conversations.from: human
conversations.value: a description for a book titled The Sealed Letter about Emily, Victorian, Reed with the genre: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: Starred Review. In 1864 London, after a separation of seven years, Helen, now the wife of Vice-Admiral Codrington, bumps into her old friend Emily Faithful, now a well-known feminist and independent printer. As the author (<I>Slammerkin</I>) deliciously unspools the twisted roots of their intimacy, Emily soon finds herself party to Helen's clandestine affair and snared in the sensational divorce proceedings that ensue (and which are based on an actual case from the period). the author's elegantly styled, richly woven tale absorbs the everyday lives of Victorian women (rich, poor, working, home-bound, feminist, adulteress) and men (officer, lawyer, minister, adulterer, even an amateur detective) in a colorful tapestry of spiraling intrigue, innuendo, speculation and mystery. Characters indulge in pleasures at which Victorian novels could only hint, and which the author renders with aplomb. Period details&mdash;etiquette, typesetting, dress, medical treatments, public amusements, shipping and jurisprudence&mdash;are rendered with a spare exactitude organic to the story. the author's latest has style and scandal to burn. <I>(Sept.)</I> <BR>Copyright &copy; Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Delete the first sentence.
conversations.from: assistant
conversations.value: In 1864 London, after a separation of seven years, Helen, now the wife of Vice-Admiral Codrington, bumps into her old friend Emily Faithful, now a well-known feminist and independent printer. As the author (<I>Slammerkin</I>) deliciously unspools the twisted roots of their intimacy, Emily soon finds herself party to Helen's clandestine affair and snared in the sensational divorce proceedings that ensue (and which are based on an actual case from the period). the author's elegantly styled, richly woven tale absorbs the everyday lives of Victorian women (rich, poor, working, home-bound, feminist, adulteress) and men (officer, lawyer, minister, adulterer, even an amateur detective) in a colorful tapestry of spiraling intrigue, innuendo, speculation and mystery. Characters indulge in pleasures at which Victorian novels could only hint, and which the author renders with aplomb. Period details&mdash;etiquette, typesetting, dress, medical treatments, public amusements, shipping and jurisprudence&mdash;are rendered with a spare exactitude organic to the story. the author's latest has style and scandal to burn. <I>(Sept.)</I> <BR>Copyright &copy; Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.