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A Fair Barbarian

Frances Hodgson Burnett

Paperback | Pages: 148 pages

Rating: 3.5 | 184 Users | 34 Reviews

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Original Title:	A Fair Barbarian
ISBN:	1406553425 (ISBN13: 9781406553420)
Edition Language:	English

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A young, beautiful American heiress descends upon a tiny sleepy English town. Burnett loves gender and class stereotypes; there is nothing she likes more than to write about a lady's delicate features or a man's strong arms, and certainly every member of the lower classes is flatteringly awed by their betters. Nevertheless, the American Octavia Bassett manages to upset the usual mode just a little--when she is asked to marry a handsome, well-bred and rich Englishman, she refuses with composure. I love the scene:

'"You don't want _me_," she said. "You want somebody meeker,--somebody who would respect you very much, and obey you. I'm not used to obeying people."
"Do you mean also that you would not respect me?" he inquired bitterly.
"Oh," she replied, "you haven't respected me much!"
"Excuse me"--he began, in his loftiest manner.
"You didn't respect me enough to think me worth marrying," she said. "I was not the kind of girl you would have chosen of your own will."
"You are treating me unfairly!" he cried.
"You were going to give me a great deal, I suppose--looking at it in your way," she went on; "but, if I _wasn't_ exactly what you wanted, I had something to give too. I'm young enough to have a good many years to live; and I should have to live them with you, if I married you. That's something, you know."
He rose from his seat pale with wrath and wounded feeling.
"Does this mean that you refuse me?" he demanded, "that your answer is'no'?"
She rose, too--not exultant, not confused, neither pale nor flushed. He had never seen her prettier, more charming, or more natural.
"It would have been 'no,' even if there hadn't been any obstacle," she answered.
"Then," he said, "I need say no more. I see that I have--humiliated myself in vain; and it is rather bitter, I must confess."
"It wasn't my fault," she remarked.'

I love her! There's nothing more refreshing than someone who is aware of the values of her peers, but recognizes their limitations and that they are important only in relative terms. The plot of My Fair Barbarian is not complex or surprising, but it is short and sweet. It is also a good showcase for Burnett's ability at writing Victorian literature that lacks a surprising number of the usual pitfalls of that era--the sentences contain only a few clauses each, the dialog is impressively natural, and the characters are personalities of their own, rather than archetypes acting out a morality pagant.

Particularize Appertaining To Books A Fair Barbarian

Title	:	A Fair Barbarian
Author	:	Frances Hodgson Burnett
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	First Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 148 pages
Published	:	August 1st 2007 by Dodo Press (first published 1880)
Categories	:	Classics. Fiction. Romance. Historical. Historical Fiction

Rating Appertaining To Books A Fair Barbarian

Ratings: 3.5 From 184 Users | 34 Reviews

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Not a deep read but a good 19C tale of love somewhat like Thakery but not so cutting

Re-read, December 2016.

:) So much fun! It reminded me of L.M. Montgomery's writing in some ways.

A fun read about a quiet little English village and a young American girl. Slowbridge gets quite the shock when Miss Octavia Bassett arrives on the scene, and the ensuing story is enjoyable and heartwarming. The characters are very believable, and I was intrigued at how well-developed they were for such a short book. A plus for me was reading this one for free at Project Gutenburg!

Cute, but not too memorable for me. The Shuttle is my preferred Frances Hodgson Burnett novel. (I LOVE The Shuttle!) This was short, and the stakes weren't quite as high as in The Shuttle, but the theme of American vs. British manners was there, and some nice enough characters.

Absolutely delightful!

It was an ok story, for me the best part was when Octavia Bassett was telling her aunt Miss Belinda Bassett about living in Bloody Gulch and Miss Belinda about had a heart attack, girls don't say that word.