I usually love reading books written pre-20th Century, as this one was (1796) but I didn't really enjoy this one as much as I expected. Even though it caused a mild scandal when first published, it is (naturally) rather tame by today's standards. The heroine's great crime is to declare her love for a man before he declares his. How shocking!

The book is written as a series of letters to her beloved's son telling him about her great crime, in order to save him from making the same mistakes. I did admire the way she examined and analyzed her feelings, and how she could stand back and see how her actions didn't always coincide with her intentions. She just loved this guy passionately and she couldn't talk herself out of it, no matter how hard she tried. It got to be rather tedious though, after a while, and I wished she could just get over it and get on with her life.

All the melodrama in the book comes in the last thirty pages, which is such a contrast to the mild, slow-paced rest of the book. It seemed very foreign to the first part, like the author felt she ought to throw in some action at long last. All in all, it was okay, but not great.

Any fan of Mary Wollstonecraft should turn next to books like this one. Hays's novel is part of the first wave of responses to *A Vindication of the Rights of Woman* (1792) and shows that Wollstonecraft could produce thoughtful responses from British radicals that balance the unthinking ones from conservatives. With Amelia Opie's *Adeline Mowbray*, this novel tells us much about early British feminism and its interest in the novel.

Rose Cottage is the story of a young widow's quest for information about her family and very origins. Kate, a war widow, returns to her childhood home, Rose Cottage, to obtain her ill grandmother's treasures, including papers that may hold a clue to Kate's own history. The story has the earmarks of a Mary Stewart read, but is lacking the richness of the author's early books, such as Nine Coaches Waiting, and Madame Will You Talk?. The novel doesn't refer to early English literature like her previous books do, and the characters aren't as well developed. However, as an avid Mary Stewart fan, I would never say "no" to an afternoon with Mary Stewart!

This book wasn't great but it wasn't bad either. I didn't like the predictable ending. A nice slow read.

I love Mary Stewart books and this one I enjoyed just as much as all her others. My all time favorite is Touch Not the Cat, but I read the Rose Cottage in one night straight. I stayed up until 5:00 in the morning, it was just too good to put down. From the setting of small town life and the diverse characters Stewart creates to the suspense of the mystery of lovely Kathy's mother, I had a lot of fun with this book.

Many people would like to say that Shakespeare did not write this play. But this is hardly fair. Even with the world's finest writers such as Marlowe and Dickens, not every single thing they write can be a masterpiece. But what makes "The Two Gentleman of Verona" worth reading? Well, Shakespeare presents us with a valid theme. (Conflicts often exist between romance and friendship.) There is also beautiful language. Launce and his dog offer some interesting comedy as well as a beautiful and memorable passage in 2.3. The scene where Valentine is accepted amonst the outlaws is memorable. This is Shakespeare's first play where a woman (Julia) disuises herself as man to do some investigating. It is also easy to see that several elements of this play were used in "Romeo and Juliet." To be sure, this is not a masterpiece like "The Comedy of Errors," "Richard III," or "King Lear." But it is still an good study that is worth some interest.

Although few would claim that Two Gentlemen of Verona is one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, it is well worth reading in order to serve as a reference for the best of his romantic comedies. In essence, Two Gentlemen of Verona gives you a measuring stick to see the brilliance in the best works.

The play has the first of Shakespeare's many brave, resourceful and cross-dressing heroines, Julia.

Shakespeare always used his fools and clowns well to make serious statements about life and love, and to expose the folly of the nobles. Two Gentlemen of Verona has two very fine comic scenes featuring Launce. In one, he lists the qualities of a milk maid he has fallen in love with and helps us to see that love is blind and relative. In another, he describes the difficulties he has delivering a pet dog to Silvia on his master, Proteus', behalf in a way that will keep you merry on many a cold winter's evening.

The story also has one of the fastest plot resolutions you will ever find in a play. Blink, and the play is over. This nifty sleight of hand is Shakespeare's way of showing that when you get noble emotions and character flowing together, things go smoothly and naturally.

The overall theme of the play develops around the relative conflicts that lust, love, friendship, and forgiveness can create and overcome. Proteus is a man who seems literally crazed by his attraction to Silvia so that he loses all of his finer qualities. Yet even he can be redeemed, after almost doing a most foul act. The play is very optimistic in that way.

I particularly enjoy the plot device of having Proteus and Julia (pretending to be a page) playing in the roles of false suitors for others to serve their own interests. Fans of Othello will enjoy these foreshadowings of Iago.

The words themselves can be a bit bare at times, requiring good direction and acting to bring out the full conflict and story. For that reason, I strongly urge you to see the play performed first. If that is not possible, do listen to an audio recording as you read along. That will help round out the full atmosphere that Shakespeare was developing here.

After you finish Two Gentlemen of Verona, think about where you would honor friendship above love, where equal to love, and where below love. Is friendship less important than love? Or is friendship merely less intense? Can you experience both with the same person?

Enjoy close ties of mutual commitment . . . with all those you feel close to!

"The Two Gentlemen of Verona" is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. Maybe that's because it's one of the only one's I understand. My youth Theatre did a wonderful production of this play. I was not in it, but I saw it twice. It was set in the 60's, peasant-shirted and bell-bottomed. I think it's a wonderful story, although a bit unrealistic because of all the forgiveness that happens at the end of the play. But I think that it's a play everyone should read. This edition of the play is, I think, a very good one. If you are planning to buy a copy of "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," I would advise you to buy the most current edidtion printed by the Folger Shakespeare Library. They have lots of information in the book, and many definitions of the more difficult Elizabethian words.

A very- pleasing book for all Teen-
Angst Fans- especially those of Alicia's
the "Aerosmith Chick". For those of us
who LOVE Drooling over Alicia- and everything
she's in- you'll want to get this book to
add to your Collection. One very nice and
interesting tid bit of information is that
she- Alicia, now believes that her religion
is simply knowing herself and knowing who
the most important people in her life are-
As opposed to an organized religion. This
book features many pictures in Black and White
and none of which that are in color. One really
rare pict. that I have not seen before is featured in
this book- it is with Alicia and her brother
and two parents. I would have given this book
a Higher rating if there were some color pictures
in it- and not just Black and White ones.
All in all a good- read, but, Don't expect Alicia's
Life story, this is just a Bird's Eye view of it.

"Cabbage Rose" is a fairy tale of modern sensibilities. A plain girl mocked by mean-spirited brothers, Cabbage is an accomplished artist who is given a magic brush by a passing magician. When her brothers discover that the brush makes real everything she paints, they force her to paint objects of wealth until she is exhausted. One night she paints herself a window and escapes. Soon she establishes a reputation for her non-magic paintings, even being commissioned to paint for the royal family where she becomes friends with the prince, who adds Rose to her name. However, her attempt to impress him by painting herself beautiful with the magic brush backfires, and she learns that she herself -- Cabbage Rose -- is more important than any surface beauty. While I enjoyed the premise of "Cabbage Rose," I was baffled by the accompanying watercolors. The blond girl depicted looked quite pretty to me, and I couldn't imagine why anyone would consider her plain. In fact, I thought her attractive appearance both undermined the core message of the story and might even make some children uncomfortable. If "this" girl was considered plain, what did that say about other children?

Edward, Earl of Raymore, has recently become the guardian of two young ladies, one who is the daughter of his predecessor as Earl (who was his uncle) and the other who is related to the late Countess. Rosalind Dacey, the latter of Raymore's wards, walks with a distinct limp as the result of a childhood accident; to Raymore's dismay, this makes her less marriageable as a result.

Raymore and Rosalind strike sparks off each other from the moment they meet. He wants to marry her off as soon as he can; she wants to be allowed to retire to the country and remain unmarried, thus escaping the humiliation of being found wanting by Society. He's an autocrat who dislikes women intensely, and so he expects her to obey his every order. She resents being ordered around and defies him openly on several occasions.

And yet on one occasion when she goes too far and he tells her off in his study, temper turns to irrestible attraction and he kisses her senseless.

However, someone does apparently find Rosalind attractive enough to want to marry her. But why does Raymore resent her engagement so much? Why does he seem to want to prove that her fiance isn't good enough for her? Can he simply put her out of his mind - and can she put him out of hers?

This is an enjoyable romance, but at times it does become obvious that it's one of Balogh's earlier works. There is rather too much informality between characters, which wouldn't have happened and which isn't Balogh's style in her later work. She also gets a title wrong; Raymore's unmarried cousin is several times addressed as Lady Marsh instead of Lady Sylvia, the latter being an earl's daughter and the former the wife of Lord Marsh.

Raymore's development from a misogynistic, autocratic boor to a sensitive and caring lover was not very well developed either. He went from doubting Rosalind's virtue as a result of the kiss she shared with him to (apparently) assuming that she had to be completely virtuous after all, with no real articulation of this change in his attitude.

All in all, while I enjoyed this book, I'd rather re-read another Balogh, such as A Certain Magic or Tempting Harriet.

i don't know why the author felt that ugly people make sexy reading...I mean, girls, if we wanted to read or watch ugly guys we wouldn't be glued to Gladiator, right? and as for people peeing in nappies.....ick! i think the english have some Very Strange Perversions. And they aren't sexy! This left me cold and had a high yuk factor. and the so called sexy stories seemed to all be about people with no redeeming attributes. The sexual discriptions were also distinctly odd - 'savage' penis anyone? pretty anti-men i think. Personally I love men, so I'd go for some other erotica given the choice.

I bought quite a few books from Amazon.com having lots of books to choose from. This book, being fifteen dollars, is not worth the buy being a KIDS book. Although the picture on the front of the book is great, your wasting your money to get this book. It's a very kiddy book. Hardly any pictures, very few pages, and is a easy reading kids book about buffy. NOT worth it. If you a well worth Buffy book go get the Sunnydale High Yearbook of Sarah Michelle Gellar. Thats a GOOD buy!