TEST
Letters from an Age Of Reason is a big (648 pages), sprawling literary novel set mostly in England but featuring American characters. Protagonists Arabella and Aubrey do not conform to society’s expectations, like Edith Wharton’s character, Lily Bart. The novel is told through a combination of Arabella’s journal entries and Aubrey’s letters like Samuel Richardson’s Pamela. The author is a protege of the noted novelist E.L. Doctorow. “AHHH” screams the romance reader, “Literary fiction! I know what’s going to happen, I will grow to love Arabella and Aubrey, but horrid things will happen to them, and they’ll die.”
Well, no. The path to love and happiness for Aubrey and Arabella is not smooth, but Hauge is a romantic writer at heart. The title, Letters from an Age of Reason, may lead us to expect characters who incline toward sense and rationality, but instead they are filled with sensibility and passion, lots of passion. The journey that Aubrey and Arabella take is an eventful one, but there is a Happy Ending for them, so readers for whom that is a necessity, can rest assured.
Arabella Leeds is the daughter of a Proper New York family, however, she is not a proper young lady. At a seance party, Arabella pretends to be a medium herself and spills the secrets of several prominent families, so her parents take her to England to avoid scandal. There, Arabella continues her improper ways. She reads articles on sex in medical journals, she makes friends who introduce her to morphine injections and she loses her virginity. Clearly Arabella is not a model Victorian maiden.
Aubrey Paxton is a slave in a New Orleans home. He is handsome, educated, and so fair he is often mistaken for a white man. As he grows older, he becomes more and more dissatisfied with his lot. Yes, Aubrey is handsome, and intelligent, much more so than the pampered son of the Paxton household, but appearances, character (and paternal parentage) mean nothing – Aubrey is still a slave. Due to the war and Mr. Paxton’s wishes, Aubrey is freed. He takes a job on a ship, hoping to make his way to France, but instead winds up in England where due to a complicated set of circumstances (involving voodoo), he meets Arabella.
To say more would lay myself open to spoilers, so I will allow readers to make the journey themselves. I will reiterate that the ending is a happy one, so readers who have been burned by the de regieur unhappy endings of much literary fiction need not be afraid to tackle this book.
The structure is complex. This is an epistolary novel told through letters and journal entries by Arabella, Aubrey and others. These are kept separate by differing typefaces. Once I got used to this device, I was quite comfortable with it, although I did sometimes wonder how they didn’t get writer’s cramp and how Aubrey and Arabella were able to put down long stretches of conversation verbatim. But that was the way Nora Hague told the story, so I simply went with it. Both Aubrey and Arabella are complex characters who are uncomfortable with the constraints that society places on them, she by her sex, he by his race. They would be quite at home in the 21st century, but since this is the 19th, they have to go through much pain and suffering to find their way to happiness which they do.
Letters from an Age Of Reason is not a simple book, but it is a satifying one. The complex plot, characters and epistolary structure will appeal to lovers of the literary novel, while the happy ending and lush sensibilty will appeal to lovers of romances. If you are looking for a novel that is truly unique, a long one to immerse yourself in, pick up this one.
Grade: B
Book Type: Historical Fiction
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 20/01/02
Publication Date: 2002
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.