"Un cálido día de octubre de 1796, dos muchachas salieron de su casa rumbo a Monkshaven para vender mantequilla y huevos, pues las dos eran hijas de granjeros, aunque sus circunstancias fueran bastante distintas, Molley Corney tenía muchos hermanos, por lo que estaba acostumbrada a las incomodidades, Sylvia Robinson era hija única por lo que mucha gente la tenía en más estima que los padres de la Virgen Maria a esta "

Sylvia Robinson, una sencilla y hermosa joven de provincias, despierta el amor de dos hombres muy diferentes entre sí.

Por un lado, su primo Phillip Hepburn, joven dependiente de comercio, responsable, trabajador y tenaz. Por otro, Charley Kincaid, un orgulloso, pendenciero y audaz arponero.

La novela, descrita por su autora como la historia más triste jamás escrita por ella, se desarrolla durante las guerras napoleónicas y la población sufría las levas forzosas por parte de patrullas del ejército.

Situada en una pequeña comunidad rural, dedicada al comercio ballenero, Gaskell describe minuciosamente costumbres, relaciones y comportamientos lastrados por el peso de mentiras, convencionalismos, celos, obsesión y amores no correspondidos. Sylvia pasará de ser una joven inocente y caprichosa a vivir encerrada en un matrimonio sin amor y perder toda ilusión por vivir.

Los amores de Sylvia, 1863
Elizabeth Gaskell
@penguinrandomhouse 2010
Traducción de Damián Alou
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Enjoyed,wondered,cried,wondered,cried and cried, sweated,hoped cried and cried....
great book, but very sad..

A beautifully written tragedy - how we can hurt each other when we seek to provide ‘what is best’ for others whilst unknowingly craving ‘what is best’ for ourselves - and when neither is true. I cannot understand why this has never been turned into a film - it would be amazing! The scenery, the drama of the press-gangs, the heavy build of tension, the poignancy and the romance.
Another almost perfect text from an under appreciated writer. She is, in my opinion, far far more interesting and skilled than Austen, and as wry as Dickens but more open-minded.
I also really enjoyed her dialogue.I do not know if the vernacular was authentic, but it read as such. Her depiction of place was exquisite.

Elizabeth Gaskell, along with Charles Dickens, is my favorite Victorian author. Sylvia’s Lovers is an excellent book written at the peak of her writing career. There are great and well developed characters and the novel makes strong social statements. She writes of military conscription, relationships between men and women, the criminal justice system, treatment of veterans, the nature of love, and the ability to forgive.

I read this book whilst on holiday in Whitby and really enjoyed walking through some of the landscape of Sylvia’s story.

This is my third Elizabeth Gaskell novel (North and South, Wives and Daughters) and although it has taken me a while, I am starting to really admire her work. This is among other things a cautionary tale about how love is "three parts fancy and only a fourth part reason", with frustrating and potentially tragic consequences. It is the story of a love triangle. Throughout, you are kept guessing as to just how things will end - and the ending is powerful and perfect and sad.