Dragonwyck by Anya Seton (Book Review) #1944Club

The 1944 Club is a theme in which two prolific bloggers, Simon from Stuck in a Book and Karen from Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings, promote a specific year of published books. Anyone can join in by reading and reviewing a book published in 1944 and adding a link to that book's review in the comments on Simon's blog. 1968, 1951 and 1977 have also been promoted.

Title: Dragonwyck
Author: Anya Seton, author of Katherine and My Theodosia
Publication: Houghton Mifflin, 1944
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: 19th century Connecticut and New York

Plot: Miranda Wells is the delicately lovely daughter of a no-nonsense Connecticut farmer, more likely to be caught reading a book than doing her chores, when her mother receives a letter from a rich cousin. Nicholas Van Ryn, master of a breathtaking estate in the Hudson Valley, Dragonwyck, invites Mrs. Wells to send a daughter to be his daughter’s governess. Abigail Wells has a hard life and wants better for her daughter, so she and Miranda use all their ingenuity to persuade dour Ephraim to let his daughter go (and he nearly changes his mind when they reach New York City and he sees what he considers the useless excess of their hotel, Astor House; he rightly thinks an extravagant lifestyle will go to Miranda’s head).

From the moment Miranda lays eyes on her kinsman, Nicholas Van Ryn, she is captivated by his Tall Dark Stranger looks and charismatic demeanor. She is swept away up the Hudson to Dragonwyck, and awestruck when she first beholds it – a gothic and foreboding mansion that hides dark secrets. Nicholas’ wife is an unhappy woman interested only in sweets (not that there’s anything wrong with that, unless you devour the wrong cake), who immediately resents Miranda, and little Katrine is a stolid child, happier in the kitchen than in the classroom. Nicholas is both a kind benefactor, providing Miranda a beautiful new wardrobe, and a capricious host, ignoring the fact that his wife and guests consider her nothing but a servant. Miranda is so bedazzled by her cousin that she makes excuses for his dark moods, the harsh way he treats his tenant farmers, and his impatience with his family. Everything she observes is colored by the deep attraction she feels for Nicholas, but this is a dangerous yearning that could lead to disaster . . .

Audience: Fans of historical fiction, gothic enthusiasts; those interested in the history of New York State. Seton grew up in New York and Connecticut, and loved history. My Theodosia, which I recently reviewed, is about Aaron Burr’s daughter, known now to millions.

Not Mr Darcy

My Impressions: Anya Seton’s Katherine is one of my all-time favorite books, a magical story, widely considered an outstanding example of historical fiction, and I thank Sister Sessions, the shrewd librarian who led me to it in 7th or 8th grade. Surprisingly, I had never read this one, Seton’s second novel, which is very different, although both are about innocent young women, initially out of their depths, who develop into strong, determined women. Miranda is intimidated by the dark halls of Dragonwyck and her awkward situation, disliked by her hostess and completely in the power of her manipulative host, who can move her to euphoria or misery with a few words. From the minute they meet, the reader experiences the same roller coaster sense of imminent doom as the heroine, although she tries to ignore it.

Dragonwyck is a compelling read, although too over the top to be considered a great novel like Katherine. On the other hand, I read until 3 am, unable to predict where Seton was taking her narrative, and finished it as soon as I got home from work the next night. From the obese, sullen wife and the outspoken doctor to the Irish maid who becomes Miranda’s only friend, Seton creates memorable characters, but most of all lurking in the background is the immense and unnerving Dragonwyck, a character itself, designed by its obsessive owner. And I did not mention the plain spoken doctor from Hudson, the closest town to Dragonwyck, whose sturdiness and integrity is a sharp contrast to the dangerous charm of Nicholas Van Ryn.  Even though we know Nicholas is a bad guy and Jeff Turner is good, Nicholas is far more fascinating!  The reader feels his sensuous appeal along with Miranda.

Part of my fascination with this book is that my grandmother grew up near the imaginary Dragonwyck in Newburgh, New York (where one of the Van Rensselaers mentions a soiree) and I was fascinated by the painstaking historic detail. As always, Seton’s research was exhaustive, and her portrayal of 19th century New York, both the social scene in Manhattan and life on a remote, affluent estate in upstate New York, is vivid and convincing (and does not make me crave to be part of The 400 – although I would choose the most excruciating party over the chicken Miranda is expected to kill and pluck in the first chapter). And the depiction of steamboats racing on the Hudson is enough to give a gentle reader nightmares!

Movie: Friends tell me the movie of Dragonwyck, billed to audiences as in the tradition of Rebecca, starring Gene Tierney, Walter Huston, Vincent Price, and Jessica Tandy, is well worth seeing but my old author Leonard Maltin only gives it 2 ½ stars. I must ask movie maven Laura her opinion.   She will doubtless appreciate the pageantry of the production.

Source: Library