Uncle Silas: A Tale of Bartram-Haugh (Nonsuch Classics) | Joseph Sheridan le Fanu

Uncle Silas: A Tale of Bartram-Haugh (Nonsuch Classics) | Joseph Sheridan le Fanu | Warning: Drop Your Preconceptions

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Uncle Silas: A Tal...

	Uncle Silas: A Tale of Bartram-Haugh (Nonsuch Classics) Joseph Sheridan le Fanu Nonsuch Publishing, 2006 - 448 pages average customer review:based on 18 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Silas Rutvyn is something of a riddle. To some, including his niece, he is something of a ghost. There are, however, no simple answers. As Le Fanu gradually unfolds the layers of this story, we are irresistibly drawn into his world. From the writer of such works as Through a Glass Darkly, and The House by the Churchyard, this eerie and chilling tale is one of the finest examples of his art.

Great Read

I really liked this one. It's a definite page-turner with a very satisfying ending. I definitely recommend reading it if you're looking for a good mystery/thriller.

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Warning: Drop Your Preconceptions

As another reviewer said, you have to be patient to enjoy this, I think. Fairly long passages can go by seemingly without anything significant happening, but Le Fanu's writing style is very nice and definitely vintage so if you like the words you probably won't mind. It's probably true that the book could have been trimmed down by a hundred or do pages to focus on the darker, suspenseful aspects, but I don't think that melodrama was what Le Fanu was going for. He argued for it not to be classified as "sensationalist". That probably makes the book seem boring, but there are moments interspersed throughout that are very engaging and the entire latter part of the book is masterful in its anxiety and culminates in a great climax that will not disappoint. The book has sunny spots and characters, but a majority of the characters are dark and mysterious and a lot are unpleasant interactions for Maud.

Not exactly a gothic novel, and not all psychological thriller, this is a book I could see being disappointed in if you came into it thinking it was overtly either. But if you drop your expectations for what you want it to be because of what you heard it is, you probably won't regret it.

And everybody interested in seeing the original movie adaptation starring Jean Simmons should go over and vote for it to be released on DVD at [...] -- it only has 10 votes as I'm writing!

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Never mind the Udolpho, here's Uncle Silas

It's hard for me to believe that this book has seventeen reviews. And that it still has such a high rating. Don't get me wrong, I loved every page of it. And the endnotes are wonderful in the Penguin edition I have. I'm also a big fan of Gothic literature, so I was surprised to find myself enjoying the book as much as I did. When it comes to the genre, I'm not ashamed to admit that I fall squarely in the Monk Lewis camp-- pile on the shocks, keep upping the ante, and don't stop 'till the credits are rolling.

Uncle Silas doesn't really provide any of that. The pace is deliberate, the plot is unsurprising, and there aren't any shocks to be found. But it works. Beautifully. Why? Largely because of Le Fanu's extraordinary prose. I continually found myself re-reading passages, and still quote some of my favorites to pleasantly surprised listeners.

The beauty of Le Fanu's novel, I think, is that he managed to follow the Ann Radcliffe model of the Gothic romance-- particularly with his inspired evocations of atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere-- without the anti-climactic 'revelations' that feel more like cheats to the modern reader. Uncle Silas isn't a phantasmagoric experience a la The Monk or Melmoth the Wanderer, but it is an underappreciated classic of Gothic literature, particularly in its remarkable success at turning a rather thin plot into an extended series of beautifully realized, but never overwrought, vignettes. And given the genre's reputation for poorly written overwrought-ness, that makes it a wonderful find.

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The black sheep of the family

Although Sheridan is most well-known for his ghost stories, this Gothic novel stays within the realms of reality while still creating a strong sense of suspense. The only problem is that the story takes too long to really progress forward. The story is told from the point of view of Maud, the niece of Uncle Silas, but there's only a small amount of significant plot involving her until she meets Uncle Silas. Once Silas actually appears (about 150 pages into the book) along with a host of other intriguing characters, the story finally starts to gain momentum. Although he is the black sheep of the Ruthyn family because of his debts and questionable past, Silas as a decrepit, old man has apparently found religion and reformed himself. However, Silas' true motives are concealed until the shocking climax, creating much suspense as the reader tries to understand his seemingly benign actions. Bartram-Haugh, Silas' house and the surrounding areas, are portrayed as such an isolated and disreputable place that its mysteries add another layer to the suspense. The closer I got to the end, the more quickly I read through this book. You just have to be patient for the plot to build up. It's unfortunate that this excellent Gothic mystery has faded away into obscurity.

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For the patient Reader only

Having read the other reviews of this book I expected a thrilling gothic tale of mystery and suspense. What I got was somewhat disappointing. It certainly is an intriguing story with many interesting elements to it, not the least of which is LeFanu's masterful command of the English language. However, a few serious flaws stand out and detract seriously from the novel as a whole. One is the incredible amount of detail added. Over one hundred fifty pages elapse before Maud even enters Silas's dwelling. The conclusion is quite frightening, but to get to it one must slog through four hundred pages of building to the climax. Also it seems to me that there are far to many loose ends. For example, close to the conclusion of the novel Maud is traveling in a carriage when she hears a spectral voice whisper, "Beware the hand of Belisarius!" No explanation is given, nor does Belisarius appear during any portion of the book.
Despite these and other distractions, "Uncle Silas" has a truly shocking ending, worthy of Steven King. It should only be attempted by patient readers, but those who do read it through to the end will rarely forget it.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

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