Isabella
Isabella is the story of a young wife's heart wrenching struggle to win the heart of her husband from the grasp of her cold, revenge-driven cousin. The story takes place in the end of the 18th century. It is comprised of 3 volumes, and is approximately 1000 pages long, though the margins and typesetting of the book make the reading time considerably less.
Isabella Hastings is the daughter of a deceased Earl and an ambitious mother, Lady Jane. With 3 daughters to bring into the world, and no fortune to bestow upon them, Lady Jane devotes herself to their strict upbringing, determined that her girls will be unrivaled in the "feminine arts" of such things as drawing, dancing, music, language, etc. She instills in them what seems a sense of modest virtue but is, in reality, a pronounced sense of self-preservation. She teaches her girls that their only happiness in life is in finding a husband who can bestow on them wealth and station, and that their virtues and accomplishments will keep him.
Meanwhile, Lady Jane's sister-in-law, Lady Stanton, is also bringing up daughters, but in a very different way. Instead of teaching them modest virtues and instilling in them the advantages of an even temper and passiveness, she allows them all the self-gratification of their inclinations and temperaments. From this upbringing comes Lady Charlotte Stanton, the eldest of Lord Stanton's daughters. From childhood, Lady Charlotte has been at odds with her cousin, Isabella Hastings, and the rivalry comes to a climax when Charlotte's long-time suitor, Mr. Willoughby, chooses Isabella's quiet passivity over her fiery, erratic temperament. Mortified, and hungry for revenge on Willoughby and Isabella, Charlotte marries the imbecilic Mr. Dunston, and plots out her revenge on the couple.
Her determination is to win and monopolize the love and attention of Mr. Willoughby while also setting him on a course for financial ruin, leaving Isabella abandoned, embarrassed, and heart broken. The majority of the book is the story of Charlotte's malicious and twisted attacks on Isabella and Isabella's struggle not only to win the heart of her husband, but to retain her moral and spiritual integrity despite the evil being done her.
Isabella is a book that evokes stronger emotions from the reader than most books of its type. While it is subject to long, preachy discourses on morality and the necessity of suffering for spiritual refinement, the level of emotional strain and heartache that Isabella endures is gripping and engaging. I felt myself crying, and wanting to climb into the pages and slap people in the face-- usually Lady Charlotte or Willoughby, but sometimes Isabella as well, for not doing so herself.
Though the language was sometimes a bit confusing and wearisome, I still found myself deeply involved in Isabella's plight and eager to find out if she triumphed over Lady Charlotte's diabolical designs or if Willoughby does, indeed abandon her to heartache.