The Firm of Girdlestone Arthur Conan Doyle 9781542632027 Books
Download As PDF : The Firm of Girdlestone Arthur Conan Doyle 9781542632027 Books
Ezra Girdlestone is faces financial ruin and his only hope lies in the legacy bequeathed to his young ward John. Anxious to claim the money, Ezra plots the fellow's murder -- but young Kate Horston's suspicions get in the way...
The Firm of Girdlestone Arthur Conan Doyle 9781542632027 Books
Once again, Victoriana captivates me. If you remember Dudley Do-Right, well, he's here, along with arch-villain Snidely Whiplash and little Nell, who's always needing to be rescued."Girdlestone" is one of the author's lesser-known novels. It's not a mystery, as the famous Sherlock Holmes stories are, and it's not a history, or a spiritualism treatise. It's a good old-fashioned morality play, where the good guys are whacking good, if somewhat dim at times, and the bad guys are both pure evil and hypocritical about it. The story pits the naïve young "Dudley" and his beloved "Nell" against the evil capitalist trader and son, Snidely - er - the Girdlestones - and their animal-like hired thugs. Turmoils! Trials! Tribulations! Troubles! Of course, that's the fun of it.
A feature I found particularly interesting is Conan Doyle's very deep and intricate descriptions throughout the book. Sherlock Holmes, of course, relies on his powers of observation as well as his keen intelligence to solve cases. In "Girdlestone," I think the author was showing off his own powers of observation - a football game, the elation and anguish of young love, the physical and sartorial appearance of characters, a deadly storm at sea, a grim priory on the coast, a sullen marshy shore, a coarse wagon driver .... These descriptions make the book too long, if you're just following the story. But if you relax and enjoy the descriptive prose for its own sake, it's quite interesting to see what the author sees.
Mr. Girdlestone, the chief bad guy, is the spittin' image of Social Darwinist Calvinism in full capitalist flower. We moderns have quite forgotten how these three streams of social thought came together in the later 1800s, but Conan Doyle had it pegged correctly in 1901. Cram them all into one sentence, and you get something like this: Capitalism is great because it makes the strongest and smartest men (yes, men) rich; and guess what - since one can't earn a berth in Heaven, God gives them riches as a sign that they're the chosen, the elect.
Product details
|
Tags : The Firm of Girdlestone [Arthur Conan Doyle] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Ezra Girdlestone is faces financial ruin and his only hope lies in the legacy bequeathed to his young ward John. Anxious to claim the money,Arthur Conan Doyle,The Firm of Girdlestone,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1542632021,General,DRAMA General,Drama,DramaGeneral,NON-CLASSIFIABLE,Plays
People also read other books :
- Rabbit Hunter eBook Billie Sue Mosiman
- Balance Energy in Life Feng Shui Weekly Planner Jennifer Wu Salemo Books
- V2 A World War II Thriller Dave Davies Books
- Portraits with Backgrounds Catherine Barjansky 9781355735410 Books
- Frankenstein Classical Books Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley 9781541249417 Books
The Firm of Girdlestone Arthur Conan Doyle 9781542632027 Books Reviews
Start to finish, an excellent read! The setup was well done and development of the characters was both interesting and intriguing. The steady suspense never let the reader down. And I love a story where all the threads tie up nicely--a "thoroughly told" story.
This book has it all stealing,deceit,lying,physical cruelty,attempted murder and murder in one great story.A story of having wealth and losing it and trying to get it back with some of the most underhanded schemes known to man.This father and son team will stop at nothing to regain what they have squandered and lost in their business ventures.This book has some of the most memorable characters and the way Doyle describes them is wonderful.The dialogue is some of the best you will come across anywhere and this book also has a touching love story woven through it,so if you have read Doyles Sherlock Holmes books you are going to love this book.The ending of this story is just so fitting as to the lives that were lived by the father and son.
I could read just about anything from Conan Doyle because of his inventive plots, solid characters, and memorable phrasing. That said, I really like The Firm of Girdlestone even though I thought I wouldn't with it's setting in a merchant house dealing with imports from Africa. The main characters were criminals with varying degrees of rottenness, a father and son team who will not stop at murder to gain and keep their wealth. Some might have trouble with the pacing but take the time to invest yourself in this forgotten novel from Sir Arthur.
“A human life is a sacred thing, but a human life, when weighed against the existence of a great firm from which hundreds derive their means of livelihood, is a small consideration indeed.” Thus spoke the pious John Girdlestone, founder and head of the African trading firm bearing his name. “The Firm of Girdlestone” is an entertaining but, to me, somewhat disappointing and maybe even puzzling work by the creator of Sherlock Holmes and the author of a number of historical novels set in the 16th and 17th centuries which I greatly admire.
The firm of Girdlestone and Company is located in London, and events are set in the latter half the 19th century, after development of the telegraph and steam powered trains and ships, but before large, commercial sailing ships became uncommon. The firm, run by John Girdlestone and his son Ezra, is highly regarded in London’s commercial circles, and is thought to be financially as solid as Gibraltar; but all is not as it seems. John Girdlestone, initially unbeknownst to his son, has been speculating poorly in other ventures and has impoverished his own business by buying, then failing to insure two new steam powered ships which manage to collide with and destroy each other in the English Channel. All events, taken together have the firm moving toward the brink of failure, and the Girdlestones, father and son, undertake various schemes to save their firm, their fortune, and their reputations.
The novel is presented from a third-person point of view, with the narrator occasionally obtruding to summarize the actions and events being described. The plot itself is a melodrama, but the author’s fine attention to detail and polished prose elevates the work well above what is typical of that genre. The characters and settings are well-drawn in Conan Doyle’s detailed and literate style. There is much pleasant humor combined with interesting character presentation and development. However, near the end the remaining plot development becomes fairly obvious. In the end the “good guys” prosper and live happily, and the “bad guys” are somewhat justly punished. In many ways I feel that Conan Doyle was writing this novel for personal entertainment and as some type of literary exercise, not as a work to be taken “seriously.” It is very different from anything else of his that I have read, including his tales of near-contemporary events such as “The Croxley Master” and “The Tragedy of the Korosko.” I gave the work a 3-star rating – but it is a high 3 stars – primarily because I think it is somewhat overrated by other reviewers. However, I do strongly recommend it and consider it well worth reading.
Once again, Victoriana captivates me. If you remember Dudley Do-Right, well, he's here, along with arch-villain Snidely Whiplash and little Nell, who's always needing to be rescued.
"Girdlestone" is one of the author's lesser-known novels. It's not a mystery, as the famous Sherlock Holmes stories are, and it's not a history, or a spiritualism treatise. It's a good old-fashioned morality play, where the good guys are whacking good, if somewhat dim at times, and the bad guys are both pure evil and hypocritical about it. The story pits the naïve young "Dudley" and his beloved "Nell" against the evil capitalist trader and son, Snidely - er - the Girdlestones - and their animal-like hired thugs. Turmoils! Trials! Tribulations! Troubles! Of course, that's the fun of it.
A feature I found particularly interesting is Conan Doyle's very deep and intricate descriptions throughout the book. Sherlock Holmes, of course, relies on his powers of observation as well as his keen intelligence to solve cases. In "Girdlestone," I think the author was showing off his own powers of observation - a football game, the elation and anguish of young love, the physical and sartorial appearance of characters, a deadly storm at sea, a grim priory on the coast, a sullen marshy shore, a coarse wagon driver .... These descriptions make the book too long, if you're just following the story. But if you relax and enjoy the descriptive prose for its own sake, it's quite interesting to see what the author sees.
Mr. Girdlestone, the chief bad guy, is the spittin' image of Social Darwinist Calvinism in full capitalist flower. We moderns have quite forgotten how these three streams of social thought came together in the later 1800s, but Conan Doyle had it pegged correctly in 1901. Cram them all into one sentence, and you get something like this Capitalism is great because it makes the strongest and smartest men (yes, men) rich; and guess what - since one can't earn a berth in Heaven, God gives them riches as a sign that they're the chosen, the elect.
0 Response to "[NXX]∎ Descargar Free The Firm of Girdlestone Arthur Conan Doyle 9781542632027 Books"
Post a Comment