Itemize Books As Jerusalem the Golden
| Original Title: | Jerusalem the Golden |
| ISBN: | 0140029338 (ISBN13: 9780140029338) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction (1967) |
Margaret Drabble
Unknown Binding | Pages: 191 pages Rating: 3.87 | 565 Users | 49 Reviews
Representaion In Pursuance Of Books Jerusalem the Golden
An interesting book, but very much a period piece. At heart it is another rites of passage story about a young woman from the North breaking away from her family and making a new life for herself in London, but it is also very rooted in Britain's class divisions.The heroine Clara Maugham comes from Northam, which at times seems to be a caricature of the dirty northern industrial city, but one wonders how much of the supposed grimness is in Clara's mind, because when she visits her dying mother at the end of the book, the city starts sounding much more like Drabble's hometown of York.
Much of the first half of the book seems to be establishing Clara's character, as a grammar school girl whose mother has very strict ideas about everything and appears not to enjoy life. In the first chapter Clara, now a student in London, meets the magnetic Clelia at a poetry reading. Clelia is an artist, still living in her parents large house with her writer mother and poet father. Clelia's family is everything Clara aspires to be, and in the second half of the book she embarks on an affair with Clelia's unhappily married and equally charismatic brother Gabriel.
To be honest, reading at this distance, quite a lot of the book bored me, perhaps because I found it difficult to empathise with the selfish Clara who seems to treat life as an aspirational game (making her something of a proto-Thatcherite). I was also uneasy by Drabble's willingness to reinforce Southern prejudices against the North of England - at one point Clara surprises somebody by allowing a northern expression slip, a reminder that at that time English provincials were expected to turn themselves into middle class Southerners to fit into the world they aspired to.
Identify Of Books Jerusalem the Golden
| Title | : | Jerusalem the Golden |
| Author | : | Margaret Drabble |
| Book Format | : | Unknown Binding |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 191 pages |
| Published | : | October 3rd 1998 by Penguin Books (first published 1967) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Literary Fiction. Womens. Novels |
Rating Of Books Jerusalem the Golden
Ratings: 3.87 From 565 Users | 49 ReviewsWrite Up Of Books Jerusalem the Golden
I found the writing style to be charming, initially, and enjoyed the relationship between Clara, the main character, and her friend Clelia. However, by the time Clara began her relationship with Gabriel (not a spoiler! It's on the back cover!) I ceased to really enjoy the story, and it was all downhill from there, though the writing remained charming ALMOST until the end, which I felt to be anti-climactic and dull.An interesting book, but very much a period piece. At heart it is another rites of passage story about a young woman from the North breaking away from her family and making a new life for herself in London, but it is also very rooted in Britain's class divisions.The heroine Clara Maugham comes from Northam, which at times seems to be a caricature of the dirty northern industrial city, but one wonders how much of the supposed grimness is in Clara's mind, because when she visits her dying mother
This book resulted in many moments of self-reflection. I cherish the time I spent reading this book.
By the ambitious use of her brains and her good looks, Clara Maugham escapes from a dismal home in the north of England to the delights of London and Paris. By the sympathetic use of detailed characterization Margaret Drabble portrays an unusual social climber. What Clara desires, and goes about obtaining, by whatever means necessary, is not social position and prestige, but companionship, compensation for an emotionally sterile childhood.
If you're going to read a Drabble - your life is short. Do you really have the time? Think! Consider!But if you have that much time you're willing to just piss away, then this is probably the one.
Beautifully worded but not much happened.
Written in the 60s but doesn't feel dated in any respect. A good insight into the social climate of the times, and in particular the results of opening up educational prospects to the lower classes. The development of the lead character Clara is fascinating, and while her behaviour is questionable at times this doesn't alienate the reader in any way.
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