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Master Georgie
Master Georgie: A Novel | Beryl Bainbridge
1 post | 3 read | 5 to read
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize: A masterwork of love, guilt, and friendship set in Victorian Liverpool and Eastern Europe during the Crimean War. Photography is the common thread weaving together three different points of view that span the years from 1846 to 1854. The first plate opens with the account of Myrtle, a young orphan girl, as she is taking a photograph of her adoptive father, Mr. Hardy, who has just passed away in Liverpool. The sudden and unsavory circumstances of Mr. Hardys death bind Myrtle and the other characters of this story together as history propels them toward the frontlines of the Crimean War. Myrtles adoptive brother, George Hardy, or Master Georgie as he is called, is an amateur photographer and handsome surgeon. When he heads east in 1854 to offer his medical services to the conflict raging between Russia and Turkeya war it seems England will inevitably enterMyrtle follows him, as does Georges brother-in-law, a high-minded geologist named Dr. Potter. The group travels to Valetta, Malta, and Constantinople, then on to Varna, where George will be stationed. As the caravan proceeds, the group crosses paths with Pompey Jones, a street urchin, photographers assistant, and sometimes fire breather, who is a dear friend of Georges and was with him the day his father died. It soon becomes clear that Georges affections are torn between Pompey and Myrtle. Dr. Potter, meanwhile, pines for the affections of his wife, who is hundreds of miles away. The conflicting emotions in the travelers hearts are amplified by the misery, disease, and filth they must endureas well as the other, more unthinkable, horrors of war. A sparse yet vivid historical novel, Master Georgie delves into themes of distorted truth, the psychological effects of war, unrequited love, and the will to survive. Called a true novelists novel by the Guardian, it was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Beryl Bainbridge including rare images from the authors estate.
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Centique
Master Georgie: A Novel | Beryl Bainbridge
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This is my first read of Beryl Bainbridge - a clever and well written short novel (1998) but quite a bleak one. Set in the lead up to and during the Crimean War, each section of the book illuminates one of six photographs (photography is in its infancy and the profession of one of the 4) So we jump years between the first few sections of the book & have to piece together what has changed in between. Not unlike looking at an old photo album and ⬇️

Centique wondering what is going on behind the scenes. The Crimean War scenes are fairly gory and not exactly #comfortreading 😳 Gave me some interest in learning more about this war which apparently had a far reaching impact on 20th century European politics. 5y
Jeg I read all her books years ago. I think I‘ve kept them . Loved them at the time. Wonder if a reread would find me thinking the same. I expect so. 5y
Centique @Jeg I reckon it may even be better as a reread. Apparently Bainbridge said it would take 3 reads to truly understand it all. 5y
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