She's a simple soul really, content in the simple pleasures of life, hating the life she was born into but not knowing that she deserves much better. For work, she takes on odd jobs for wealthy women. When Lady Maria invites her to a country house-party, Emily meets the marquis, Lord Walderhurst, who, to her surprise, asks her to marry him. What follows is "the making of a marchioness," as Emily adjusts to her new life. There, she meets two of Lord Walderhurst's relatives--his disgruntled heir presumptive, Captain Osborn, and wife Hester, just back from India. Frances Hodgson Burnett is better known for some of her other books (including The Secret Garden and Little Lord Fauntleroy), but The Making of a Marchioness is a fine novel as well. Emily is a bit too perfect, sometimes, but she's a sweet woman, blissfully ignorant of the bad feelings and thoughts of those around her. You just can't help but to like her. According to the preface, the author called Emily "a sort of Cinderella... with big feet instead of little ones." And indeed, this is a kind of Cinderella story. Walderhurst isn't a Prince Charming, though--he married not so much for love as for comfort, and he's taciturn at the best of times. Still, he loves Emily in his own strange way. This is a story that tries so hard not to be sentimental that it is, in a way. Like some of her other books, The Making of a Marchioness is about class--the pretension or lack thereof to enter into high society. It's also, on a way, about contrasts; nobody could be more different than Emily than Hester, and nobody could be more different from the very English maid Jane Cupp than Hester's ayah Ameerah. The novel was published in 1901, and in some ways it suffers from late Victorian and Edwardian prejudices towards Indians (there's even an Uncle Tom's Cabin reference in there somewhere). But if you can overlook this, this really is a charming little book. This is Persephone #29

We can see the happy ending coming...

But it doesn't matter a bit. The sweet character of the heroine and the charm of the narrative keep the reader totally engaged. Miss Emily Fox-Seton is thirty-five, steeped in genteel poverty, and quite cheerfully making do. She runs errands and does various secretarial services for rich patrons. She dresses with style on very little, appreciates every good thing that comes her way - and is perfectly unaware of her remarkable qualities. One of her patrons, old Lady Maria, invites Miss Fox-Seton to her country estate to help organize her summer entertaining. Miss Fox-Seton is thrilled to be getting a week in the county. Lady Maria's nephew, the widowed Marquis of Walderhurst, will be there. So will several gorgeous young women who would be happy to marry him. And the tale enfolds. This book was published in 1901, during the same era that New Woman literature was on the scene. But Miss Emily Fox-Seton is not a New Woman, even though she has the organizational powers of a high level PR executive. The Making of a Marchioness is a frothy, romantic, nostalgic societal fairy tale told with wit and grace. At the same time, there's something oddly deep about the portrait of Miss Fox-Seton, who sees everyone as kind and almost everything as delightful.

review

Very happy to obtain a copy of this book. Could have taken months haunting used book stores. In very good condition, esp considering it's age.

Hooray for Persephone!

Though famous for her children't books nowadays, this is one of Burnett's books for grown-ups. It is a sort of cheesy romance, but oh is it fun! Republished by Persephone Books, an independant published in London, this book is well worth purchasing: you'll read it again and again whenever you're looking for a fun, light, and well-written book on a rainy day.Written a hundred years ago, there is a sort of paternalistic-bordering-on-rascist attitude towards the Indian characters, but I don't think it's anything too egregious.When you've read this book, read "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day," by Winifred Watson and also published by Persephone.

wonderful book

I bought this book and The Methods of Lady Walderhurst (the sequel) just before my wedding. They are charming "shopgirl novels" in the nicest possible way. Poverty and difficulty at the start, marriage love and riches at the end. A lovely glimpse at another time.