Irene Iddesleigh
by Amanda McKittrick Ros
Blurb:
When I went looking for a blurb for this book, I found instead the description on Wikipedia, which described it as "a romantic drama novel. ... Its publication in 1897 was financed by Ros's husband as a gift on their tenth wedding anniversary. The plot centers around the complicated love life of a Canterbury lady named Irene. It is widely considered one of the worst books of all time and has been panned by critics for its use of purple prose and poorly-constructed plot." I think that's about as much of a blurb as this one deserves!
My Reaction:
I read this with Donald for the 372 Pages We'll Never Get Back book club podcast. We'd never have read this, otherwise. I'd never heard of it before this, either, despite its apparent infamy.
I rarely read anything other than fairly "fluffy" books for fun, these days, but when I was younger and spent more time reading, I actually enjoyed "classics" and read them recreationally. I don't have trouble understanding old-fashioned writing, for the most part, but the intros ("fortune cookies", to fellow 372 listeners) to some of these chapters were... Phew.
Well, to be relatively brief, Irene Iddesleigh definitely deserves its reputation as a very poorly-written book. However, once you've marvelled over the bizarre, sometimes impenetrable writing style for a few chapters, you start to wonder if it's worth it... Is this all there is to it? Fortunately, there are some entertaining plot developments a bit further on, to save the day, and the book isn't long enough to have much of a chance to drag. There are laugh-out-loud moments, but to avoid spoilers, I'll just say that we enjoyed the unintentional humor. (The podcast makes it fun, too.)
Well, to be relatively brief, Irene Iddesleigh definitely deserves its reputation as a very poorly-written book. However, once you've marvelled over the bizarre, sometimes impenetrable writing style for a few chapters, you start to wonder if it's worth it... Is this all there is to it? Fortunately, there are some entertaining plot developments a bit further on, to save the day, and the book isn't long enough to have much of a chance to drag. There are laugh-out-loud moments, but to avoid spoilers, I'll just say that we enjoyed the unintentional humor. (The podcast makes it fun, too.)
After we finished this novel, we noticed that the author's self-published volumes of poetry were available to us for free (via Prime Unlimited), so we skimmed some of it, and wow, is it bad! If you have the chance to read her poetry for free, it's worth a chuckle or two. (I wouldn't spend a dime on it, though!)
I feel certain that this author wasn't a very pleasant person, in many ways. For instance, she's strangely insistent that her "hero" is a great man, despite all evidence to the contrary. Annoying! And then there's her poetry, which paints even more vividly the picture of a vicious personality. It's amusing that someone who saw fit to censor herself (dashes instead of the word "hell", for instance) was also wishing that some people's buttocks would be whipped with hooks. If you self-righteously chortle over the idea that So-and-So (some lawyer who angered you) is surely suffering eternal damnation in the fiery pits of Hell, I don't imagine God cares much whether or not you write out the actual word. Somehow, I don't think God is smiling approvingly, so why bother with the falsely conscientious, "Oh, no, I would never curse! Heavens to Betsy! How crass!" (Still, I can't deny I laughed at her over-the-top, bilious hatred of the lawyers of her acquaintance!)
