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Even though I know this book was limited by the time in which it was written and the opinion of women who read novels at that time, this book sort of sucked. It's the epitome of a ridiculously romantic woman (i.e. bored out of her mind) who is duped into believing she has a secret admirer who only intends to do her harm and make her look like a fool. Then, along the way, at every opportunity to learn something about herself or the world, she fails miserably. It's hard to believe it was written by a woman, and though I'd like to believe she meant to satirize the tradition of early American woman being brought to ruin by the evil vice of reading, she didn't present that in this book. I don't think Dorcasina actually dies in the end (surprisingly--it's been years since I've read it though, so I could be wrong), but if you actually make it to the end, you kind of wish she would so you can just be done with it.
