18th century morals

Book group again on Monday and this month is Self Control. Written by a contemporary of Jane Austen and much admired by Austen, this one is about a young virtuous orphaned and beautiful girl who drives men into obsessive dangerous behaviour (which she often quells with an awe inspiring look) and herself into regular fainting fits during which blood spurts from her nose and mouth.

Despite this it was actually gripping and I really enjoyed it - even kept me awake most of the last night! I rarely genuinely enjoy the books - I find them historically fascinating and love the book group discussions but let's just say that novels have improved a lot over the centuries. But this one was a real rollicking ride of a story and I've finished it 2 days in advance which is unprecedented!

The moral to the story, btw, and there always was a moral, is to keep tight control of your passions and pray a lot. And never give up hope - not even when you've been kidnapped, carried away to America, and hidden in the middle of a native American wilderness where your only means of escape is a canoe that you have to white water raft to get home to Scotland. Not even then. So optimistic really.