![]() ![]() She is not eating "the bread of idleness." She is working "willingly with her hands," hands which have stretched out in kindness to Paul and Luke, providing shelter for them, and, as inferred by Acts 6:40, for her fellow saints as well (see Thurston 124 and Massey 45). Therefore, the painting shows Lydia doing something. Lydia's faith is made active through her works. Both she and the Shunnamite (see 2 Kings chapter 4), are described as "constraining" God's servant to share her home, and then seeing to his needs and wants. Luke describes it in these words: "And when was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. Lydia shows her faith through her willingness to be baptized and through her gracious hospitality. The painting, therefore, seeks to visually combine the attributes of the "virtuous woman" and the Biblical heroine, Lydia. Surely such descriptions are apt for the disciple Lydia, whose "heart the Lord opened" (see Acts 16:14) to hear the word of the Lord, and whose household also accepted the gospel. Such a woman is extolled as one who "worketh willingly" with strength, provides for the needy, and clothes herself and her family with "silk and purple." She is wise, her "merchandise is good" and is "like the merchants' ships." She "maketh fine linen and selleth it" (see Proverbs 31). Lydia, the first recorded European convert to Christianity (see Harper 586), is depicted in this image as a model of the "virtuous woman" described in Proverbs 31. Give her of the fruit of her hands and let her own works praise her in the gates. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Her children arise up, and call her blessed her husband also, and he praiseth her. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. She openeth her mouth with wisdom and in her tongue is the law of kindness. Strength and honour are her clothing and she shall rejoice in time to come. She maketh fine linen, and selleth it and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry her clothing is silk and purple. She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. ![]() She stretcheth out her hand to the poor yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. ![]() ![]() She ariseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She is like the merchants' ships she bringeth her food from afar. She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. I highly recommend this book to fans of Jane Austen or Regency romances.Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The new characters are all very much in the spirit of Austen. The author makes this transition gradual and quite believable. Lydia matures quite a bit through the course of the novel and at the end is no longer the self-centered flirt she was at the beginning. The narrative is interspersed with Lydia’s diary entries, which are hilarious. At a ball, a woman turns up who claims to be married to Wickham, and Fitzalan offers to help Lydia discover the truth about her situation.Īlthough Lydia Bennet’s Story lacks Austen’s wit and irony, it is a well-written sequel to Pride and Prejudice and an absolute delight to read. While at Netherfield, Lydia meets the clergyman Alexander Fitzalan, who at first seems haughty and arrogant, but eventually proves to understand Lydia’s situation better than anyone else, since he himself has been disappointed in love. Bennet, Caroline Bingley, and other characters from Pride and Prejudice also make appearances. Hurt by his many infidelities, she goes to stay at Netherfield with her sister Jane and her husband, Mr. In the second half, we follow Lydia to her new home in Newcastle, where her marriage rapidly deteriorates once she discovers her husband’s true character. The first part of the book is a retelling, from Lydia’s point of view, of events already familiar to readers of Pride and Prejudice, including her stay with the regiment in Brighton, where, in one of Odiwe’s additions to the story, she flirts with a royal dragoon, and her elopement with the charming but unprincipled Mr. The flirtatious Lydia Bennet, the youngest sister in Pride and Prejudice, is the heroine of this delightful Jane Austen sequel. ![]()
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