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Captivity Deborah Noyes 9781936071630 Books

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Captivity Deborah Noyes 9781936071630 Books

I'm giving this 4 stars instead of 3 because the writing is just beautiful and I'm always happy to encourage beautiful writing. The story is actually two story lines interwoven. One concerns the Fox sisters of Rochester, NY who were famed spiritualists in the mid 18th century. The other story is that of Clara Gill, a middle-aged spinster who, with her father, escaped to America after a sad, devastating experience of loving the wrong man which resulted in tragedy.

The story of Clara is beautiful, poignant and fully realized. Her fascination for the handsome young Will is sweet and its horrible end is tragic. However the story of the Fox sisters is, quite frankly, confusing. The narrative bounces from character to character and none of the characters seem particularly likable. I appreciated the time the author gave to the entire issue of the Spirtualist movement and the mixed reaction of the public to it. I got a chill when she mentioned the discovery of a barrel of warm tar outside one of the seances.

The language is beautiful, the premise intriguing, and the story of Clara is wonderful, but I would have appreciated more character development and less confusion around the Fox sisters.


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Captivity Deborah Noyes 9781936071630 Books Reviews

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mary Todd Lincoln, and Mae West were only a few of the famous adherents of Spiritualism, a movement which swept the country from around 1850 through the 1920s. In CAPTIVITY, author Deborah Noyes recreates the story of this movement from its inauspicious founding by two children--Margaret "Maggie" Fox, age fourteen, and her younger sister "Kate," age eleven. These children, just by appearing in the small houses in their neighborhood near Rochester, New York, could inspire rappings by "other-worldly presences" on the walls, tables, and ceilings. Even scientists were baffled.

Pursuing the themes of love and loss, life and death, and the real and the spiritual, which were the focus of her 2005 novel ANGEL AND APOSTLE, Noyes focuses here on the childhood and youth of Maggie and Kate Fox, beginning in 1848. Cleverly manipulated and controlled by their older sister Leah, who foresaw enormous financial potential in their careers as mediums, the Fox girls supported their family, traveled all over the country, and, for the first time had a chance to wear pretty clothes and meet important people. As the title suggests, however, they were also captives of their celebrity.

Alternating with the story of the Fox children is a parallel narrative beginning in London in 1835. Clara Gill, a shy nineteen-year-old painter of animals, falls for an assistant zookeeper below her in "station." Will Cross, the zookeeper, is equally smitten, and Clara begins to hope that they might have a future. From the opening chapter, which begins in 1848, in Rochester, New York, however, the reader recognizes that Clara's presence in Rochester, thirteen years later, indicates that something dire has happened. She is living as a recluse, and she and Will are not together. The narrative switches from 1848 in Rochester, with its concentration on the Foxes, back and forth to 1835 in London with the emphasis on the Clara, then focuses on the self-absorbed Clara and the exploited Foxes together in 1848 in Rochester.

Noyes has a wonderful eye for observation, and her ability to translate these observations into vibrant description is stellar. Long, well-described passages set the tone and mood and establish a mysterious atmosphere, though the tendency to use two adjectives where one would do sometimes becomes a stylistic annoyance. Unfortunately, the structure of the novel lacks a strong connection between the two separate plot lines, and ultimately, it feels forced. Clara's weakness as a character with whom the reader feels empathy limits one's ability to identify with her, and the Fox sisters themselves are not fully developed, however fascinating they may be as Spiritualism's founders. For readers interested in the story of Spiritualism, Noyes's lively history may supersede the novel's structural limitations. Mary Whipple

Angel and Apostle
It's 1848 and Maggie and Kate Fox hear a rapping from within the walls of their small cottage. No one is sleeping tonight as the rapping keeps them awake. The girls ask questions of the spirit within the walls and it raps an answer. Soon, their mother is entranced yet horrified and gets the neighbors to see this phenomenon, who in turn, get their neighbors, friends, and family.

When the girls sleep, the rapping desists. When the family moves, the spirit no longer "speaks", but wherever the girls are, there are spirits knocking, rapping, and always about. The girls are mediums and soon have a following. Known for their medium capabilities, the Fox sisters are believed to be able to communicate with the dead, and this story is based somewhat on their historical facts.

Clara is a spinster woman in her forties who just wants to be alone. She is a recluse, living with her father. But when her father starts to see a widow woman, her life changes. Clara wants nothing to do with the woman or how the woman's thoughts and concerns may affect her. When Maggie comes into the household as help, Clara becomes friends somewhat with her and finds herself re-examining her own life and that is when we hear about Clara's tragic story and how she came to be a recluse.

Fascinating, captivating, and page-turning, Captivity is a memorable book that will stay with you for a long time. It took me awhile to get into the story, unused to the prose and words, but once I did, I found myself immersed and unable to let go. I had sympathy for Clara and the actions of the Fox Sisters were compelling and thought-provoking. Quite enjoyable!
I liked the book and the historical elements. It was an interesting mix of the 2 stories. At times a bit tough to follow. Not a spooky story by any means. Not much happening in the ways of ghosts. You never really get the answer to the question Are they faking this? Many parts of the story are inferred and left up to the reader to decide.
I'm giving this 4 stars instead of 3 because the writing is just beautiful and I'm always happy to encourage beautiful writing. The story is actually two story lines interwoven. One concerns the Fox sisters of Rochester, NY who were famed spiritualists in the mid 18th century. The other story is that of Clara Gill, a middle-aged spinster who, with her father, escaped to America after a sad, devastating experience of loving the wrong man which resulted in tragedy.

The story of Clara is beautiful, poignant and fully realized. Her fascination for the handsome young Will is sweet and its horrible end is tragic. However the story of the Fox sisters is, quite frankly, confusing. The narrative bounces from character to character and none of the characters seem particularly likable. I appreciated the time the author gave to the entire issue of the Spirtualist movement and the mixed reaction of the public to it. I got a chill when she mentioned the discovery of a barrel of warm tar outside one of the seances.

The language is beautiful, the premise intriguing, and the story of Clara is wonderful, but I would have appreciated more character development and less confusion around the Fox sisters.