Trilby (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

By George du Maurier

Svengali meets the tone-deaf Trilby, a lovely young woman who the men in the novel fall in love with. However, Svengali is able to turn Tribly into a star, la Svengali. But is the talent really there? A tale of heartbreak, the plot of Trilby inspired Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel Phantom of the Opera.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Release date: Mar 22, 2011
• ISBN: 9781411444560

George du Maurier

George du Maurier (1834-1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist, novelist, and short story writer. Born in Paris, du Maurier was raised in an aristocratic family whose fortunes had dwindled following his paternal grandfather’s implication in a 1789 financial scandal. His mother, Ellen Clarke, was the daughter of courtesan Mary Anne Clarke, the former mistress of Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. Educated in Paris at the art studio of Charles Gleyre, du Maurier moved to Antwerp and Düsseldorf—where he sought help for an ailment in his left eye—before settling in London in 1851. There, he married Emma Wightwick, with whom he would raise five children, some of whom went on to successful careers in the arts. In 1865, du Maurier found work as a cartoonist for Punch magazine, where he gained a reputation as a leading satirist for cartoons poking fun at Victorian society and the burgeoning middle class. In addition to his black and white drawings for Punch, du Maurier produced illustrations for such periodicals as Harper’s, The Graphic, and The Cornhill Magazine. As his eyesight failed, du Maurier turned increasingly to fiction, writing the play Peter Ibbetson (1891) and the popular gothic horror novel Trilby (1894), both of which have been adapted for theater and film.

Reviews for Trilby (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

[neurodrew · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

TrilbyGeorge du MaurierOsgood McIlvaine, London 1895January 23, 2017At one of our music sessions I had mentioned Svengali, and Sidney, knew the book and that it was the rage in the early part of the 20th century. I acquired a fine copy of a signed first edition (quarter leather), for about $200), but read this on the airplane to Taiwan as a Kindle edition. The book originally appeared as a magazine serial, and in parts one can sense du Maurier filling out the word count with his philosophizing and asides. Trilby is a girl of humble origins, working as a painter's model, who befriends three Englishman who are living in the Latin Quarter in Paris learning to paint. "Little Billee", the youngest, falls in love with her, but is prevented from marrying her by his mother, who thought she was not a lady. She runs away to avoid Billee, and falls under Svengali's spell. When hypnotized she could sing beautifully, but when Svengali dies she sickens, and dies by the end of the book, as does Billee from heartbreak. Taffy and the Laird are the other friends, who witness all the tragedy, along with Gecko, Svengali's violin protege, Dodor and Zouzou, two French dragoons carousing in the Latin quarter, and other memorable characters. The book is illustrated by du Maurier with pen and ink drawings.

[stevenjohntait · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I read this because it is mentioned in Tender is the Night Published in 1894, it drags on and I did not enjoy it past the first 100 pages. I skimmed the last 20. Might appeal to those interested in period pieces and the restrictive nature of social class in 1800's UK/Paris