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Original Essays | November 5, 2009

John Buntin: IMG Notes from the (Bibliographic) Underground

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For more than 60 years, Los Angeles's origins, its underbelly, and (yes) its blondes have fueled the imagination of writers and directors from... Continue »
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    L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City

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A Great and Terrible Beauty

by Libba Bray

A Great and Terrible Beauty Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

It's 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma's reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she's been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence's most powerful girls — and their foray into the spiritual world — lead to?

Review:

"In the opening scene of Bray's riveting debut novel set in Victorian times, narrator Gemma Doyle walks the streets of Bombay, India, with her mother on her 16th birthday. By the end of the second chapter, her mother, who has told Gemma to return home, is dead, and Gemma has envisioned just how it happened, involving a 'dark shape' that makes a 'slithering sound.' Next, readers find her on a train bound for Victoria Station, en route to Britain's Spence Academy. Gemma's visions intensify while at school, where she is led to a nearby cave and discovers a diary of a woman who had similar experiences. She soon learns of an age-old Order of sorceresses who can open doors between worlds-and of a tragedy two decades prior that is beginning to cast its shadow over her. Meanwhile, the girls of Spence are preparing for their 'season,' when they will be trotted out before wealthy bachelors in hopes of securing a good marriage. Bray brilliantly depicts a caste system, in which girls are taught to abandon individuality in favor of their man's wishes, as a deeper and darker horror than most things that go bump in the night. While aimed at female readers, it will be just as delectable to boys brave enough to be seen carrying a book sporting a corset-clad girl on the cover. The pace is swift, the finale gripping. A delicious, elegant gothic. Ages 12-up." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"An interesting combination of fantasy, light horror, and historical fiction, with a dash of romance thrown in for good measure." Library Journal

Review:

"A Gothic touched by modern conceptions of adolescence, shivery with both passion and terror." Kirkus Reviews

Review:

"A well written page turner, with strong characterization and dialogue, this Victorian-era gothic novel will find many readers unable to put it down until the very last page." Children's Literature

Review:

"Soundly researched and credible....[An] exhilarating and thought-provoking read." VOYA
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About the Author

Libba Bray has worked as a waitress, a nanny, a burrito roller, and an advertising copywriter. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and son.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 11 comments:
megan s, June 14, 2009 (view all comments by megan s)
Despite its historical setting complete with its implications for the girls, A Great and Terrible Beauty's characters face similar situations to today's teenage girls. For Gemma, as for many teenagers, there is always that dangerous line between being herself and changing herself to fit in with her peers. Her friends' activities are at once attractive and repulsive to her, but Gemma is by no means perfect. She is spunky, opinionated, and outspoken. She is blunt and tactless when perfect manners are expected of her. She knows what's right but she does what's wrong. In other words, she is a very real character and one who is easy to sympathize with.

Bray's writing is richly atmospheric, effortlessly evoking the many settings of her story. From a busy Indian marketplace to a slightly spooky girl's boarding school in London to incredible magical realms, Bray's beautifully rendered places play almost as important a role in her story as the girls themselves. Her rich descriptions make this novel a particularly engaging page-turner.

Most significant of all is Bray's skillful handling of the problems inherent in being a young woman in Victorian times and her use of these issues to further our understanding of the particular grip the magical realms have on Gemma, Felicity, Pippa, and Ann. Girls are sent to Spence not to learn for the sake of knowledge but to store up the lessons that will make them good and cultured wives for some wealthy gentleman of their parents' choosing. Bray's characters are strong-willed young women who desire husbands and beauty and fluent French but also want to have their opinions heard, to be able to have the power to influence the courses of their lives, to accomplish things that women aren't even allowed to attempt. This understandable desire for choice and for power plays beautifully into the girls' growing obsessions with the magical realms that will open for Gemma alone.

A Great and Terrible Beauty is a delicious, spooky page-turner that doesn't shy away from serious themes. One of my favorite reads of the year.
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Mary Crowell, May 10, 2009 (view all comments by Mary Crowell)
This book is respectable and had its moments where the author wrote beautifully and with some depth, but for the most part, I was disappointed. I was expecting more than the typical "loner" mystery girl who falls in line with the beautiful and popular "in-crowd" of Mean girls.
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BellaEzrebetFang, June 18, 2008 (view all comments by BellaEzrebetFang)
Wonderful read! One of my top books!!!!!!
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780385732314
Author:
Bray, Libba
Publisher:
Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
Subject:
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
Subject:
Schools
Subject:
Children's 12-Up - Fiction - Science Fiction
Subject:
Boarding schools
Subject:
Fantasy & Magic
Subject:
England
Subject:
Magic
Edition Description:
Paperback
Series:
Readers Circle
Publication Date:
March 2005
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Pages:
403
Dimensions:
8.06x5.26x.98 in. .69 lbs.
Age Level:
13-17
Notes:

9 for floor display, 4 for reader circle floor display

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