Sylvia's Lovers

Año 1796. Inglaterra está inmersa en las cruentas guerras napoleónicas y, pese a su aislamiento en las lejanas tierras del norte, los habitantes de Monkshaven también sufren con el conflicto. Sus marineros, curtidos en la pesca de la ballena, no solo deben enfrentarse a los peligros propios de su profesión, sino al riesgo de ser alistados forzosamente entre las filas de la Marina británica, falta de efectivos. Monkshaven sufre enormemente bajo los efectos de esta injusticia, pero sus habitantes intentan llevar una vida normal entre las preocupaciones propias de la vida cotidiana.<br />•<br />Las estaciones se suceden, los habitantes se entregan a sus quehaceres al compás del calendario agrícola, y Sylvia Robson, protagonista de la historia, descubre por primera vez lo que supone estar enamorada. El elegido no es su primo Philip, quien se desvive por ella y alberga la esperanza de convertirla en su esposa, sino Charles Kinraid, un apuesto y valeroso arponero que no tarda en conquistar el corazón de Sylvia. <br />Prometida con Kinraid, el triángulo amoroso parece tener los días contados, pero el destino interviene en el momento menos pensado. Bajo los ojos atentos de Philip, Kinraid es enrolado a la fuerza por el ejército...¿Tendrá Philip el valor de contarle lo ocurrido a Sylvia o aprovechará para actuar en su propio beneficio?<br />•<br />Gaskell afirmó que esta había sido, con diferencia, su novela más triste y en lo que a mi respecta, la congoja todavía me invade cada vez que pienso en la historia. Os he avisado porque, pese a lo que el título pueda sugerir, "Los amores de Sylvia" es un relato triste, muy triste. No esperéis encontrar en él una bella historia de amor. <br />Con esta, su única novela histórica ambientada en el siglo XVIII, Gaskell demuestra una vez más su magistral capacidad para esbozar el fiel retrato de localizaciones, costumbres y gentes. Su narración tiene una fuerza descriptiva y una atmósfera propia que te envuelven desde el primer capítulo. •<br /><br />Mientras uno está leyendo la novela piensa que no es extraño que Gaskell decidiese ambientar su historia en los inhóspitos acantilados de Monkshaven (inspirados por la población de Whitby, en Yorkshire). Todo en el libro tiene un carácter salvaje y nos traslada a un tiempo en que las pasiones y las fuerzas de los elementos se desataban violentamente. <br />Muy pocas veces el sol hace su aparición a lo largo de la historia. Esta es una narración velada por las brumas, la lluvia y el embravecido oleaje del mar del Norte. Mirad como describe Gaskell la situación del pequeño pueblo: "Los páramos salvajes y desolados circundaban Monkshaven por tierra con la misma eficacia con que lo hacían las aguas por mar". Así es como uno se siente al leer la novela, completamente aislado entre una naturaleza hostil que hace aflorar los peores instintos de las personas que la habitan. <br />Un ambiente trágico se instala desde los primeros compases de la novela, y poco a poco, va ganando en intensidad hasta llegar a unas escenas finales que te rompen el corazón. Creo que "Los amores de Sylvia" no es el título idóneo para acercarse a la obra de Gaskell por primera vez; pero si habéis disfrutado ya de títulos como "Cranford" o "Norte y Sur", no dudéis en embarcaros en esta historia, sin duda la obra más atmosférica de Gaskell y una lectura perfecta para esta época otoñal.

In spite of the racy title, this book has no sex in it whatever. It was written in a simpler age, when Lovers meant people who loved someone. So, if you're looking for salacious writing, you've come to the wrong place.<br /><br />I've recently found an interest in Elizabeth Gaskell when I saw the mini-series Wives and Daughters (I bought the DVDs). Since then I've read a few more of her novels: Wives and Daughters, North and South, and now Sylvia's Lovers. I love the way this author looks into the hearts of her characters. There are no villains, just people who struggle to find happiness. Sometimes in the process, they might injure others, but it is rarely malicious. Some of her characters are truely saintly in their efforts to do the right thing. You go away feeling as if you know every character better than you know yourself. Elizabeth Gaskell has amazing human insight.<br /><br />This story is not a romance. It is a redemption tale, beginning with establishing relationships and dynamics between characters, it progresses through tragedy and unexpected character development, to the end when moral courage triumphs over romance.

Sylvia es una joven con muy pocas dotes intelectuales pero de gran belleza y encanto, de ahí que dos hombres quieran hacerse con sus favores.<br />Parece una típica novela inglesa victoriana de tacita de té, pero tiene un trasfondo poco conocido, un secreto y un final inesperado en este tipo de novelas.<br />Viniendo de "la Gaskell" siempre recomendable.

Fascinating tale about God and Love by a very Fine authoress who felt to dedicate her novel (1863) to her dear husband, specifically with her own words “this book is dedicated to my dear husband by her who best knows his value”. <br />This killed me, that is to say softly, and, guess what? It (again) led me into the fire of temptation! Poor sinful me! But, for a complete confession: I have sinned so far only with Gaskell – not before! God forbid! This is my second chance to be and get redeemed – but, alas! If only I knew I am so full of human weakness, which is to say I am not, haha ;))<br />Truly, sometimes just few lines of text can mark one for good, at least for some long time to make it different in the case of the respective person. I knew I wanted to read more of her works – after ‘North and South’ made me get my flight into the heaven of earth, so to say it is also here, on ground, not just to be found flying up on the white fluffy clouds… I wanted to read more about love, of course! Why not! So, what links best with love? Why, surely: Lovers! What can sound better or more irresistible than Lovers in the title of a book? And it is not just one (lover), but a plural word. Wonderful to have found this book – Sylvia’s Lovers! Though, despite my awaken sentiments and feelings, reason wise I think it is an exaggeration of a life tale, well but then again in prose fiction that is allowed too, isn’t it?<br />So I took the grand slalom and put my finger on the last page - it was not clear what happened in the story, so I moved backwards like a crab, something started to glitter and I got some pieces of the puzzle put together, but it was not a sunny bright warm sunshine ray, it was just a filmy gloomy mist, ahh, no! This is an ill-fated tale. I got so sorry, even before starting to read the first page chronologically wise, that is to say, I have suffered for each and every page I have read from the start to the end of it.<br />Fine! I had to pay for my sin, just make it even: you cheat, then you give something back, isn’t it?…So, what to do now but just embrace myself tightly and dive deep into the unknown wild wide ocean of this complicated history. And it was indeed a perilous adventure, as it is always for me having in mind that I still didn’t learn swimming, though I love the sea “with its ceaseless waves lapping against the shelving shore” so greatly, same like its immensity, and, oddly enough, this acts like a leitmotiv in the novel too, from start to end: the sea and its unfathomable depth is the landscape for this story of regrets and hopes, more or less vain, except those wishes that lay profoundly hidden in the soul, awaiting the awakening and fulfilment beyond the dim horizon, or better said, behind the veil of the sea…<br />There are some very touching chapters of the novel, too melodramatic, which made me think on the Indian drama movies (well, those that I’ve seen in my early youth with my parents rolling out in the cinema). I couldn’t stop my mind winding and rewinding some couple of songs that seemed latent in my memory archive, no special reason to have them circulated within my ears or even by chance to get on them, one saying “Love hurts” by Nazareth (lyrics copy-paste at the end of the review) and the other “Love of my life” (of course, sung by no one else than Queen, Freddie Mercury)…<br />Anyhow, there are only two lovers of Sylvia’s, I thought they are more, but curiously enough, they are yet just two. Well, good that they are! Sometimes they don’t exist at all!<br />To tell the truth, on one side, the background of the story, in a sense its historical setting, put me a bit in difficulty because of my ignorance. I was introduced in the plot of the story somewhere in the very far away year of 1793 till beginning of 1800, in the area of north-eastern English coast. There was a war, violence and riots – people are killed or kidnapped by press-gangs to fill the “men-to-war” ships – between some British, French, Turks, other nations somewhere in Jerusalem…, famine, starvation, hard living conditions in the small coastal towns in the northern part of England, complex and difficult as always human relations, with emphasis on human passions – love and jealousy – and the difficulty of learning the lesson and power of forgiveness, the conscience-stricken impact of a lie in spoiling a human life, etc, etc, eventually, it is a bigger story about the life of sailors, shopkeepers, and peasants.<br />That seemed to be a very particular epoch and I was sadly impressed by the system (well, why not, we can call it as such) of impressment in the British navy, and the doings (actually, wrong-doings) of the press-gang activities along the coasts, the hardships it inflicted, the indignation it aroused, the consequences in the local families. I had to learn more about the history of this “system”, so I googled Wikipedia, and some light was shed on the darkness of my ignorance. Now I feel much, but much better!<br />On the other side, I was greatly interested in the tale of Sylvia’s life and her surrounding relatives, that is to say, I was touched deeply by the tale of the unvarnished joys and sorrows of a few simple folks.<br />Now, having them as a closed story, I feel my sympathy goes to the two main characters – Sylvia and Philip - in equal quantity, although during the story-telling flow I have had my partisanship inclination. They were not perfect – far from it – but they strived to be themselves according to their own interpretation and understanding. So sad to love, as per individual pattern of love, and to feel and know that love is not returned. Yeah, this is most difficult to comprehend. Better not try to, just skip this stage. Best is to enjoy the feel of love and move further, and let free, release rapidly the outburst of agonized and unrequited love. More to come, if only it is invited, that is to say, Love is always shyly knocking at the door, if only we don’t shut it with heavy locks and keys…<br /><br />≪ “Oh, Sylvie, let me help yo'! I cannot do what God can,—I'm not meaning that, but I can do next to Him of any man. I have loved yo' for years an' years, in a way it's terrible to think on, if my love can do nought now to comfort yo' in your sore distress.” ≫<br /><br />≪ “With God all things are possible,' said she, repeating the words as though to lull her anxiety to rest. Yes; with God all things are possible. But ofttimes He does his work with awful instruments. There is a peacemaker whose name is Death.” ≫<br /><br />I am glad this fine, lengthy book somehow fell to my lot, its charm attracted me from backwards (final scene) to beginning (for your information, or as a warning, it’s better not to proceed like this, it spoilts the moods…) and then gradually took hold of me with overpowering force, in spite of the difficult dialect (that actually increased my white hair with a dozen of threads..), and I venture to call it a favourite now. It is one of the saddest stories I ever read. It wasted me a full pack of tissues last night, which reminds me that sometimes it’s good to over-stock (one never knows when some extra tissue is sadly needed). It feels as a sort of balm to my conscience that I have read it, and my heart is being now almost too full for words…<br /><br />“Love hurts”<br />Love scars<br />Love wounds and marks<br />Any heart not tough or strong enough<br />To take a lot of pain, take a lot of pain<br />Love is like a cloud, it holds a lot of rain<br />Love hurts<br />Ooh love hurts<br />I'm young<br />I know<br />But even so<br />I know a thing or two, I learned from you<br />I really learned a lot, really learned a lot<br />Love is like a flame, it burns you when it's hot<br />Love hurts<br />Ooh love hurts<br />Some fools think<br />Of happiness, blissfulness, togetherness<br />Some fools fool themselves, I guess<br />They're not foolin' me<br />I know it isn't true I know it isn't true<br />Love is just a lie made to make you blue<br />Love hurts<br />Ooh love hurts<br />Ooh love hurts<br />I know it isn't true<br />I know it isn't true<br />Love is just a lie made to make you blue<br />Love hurts<br />Ooh love hurts<br />Ooh, love hurts, ooh<br /><br /><br />“Love of my life”<br />Love of my life, you've hurt me<br />You've broken my heart and now you leave me<br />Love of my life, can't you see?<br />Bring it back, bring it back<br />Don't take it away from me, because you don't know<br />What it means to me<br />Love of my life, don't leave me<br />You've stolen my love, you now desert me<br />Love of my life, can't you see?<br />Bring it back, bring it back <br />Don't take it away from me, because you don't know<br />What it means to me<br />You will remember<br />When this is blown over<br />Everything's all by the way<br />When I grow older<br />I will be there…

This took me a little while to get into, but ultimately I loved it. The book is so dramatic and beautifully written, especially from the second half onwards, and the ending is so, so powerful. I love Elizabeth Gaskell's writing, and even if the dialect was a bar for me at first, I strongly recommend sticking with it. A brilliant novel.

This novel was such a find for me. I loved it from the outset, and it kept me with it almost all the way through. It seems extraordinary to me that this has generally been regarded as a minor work, and “one for the specialists.” For me, it was a potent and intelligent mid-Victorian novel, fully up to the level of the same author’s <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/156538.North_and_South" title="North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell" rel="noopener">North and South</a>.<br /><br />A couple of things I love about Elizabeth Gaskell: her willingness to engage properly (and not in a patronizing way) with working-class characters, and the brilliant way in which she forges connections between personal histories and larger political themes. Among the great nineteenth-century English female novelists, George Eliot seems to me her only equal in those regards. I was interested to read in the—rather weak—introduction to the Penguin Classics edition that Gaskell was reading <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/20563.Adam_Bede" title="Adam Bede by George Eliot" rel="noopener">Adam Bede</a> in 1859, during the time of her initial visit to Whitby, in Yorkshire, where <i>Sylvia’s Lovers</i> is set. <br /><br />Gaskell exploits the tough, feisty, cliff-hung Whitby superbly in the novel, drawing particularly on two aspects of the town’s history: its involvement in the whaling trade in Greenland until the early nineteenth century, and the role that smuggling played in its economy. Gaskell sets the novel in the 1790s, at the time of the Napoleonic Wars, which allows her to play off the anti-state agency of the smugglers against the state-sponsored violence of the press gangs raising manpower for the wars. This is handled very well and weaves its way right into the weft of the novel, in terms of both theme and plot. <br /><br />The characterisation in <i>Sylvia’s Lovers</i> I found quite magnificent. Gaskell makes a bold stake with Sylvia in getting us to sympathise with the figure who is generally the less sympathetic of female characters in nineteenth-century novels—beautiful, vain, volatile, impulsive—relegating the watchful, intelligent Hester, whom we would normally be called on to identify with, to a minor role. I liked both of them very much, as also the paired male characters, repressed Philip and strutting Kinraid; and the rich range of minor figures, such as Sylvia’s parents and their loyal farmhand Kester, all of whom are beautifully drawn. Philip, in particular—who is, in many ways, the key figure in the novel—seems to me quite a remarkable portrait, but there is no one, even down to quite minor characters, who does not get his or her due.<br /><br />There are some aspects of this novel that are not so great. It’s true, as critics have said, that it descends into melodrama to some extent in its last third, and it never quite recaptures the wonderful pacing of the first third. I suspect there are mitigating circumstances for this; I gather from the introduction to my edition that Gaskell was under pressure to finish the novel, and the ending was very probably rushed. <br /><br />Who cares, though? It would be great to find a novel that worked all the way through, but how rarely does that happen? What we have here is a sharply characterised, interestingly structured, intellectually engaged novel, written by a great writer at the top of her game. Perhaps that will do!<br />

Available free at Librivox, here: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://librivox.org/sylvias-lovers-by-elizabeth-gaskell/">https://librivox.org/sylvias-lovers-b...</a><br /><br />The Librivox version has unfortunately several narrators! They range from very good to terrible. Overall, the listening experience is thus choppy, disconnected and not enjoyable, despite that you can for the most part hear the words. The narration, as a whole, I have given two stars; it’s OK. There is a heavy use of patois, which is not always easy to comprehend, particularly when the narration is mumbled or indistinct. The multiple narrators <b>do</b> give the listener the opportunity to consider the extent to which a narrator influences one’s comprehension and appreciation of a book. Analyzing this I found rather interesting.<br /><br />What do you do if you have enjoyed your way through a book but the conclusion takes a turn not to your liking? I was going to give the book four stars but reduced it to three. The change in tone and focus as the book approaches its end is not to my liking. It turns didactic, moral, religious. A lesson is to be learned and a message is to be conveyed. That the story itself is sad doesn’t bother me in the least. Elizabeth Gaskell declared this novel to be “the saddest story I ever wrote.”<br /><br />The book describes life in England on the rugged northeastern coast of Yorkshire during the last decade of the 1700s. This was during the Napoleonic Wars—the French and the English saw each other as enemies. Smuggling and press gangs were an ingredient of daily life. Young men, the lifeblood of the community, predominantly sailors, whalers and harpooners, were being seized and forced into service to fight against the French. I very much like the description of Yorkshire life, of the town, the sea, the people and their way of life. All of this is intimately drawn through the story’s characters. Life on the coast is harsh but at the same time atmospherically drawn. The blend of realism and beauty fits me to a T.<br /><br />The story has very good character portrayal. We see individuals diametrically opposed. I like the variety. We come to understand the different characters, both their innate character traits and how life experiences mold them.<br /><br />Two men love Sylvia but each in their own very different way. Which is best? What <b>is</b> that spark of love? How do you describe the magic of it? Can love arise in response to another’s steadfast devotion? These are the questions the book circles around. <br /><br />Good writing and good character portrayal are delivered here in this book. I like its accurate historical content. I don’t like the lesson it tries to teach us at the end. I believe in and value love��s natural spark. <br /><br />As always, I separate my rating of the book from the audiobook narration. <br /><br />****************************<br /><br />*<a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/383206.Wives_and_Daughters" title="Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell" rel="noopener">Wives and Daughters</a> 4 stars<br />*<a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/15924986.Mary_Barton" title="Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell" rel="noopener">Mary Barton</a> 4 stars<br />*<a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/338807.Ruth" title="Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell" rel="noopener">Ruth</a> 4 stars<br />*<a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/620559.Sylvia_s_Lovers" title="Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell" rel="noopener">Sylvia's Lovers</a> 3 stars<br />*<a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/2175257.Cousin_Phillis" title="Cousin Phillis by Elizabeth Gaskell" rel="noopener">Cousin Phillis</a> 3 stars<br />*<a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/12065949.North_and_South" title="North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell" rel="noopener">North and South</a> 2 stars<br />*<a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/182381.Cranford" title="Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell" rel="noopener">Cranford</a> 2 stars<br />*<a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/1166155.Mr__Harrison_s_Confessions" title="Mr. Harrison's Confessions by Elizabeth Gaskell" rel="noopener">Mr. Harrison's Confessions</a> 1 star<br />*<a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/24874305.The_Old_Nurse_s_Story" title="The Old Nurse's Story by Elizabeth Gaskell" rel="noopener">The Old Nurse's Story</a> TBR

I am literally just wandering around the house processing my thoughts about this novel. And occasionally turning on and singing to an angst-filled Broadway song to help with the processing process. ?<br /><br /><input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="1cb9ff74-5146-4723-bd4c-01fec3a2c2d1" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="1cb9ff74-5146-4723-bd4c-01fec3a2c2d1"> The back of my book set me up for some excellent and completely unexpected dramatic irony. Here's what it says: "Sylvia is loved by two men, her serious cousin Philip and the charismatic sailor Charley Kinraid. When one of them betrays her, her path in life seems fixed." I never questioned my assumption that Charley was the one who betrays her until I got to the part in the book where Philip does not tell Sylvia that Charley was captured by the press gang. I was flabbergasted. And suddenly the book got so much more interesting. I <i>never</i> expected that Philip would be the betrayer! The way this plays out in the plot is tragic, but also fascinating. <br /><br />That being said, I was a little bothered by the fact that Charley does marry and relatively quickly. His marriage is essential to the plot, but does it prove Philip's point that he was inconstant? Or did he simply realize that there was no possible way for him and Sylvia to be together? I'm undecided. <br /><br />I am also undecided about Daniel's act of "vengeful violence". That is also from the synopsis on the back of the book, and I found his actual act to be way less intense than I anticipated and the consequences to be far worse. I'm still hung up about the way the press gang rang the fire bell to flush eligible men out of their homes on what they thought was a mission of mercy only to be snared by a trap. In my mind, that is far more deserving of punishment than Daniel's act. Perhaps Daniel's act is so bad in that it incited other men to do far worse than what he himself did. I can't believe how little justice he had though. <br /><br />In the end, I found Philip's character arc to be the most compelling in the story, especially when he saves Charley Kinraid in the Middle East and when he dies while saving his own child. It begs the question: "How much reparation does a man need to make for a moral failing?" I think the tragedy is in the tension of the question. In one sense, the answer is there can be no reparation because what is done is done. But in another sense, the answer to the question is one simple word: redemption. Tragedy can only be redeemed and that is a far greater mystery than we can ever come to terms with on this side of heaven. But the glory of being human is that we can be open to the mystery and we can wrestle with it as Jacob wrestled with the angel. That's the beauty of reading a novel like this and being thrown into the midst of its very human dilemmas and heartache, too. We can practice the wrestling and become more fit for the task when it involves our own lives. <br /><br />Overall, I enjoyed this novel less than Gaskell's other novels. I found Sylvia to be a less compelling heroine than Ruth, Molly, or Margaret. But even a lesser liked Gaskell is still a novel to be savored and revisited. </label>

2.5 stars. I've enjoyed Elizabeth Gaskell before but just could get into any joy reading this. This was very much one of those classics I found a tad bit dusty at times and Phillip was an huge asshole. I'm glad I've read it but not something I think I'll rush to reread.

I am so excited that I have discovered Elizabeth Gaskell! I'm anxious to read all of her books - two down, four to go. I love the way Gaskell describes how a historic crises affects ordinary people. In "North and South", it is a strike within the textile industry. In "Sylvia's Lovers", it is the British military practice of impressment (referred to as "the press gangs") during the French wars with Napoleon. <br /><br />I also love how Gaskell juxtaposes different characters to highlight various strengths and weaknesses. Philip Hepburn and Charley Kinraid both love Sylvia, but one is steady, conservative, and predictable whereas the other is passionate, visionary, and unreliable. It would be nice to create the perfect lover by combining the two of them, but there is no such thing as a perfect man; so I had fun trying to decide who would make the better choice.<br /><br />Finally, I really enjoy Gaskill's themes of innocence, deceit, forgiveness, and redemption. Even though her characters lived long ago, I could still relate and participate in their joys, sorrows, and lessons about life.