What one reviewer said about A Laodicean: Or the Castle of the De Stancys (Penguin Classics) by Thomas Hardy, John Schad:
Thomas Hardy's 1881 novel, "A Laodicean" is often overlooked among his more noted works, like "Tess" or "Jude". While "A Laodicean" is not the most subtly developing Victorian novel in terms of romance, it is sophisticated and worth reading in other aspects. Subtitled "A Story of To-day," Hardy's novel effectively explores the relationship between the coming age of technology and the death of the aristocracy in pre-20th century Britain.
The novel begins with George Somerset, a flighty and intelligent young man who has tinkered with several pursuits, but is finally settling into architecture. Wandering about the vicinity of Markton village, he comes upon a rustic baptism. Paula Power, a young heiress whose late father was a railroad tycoon, refuses to be baptized, raising Pastor Woodwell's charge against her that she is a "Laodicean," a lukewarm believer. George is engaged to work on the restoration of Paula's new residence, Castle De Stancy. Somerset's fascination with Power is born and the action of the novel begins in earnest.
Some of the themes of interest include technological advance - the telegraph's intrusion into the most ancient spaces - the gothic castle and photography. With the image of the crumbling gothic Castle De Stancy, Hardy questions the relevance of hereditary aristocracy and religious fervor to the cosmopolitan modern age. With Paula, Hardy's lifelong interest in the independent heroine is complicated and subtly nuanced. With the fascinating Mr. Dare, Hardy plays with his gothic and colonial subtexts, prefiguring Bram Stoker's late 1890's "Dracula."
"A Laodicean" is worth reading because it is itself lukewarm - unsure whether progress is always positive and uncomfortable with the flippancy of both the aristocracy and new wealth. It is a book whose very instabilities and insecurities make it engaging.
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