Resembling both McEwan's Atonement and Frayn's Spies in its plot, this 1953 novel, recently reprinted, tells of a pre-adolescent's naive meddling in the love lives of elders, with disastrous results. Set in the summer of 1900, when the hopes and dreams for the century were as yet untarnished by two world wars and subsequent horrors, this novel is quietly elegant in style, its emotional upheavals restrained, and its 12-year-old main character, Leo Colston, so earnest, hopeful, and curious about life that the reader cannot help but be moved by his innocence.

Leo's summer visit to a friend at Brandham Hall introduces him to the landed gentry, the privileges they have assumed, and the strict social behaviors which guide their everyday lives. Bored and wanting to be helpful when his friend falls ill, Leo agrees to be a messenger carrying letters between Marian, his host's sister, and Ted Burgess, her secret love, a farmer living nearby. Catastrophe is inevitable--and devastating to Leo. In descriptive and nuanced prose, Hartley evokes the heat of summer and the emotional conflicts it heightens, the intensity rising along with the temperature. Magic spells, creatures of the zodiac, and mythology create an overlay of (chaste) paganism for Leo's perceptions, while widening the scope of Hartley's focus and providing innumerable parallels and symbols for the reader.

The emotional impact of the climax is tremendous, heightened by the author's use of three perspectives--Leo Colston as a man in his 60's, permanently damaged by events when he was 12; Leo as a 12-year-old, wrestling with new issues of class, social obligation, friendship, morality, and love, while inadvertently causing a disaster; and the reader himself, for whom hindsight and knowledge of history create powerful ironies as he views these events and the way of life they represent. Some readers have commented on Leo's unrealistic innocence in matters of sex, even as a 12-year-old, but this may be a function of age. For those of us who can remember life without TV and the computer, it is not so far-fetched to imagine a life in which "mass communication" meant the telegraph and in which "spooning" was an adults-only secret!

I first read The Go-Between in my English class in my last year of high school. Returning to the book some 20 years later, I found it an even richer text than I did as a schoolboy.

The author's use of the older Leo's retrospective narrative provides flexibility to alter recollections and timelines in a way that allows him to introduce symbolism to the text - the heat as a guage of the sexual relationship between Marion and Ted (he first notices its destructiveness at the moment he finds out of the true nature of their relationship by glancing at the unsealed letter) - the belladonna / deadly nightshade (even the two names provide contrasting meanings) as a symbol of Marion which he eventually destroys - phallic symbols such as the cricket bat and the gun for Ted (the latter which destroys him both physically and metaphorically).

Hartley's text is also a critique on the 20th century. The story is placed in 1900 and the great hopes of Victorian/Edwardian Britian - the progress of science, the progress of human society and the height of Empire. The shattering of Leo's life and hopes evokes the reality of the 20th century West. Denys and Marcus are killed in WW1 and the 10th Vicount and Vicountess Trimington by WW2. The signs are there at the time of the illusion of this sense of progress for the new century, with the frequent references to the Boer War and the disfigurement of Trimington.

There are some minor quibbles with the story. The emotional collapse of Leo seems disproportionate to what he saw - he may not have known what "spooning" was but he was aware of the intensity of Marion and Ted's relationship. However, it adds dramatic impact and does not detract from the brilliant integration of the text - its use of language, symbols and narrative patterns.

Leo, an old man in his sixties, is clearing through his old papers when he comes across his diary from the summer of 1900. On opening the diary, memories which he has burried for over fifty years come flooding back and he is forced to re-live the summer which changed his life for ever.The main novel is set in 1900 but the prologue and epilogue (post-World War II)form a framework to it.
The main themes of the novel are loss of innocence and the destruction of a 'golden age'. Leo's loss of innocence at the climax of the novel foreshadows the loss of innocence that Europe is about to suffer as the twentieth century unfolds. The emotional scars that Leo suffers are also a reflection on the world's inability to ever fully recover from the world wars.
The characters within the novel are highly effective because of their complexity - for example the reader is forced to question themselves whether Marian's manipulative nature is generated by selfishness or from the fact that she is incredibly miserably and desperatly trying to escape from her mother's social ambition.
The Go-Between is full of intense imagery including that of the belladonna plant which represents passion and female sexuality as something beautiful and highly desirable but ulitmately deadly.
The tragedy which ends the main novel is deepened by the epilogue which discusses the fates of all the characters within the novel and the way in which they appear to be 'cursed'. Whilst The Go-Between is by no means a cheerful novel, it is highly thought-provoking and provides a fascinating insight into the charmed life of the wealthly in Edwardian England before it was destroyed by the Great War.

I also had to read this book for school, during summer. I can respect the fact that it was a classic but it just was not a book that I enjoyed. It had many unneeded parts and tended to repeat itself. It was especially boring when Jane landed at Moor House. If you are a hopeless romantic then go for it, but I prefer exciting books. The other book I had to read was Lord of the Flies and I liked it much better. So....there^^;

I became a reader in college. I fell in love with this book during my senior year of High School. My report got a standing ovation and I've yet to recommend it to anyone that did not enjoy it.

Charolette has a refreshing style. She includes just enough scenic and psychological detail. I love it when the author writes to me during parts of the story. The characters are interesting. The plot twists. Good read!

I received this book for a gift when I was twelve and found it incredibly boring. I am now eighteen and for lack of any other books to read picked it up again. To my suprise I could not put it down! The character of Jane Eyre was both inspiring and identifiable. Charlotte Bronte's best novel no doubt, the plot was excellently well crafted. Although a few parts are obvious, this classic romantic novel kept me turning pages furiously!

Romping good fun and sharply satirical. Fielding has none of the puritanical prejudices of his contemporary and rival Samuel Richardson.Rather he gives a graphic, humourous and insightful glimpse of eighteenth century rural shannanigans. Both stories are to some extent a response to Richardson's goodie goodie novel Pamela or Virtue Rewarded, Shamela in fact so much so- mimicking then epistulatory narrative and burlesquing the characters and style of the original novel- that you'll miss most of the jokes unless you've read Richardson first. Jospeh Andrews is far more substantial and rewarding containing the full range both of Fielding's humour and social concerns. Vividly presenting the self-serving cynicism of English society his particular speciality lies in puncturing pomposity by comically abrupt opposistions between what his characters preach and practise. Detached, sarcastic and well-read Fielding somehow manages to mix slapstick with Homer, blend eupheimism with innuendo and mangle anyone that he has a grudge against. A novel of the road- if you liked this, you'll love Tom Jones.

I loved this book. The adventures of Joseph Andrews are colourful and riotous. Highly recommended! Shamela, however, is a lesser work. It is a bawdy caricature of Samuel Richardson's "Pamela". Amusing, but slight.

So I was getting ready to reread Don Quijote (1605)(Miguel de Cervantes 1547-1616) in the excellent Burton Raffel translation and as I was looking for information about the book and author, saw repeated references to Fielding's Joseph Andrews. I'd read his Tom Jones a couple of years ago and found it kind of tough sledding, but when I stumbled upon this one at a library book sale for a quarter, it seemed a stroke of destiny.

The parallels with Don Quijote are readily apparent. First of all, the book consists of a series of humorous travel adventures; second, the travellers involved seem too innocent to survive in the harsh world that confronts them. When Joseph Andrews, the naive footman of Lady Booby, deflects the amorous advances of both her Ladyship and Slipslop, the Lady's servant, he is sent packing. Upon his dismissal, Joseph, along with his friend and mentor Parson Adams, an idealistic and good-hearted rural clergyman, who essentially takes the physical role of Sancho Panza but the moral role of Quijote, sets out to find his beloved but chaste enamorata, Fanny Goodwill, who had earlier been dismissed from Lady Booby's service as a result of Slipslop's jealousy. In their travels they are set upon repeatedly by robbers, continually run out of funds and Adams gets in numerous arguments, theological and otherwise. Meanwhile, Fanny, whom they meet up with along the way, is nearly raped any number of times and is eventually discovered to be Joseph's sister, or maybe not.. The whole thing concludes with a farcical night of musical beds, mistaken identities and astonishing revelations.

I've seen this referred to as the first modern novel; I'm not sure why, in light of it's obvious debt to Cervantes. But it does combine those quixotic elements with a seemingly accurate portrayal of 18th Century English manners and the central concern with identity and status do place it squarely in the modern tradition.

At any rate, it is very funny and, for whatever reason, seemed a much easier read than Tom Jones. I recommend it unreservedly.

GRADE: B+

One of my favorite 17th century English writers, the Cavalier poet Robert Herrick succeeds handily at the dual task of producing ridiculously pretty--and humorously erotic--love poetry (addressed mainly to two women named Julia and Anthea), as well as a series of religiously oriented poetry that is a striking contrast to the love poems for its down-to-earth devotion. He also wrote a number of laudatory pieces for friends, relatives and the occasional noble, as well as a variety of comic/pastoral/vie quotidienne poems. It is interesting to me, however, that he is far better known for the erotic verse than any of his other work (particularly the devotional poetry), given that he was a clergyman by profession.

This volume provides a good, solid selection from Herrick's two collections, "Hesperides" and "His Noble Numbers", and includes several of his pastoral verses, encomia and comic pieces interspersed with the love poems and pious work. Alas, one of his most charming efforts is excluded, the lovely "Upon the Nipples of Julia's Breast" (and how can you go wrong with a title like that?). Nowhere near as popular as other 17th century writers such as Donne or Jonson or Dryden, and indeed somewhat less respected by lit crit types because his poetry does talk about things like nipples, daffodils and strawberries dipped in cream, Robert Herrick's accessible, graceful, smooth-flowing verse is nevertheless very much worth reading.

This is a handy if somewhat eclectic little collection, with works by some poets who are hard to find elsewhere, such as Henry Howard. If you don't have a copy of the long-out-of-print Hebel and Hudson anthology of English Renaissance Poetry, pick up this.

I don't think I'd be giving away much of the plot if I were to say that the story revolves around Pip, a young, middle class orphan who has dreams to be a wealthy, respected gentleman, but has no hope of this as he is a rural blacksmith apprentice. His prospecs change, however, when a mysterious, anonymous benefactor offers to make Pip's dream a reality. I won't give away the ending, but the novel supports Dickens' belief that the middle class is the class to which people should aspire.

The plot of this story wasn't to my liking. Dickens' attempts towards the end to wrap all the subplots into one neat little package annoyed me...similar to plot twists in modern Hollywood movies--things so outrageously convienent that it makes one want to roll his eyes. The manner in which things are written, however is fantastic. While the main characters are rather boring, the minor characters, (especially Biddy, Herbert Pocket, and John Wemmick) were much more interesting. Thankfully, Dickens focused on them enough to flesh them out and make them memorable. I would recommend this book, not because I enjoy the plot, but because the writing style is superior and because I, being lower middle class, enjoyed the positive viewpoint Dickens extended concerning my class.

Almost every negative review about this book was made by a 15 year old 9th grader. I also had to read this book when I was in ninth grade and I had no clue what was going on. Those kids might not want to admit it, but it was above thier understanding, I am proof of that. I decided to read this again and even though I was indifferant to it the first time I read, and realized it to be the literary genuis that it truely is. It has an amusing story line of the events that surround a young boy's life and how he copes with his coming into fortunes and life in general. But Dicken's masterful writing makes more than just a story line, it is also a social critique of Industeralized Society. For existance, Joe represents how life was before the Industerial Revolution. He was kind, hard working, morally upstanding, and happy, amoung other desirable qualities. Whereas Estella, for example, represented how it was during the Industerial Revolution. She was greedy, self-centered, controlling, and unhappy. This is also evident in Pip. At first he had the traits of the former, but once he got his "Expecations", he exhibited the traits of the latter. Another part of his critique was the differance between the rich and the poor. There are other important ways in which he portrays them, but for lack of time the poor people were happy, whereas the rich were unhappy. Dickens is also great at describing setting and characters, so as some might see that as boreing, I see that as giving more depth to the story. He makes it seem like the reader is actually in 19th century London and meeting such interresting characters as Jaggers, Mr. Pocket, and of course honorable Joe. Anyone concidering buying this that is in high school, I reccomend not buying this because you will not undersand it, hence dislike it. But anyone who is already out of high school, or someone who read it in high school I would reccomend this book. Dickens is well know in literary circles for his genuis, but for some reason I cannot explain, in popular culture he does not come close to the popularity of Shakesphere, even though he was writer and Social Critic.

As a student, I had to read this book as a requirement for my junior year summer reading. Being the largest book of them all, I reluctantly started on this one. However, after giving it the twenty-five page test, I found the book terribly addictive. Had I had a more generous time budget, I would have finished the book in two to three days. As it was, it took me over a month. The storyline, with Pip intertwined in a weird emotional triangle with one Miss Havisham and Estella, has the reader wondering "Who is on Pip's side?" and "What the heck is going on with this Estella babe?" The emotions Pip felt, the things he went through, and just the thought of actually having to go through what he did brings tears to the eyes (even mine, which had been dry for years). By reading this book, I even became more in-tune to my emotions. This novel is an excellent piece of literature for any language buff (Dickens is a sheer master of the English language), and for anyone who loves a good tearjerker. Happy reading!!

I bought this book as a study guide to a course in Renaissance literature, and Spenser in particular. I have now found that it is incomplete! Canto II of Book II only has 11 verses out of 46! Moreover, Cantos 4, 5 and 6 of Book II are completely missing! It does say 'Selection' in the subtitle, I now realize, although it was not made clear in the original description. The volume is doing me little to no good for its intended purpose. I consider it a waste of time and a deception to leave out huge parts of a work you are purporting to present under its original title. I feel cheated. Why wasn't the title "Bits and Pieces of The Faerie Queen"??

As a freshman student who is enrolled in English Literature, I needed all the help I could get,especially with English that is not modern. The Renaissance Version of the Faerie Queene is quite hard to read, and must be read over and over again before you can comprehend all the underlying themes and symbols. This edition, stated in modern English, makes the work so much more enjoyable and easy to understand. Not much is lost through this translation, and it has helped me greatly----especially for exams!