Review: Eliza's Daughter

by Joan Aiken
publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
date published: November 1, 2008 (originally published in 1988)
format: NOOK ebook
pages: 255
source: purchased
Amazon / Goodreads / B&N
challenges: Goodreads 2011 Reading Challenge; 2011 E-Book Reading Challenge; The Sense and Sensibility Bicentenary Challenge

From Goodreads:

A Young Woman Longing for Adventure and an Artistic Life...

Because she's an illegitimate child, Eliza is raised in the rural backwater with very little supervision. An intelligent, creative, and free-spirited heroine, unfettered by the strictures of her time, she makes friends with poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge, finds her way to London, and eventually travels the world, all the while seeking to solve the mystery of her parentage. With fierce determination and irrepressible spirits, Eliza carves out a life full of adventure and artistic endeavor.

What I Thought

I was so excited to read this book. Sense and Sensibility is one of my favorite books of all time and I was eager to see what Ms. Aiken would have happen to some of the key characters. I was especially eager to see what became of Marianne and Willoughby. Sadly, I was disappointed in some aspects.

I actually really liked the main character, Eliza, who is the daughter of Colonel Brandon's ward, Eliza, and Willoughby. The book opens in a village where the expertise is the rearing of illegitimate children. Eliza is one of these children and she sets about detailing her formative years in this place. She isn't treated very well but still manages to carve out happy memories for herself. She becomes acquainted with two men whom she calls Mr. Sam and Mr. Bill. The duo awaken in her an interest in words and poetry and, in fact, are later revealed to be none other than Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth. As Eliza grows older and learns more, she also grows in confidence and becomes a very practical young woman. She is also quite the accomplished musician and retains her appreciation for poetry. She was a very likeable character, overall.

Unfortunately, not all characters are as pleasant as Eliza. This is one of the areas that upset me very much. Edward and Elinor are re-introduced in this story, although greatly altered. Edward has, inexplicably, become a pompous, zealous tyrant and Elinor a cowed, reticent woman. Some of the reasons hinted at for this change in Edward are downright ridiculous and I found myself exclaiming in outrage upon reading them, not to mention his actions. As for Marianne, she is a bitter, spiteful woman who shows no compunctions of misplacing her anger, which was a real disappointment. She, at least, redeemed herself eventually. Willoughby was the only character who was exactly as I expected him to be.

I will say that the backgrounds employed in the book were engaging. Aiken's descriptions of the village Eliza grew up in, Bath, London, and Portugal were vivid enough to provide a picture for the mind's eye to utilize. I really enjoyed reading about Eliza's travels and the people she met. As far as scenes, I have no regrets.

While there were some appealing points to the book, my disappointment in the portrayal of some of my favorite characters from Sense and Sensibility left me with regrets. I feel that this book had the potential for great things but fizzled with the unsubstantiated personality changes. I can't bring myself to give Eliza's Daughter more than 2 hoots.