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Ayesha
Ayesha
The Return of She
Book Excerpt
ched him I could catch the tones of his full, sonorous voice, and see his waving, outstretched arms. In his right hand he held the looped sceptre which, by his express wish I send to you with the drawings. I could see the flash of the jewels strung upon the wires, and in the great stillness, hear the tinkling of its golden bells.
"Presently, too, I seemed to become aware of another presence, and now you will understand why I desire and must ask that my identity should be suppressed. Naturally enough I do not wish to be mixed up with a superstitious tale which is, on the face of it, impossible and absurd. Yet under all the circumstances I think it right to tell you that I saw, or thought I saw, something gather in the shadow of the central dolmen, or emerge from its rude chamber--I know not which for certain--something bright and glorious which gradually took the form of a woman upon whose forehead burned a star-like fire.
"At any rate the vision or reflection, or whatever it was, startled me so
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Readers reviews
4.3
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an extraordinary read that gripped me and had me begging for more. I wonder how the author was able to pull the work off with such gusto, and it s truly magnificent. I loved it so much. one of the best classics I have read.
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I had a hard time with Ayesha, the uber-villain of 'She' being turned into a misunderstood heroine. Still, it was quite readable,
09/30/2011
This sequel to the better known, and more popular "She" is, in my opinion, considerably better. There's more action and adventure than it's predecessor (which, however should be read first in order to make full sense of "Ayesha"), and the exciting scenes are more vividly described; the final battle scenes for example have rarely been bettered (reminds me of Tolkein in some respects). Additionally, there's little of the Victorian attitudes to race and religion found in "She" that - to modern readers - sits uncomfortably. Recommended
02/13/2007
I have real trouble with Victorian prose, I find it very hard to read with it's often flowery descriptive style. It's worth the trouble with this one though, first saw it as a silent movie back in 1938, and it realy grabbed me. I can still se the great block of ice with a mammoth inside, and the standard lovely maiden all ready to be CCRRUUSSHHEEDD at it's feet.
11/10/2005
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