Where Kenelm Finds Himself

Kenelm Chillingly: His Adventures and Opinions; Rienzi, the Last of the Roman Tribunes by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I liked this book. I thought at times I would love it, and there were passages I did love, but not quite overall. In any case, it's interesting and thought-provoking and definitely deserves more than the almost hostile obscurity it has fallen into.

The novel is written by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, of "dark and stormy night" fame. On account of that famous novel opening, the worst first-line competition is named for him--rather unfairly, I think--and has poisoned his novels in the mind of the public. I always had the impression that it suggested purple prose, which I kinda like, tbh, and was rooting for, but it doesn't; those who have read his work are more critical of his high diction, long sentences, and complex syntax. He does go on a bit, for sure, perhaps more than Dickens or Scott--but no more than Hugo, and certainly less than Sterne.

Speaking of which--in the beginning, when his father convenes a family council to select his name, he refers directly to Tristram Shandy, and you can see some of Sterne's influence in that section and elsewhere. But this novel's got a tighter plot than Tristram Shandy; things actually happen. Still, the narrator is often quite intrusive, in tune with other 19th century British writing. (You might skim the following, or skip ahead if you prefer.) It sounds like this:

Mr. Travers is listening to a young man of about two and twenty, the eldest son of the richest nobleman of the county, and who intends to start for the representation of the shire at the next general election, which is close at hand. The Hon. George Belvoir is tall, inclined to be stout, and will look well on the hustings. He has had those pains taken with his education which an English peer generally does take with the son intended to succeed to the representation of an honourable name and the responsibilities of high station. If eldest sons do not often make as great a figure in the world as their younger brothers, it is not because their minds are less cultivated, but because they have less motive power for action. George Belvoir was well read, especially in that sort of reading which befits a future senator,—history, statistics, political economy, so far as that dismal science is compatible with the agricultural interest. He was also well-principled, had a strong sense of discipline and duty, was prepared in politics firmly to uphold as right whatever was proposed by his own party, and to reject as wrong whatever was proposed by the other. At present he was rather loud and noisy in the assertion of his opinions,—young men fresh from the University generally are. It was the secret wish of Mr. Travers that George Belvoir should become his son-in-law; less because of his rank and wealth (though such advantages were not of a nature to be despised by a practical man like Leopold Travers) than on account of those qualities in his personal character which were likely to render him an excellent husband.

TL;DR--yeah, it can be wordy. But lots of it is still engaging and fun.

Kenelm is a highly educated, eccentric upper-class young man who travels around England and the continent through his mid-20's trying to learn how to fit in better. He excelled in college but doesn't know what to do with himself after. The way he stands outside society looking in for much of the novel makes him come off at times as almost autistic and other times, at a minimum, as super nerdy. Sometimes the conversations he gets into are deeply philosophical--everyone is willing to have long, deep talks with Kenelm--but that's part of his character and becomes almost a joke. But at other times he's honorable, energetic, noble, and even heroic, and would almost make a decent Georgette Heyer hero. (Not quite. The ending's not exactly sad--it suggests a productive future for him--but there's no HEA. For me, that was a bit of a let-down.) I bet if it were made into a miniseries, we could manage a happier ending. He has no fans to enrage, as far as I can tell...

Anyway, I kinda liked it. Enough to look at some of his other novels. I will keep you informed.

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