This is a confounding book in that it is both very good and deeply flawed. This is my second attempt at writing about The Jewel of the Seven Stars and that first sentence is how I began my first review of it. I know more now and not only do I hold to that beginning, I have to say it is even more confounding and good and flawed than I was first aware.
To begin with, there are two editions of the book. There is the original, which was published in 1903, and an abridged version published in 1912. The 1903 version is far and away the better of the two. The later version is a disappointment.
Here is one of the confounding aspects: If you are like me and look for an ebook edition (such as for a Kindle, Kobo, or other ereader—formats like mobi and epub) you’ll find many editions available. Almost all that I found (and I didn’t do an exhaustive search) claim to be the 1903 edition. But they are not. They are the 1912 edition. The only place I found that had the original version (in text and pdf editions) is the Bram Stoker website. The book (both versions) is located here: The Jewel of the Seven Stars.
If you have the book, look to see how many chapters it has. The 1903 edition has 20. It ends with Chapter XX—The Great Experiment. The abridged version has 19 chapters, ending with Chapter XIX—The Great Experiment. (See note below.)
Now, on to the novel…
The Novel
What is good about The Jewel of the Seven Stars is the story; what is flawed is the telling of it. You can’t say Bram Stoker didn’t do his homework—probably a lot more than for his own good. Zeroing in on one of those Victorian fancies, Egyptology, he pulls in history, mythology, spiritualism, and just about every other craze of the period. For all I know, he made it all up. I’m neither an Egyptologist nor a scholar of the Victorian period.
What I do know is he goes overboard with it, losing his story in the process.
It unfolds in three parts. In the first, there is quite a bit of drama as mystery piles upon mystery. Bizarre and inexplicable events occur. They all surround a man named Trelawny, an Egyptologist and collector of artifacts, including mummies, from various archeological sites, including one in particular.
He is found unconscious, the apparent victim of a violent assault, one that recurs several times in conditions that are impossible. That is one of the mysteries. How could this have happened and who is responsible for the assaults?
This first part of the novel is very compelling. The drama pulls us in and the unanswered questions keep us reading.
But Stoker writes himself into a box. In order for the story to move forward in the second part he has to relay all the exposition he’s been withholding. It’s the withholding that has created the mystery. The primary characters (but one) are puzzled by what is happening, as are we. For the story to go forward, we need information and this is where Stoker stumbles.
The information comes from two characters, a man named Corbeck and later Trelawny, when he has recovered. They literally tell us what has led up to these events and the current situation. And they tell and they tell and they tell.
It wasn’t unusual for this sort of thing to occur in Victorian literature. But probably not to the degree that Stoker does it. In his favour, Stoker has the period’s fascination with Egyptology. His audience would probably have been enthralled with it.
Even so, there is way too much and a story that has been moving along at a very good pace grinds down, almost to a halt.
Thankfully, it ends and we can move on to the third and final part. In my original review I wrote: “Here, while the story finally picks up, it also does so with some unexpected changes that don’t ring true.”
The Two Versions Again
This was due to having read the shorter, 1912 version. Apparently, the publisher at the time felt the original was a bit too strong for the sensibilities of gentle readers, so he had Stoker shorten it and soften the ending. In doing so, Stoker created an ending that rings false.
This isn’t the case with the original version. The novel comes to a very satisfying conclusion, one consistent with what has preceded it.
Overall, it’s a good novel, though far from great. I enjoyed it but it was a peculiar experience in that I was also frustrated by it.
Apart from the dragging second part, I think a contemporary reader may find the late Victorian romanticism a bit hard to handle. To be fair, Stoker largely wrote romantic novels so it should not come as a surprise that it enters his book. And if that romance is hard to swallow the failing is less with Stoker than with the period in which he was living and writing.
The view and portrayal of women can also be a challenge for a contemporary reader. It’s puzzling how Victorians managed to write female characters that are strong while at the same time weak and almost helpless.
The final word? The Jewel of the Seven Stars is worth reading if you can get the original version. It has its flaws but on the whole it’s a good book.
Note:
The 1912 abridged edition makes two very major changes in the book Stoker originally wrote. The first was the removal of Chapter XVI – Powers Old and New. (This is why the later edition has 19 chapters rather than 20.)
The other major change was the softer, nicer (and shorter) ending the book is given. As I wrote above, I find this ending a disappointment and inconsistent with the story it attempts to conclude.
February 6, 2016
