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Life Mask
by Emma Donoghue


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Official Publisher Site

The bestselling author of "Slammerkin" turns her attention to the Beau Monde of late eighteenth-century England, turning the private drama of three celebrated Londoners into a robust, full-bodied portrait of a world, and lives, on the brink of revolution. [Harcourt]

Harcourt, 672 pages
09/01/2004
$26.00

ISBN: 0151009430

Fiction
General Literature & Fiction
Historical Fiction

All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...

Chicago Tribune Carey Harrison

Donoghue's deployment of 18th Century lore and detail is admirably compendious, and few who penetrate the book will be able to put it down before its enthralling tales end. [10 October 2004]

Houston Chronicle Barbara Liss

This is wonderful, soapy entertainment, but Donoghue infuses it with something more. While we spend much of our reading time waiting for the Countess of Derby to die, for Eliza to decide about Anne's friendship and for Anne to recognize her sexual identity, we have also the thrilling intrigue of the French Revolution and a wider European war swirling on the Continent.

Kirkus Reviews

A little slow to start, but readers who give themselves over to its unhurried rhythms will be rewarded: a full-bodied tale that satisfies the head and the heart.

Publishers Weekly

[Donoghue] presents a vibrant world seething with repressed feeling and class tensions.

The Globe And Mail [Toronto] Karen Solie

A fine instance of a contemporary historical fiction that is at once relevant, informative, compellingly plotted and exuberantly written. Donoghue knows that a good story does not necessarily a good novel make. In Life Mask , she's written both. [31 July 2004, p.D3]

Washington Post Julia Livshin

Donoghue, who is also a playwright and historian, has alighted on another terrific story, and she pulls off a dazzling feat of choreography in setting it all in motion. She takes obvious delight in the sumptuous details of dress and comportment, the subtle inflections in conversation and the slow blooming of erotic tension.

The New York Times Book Review Walter Olson

A sprawling, leisurely and enjoyable novel...Donoghue doesn't make it easy to tell where fact leaves off and fiction begins, which will frustrate some readers but also bears witness to her skill.

Daily Telegraph Tamsin Dean

As the author of this clever, enjoyable novel says, it is "fiction of the kind that walks arm in arm with fact".

Booklist Carolyn Kubisz

Donoghue weaves a story filled with such attention to detail that it easily captures the essence of the time--power, intrigue, dirty politics, and erotic liaisons. [1 Sept 2004, p.60]

Boston Globe Diane White

A treat for those who like good historical fiction.

Entertainment Weekly Melissa Rose Bernardo

Donoghue gets bogged down with the politics of 18th-century Britain. And though the women are incredibly well drawn, Mask plods along, both fittingly and frustratingly, at horse-and-buggy pace.

The Guardian Fatema Ahmed

Unfortunately, it is the novel's slow walking pace that is its greatest flaw.

Library Journal Karen T. Bilton

Despite a rich portrayal of 18th-century genteel society, Donoghue's bulky account of this relatively tame scandal, by historical and modern standards, is unfortunately dull. [15 Sept 2004, p.48]

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Life Mask by Emma Donoghue

Life Mask
by Emma Donoghue