Interesting read
Rating:
4 / 5
I, too, remember the Bette Davis/Charles Boyer film fondly and was glad to find this novel so many years later. I have to agree with others that the second half of the book lacks the compelling interest of the first; Rachel Field was writing about her own family in the latter, and she would naturally be just as interested in it as she was Henriette's life in Paris. I enjoyed the look at New York in the mid-nineteenth century, but the second half of the book just wasn't as compelling. If it had been, I would have given this one five stars. Still, anyone who enjoys historical fiction laced with a bit of romance (not much romance, and somewhat old-fashioned, but sweet) will find much to appreciate in this book.
Excellent first half; disappointing second
Rating:
3 / 5
This 600 page volume neatly divides exactly in two. The first half covers steps leading up to and away from the Praslin murder in Paris of the late 1840s. The second half follows Henriette as she settles in New York and becomes a happily married woman and the center of a prominent social circle of literati. The first half is a very good read, although historically one would have liked to know the fate of the children. The second half was only mildly interesting and occasionally became plodding. The famous Warner Bros. film of 1940 was based solely on the first half of the book, the meat of a classically tragic romance. Happy endings for heroines did not sell as well in those days as unrequited or forbidden love stories. The film earned three Academy Award nominations including one for Best Production. Field is a good writer, but not an outstanding one. We are given insight into Henriette's character but none into that of any of the others. This is a novel that is half good, half mediocre.
All This And Heaven Too
Rating:
5 / 5
'All This And Heaven Too' is based on the true crime story of Henriette Deluzy-Desportes. An ingenue who found herself abruptly the most despised, infamous woman in France circa 1850. Rachel Field here delineates and colors a classic story that's intense and unforgettable. 'All This And Heaven Too' is the bizarre account of the gruesome murder of the Duchess de Praslin. A bloody crime that shocked the European continent and was instrumental in precipitating the downfall of Louis Phillipe. This somewhat pathetic and delicately nuanced narrative tells of a lonely girl joining the imposing Ducal house of Choisel-Praslin, in Paris. Where Henriette soon wins the love of the affection-starved children. Also the admiration of their father, the dashing Duc de Praslin. All eager for distance and solace from their tyrannical and ruthless Duchess de Praslin. A capricious, doomed Corsican heiress with a smoldering temperament. All too prompt Henriette realizes she's fallen into a gnarled web. Of prohibited love, and desperation, and, ultimately, evil. This powerful and heartfelt drama has all the ingredients of a fairy tale, the appalling Wicked Mother, the Duchess, as antagonist. Vis-a-vis an opulent and exquisite ambiance, wistful mise-en-scenes of tenderness, and forbidden Romance. 'All This And Heaven Too' was made a film by Warner Brothers in 1940 with a screenplay by Casey Robinson, in a memorable cinematic production. 'All This..." is a story so vibrant, so filled with sentiment, that it should be brought back to the screen today. Deluzy-Deportes-Field's (Rachel Field the author, is her great grand niece)later years in America are not as interesting but are still good fodder for reading. How much of this historical account is fictionalized, I don't know. Throughout Henriette's inner life rings real and is always finely depicted. I received the book promptly sometime ago, and was happy to read Rachel Field's haunting novel, which I give 5 stars.
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