Number 59, I was skeptical about this one because of the ambiguous title, but the sub-title "An Oxford Love Story" brought me back in. I found it an interesting, but odd, story. The central tenet is that the title character is so beautiful that every Oxford undergraduate who sees her instantly falls in love with her and that they are inspired by one-another to commit suicide because they cannot be with her. The other main character, the Duke of Dorset, is the only one of these love-struck scholars who actually spends any amount of time with her--and his journey is what is the most ordinary one.
It was, I suppose, a satirical work based on the character's reactions to each other. But I never really got into it, as I did Brideshead Revisited, which was strikingly similar--thought with better characters who actually showed their worth rather than being forced to tell each other (and the reader) about it. Though I did particuarly like the Duke's social morality:
She could not understand that admirable fidelity to social engagements which is one of the virtues implanted in the members of [Britain's] aristocracy.
Rating:
Not the best