As I have said before I seem to have a thing for Irish (female) writers. One I have just finished is by Emma Donoghue. I read her first book Room a few years ago and it was amazing. Room was shortlisted for the Man Booker 2010 and Orange prize (Donoghue, 2010). It was so clever as it is narrated from the point of view of a five year old boy and at that time having a young nephew it really made sense language wise (another reason I loved it.) Room is a psychological setting of imprisonment. It is quite chilling and really scares at times but these things really do happen and that is what Emma captures in her writing.
Anyway back to the book in discussion. I finished The Sealed Letter which was recommended by my library. I rushed it as I have been struggling with reading time; due to my studying deadlines (two assessments in one month)... Good luck by the way to any fellow 'A215'ers' reading this : D. It is due back to the library today; so writing this post while fresh in the memory!
Emma Donoghue is a very talented clever writer. She has a PhD in English (Donoghue, 2011,p.477). The Sealed Letter discusses the issue of marriage in Victorian times, particularly regarding a specific divorce case of 'The Codrington's'; which was in all the papers in 1864. It focuses on a character Emily Faithful aka Fido, who was one of the first women's rights advocates and ran a newspaper/ magazine press. I studied the later Suffrage Movement in another previous course with the OU and also A150 just now regarding Victorian England and Dickens so I found this book even more educational.
At the back of her book Emma is interviewed by Chris Roulston about 'The M Word' (marriage that is) and reflects throughout on historical evidence and how fiction can be made from such writings (Roulston in Donoghue, 2011, pp. 477-482). I found the discussion very conductive to the demise of modern day marriage and how things have changed so much since Victorian times under English law. Well worth a read if you like Dickens/ Victorian era and also enjoy the psychology of love and how it can ruin life. This story is told at times in a feminist view and at the time of the setting that was a dangerous thing to do - controversial and awful how the women's lives were decided and they lost more than just face. We have so much freedom nowadays as the law has dramatically changed on divorce. Not sure if that is a good or a bad thing? Anyway that's enough philosophising for one day...
You can see more about these books from Amazon here and view more about Emma on her website here.
Bibliography:
Donoghue, E. Room, 2010, London, Picador.
Donoghue, E. The Sealed Letter, 2011, London, Picador.
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