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Trilby (1894) is a gothic horror novel by George du Maurier and one of the most popular novels of its time, perhaps the second best selling novel of the Fin de siecle period after Bram Stoker's Dracula. Trilby is set in the 1850s in an idyllic bohemian Paris. Though it features the hijinks of three lovable English artists - especially the delicate genius Little Billee - its most memorable character is Svengali, a Jewish rogue, a masterful musician, and an irresistible hypnotist.Trilby O'Ferrall, the novel's heroine, is a magnificent half-Irish girl working in Paris as an artists' model and laundress; all the men in the novel are in love with her. The relation between Trilby and Svengali forms only a small portion of the novel, which is mainly an evocation of a milieu, but it is a crucial one. Trilby is literally tone-deaf: "Svengali would test her ear, as he called it, and strike the C in the middle and then the F just above, and ask which was the highest; and she would declare they were both exactly the same." Even so, Svengali hypnotizes her and transforms her into a great diva, la Svengali. Under his spell, Trilby becomes a talented singer, performing always in an amnesiac trance. At a performance in London, Svengali is stricken with a heart attack and is unable to induce the trance. Trilby is unable to sing in tune and is subjected to "laughter, hoots, hisses, cat-calls, cock-crows." Not having been hypnotised, she is completely baffled and cannot remember anything about Svengali or her singing career.
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Previews available in: English
Subjects
Fiction, Artists' models, Women singers in fiction, Artists' models in fiction, Artists in fiction, Women singers, Artists, Hypnotists, Hypnotists in fiction, Hypnotism, Hypnotism in fiction, Accessible book, OverDrive, Classic Literature, Literature, Protected DAISY, English literature, Social life and customs, Manners and customs, British and irish fiction (fictional works by one author), France, fiction, Paris (france), fiction, Fiction, general, Singers, Hypnose, Romans, nouvelles, Modèles (Art), ChanteusesPlaces
Paris (France), France, ParisTimes
19th centuryShowing 11 featured editions. View all 219 editions?
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First Sentence
"IT WAS A FINE, SUNNY, showery day in April."
Work Description
In the Latin Quarter of Paris, Trilby O'Ferrall - graceful, charming and innocent - is working as an artist's model. Her ingenuous nature makes her the perfect prey for the cruel magnetism of the demonic musician Svengali, under whose spell she falls. Using hypnotic powers Svengali shapes her into a virtuoso singer and soon she becomes Europe's most captivating soprano. But her golden voice, and even her life, will become fatally tied to him. With its thrilling plot and legendary villain, Trilby caused a sensation when it appeared in 1894, spawning songs, shoes and, most famously, the Trilby hat. Yet it is also a fascinating portrayal of its times, holding up a mirror to fin de siecle obsessions with sexuality, mesmerism and the occult.
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October 24, 2022 | Edited by AgentSapphire | Merge works |
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July 13, 2011 | Edited by Gary R. Young | merge authors |
June 23, 2010 | Created by ImportBot | Imported from marc_overdrive MARC record |