The Girl in the Gatehouse

The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen

Bethany House, 2010

391 pages

Historical Christian Romance

4/5 stars

Source: Library

I tried to read The Apothecary's Daughter last year and was disappointed, leading me to label it a DNF.  But I thought this would be different when I opened the book to a quote from Mansfield Park and saw character names bringing to mind that book.  Anything that closely influenced by Austen will probably please me and this mostly did so.

Mariah has been kicked out by her father for her indiscretion and she goes to live in the gatehouse of her aunt's estate, contenting herself with novel writing and spinsterhood.  After her aunt's death, young Captain Bryant lets the house.  He is set on marrying a girl who previously spurned him as beneath her but also develops a friendship with Mariah.  Obviously a romance blossoms but I felt that their story was the weakest overall.  Mariah's feelings over her disgrace, despite being historically accurate, grated on me.  And Bryant acted like a jerk to her; luckily he has a friend who tells him so.

Besides the main romance, there were many subplots-too many in my opinion.  Mariah's former governess and now companion, Dixon, ends up in a love triangle.  Mariah's aunt's stepson intrigues in multiple ways.  A mysterious man lives in the poorhouse across the way; his past is deeply tied to the estate and the sea.  And then there are several little stories in the poorhouse itself.  I enjoyed these subplots and I was able to keep them straight in my mind but I just felt that there were too many.

The writing is fine, without the sharp edge of Austen, but still good.  Historical details were sprinkled in especially about the writing process and how Mariah had to keep it secret because novel writing was scandalous.  The bit that jarred was when the rake who ruined Mariah confessed to such and talked about the double standard.  Would that have really happened? I think not.

The religious aspect was pretty low-key but basically revolves around Mariah needing to forgive herself and Bryant needing to stop striving for his father's good opinion and finding contentment in his Father's grace.  There weren't many Scripture references but there were more than a few discussions about forgiveness and the afterlife.

Overall: A story that owes a great debt to Austen and is a fast, enjoyable read.

Cover: I love the gatehouse, the actual gatehouse that inspired Klassen she shares, and the green and purple.

Read for Christian Fiction Book Club. Hosted by Joy at Edgy Inspirational Romance.

2.  Mariah's situation (sent away after an indiscretion to live in relative isolation) was loosely based on the fate of one of Jane Austen's characters in Mansfield Park (although Maria Bertram was a married woman who had an affair). Did you think Mariah Aubrey's father treated her unfairly? How have attitudes toward "virtue and vice" changed since the early 1800s?

I think her father was a bit unfair.  I understand his decision to send away his daughter because she had disgraced the family but I think her siblings could still have been allowed to interact with Mariah, especially Henry who as a male was held to different standards.  He also could have given her sufficient money by allowing her mother to designate an allowance.  In general attitudes are more permissive (at least in America, a non-virgin woman can still marry anyone) but the double standard persists: women are more likely to be labeled sluts while guys are cheered.  There does seem to be some lessening of that but not enough in my opinion.

6. Did you find yourself growing fond of any character that you did not care for at the outset? Which character was your favorite? Why?

At first I didn't like Dixon because she made me think of the character in North and South, who I don't like.  But this Dixon is quite different and her romance ended up being one of my favorite aspects.  As to a favorite character, I guess I liked Martin the most.  I wanted to like Mariah and Matthew but they had a couple of really annoying aspects to their story so Martin's general goodness shined through the best for me.

Christian Fiction Book Club: Pearl in the Sand

 Hosted this month by Gina at Hott Books.

Discussion (Review coming later):

First I wanted to say that I really liked this book and there is a positive review coming for it! Next it was hard limiting myself to only a few questions because if I tried to answer all 24, this would have been the longest blog post ever.  But I think I chose some good ones and I can't wait to see what other people thought!

9. What made Rahab willing to risk her life in order to save the Jewish spies?
 The way Rahab was able to sense God and act on it was why she was willing to risk her life.  Without knowing really anything about Him, she sensed that he was protecting His people and she wanted to be with Him.  Furthermore by meeting the spies, she had a connection to the Jewish camp and the opportunity to learn more about their God.

11. In Chapter Eight, Joshua accuses Salmone of growing judgmental in his attempt to become righteous. What do you think that means?
Salmone wants to be a righteous man of God but he seems to think that means letting people know when they're wrong and judging them for their sins.  Instead of being of God, he's trying to be God in the sense that he is taking on the role of judgment which is not his.  Furthermore it is much easier to judge other people than to look deep into the face of our own sin and humans frequently choose to do the easy thing.

15. In Chapter Twenty-One, Salmone calls Rahab his Jericho. What does he mean?
Rahab has built high walls around her heart due to the many wounds inflicted upon her in her early life just as Jericho had high walls that protected them from their enemies. But with God, Jericho's walls came tumbling down. Similarly God leads Salmone to love his wife and will tear down those walls so that they may come together as husband and wife are meant to.

24. What are some of God's qualities discussed in this story that touched your heart? Why?
The answer to this question is why I love Christian fiction-the ways that it can simply illuminate the truth of the Lord is why I keep coming back to it.  Reading the Bible is still something I struggle with due to language and cultural elements but Christian fiction is often written in a more direct fashion with words I understand better.  The main quality of God that just led me to cry while reading this is how He loves me.  I know that I am loved and I am so blessed in my earthly family from my parents and sister to my family in Christ.  But His capacity to love me and to just cover me in His love is always overwhelming and awesome.

Christian Book Club: Havah

 

Hosted by Joy at Edgy Inspirational Romance.

This month we read Havah by Tosca Lee (I will be posting a review later in October) and we're discussing some of the questions provided by the author about the book.  We can answer a few or all.

A brief summary: basically a look at Eve's life, from her creation to her death.

1. Before the Fall, how free was Havah to do as she pleased? After the Fall, how did Havah's freedoms become more limited?   Originally Havah was pretty much able to do whatever she wanted (except for eat of the fruit of one tree).  She seemed to have a pretty idyllic lifestyle.  After the Fall, she and Adam had a lot more responsibilities: they had to find food and shelter, protect themselves from predators and bugs, and raise their children.

3. How does Adam view his children? How does that differ from Havah? Why?    Havah seemed to feel that Adam valued the children (especially Kayin) less than she did.  She mentions several times that Adam should have praised them more and that he should protect them more from dangers.  Havah places great faith in the idea that Kayin will be able to bring them back to the Garden and consequently loves him the most (although she seems careful to try not to express this preference).

6. Why did God seem so distant from Havah?    As a Christian, the simple straightforward answer is that only through Christ the Son can we know God the Father.  But well Christ hadn't come yet so I guess that doesn't work.  So seriously I'm  not sure.

7. Why was Kayin's sacrifice not accepted by God? Did that mean Kayin was likewise rejected?    I think his sacrifice wasn't accepted because he went with the wrong attitude.  Hevel went in a posture of subjection and wanting to serve God while Kayin went for his parents and believing that he was the one and seeking approval.  Earlier, it is shown how Hevel gives freely while Kayin gives in a more quid pro quo fashion. But I don't believe God rejected Kayin; the sacrifice and the person can be separated.

10. Did Havah ever make it back to to the Garden?  I hope this makes sense: I don't think she returned to the Garden, the place that she knew in her youth, but she ended in a place like the Garden due to the presence of God.

Did you read Havah?  What did you think?

The Hunger Games Book Club

Awhile ago, I signed up to be part of a Hunger Games book club for the month of September at The Book Junkie's Bookshelf.  Every week the participants will address a question posted and it will be a great way for us all to go back to the beginning after rushing through Mockingjay!

I've already read and reviewed The Hunger Games pretty recently but I wanted to reread it before trying to share its awesomeness with some of my friends.  The question for today is:

For those of us who have read The Hunger Games before what is it about the book that you decided to pick it back up and discuss it as part of a group? Those of us who haven't read The Hunger Games yet what are your pre-conceived notions about the book, what are your hopes for the book? Has anyone read other books by Ms. Collins outside of The Hunger Games trilogy? What are your thoughts on her other works? 

Last part first, I've never read any other books by Ms. Collins although I'm intrigued by the fact that she wrote for television; I think some parts of HG would work exceptionally well visually, even moreso than in text.

And I wanted to have the group experience of reading HG because I picked it up after feeling like I was the last book blogger to read it (I know I'm not but of the ones I follow, it sure felt like it!)  Now I can experience almost like the first time and bounce ideas and thoughts of off other people whose first time it actually is.  Plus I only had the chance to read it once so I wanted to give it a slow close read instead of the speeding through I did before.  Now that I know what happens next, I should be able to go slower.