Sisters - Ada Cambridge

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Résumé :
Sisters is the story of four young women coming of age on a rural property in northern Victoria. But it is also the story of Guthrie Carey, a young sailor whose life crosses paths with the sisters at various points. The perils and pitfalls of love and marriage dominate the story. It would seem that Cambridge had a pretty cynical view and very low expectations for happiness within the confines of marriage. We have an unhappy marriage with a power imbalance, a domestic goddess whose life is taken up with child bearing and child rearing, an adulteress, a nursemaid, a man still in love with his former wife's ghost and a lonely old, man dreaming of a love that will never be! If Sisters is a good representation of her work, I'll definitely look for more. She doesn't write as broadly or deeply as Henry Handel Richardson, but she does take on women's concerns and class consciousness in a period when this wasn't really the thing to do in writing. The conversation and descriptions in Sisters are fantastic. Particularly well-developed characters like Debbie and Carey will stay with me for a very long time.

Biographie:
Ada Cambridge was an English-born Australian writer, born on November 21, 1844, in Saint Germans, United Kingdom. She immigrated to Australia, where she became a significant literary figure, producing over 25 works of fiction, three volumes of poetry, and two autobiographical works. Many of her novels were serialised in Australian newspapers but were never published as standalone books. Her literary career spanned decades, reflecting both her personal experiences and her observations of societal dynamics. Cambridge married Rev. George Frederick Cross in 1870, and they had five children, one of whom was Dr. K. Stuart Cross. She spent much of her life in Melbourne, where she passed away on July 19, 1926, at the age of 81. Her work remains an important part of the literary history of Australia, contributing significantly to the cultural and social landscape of the time. While her fame was largely confined to Australia during her lifetime, her writing offers valuable insight into the experiences of women and the challenges they faced in the 19th and early 20th centuries....

Sommaire:
Sisters is the story of four young women coming of age on a rural property in northern Victoria. But it is also the story of Guthrie Carey, a young sailor whose life crosses paths with the sisters at various points. The perils and pitfalls of love and marriage dominate the story. It would seem that Cambridge had a pretty cynical view and very low expectations for happiness within the confines of marriage. We have an unhappy marriage with a power imbalance, a domestic goddess whose life is taken up with child bearing and child rearing, an adulteress, a nursemaid, a man still in love with his former wife's ghost and a lonely old, man dreaming of a love that will never be! If Sisters is a good representation of her work, I'll definitely look for more. She doesn't write as broadly or deeply as Henry Handel Richardson, but she does take on women's concerns and class consciousness in a period when this wasn't really the thing to do in writing. The conversation and descriptions in Sisters are fantastic. Particularly well-developed characters like Debbie and Carey will stay with me for a very long time....