Caroline "Lina" Herschel is the "stargazer's sister." An astronomer in her own right, she is perhaps best known for her work in support of her brother, William Herschel, who is credited with many advances in astronomy including the discovery of Uranus as a planet. Carrie Brown introduces us to the both characters and to their discoveries in astronomy. I enjoyed the story but did not fall in love with it.
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2015/12/the-stargazers-sister.html
Reviewed for the Penguin First to Read Program
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2015/12/the-stargazers-sister.html
Reviewed for the Penguin First to Read Program
I had never heard of William or Caroline Herschel before this book, a work of fiction based on two real people. I've read a fair amount of historical fiction and, if it's really engaging, I can easily read a 500-page book in a week. This book is 323 pages and took me about a month to plow through. The author spent a fair amount of time describing the building of telescopes, which I didn't find particularly interesting.
William was described (in Lina's view) as handsome, tall, muscular, talented, etc. It was clear that Lina put her brother on a pedestal. I ended up disliking William because he seemed to be self-centered and insensitive, particularly when it came to Lina. He would never have accomplished the things he did without Lina's help yet he seemed completely oblivious to how much he depended on her. Occasionally, he would toss a compliment Lina's way but it appeared that he did that simply to pacify her. As portrayed, William was also a coward. When he decided he needed to move to a larger home, if I remember correctly, Lina had no say in it and, in fact, I think Stanley, one of the staff, ended up telling her. When William was going to be gone for a week or so with Mary, the gal he was wooing, he simply told Lina he was going to be gone for a few days; it was Stanley who told her the truth. When Mary and William wed, Lina learned at the reception that she was going to be turned out of the house that she had shared with William--she learned about it from Mary, not William.
POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERTS: After William died, Mary went to visit a Dr. Silva in Lisbon. She stayed for 10 years--primarily because she and Dr. Silva became lovers on the day she arrived. When Dr. Silva died, Mary moved back to Hanover, her home town. In reality, Lina moved back to Hanover after William died. I read the acknowledgments at the end of the book and the author states that Henry, Dr. Silva, and Stanley are all made up characters. I understand that a novel is a work of fiction but I don't know that Henry or Dr. Silva really added anything meaningful to the story. The author also stated that Lina had a life threatening illness when she was very young, leaving her stunted and with a pock marked face. My immediate thought was that it was small pox and, in fact, there is a reference later in the book that it was small pox. However, according to Wikipedia, Caroline had typhus. I did some online research on typhus and from what I could find, typhus does not cause pock marks. I wonder if the reason the author had Caroline have small pox, which can cause pock marks, was to provide an explanation of why she never married--because she wasn't attractive. According to Wikipedia, Caroline actually had vision loss in one eye because of typhus. To me, that would have made her story more interesting in that she accomplished what she did with only one eye. The author also states that Mary and William had no children, which is not true. They had a son, John, who carried on his father's work. In the book, Lina regrets a long period of time when she no longer wrote in her daily journal--her reason at the time was she felt she had nothing to say. However, according to Wiki, Caroline destroyed the journals she wrote from 1788-1798. Her brother married in 1788 and she was described as a "bitter, jealous woman" who resented anyone who invaded the life she had with her brother. In later life, Lina became more friendly to her sister-in-law.
If the author had stuck to more of the truth about Caroline, the book would have been more interesting. Instead, the author decided to portray Caroline in a way that reflects only positive attributes. The truth is usually much more interesting.
William was described (in Lina's view) as handsome, tall, muscular, talented, etc. It was clear that Lina put her brother on a pedestal. I ended up disliking William because he seemed to be self-centered and insensitive, particularly when it came to Lina. He would never have accomplished the things he did without Lina's help yet he seemed completely oblivious to how much he depended on her. Occasionally, he would toss a compliment Lina's way but it appeared that he did that simply to pacify her. As portrayed, William was also a coward. When he decided he needed to move to a larger home, if I remember correctly, Lina had no say in it and, in fact, I think Stanley, one of the staff, ended up telling her. When William was going to be gone for a week or so with Mary, the gal he was wooing, he simply told Lina he was going to be gone for a few days; it was Stanley who told her the truth. When Mary and William wed, Lina learned at the reception that she was going to be turned out of the house that she had shared with William--she learned about it from Mary, not William.
POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERTS: After William died, Mary went to visit a Dr. Silva in Lisbon. She stayed for 10 years--primarily because she and Dr. Silva became lovers on the day she arrived. When Dr. Silva died, Mary moved back to Hanover, her home town. In reality, Lina moved back to Hanover after William died. I read the acknowledgments at the end of the book and the author states that Henry, Dr. Silva, and Stanley are all made up characters. I understand that a novel is a work of fiction but I don't know that Henry or Dr. Silva really added anything meaningful to the story. The author also stated that Lina had a life threatening illness when she was very young, leaving her stunted and with a pock marked face. My immediate thought was that it was small pox and, in fact, there is a reference later in the book that it was small pox. However, according to Wikipedia, Caroline had typhus. I did some online research on typhus and from what I could find, typhus does not cause pock marks. I wonder if the reason the author had Caroline have small pox, which can cause pock marks, was to provide an explanation of why she never married--because she wasn't attractive. According to Wikipedia, Caroline actually had vision loss in one eye because of typhus. To me, that would have made her story more interesting in that she accomplished what she did with only one eye. The author also states that Mary and William had no children, which is not true. They had a son, John, who carried on his father's work. In the book, Lina regrets a long period of time when she no longer wrote in her daily journal--her reason at the time was she felt she had nothing to say. However, according to Wiki, Caroline destroyed the journals she wrote from 1788-1798. Her brother married in 1788 and she was described as a "bitter, jealous woman" who resented anyone who invaded the life she had with her brother. In later life, Lina became more friendly to her sister-in-law.
If the author had stuck to more of the truth about Caroline, the book would have been more interesting. Instead, the author decided to portray Caroline in a way that reflects only positive attributes. The truth is usually much more interesting.
