The Romantic Comedians

by Ellen Glasgow

Book Overview

In The Romantic Comedians Ellen Glasgow takes the familiar story of the cuckold and raises it to a new leve. Her sixty-five-year-old male protagonist, the recently widowed Judge Gamaliel Honeywell,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813916151
• ISBN13: 9780813916156
• Release Date: March 1995
• Publisher: University of Virginia Press
• Length: 268 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.3"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Good book

This book starts out with 65-year-old judge Gaileil Honeywell feeling lonely. He has had a comfortable marriage for 30-some odd years, however he is now a widower. An obvious choice for his next wife is his old fiancee, who is still waiting for him, however he has no interest in her.What strikes his eye, though, is a striking 23-year old. Annabel has been recently dumped and is "through with love and young men". She is not attracted to the judge but finds him to be sophisticated and successful. She has been poor and desires a more comfortable life. After a brief romance, they marry. However, their generation gap quickly proves troublesome. About a year into their marriage, the judge has worn himself out trying to keep up with Annabel and becomes ill. Annabel, meanwhile, seems to enjoy going to dances and the judge's money has made her quite a catch. It isn't too long before she finds a young man who sweeps her off her feet.Glasgow, a feminist writer leaves some questions at the end of this book. Is she against marriage? Is this story merely a look at the changing morals after WWI? Should people dump Victorian standards in search of pleasure seeking? Does she approve of Annabel dumping her kindly husband for a younger man? Perhaps, Glasgow wrote this book as a warning for older men wanting younger woman (and vica versa) as Glasgow seems to have a keen understanding of the interrelationships between men and women.