| Title | : | The Vines of Yarrabee |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 320 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1968 |
The Vines of Yarrabee Reviews
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The Vines of Yarrabee by Dorothy Eden is a 2013 Open Road Media publication. (Originally published in 1968)
Well, that was depressing.
Eugenia leaves her home in England, traveling to the wilderness of Australia to marry Gilbert, the owner of a vineyard plantation. It becomes immediately clear that Eugenia is second fiddle to her husband’s vineyard. Matters only get worse, when Gilbert brings in a widowed and pregnant convict to be a maid at their newly built home, appropriately named Yarrabee.
Eugenia struggles to find her role in the home, and in her marriage. Gilbert treats her like an ornament, a refined, delicate creature, smothering her nearly to death. Meanwhile, the maid secures a permanent role in the household, rolling up her sleeves and becoming more help to Gilbert than he would ever allow Eugenia to be.
As the years pass, children are born, the vines struggle, prosper, then struggles some more, there are passions and heartbreaks and tragedies, while each person is trapped in a defined role they are helpless to break free from, never truly knowing or understanding the people they are the most familiar with.
Those familiar with Dorothy Eden may associate her with the Gothic style romantic suspense genre that was so popular in the sixties and seventies.
This book doesn’t not fall into that category, but is, instead, a family saga, and pure historical fiction. There is no mystery, or supernatural element, and while Yarabee is a large house, it’s newly built, is not haunted, or crumbling, or set on the cliffs of Cornwall.
The story gets off to a slow start, but eventually, I found myself absorbed in Eugenia’s sad battle with homesickness, and the tragic way her life unfolds. While Gilbert’s dominance and his obsession with his vines makes it hard to like him, Eugenia could also try one’s patience. Of the two, though, I did sympathize with Eugenia, who was trapped in the proverbial ivory tower, but longed for more out her marriage and her life.
As I continued to read, I was buoyed by a few possibilities, but was disappointed over and over again when nothing seemed to get better.
I could see a type of personal triumph, I suppose, with the way things turned out in the end. Unfortunately, it was not the way I would have liked the book to conclude. These events should have transpired much earlier in the book. As such, the conclusion left me feeling dispirited and unsatisfied, with some question as to what the future held for our Eugenia.
While I have read several of Eden’s novels over the years, there are still many I have yet to read, but to date, this one is my least favorite.
2.5 stars -
I collect Dorothy Eden's books, I really like her writing style. But this is one I'm glad I didn't buy (I found it on Openlibrary instead) .
In fact, while the title "The Vines of Yarrabee" certainly makes sense (given that our male protagonist lives, breathes, thinks, eats and drinks nothing but wine and his precious vineyards) I think I'll rename this book, "Married in Misery". I don't think Ive ever read one quite so miserable (and yes, Ive read Anna Karenina -which I liked) .
The moral of this story seems to be: Don't marry someone you don't know. Don't marry someone you don't love. Don't pretend you're something youre not and for goodness sake, don't try to cover one bad mistake with another...and another...and another. Good advice, a shame they didn't take it.
I don't expect perfection from my fictional characters, I like them to be human. But at 62% into this I have not one iota of respect left for either hero or heroine.
I wonder if Dorothy Eden was in the middle of something messy when she wrote this. If so, I really feel for her and her pain. No one should be made to feel so unwanted or unloved. But a word of advice... just keep it in the diary next time. This is not a happy read or even what I would call a worthwhile one.
But then, there's still 40% more to the book...so I leave final judgement to you.
CONTENT:
Mature themes and non explicit but frank sexual content.
Not recommended for YA readers -
I am a voracious reader now and have always been. If there was something near me with words on it, I read it. When I was growing up, my mother had quite a collection of historical and gothic romances and romantic thrillers. Of course, I read them all: Phyllis Whitney, Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt, Dorothy Eden, M.M. Kaye, Mary Ruth Myers, Helen Reilly, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Philippa Carr and Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels. I enjoyed those authors then, but I am finding that as an adult reader some of the books don’t hold up well over time. Dorothy Eden’s The Vines of Yarrabee is one of those books. My memory is of a magical romance taking place in a fantastical country. After reading it as an adult, I see it as a complex love story that is more realistic and honest than it’s perhaps given credit for.
Eugenia is an attractive daughter in respectable, well-to-do English family of too many girls. When she catches the attention of Gilbert Massingham, an Englishman with a small inheritance who has settled in Australia with the goal of being Australia’s first wine grower, her family is amenable to the match. Eventually, Eugenia is sent across the ocean to Australia to wed Gilbert. She is charming, poised, educated in the womanly arts of the day, and beautiful, everything Gilbert wishes for in a wife. However, Eugenia is too young and inexperienced to know that this brash adventurer will not live up to her romantic daydreams. Their marriage gets off to a rocky start and Eugenia must get her bearings in a harsh country very unlike her beloved England. Their lives and fortunes are greatly affected by the wine crops and the harsh Australian climate. This book spans about twenty-thirty years of Eugenia and Gilbert’s life together and is the story of how they slowly both get to know each other and learn to love each other.
When I first began reading, I wasn’t sure if this book would be worth the effort to finish. However, once I began skimming the more boring passages (Eugenia’s tedious letters to her sister Sarah and clothing descriptions), I found myself liking it more than I thought I would. It’s not a bad novel as love stories go, but I’d consider it more of a family saga. It’s not just about Eugenia and Gilbert, it’s about their lives as a whole and the people they surround themselves with. It’s also a “man against nature” kind of story as Gilbert fights constantly against Australia’s unforgiving climate of unbearable heat, drought, flooding and fires and also battles the mold, fungus and parasites that can destroy his grape vines. Eden does a decent job of presenting a very young Australia as first a prison colony for England’s criminals and then as an opportunity for adventurous settlers wanting to start new lives in this basically unsettled country. Of course, it is inhabited already by indigenous Australians, and while Eden does mention a few incidents, she largely (and, wisely, I think) leaves the horrible mistreatment of Australian natives by the Europeans alone. Eugenia, while very snobbish in her insistence on keeping the “classes” separated, is sympathetic to the convicts and she and her husband are probably much kinder landowners than other European settlers.
Eugenia and Gilbert and Molly Jarvis and other characters are interesting enough to keep my attention and follow their story, but I don’t feel strongly about them one way or the other. None of them are horrible people and Eden gives us their point of view so we can understand how they feel. I’m actually sympathetic to all of them—they did the best they could within the constraints of society and their own misunderstandings about each other. I actually liked the book better than I thought I would because by the end, it’s clear that Eugenia, who is a bit rigid and fearful and snobbish, has matured and come to understand her husband. Her love for him is no longer the love of an innocent, dreamy young girl, but the tested and deep love of loyalty and shared hardships. Gilbert also matures from the brash man who merely wanted an ornament for a wife into understanding her fears and appreciating her cool head, sensibilities and long loyalty. The end is rather touching and sad. Molly Jarvis, Gilbert’s mistress of many years, is also a sympathetic person. She loves Gilbert, loves Eugenia and is loyal to both and feels guilty for her disloyalty in loving Eugenia’s husband. It’s a complex and delicate situation, but I think Gilbert’s relationship with Molly makes him a better man and a better husband to Eugenia. Gilbert and Eugenia’s children don’t interest me all that much and I skimmed over them because the story is about Gilbert and Eugenia and Molly, not their children.
The dialogue isn’t all that sparkling and there isn’t really much of a fast-paced plot, but who reads Dorothy Eden for the plot? This is a reasonably enjoyable book, depending on what you’re looking for in a book. I doubt I’ll read it again, but it was decent journey down (book) memory lane. Out of idle curiosity, I read some other reviews of this book and found some of them amusing. Several people seem to think Dorothy Eden either has a) a terrible view of marriage to write this book or b) had a terrible marriage with a cheating husband. The “cheating” of the spouses isn’t the point of the novel, or even all that important. Plus, she is a novelist. Perhaps she merely used her imagination? Another viewer warns that this book is not YA-approved as it has sex scenes. That’s funny. I’ve read YA books with much more sexually charged situations (and descriptions) than anything you can find in this book. Plus, I can’t see too many teens today reading a 1969 Dorothy Eden book. There are no vampires, no one has special abilities or skills, and it’s not a dystopia or end-of-the-world book. I think innocent teens everywhere are safe from the depravity of Dorothy Eden. -
I've read this one a few times over the years and even now I still enjoyed it. A good story is a good story, it doesn't matter when it was written.
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Englishman Gilbert Massingham was a man of adventure.
A man who saw possibilities in places overlooked by others.
He was orphaned at an early age, then brought up by a maiden aunt, whose modest fortune he eventually inherited. He had no family and a comfortable amount of money…a man in the right position to embark on a great and ambitious adventure.
He sailed halfway across the world; in the direction of a country he’d developed a passion for…
The Australia of the 1820’s.
It was the place that many men saw in terms of sheep or cattle production, some prospected for gold.
As for Gilbert, soon after his arrival, he’d visited a small thriving vineyard at vintage time.
His imagination was instantly fired.
He acted on his imagination, first by purchasing a thousand acres of land near Parramatta, second, by travelling to France and Portugal for the purpose of collecting vine cuttings for his Australian vineyard.
Australia, he’d decided, was a country of possibility…the notion of a starry-eyed-dreamer some thought, since the country was considered the wild domain of criminals, as “one large, outdoor prison.”
It was while Gilbert was visiting France, on yet another search for the right vine clippings, that he found himself the invited guest at the chateau of Henri, a noted viticulturist. The two men, sharing a passion for vineyards, had a lot to talk about.
It was on that same evening that Henri’s niece, Eugenia Lichfield was also a guest at the chateau.
Gilbert and Eugenia engaged in much conversation, first in the drawing room and later, a stroll on the terrace. It seemed that he was interested in this young Englishwoman. Eugenia seemed to be interested as well.
But it was when Gilbert followed Eugenia back to England, and asked permission to call on her parents, that she was even more sure of his interest.
He’d arrived in London, just as Eugenia’s parents were “presenting” her older sister Jessica. Apparently, money had become short in the family, so it was important that the young man interested in Jessica, the son of an earl, feel as encouraged as possible to pursue her.
Under the circumstances, the visiting vineyard owner from Australia would also be warmly received.
The two eldest daughters, it would seem, were both bound to be married soon, this development was much to the relief of Eugenia’s parents. That left the three younger sisters. Once the two older ones were spoken for, the effort to find husbands for the other three would commence in earnest.
Gilbert spoke to Eugenia’s father, expressing a zealous enthusiasm for Australia, a country large beyond imagining, a place of unbelievable riches. He described it as a place where responsible settlers were welcomed…hard working, healthy, adventurous young men.
“And what of the convicts?” Eugenia’s father asked, referring to the “dishonest riffraff” of the British Isles that were transported to the faraway land as prisoners.
That state of affairs, Gilbert explained, was something of the past, Australia was a new country. The time of the first and second prisoner fleets was near a half century past now, and besides, the more recently landed convicts, only a fraction of the population, were now in their own way, an asset to a growing Australia. They would provide a constant supply of cheap labor.
Gilbert went on, passionately painting a picture of Australia, the land of opportunity while Eugenia’s father patiently listened. Then the father’s eyebrow went up when Gilbert mentioned one other aspect of his plan…
That he was looking for a woman to marry him and join him in that adventure. His daughter, he explained, was that woman.
Upon hearing this, Eugenia wanted to cry. She had already fallen in love with Gilbert Massingham’s vitality and persuasiveness, but she also had a streak of caution and common sense. Therefore, she agreed with her father when he stipulated that she should wait until she was of age to marry.
Three years was the time…a sufficient time to give both a certainty of their feelings.
The plan was set into motion…
Eugenia would remain at Lichfield Court, the old red-brick manor house in Wiltshire which had belonged to her father’s family for two hundred years. She’d continue her study of music, painting, and the French language.
Gilbert was happy to hear that she would continue these fine pursuits, he likened to the idea that the vineyard owner’s wife should be so sophisticated. This, he deemed, would be an asset to the estate.
Eugenia was also an avid letter writer, and would, she promised, take great joy in addressing correspondence to him during their long separation.
Gilbert, for his part, would use the three years to build a proper house on the property, as well as develop the healthy grape vines that would eventually produce the family income.
The years pass and Eugenia prepares for the sail ship voyage of fifteen thousand miles to marry a man she could now scarcely remember.
New furniture was purchased, and Eugenia’s beloved piano, writing desk, and tea service silverware were to be packed.
In Gilbert’s letters, he’d been very specific as to his instructions concerning the vine cuttings her Uncle Henri had promised him. There should be at least a hundred cuttings, correctly dipped in the solution that would preserve life in them during the long voyage. There should be a variety necessary for growing white and red wine grapes, for sherries and some for drying into raisins.
Even as Eugenia read Gilbert’s letters, she was becoming concerned that they were increasingly specific about the concerns of the vineyard and less and less about his affection for his bride to be. She was beginning to have reservations but put them aside during the busyness of reading for the trip.
Its in the opening pages of the story we see the picture of Eugenia gripping the side of the small rowing boat, she and her chaperone, Mrs. Ashburton, having just clambered down the ladder of the “Caroline,” their three month long home on the sea.
Eugenia finally spots Gilbert, his hands waving wildly as she stands expectantly on the dock.
“Welcome to Australia! Have you brought the vine cuttings?”
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Ashburton nudges Eugenia, laughing in her own, Jolly fashion,
“Well, that’s a fine welcome, miss! Which is more important to this young man, his intended wife, or his vine cuttings?”
And it is in that moment that Eugenia, Mrs. Ashburton and Gilbert set out on their daring Australian adventure. It’s a tale of grand ambition, the battle against the elements and a cast of intriguing characters that include: A perilous wedding night, a killer frost, an ebullient yet tipsy benefactor, a spoony portrait painter, a tattling cockatoo, an enterprising teenage apprentice, the adoringly inseparable “Kit” and “Rosie”, the return of English prison ships, unexpected deaths, and throughout it all, the pioneering spirit of a family of stubbornly ambitious viticulturists.
And a final chapter I read as i wiped away more than one tear...
Another storytelling victory for Dorothy Eden! -
I love Dorothy Eden's books, but I went back and forth on this one all the way up to the end. I enjoyed the description of the Australian setting and even enjoyed learning all the details about wine making. But all the characters were hard to love for me because of both their actions and INactions and the foolish choices they kept making. And that's exactly what made me love the ending so much.
I'm so glad I stuck with this book (thanks in large part to it being superbly written throughout) because the payoff in the end—while heartrending and absolutely not a HEA—left me feeling satisfied and happy for the characters for the most part.
Highly recommended for anyone who loves complicated characters and doesn't like their fiction all tied up neatly in a perfect bow. -
*Scared to keep reading because the characters are setting themselves up for a fall- check
*Sped up after thinking the worst was exposed- check
*Angry at characters- check
*Slowed down to NOT let it end- check
*Sped up because things can't go worse in the last forty pages- check
*Tears- check
*Not wanting to pick up another book in fear of this happening again -check (for a few hours)
This is the sixth Dorothy Eden book I've read in the past few months and she's now in my top 10 for authors.
I hope I pull off Gothic family sagas at least half as well. -
3.5 stars. Another good solid read from Eden. Michele's review
here pretty much mirrors my own thoughts, so I'll pass on trying to rewrite it. -
I really liked this book. But I wonder what went on in Dorothy Eden's life that made her repeatedly write about cheating husbands and wives.
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I enjoyed this one, but the ending seemed sort of rushed.
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My reading summer has been dedicated to Dororthy Eden. I've read nine of her books from the end of June until today. Her style of writing is compelling and addictive to me. Her characters are not portrayed as perfect and several times are irritating. In one or two books there are characters who should be punished for their behavior .
This book is one that I didn't enjoy much. It is about the life of British in Australia on early 1800. The heroine moved from Britain to get married with a vigneron. She was never in her whole life happy with her emigration. The children who were born in Australia act and feel as real natives. It is interesting but a little melancholic.
Other books that I've read are in order of preference:
Sleep In The Woods 5-stars, first published 1960, New Zealand pioneers
Ravenscroft 5-stars, first published 1964, white slavery in Victorian London
Darkwater 5-stars, first published 1963, gothic
Winterwood 4-stars, first published 1967, gothic
The American Heiress 4-stars, first published 1980, a story of stolen identity
The Millionaire's Daughter 4-stars, first published 1974, family saga
Speak To Me Of Love 4-stars, first published 1971, family saga with an irritating heroine
The Vines of Yarrabee 3-stars, first published 1968, Australia pioneers
Lady of Mallow 3-stars, first published 1960, gothic -
I read historical fiction to learn more about a time period in history that is not familiar to me. This novel is about the beginnings of Australia as a colony. The main character Gilbert Massingham is an Englishman who sets off to Australia to start a vineyard. For his wife he has chosen Eugenia from a "proper" British family. The family drama is predictable. Gilbert has a lifetime affair with the head housekeeper. The housekeeper's daughter marries Gilbert's son Kit. The daughter, Adelaide, marries Jem, the former convict who will take over the vineyard know that Kit has been disinherited. My disappointment is in the shallowness of the characters, Eugenia, has a fling as well but it is ended by her husband while he continues in his own clandestine affair. I wanted to throttle Eugenia for not standing up for herself. I also felt that more history was lacking about this time period in Australia's history.
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Una historia familiar en la Australia de la colonia.
Me llamo la antención que salvo para que la hicieran a un lado como apestada no aparecen los nativos australianos aunque la historia trascurre a los largo de más de 20 años, también que la protagonista nunca madurara, siguió dejando que todos decidieran por ella (como si fuera una niña) y la protegieran ciega a lo que la rodeaba, que a pesar de que Gilbert eligio a su esposa de la aristocracia inglesa venida a menos pues ambicionaba la elegancia y clase que le daria a su Viña no tuviera ningun inconveniente en que sus hijos se relacionaran como iguales con los hijos de la servidumbre y los ex presidiarios que trabajaban con el, en fin que no poniendo mucha atención a esos detalles la historia entretiene. -
I'm not in the habit of reading historical fiction but I sure am glad I happened on this book in my mother-in-laws book shelves. I already knew that I liked Dorothy Eden as an author so I thought I'd give this one a try. I usually turn my nose up to historical fiction, but after reading this one I did a little research and learned something about Australia's history. Very interesting. It turns out Dorothy knew what she was writing about. Worth the time to read.
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Entertaining historical. It's a generational saga that starts with a prim English lady coming to Australia in the 1820s to marry a rugged vintner intent on creating Australia's first wine trade. Lots of interesting detail about 19th century Australia. If you liked Green Dolphin Street or The Thorn Birds, you may like this.
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Wow
Every bit as good as "The Thorn Birds" . And every bit as tragic. A man and a women spend 24 years together building a winery, yet never really understanding each other until the end. Their lives in New South Wales a testimony to the early settlers of Australia. A great, rewarding read! -
Published in 1969, this is the way books should be written!
The author sums it up in the closing paragraph of Chapter 29: "How was it possible for two people to live together for so long and know so little about each other?" And then totally turns everything around for the last two chapters. -
An aristocratic lady moves to Australia with her husband, hates the land, and turns to another man for comfort.
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Part of my Books of the Century challenge. Enjoyed this one. Not too much romance but not a lot of substance either. Quick and easy read.
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For a sweeping family saga, this book sure was a page turner! I stayed up late into the night to finish it, and cried at the end - I can't remember the last time that happened! However, the novel seems to forgive a lot of horrible behavior, including adultery and keeping slaves with intensely violent capital punishment. Yes, Eugenia has a problem with both of those things, but there's no real consequences for the perpetrators, and the it's presented almost as if she was in the wrong the whole time.
On the other hand, I appreciated the nuanced and honest depiction of marriage and how it changes over time. I also enjoyed learning about the history of colonial Australia, something with which I had very little familiarity.
Warning: There is some truly vile racist content in this book, which actually made me double check the publication date as it seemed like something that wouldn't have flown in 1969. I read a lot of fiction from the 1800s and 1900s, so I'm used to encountering a lot of problematic stuff, but this was so bad I almost gave up reading the book despite how engrossed I was. -
Thought I would read something light after reading a few other books. I used to love Dorothy Eden back in the day and this book was on special for $1.99 for the e book. Spoiler alert!
The hero was kind of a let down and the heroine not much better. The hero kept his wife a child and they never did seem to get on the same wave length. When she was feeling close to him he was feeling close to the housekeeper. And when he was feeling close to her, she was thinking of the artist. Both cheated.
It was not a complete waste of time. The book had some characters that were developed into interesting folks. Enjoyed reading about the start of wine making in Australia but Gilbert was completely crazy about it. And that was the most important thing in his life. Wasn’t sure if the housekeeper pushed the old woman down the stairs . I think she did. This book was just not what I expected. -
I thought I had read this book many years ago but I simply could not remember it. I know it sat on my mums bookshelf for many years but I just have overlooked it. Dorothy Eden was a favourite of my mother. A very excellent story about the early life in Australia when England despatched so many criminals to that country as a way of emptying their jails. Eugenia and Gilbert massingham were so unlike each other I wondered at the end how they could ever reconcile their differences. But they did. Poignant and it left me with such a good feeling for those early pioneers who certainly struggled through everything to gain a foothold in a large and dangerous land. Class read.
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A typical sweeping historical novel, this one set in 1830’s Australia. The plot was full of the trials of a new land, keeping up English standards in the rough wilds, with the twist of the male protagonist operating one of the first vineyards in Australia. I found the characters wooden, although immaculately dressed according to their stations. The best feature is Eden’s meticulous attention to historical details, no anachronisms.
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Verhaal over een Australisch koppel, zij is een typische engelse dame, hij een rijke immigrant die wijnboer wil worden. Ze verloven elkaar en zij zal hem drie jaar later volgen naar Australië. Ondertussen zal hij zijn wijngaard aanleggen en voor haar een geschikt huis bouwen. Als zij aankomt is Australië voor haar een grote cultuurschok. Ze trouwt eigenlijk met een vreemdeling en weet niks af van het huwelijk.speelt zich af rond 1800
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A beautifully written engrossing story
My words can’t describe the interesting, dramatic tale I’ve just read. Vivid descriptions of a colorful country during its most dangerous time in history. Dramatic contrast drawn between English society and Australian settlers. And enough romance to satisfy. -
I wanted to read this book as I love anything about Australia and Australian history. Unfortunately, I found this book just okay. As seems to be happening with me with a lot of books lately, I didn’t really start to enjoy it until halfway or more through. However, I did actually shed a tear or two at the end.
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Definitely Five Stars!
This author has gotten my attention over the last few years as one of the best around! She makes it seem effortless putting such amazing words into action!! Thank you!!
