Anna Brownell JamesonRecensioni

Anna Brownell Jameson came to Upper Canada in the mid-1830s to join her husband in what was then known as York. Far from being the centre of the universe, York (Toronto) was a muddy, drab provincial town several years behind the Old World in fashion and literature, and an insular sort of place with not much to recommend it. Jameson, with a zest for adventure, explored the country by winter and by summer, from a steamship to Niagara to a canoe ride through the Sault Rapids, to a visit to Manitoulin Island and Penetanguishene.

This book is an interesting look at the land that became known as Canada. Jameson is no snob, willing to spend the night sleeping on boulders and interested in the language and customs of the Indigenous people. For someone of her time period, she is fairly enlightened on this subject, pointing out the hypocrisy in the settler population about civilization versus savagery, and going out of her way to meet and speak with Indigenous people. It’s still an uncomfortable read for a 21st-century reader in that regard, though.

With regard to the places Jameson visits, I was particularly excited to see my hometown get name-checked, and when she visited the area where my boyfriend’s family is from, I had to mentally fit in where she would have been. Same with her trip to Sault Ste. Marie, because we were just there last year.

The book contains a few maps, which are handy, and a fair number of footnotes, some of which are less handy than others. I also found it hard to appreciate the appropriateness of some of the epigraphs, because a few were in German and not translated or alluded to in the chapters that they introduced.

Overall I liked this pretty well. Maybe more than it deserves, because of mentioning my hometown :)½

The sixteen women featured in this biographical collection were either notable as sovereigns or for their actions in some way. I'd never heard of seven of these famous females and my knowledge of the other nine ranges from a little to a reasonable amount.

The three I was most interested in were Zenobia, Beatrice Cenci,and Charlotte Corday. The last named was a young French woman who sacrificed her own life in hope to save her family by gaining admittance to see the 'monster' Marat and murdering him with a knife. She waited to be arrested, knowing full well she'd be guillotined. She reputedly showed no fear whatsoever on her way to the block. She was as beautiful as she was brave and her death was such a waste of life, just like Joan of Arc's.

As for the author's style, I found her abilities okay, but she came across as a timid writer. By that I mean there were instances when she'd allude to something terrible but wouldn't delve into it. For instance, when describing the undeserved public execution of three members of the Cenci family, the author mentions in brief Lucrezia's(Beatrice Cenci's step-mother), and then states:

"The particulars of Lucrezia's execution are disgusting and horrible; for the sake of human nature, such atrocities should be buried in eternal silence."

Can't say I agree, as I'm left wanting to know what happened. Comments like the above is like stating, "Let's forget all those bad things the Nazis did." This attitude to me is a bit like brushing something nasty under a carpet. This poor woman was abused by her husband. This man had no love for any of his children except when Beatrice grew into a young and beautiful woman he began to soften towards her. Was this the beginning of his paternal love for his daughter? No, it was his growing LUST for her.

When Beatrice realised that her father intended to have sex with she and Lucrezia orchestrated this vile man's murder. But they got found out. Despite the atrocities that happened to them the Italian law was on the murdered man's side. They killed a monster and as reward they were tortured and publicly executed. More wastes of life.

Call it morbid fascination if you will, but when recalling historical events, lay down all important occurrences and let the reader decide to read or jump onto a less horrible paragraph. Surely historical accounts should be given in all their gory details and let the reader decide if they want to read anything gruesome or whether to skip. I found myself skipping a few mundane sections in the other chapters, as at times I felt I wasn't learning about whomever the chapter was dedicated to, but kept hearing about all these other people who did nothing exciting.

The section on Berengeria left me wondering why she was included in this book, as this section predominantly focuses on her husband, King Richard I of England. This chapter seems out of place in a collection about celebrated females.

Listed below are the women featured in this book in the order which they appear:

Semiramis
Nictoris
Zenobia
Boadicea
Berengeria
Laura
Joan of Arc
Isabella of Castile
Beatrice Cenci
Ann Boleyn
Lady Jane Gray
Leonora d' Este
Catherine Alexiewna
Maria Theresa
Charlotte Corday
Josephine

Hilarious Political Correctness by a Victorian Writer.