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The Sugar HouseAntonia White
255 pages
This is the third in Antonia White's autobiographical series of novels. In two previous works, Clara Batchelor came of age through convent education and a job as a governess. The Sugar House takes place in 1920, when Clara is 21 years old and working as an actress with a touring company. Her naivete is evident from the start, when jokes about two gay actors go right over her head. Clara shares rooms with an older, brassier actress named Maidie. She also pines after Stephen Tye, an older actor she met prior to leaving on tour. Stephen is full of empty promises and strings Clara along for a while. When the inevitable happens, Clara turns to Archie, a former love who has turned up after a long absence. Clara met Archie while working as a governess, and was even engaged to him for a time. Archie has changed over the years, and not necessarily for the better. Eager to escape theatrical life and yet remain independent from her parents, Clara is blind to Archie's flaws and agrees to marry him. Almost immediately, the couple find themselves severely in debt due to a general unwillingness to live within their means, and exacerbated by Archie's drinking problem. He pours money into hare-brained schemes that go nowhere, and she loses confidence in her own ability to earn a living either by acting or writing.
As Clara and Archie's relationship deteriorates, Clara's depression worsens and she retreats into a bit of a cocoon. Two chance encounters help her emerge from the chrysalis with greater self-awareness. She is no longer a girl, but a woman desirable to other men. The novel concludes with a number of loose ends, but Clara is poised to exercise her independence in completely new ways. The Sugar House reinforces Virginia Woolf's view that that a woman needs "a room of her own" and an independent income, while also highlighting the importance of sexual discovery and independence. (
)Thus, in one day, she experienced the sensation of slipping from a hold, then of recovering it from another angle and finding that though she was not in exactly the place from which she started, she had not lost much by the fall and was actually in a better position for the next step, and she thought she could go on firmly now, not knowing that in this most difficult of relationships, there must be, if it survived with any beauty, this periodical slipping and recovery and advance in a slightly different direction. (p. 40)
Dahlia realizes early on that her marriage will not be a passionate one. She enjoys the attentions of Simon Tothill for a while, even while realizing their relationship has no future. When her sister Jenny returns to the community, Dahlia welcomes her with open arms and lives somewhat vicariously through Jenny's relationships with local men.
Meanwhile, there is another couple worthy of attention: the vicar, Norman Doubleday, and his wife Flora. Their marriage is also explored in depth, with quite poignant results, but for most of the novel the couple provide comic relief. Mr. Doubleday is chubby and somewhat dim-witted, prone to repetitive speech and constant humming. Mrs. Doubleday rules the roost, attempting to control everyone and everything: She did not understand why what she did not like should be allowed... (p. 250) A visit by their adult son Reginald forces Flora to face up to the reality of her marriage and her part in it.
Emily Hilda Young is marvelous in her portrayal of both couples. The Curate's Wife is a sequel to Jenny Wren, and I found it a more mature work exploring more complex themes. A very good read. (
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Meanwhile, there is another couple worthy of attention: the vicar, Norman Doubleday, and his wife Flora. Their marriage is also explored in depth, with quite poignant results, but for most of the novel the couple provide comic relief. Mr. Doubleday is chubby and somewhat dim-witted, prone to repetitive speech and constant humming. Mrs. Doubleday rules the roost, attempting to control everyone and everything: She did not understand why what she did not like should be allowed... (p. 250) A visit by their adult son Reginald forces Flora to face up to the reality of her marriage and her part in it.
Emily Hilda Young is marvelous in her portrayal of both couples. The Curate's Wife is a sequel to Jenny Wren, and I found it a more mature work exploring more complex themes. A very good read. (
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Jenny WrenE. H. Young
352 pages
After their father's death, Jenny and Dahlia Rendall move with their mother Louisa from the farm where they grew up, to the nearby town of Radstowe where Louisa plans to support them by taking lodgers in their home. Jenny and Dahlia mourn the loss of their erudite father, who married a woman from a "lower" class, regretted it, and did all he could to shield his daughters from the prejudice inherent in 1920s English society. Now the young women are are embarrassed by Louisa's "common" manner and reputation for promiscuity. Louisa is secretly glad to be out of an unhappy marriage but ill-equipped to live independently. She accepted a loan from Thomas Grimshaw, a local farmer with whom she previously had an affair. Grimshaw drops by frequently to remind them of their debt, which is another source of embarrassment to the young women.
Both Jenny and Dahlia are attractive, but their personalities are as different as chalk and cheese. Dahlia is a pleasure-seeker who thinks little about her future or the consequences of her actions. Jenny is an idealist:
She looked again at the lovely day, blue and green and white, and felt in her heart all the impulses stirred, by springtime, in Dahlia's. Jenny, too, wanted pleasure, pretty clothes, laughter, admiration and love, but she would not stoop to get them. She would wait, holding herself erect, until these gifts came to her unsought. (p. 19)
Dahlia quickly finds excitement in flirtation with local men, namely the curate Mr. Sproat. Jenny befriends their lodger, Edwin Cummings, and learns how to use her female wiles on him. As she unknowingly toys with Edwin's affection, she falls hard for Cyril Merriman, a young squire from a wealthy family. Jenny is eager to escape the life her mother can offer, and sees Cyril as a way to better her status. Yet she lives in fear of being discovered for who she is, and adopts an assumed name -- Jenny Wren -- to prevent Cyril from learning about her family. Jenny holds tight to her secret romance with Cyril, even as it becomes more and more untenable. Louisa works hard to provide for her daughters both financially and emotionally, but she usually misses the mark; Jenny and Dahlia continually struggle with both their love for and frustration with Louisa.
Jenny Wren was first published in 1932. The story of class difference is a fairly typical one, in which the protagonist learns that the best things in life were with them all along. Although the plot is a bit predictable, it is presented through a memorable cast of characters and fine writing. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, The Curate's Wife. (
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I'm not ComplainingRuth Adam
346 pages
At the end of that week the winter began in deadly earnest, as though the cold days before had been merely a temporary substitute for the real thing. I had a persistent sensation, as we plunged deeper into those short, icy days, with their lowering fogs, that the town was plunging down with us. It was frightening. We all seemed to be one -- the huge husks of the great factory buildings whose heart-beats had stopped -- the grey, stained houses round them, the tragic men who stood for ever at street-corners, and the children who came to school in fewer and fewer warm clothes, because as the weather got colder they were pawned for food. I would like to have been detached from it -- a visitor, coming down to work and then going away. But I could not get the feeling of detachment. I was part of it, bound irrevocably to their miseries because my work was their children. (p. 154)
Madge Brigson is in her 30s, single by choice, and committed to the teaching profession. By day she manages a room full of primary school children; on certain evenings she also conducts classes for unemployed young women. The Nottinghamshire town of Bronton has been hit hard by the Great Depression; factories have closed and unemployment is high. Most of the students come from families who were already poor, and are now suffering even more. Despite the gloomy setting, there's a great deal of humor in this book. Adam provides amusing portrayals of parents, children, and townspeople, and takes shots at the government and the educational hierarchy:
We were all at loggerheads that day because the Scripture had been inspected. It seemed silly, because the Scripture is the one inspection that does not matter at all from the point of view of one's career. It is the merest matter of form. ... if you care to teach the children that Jesus Christ lived in the Ark with Noah, the only thing that will happen to you is that some old parson, wihtout any power at the Office at all, will gently remonstrate with you, and the next inspection will be by a member of some religious sect who probably believes something equally odd about Bible history himself. So I did not worry. (p. 43)
Madge's co-workers are a varied lot: Miss Harford is the no-nonsense head teacher. Other teachers include an older woman, Miss Jones; middle-aged Miss Thornby; Freda Simpson, a firebrand with communist leanings; and the beautiful and somewhat promiscuous Jenny Lambert. In those days, teachers had to leave their jobs when they married. Madge and her colleagues have resisted societal pressures, but found that it's not always easy to be an independent woman. Through a year in the life of these strong women, Ruth Adam serves up excellent social commentary on the role of women in society. Each woman has a life-changing experience -- some more so than others. There are moments of deep emotion; Madge herself has to cope with sudden tragedy, and the reader is right there, sharing her grief. Madge is also faced with some significant decisions that will set her course for some time to come. I was pleased with the way Adam handled these issues, ensuring Madge could serve as a role model for others in her day. (
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The Lacquer LadyFanny was aware of what people were like ... she had a sensitiveness, within her limitations, to human beings, that amounted to a talent, whenever her judgment was not obscured by her personal wishes. She was aware that she knew what the three men in the room were like far better than did Agatha, who had been seeing them for several days past. She didn't think consciously about them, for her interest in human beings began and ended with her own relationships with them ... (p. 61)
Fanny Moroni, half Burmese and half European, was educated in England and returned to Burma as a young woman c.1880. These were the last years of the Konbaung Dynasty, just prior to British rule. Fanny befriended a young princess, Supayalat, and found herself a regular guest at the palace. When the reigning king died, leaving no successor, Supayalat and her mother engineered the ascension of a minor prince,Thibaw, to the throne. Supayalat became his queen and Fanny was appointed the European Maid of Honour at court. Thibaw's rule was filled with violence and subterfuge, but Fanny was oblivious to all of this. She was too caught up in beautiful clothing and lavish parties. The political events swirling around her were understood only insofar as they affected her social life and luxuries.
Fanny's character was not unlike Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair: attractive, witty, and completely self-centered. And the more she immersed herself in court life, the more she lost touch with her European heritage and the French, British, and Italian friends living outside the castle walls. She even took action to benefit her personally, which brought disastrous consequences to others. A few years later she found herself alone, and getting older:
Fanny Moroni, half Burmese and half European, was educated in England and returned to Burma as a young woman c.1880. These were the last years of the Konbaung Dynasty, just prior to British rule. Fanny befriended a young princess, Supayalat, and found herself a regular guest at the palace. When the reigning king died, leaving no successor, Supayalat and her mother engineered the ascension of a minor prince,Thibaw, to the throne. Supayalat became his queen and Fanny was appointed the European Maid of Honour at court. Thibaw's rule was filled with violence and subterfuge, but Fanny was oblivious to all of this. She was too caught up in beautiful clothing and lavish parties. The political events swirling around her were understood only insofar as they affected her social life and luxuries.
Fanny's character was not unlike Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair: attractive, witty, and completely self-centered. And the more she immersed herself in court life, the more she lost touch with her European heritage and the French, British, and Italian friends living outside the castle walls. She even took action to benefit her personally, which brought disastrous consequences to others. A few years later she found herself alone, and getting older:
What had happened to her? I can't be old, not at twenty-six, though Fanny desperately, unaware that the swift doom of her Eastern and Latin blood was upon her. She only knew that somehow she had grown used to seeing herself in the pretty concealing Burmese dress, that this event of trying on a Paris frock for hte first time in two or three years had suddenly made her see herself with new eyes. Without her having noticed it, the glow and life which had been her chief charms were gone, and gone too was the suppleness that had been her chief beauty. (p. 287)
This was a sad state of affairs for Fanny, but I couldn't find much sympathy. I enjoyed the action and drama as political events unfolded, but the book didn't hold my interest as much as it would have with a more likeable protagonist. (
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Miss MoleEmily Hilda Young
288 pages
"Be anything you like, but be something. Simply being a useful woman like me isn't good enough." (p. 223)
This is the advice housekeeper Hannah Mole gives to Ruth Corder, daughter of Hannah's employer. Miss Hannah Mole came to Reverend Corder's household after a series of positions as housekeeper and/or companion. At 40, Hannah is well aware that her frank communications have gotten her in trouble with employers before. Her weatlhy, status-conscious cousin Lilla is instrumental in finding Hannah's new position, on the condition that their relationship be kept secret.
The Corder household is somewhat in shambles after the death of Mrs. Corder. Reverend Corder is unable to meet his daughters' emotional needs, and is unaware of his own. Miss Mole simply goes about her business, slowly winning over daughters Ruth and Ethel, to their father's amazement. She befriends people in the community, including those shunned by others. She is, despite her acid tongue, a very good person, and this rubs off on those around her. But Miss Mole harbors secrets from her own past, which are threatened when she is recognized by another clergyman in the town.
Emily Hilda Young lived and wrote in Britain around the turn of the 20th century. Her writing style is delightful and witty, and she portrays Miss Mole as a strong woman unusual for her time:
If she asserted her personality before she had established herself firmly, even Lilla's patronage would not save her. She had to persuade Robert Corder that she was useful before she let him suspect her of a mind quicker than his own ... (p. 67)
Hannah Mole turns out to be far more than just "useful," making Miss Mole a memorable book. (
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The Brontes Went to WoolworthsRachel Ferguson
255 pages
When my husband and I were first married, we liked to imagine the lives of semi-strangers: fitness instructors, supermarket clerks, etc. Even today we are strangely fascinated by a family nearby who have a wonderful vegetable garden, visible from the street as we drive by. Sometimes we make up other details of their lives. I've always thought it was a bit silly and embarrassing ... until I read this book.
The Carnes family (a mother and her three daughters) have embellished their lives with a vast array of characters they haven't actually met. And they bring old toys to life as well. Their conversations with one another are full of references to these characters, who often utter catch phrases that have taken shape out of their collective imaginations. All of this is mystifying to their governess, as well as to the reader (until you catch on).
Their wild imaginations appear to be a way of coping with the loss of the father, several years before. At the center of their imagined world is a local judge, Lord Toddington, whom they fondly refer to as "Toddy." Every day ends with Toddy allegedly phoning them to check in. They monitor his court cases, and the social functions he attends with his wife Mildred. Suddenly, through a happy coincidence, they are able to meet him face-to-face. There are some humorous scenes as they try to sort out the real and fictional Lord Toddingtons, and some touching moments as Toddy begins to fill the void in their lives.
This was a quirky book and, had I not indulged in similar imaginary exercises, I might have found it silly in the extreme. Instead it was an enjoyable light read. (
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In a Summer Season Elizabeth Taylor
221 pages
Kate Heron is a middle-aged, comfortably well-off woman in a second marriage with Dermot, who is several years her junior. Her son Tom is a young adult, seemingly lacking in talent and maturity, but expected to take over his paternal grandfather's business. Her 16-year-old daughter Louisa attends a boarding school but, for most of this novel, she is at home on holiday and pining after the local curate. Dermot is, in short, a ninny, who is unable to hold down a job and so sponges off his wife and his mother. Although never explicitly stated, it appears Kate joined up with Dermot out of loneliness when she was suddenly widowed. They seem an odd couple, and most of the other characters in this book are generally wondering how long the marriage will last. Kate is also mourning the passing, several years ago, of her dear friend Dorothea. About halfway through the novel, Dorothea's husband and daughter return to the village after a long absence, unwittingly upsetting the order of relationships.
Elizabeth Taylor is quite skilled at portraying ordinary people, embodying some with amusing idiosyncracies (such as the aunt who is obsessed with sex, although she has no direct personal experience), while also putting her characters under a microscope to expose the tiny flaws that are often the source of their downfall. This is what I enjoy most about her writing. Unfortunately, the plot did not measure up to the characters, and in my view this book fell short of her other work (i.e.; A View of the Harbour (my review), and Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (my review) ). (
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Antonia White
314 pages
The Lost Traveller opens in 1914, as Clara Batchelor returns home from her convent boarding school to attend her grandfather's funeral. At 15, Clara has been a student at Mount Hilary for 6 years, ever since her father's decision to convert to Catholicism. Clara is a typical 15-year-old girl:
The Lost Traveller opens in 1914, as Clara Batchelor returns home from her convent boarding school to attend her grandfather's funeral. At 15, Clara has been a student at Mount Hilary for 6 years, ever since her father's decision to convert to Catholicism. Clara is a typical 15-year-old girl:
For the last few months it had been misery for her to be alone with either of her parents. It was all the worse because she had no idea why this was and Clara was always frightened by anything she could not explain. There seemed to be a new creature growing up inside her, something still unformed and skinless that could not bear to be exposed to the light. The thoughts that nourished this inner self were too sacred and silly to be told to her father or mother and the myseterious creature was insistent, resenting interruptions and demanding constant attention. (p. 35)
This book is an autobiographical novel and sequel to Frost in May, which chronicles a young girl's early years in convent education. This first book is of the genre known as "school stories": books about the horrors of boarding school. The Lost Traveller is a more sophisticated coming-of-age novel. The characters are much more fully developed than those in Frost in May, and the reader gains considerably more insight into Clara's parents. Her father dotes on his daughter, although she is constantly in fear of disappointing him. Clara's mother locked in an unfulfilling marriage and sees her daughter as somewhat of a rival. Her father's grief over his own father's death is palpable, but her self-centered mother distances herself from her husband's loss and offers little emotional support.
Not long after the funeral, Clara learned this would be her final term at Mount Hilary, and that she would then attend St. Mark's School, an Anglican day school where her father is also a teacher. At Mount Hilary, Clara often felt out of place with the wealthy student body. At St. Mark's she found herself in a less restricted environment among her own socio-economic class, but this time her Catholicism made her the "odd one out." Over the next two years Clara oscillated between being a sensible academic high achiever and a frivolous, self-centered schoolgirl. Clara's secondary education came to an end with the first World War as a backdrop. She was too young to serve as a nurse, and briefly entertained thoughts of a Cambridge scholarship. Instead she accepted a short-term position as a governess. While the war had little direct impact on Clara, her father faced further loss as favorite pupils were killed in action. Then suddenly Clara was faced with a significant event which shook her to her core, and forced her to think through what was important in life.
This novel was much deeper and more enjoyable than I'd expected, and whetted my appetite for the remaining books in this series: The Sugar House and Beyond the Glass. (
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Not long after the funeral, Clara learned this would be her final term at Mount Hilary, and that she would then attend St. Mark's School, an Anglican day school where her father is also a teacher. At Mount Hilary, Clara often felt out of place with the wealthy student body. At St. Mark's she found herself in a less restricted environment among her own socio-economic class, but this time her Catholicism made her the "odd one out." Over the next two years Clara oscillated between being a sensible academic high achiever and a frivolous, self-centered schoolgirl. Clara's secondary education came to an end with the first World War as a backdrop. She was too young to serve as a nurse, and briefly entertained thoughts of a Cambridge scholarship. Instead she accepted a short-term position as a governess. While the war had little direct impact on Clara, her father faced further loss as favorite pupils were killed in action. Then suddenly Clara was faced with a significant event which shook her to her core, and forced her to think through what was important in life.
This novel was much deeper and more enjoyable than I'd expected, and whetted my appetite for the remaining books in this series: The Sugar House and Beyond the Glass. (
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Bobbin UpDorothy Hewett
204 pages
Dorothy Hewett was a left-wing Australian journalist in the 1950s. She originally wrote Chapter 15 of Bobbin Up as a short story, and in 1958 added fourteen chapters to develop a rich set of characters, and followed Chapter 15 with a single chapter of denouement. The result is a moving portrayal of women working in Australia's woolen mills, enduring long hours and poor conditions in the struggle to support their families. Many of these women were very young -- teenagers, mostly -- and living in poverty, but dreaming of a better standard of living.
Hewett modelled Bobbin Up and its characters on her own experience. Hewett arrived in Sidney in 1949 and became involved in the Communist Party. She asked for a job in "the worst factory in Sydney," and was put to work in the Alexandria Spinning Mills. She spent a year there, and also served as a union delegate. The novel's characters represent parts of herself, and people she worked with at the mill. I enjoyed the way Hewett developed the lives of these women outside of work, and their interconnectedness within the mill.
This book was interesting for its historical context, but made memorable by its characters, who will remain in my mind for some time. (
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The Well of LonelinessRadclyffe Hall
447 pages
Yes, it was trying to get her under, this world with its mighty self-satisfaction, with its smug rules of conduct, all made to be broken by those who strutted and preened themselves on being what they considered normal. They trod on the necks of those thousands of others who, for God knew what reason, were not made as they were ... And the vilest of them could point a finger of scorn at her, and be loudly applauded." (p. 256)
Published in 1928, The Well of Loneliness dealt openly with the subject of homosexuality, at a time when it was far from well-understood, and never discussed, by "polite society." It is a searingly painful account of a young woman's coming of age and her search for love and acceptance. Her parents longed for a son, referred to her in utero as "Stephen," and then in fact baptised her as Stephen. She grew up "not like other girls," and with few friends in her community. Only a couple of people understood the situation: her father, who had read some of the research of the day, and a governess who was herself a lesbian. But they maintained their silence; Stephen's father did not even confide in her mother, and no one explained things to Stephen.
Stephen began discovering her own sexuality as she approached adulthood, through relationships with a male friend and a married woman. Later, she became part of a circle of "like" friends, and was in a committed relationship with another woman. Yet her life was not a happy one. Her mannish appearance attracted a lot of attention and gossip, she could never be "out" in public, and her relationships would never be formally recognized in the church or in the courts. She became estranged from her mother, who could not accept Stephen as she was. This is not a happy story, but Radclyffe Hall so expertly draws the reader into Stephen's life, love, and anguish, that this book is difficult to put down.
What struck me most profoundly in this novel is both how far we've come, and how far we haven't, in societal views toward gays and lesbians. On the one hand, today most people know someone who is gay, and gays themselves can find community. Some are also comfortable being open about their sexuality. None of this was possible in 1928. On the other hand, Radclyffe Hall vociferously argued that homosexuality was innate, not a choice, a subject some people still debate. And, gay and lesbian relationships are still not properly recognized in many states and countries, and in many religious denominations.
Because of its controversial subject matter, The Well of Loneliness was banned in Britain for 20 years after its publication. I read it in honor of Banned Books Week, and I'm glad I did. (
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All Passion SpentVita Sackville-West
297 pages
First published in 1931, All Passion Spent is a bold piece of early feminist literature. Deborah, Lady Slane, is an 88-year-old woman whose husband has just passed away at the age of 94. Her six children, all in their 60s, are greatly concerned about how to care for her, but she surprises them by declaring her intent to live independently in a new, smaller home. Having taken this bold step, Deborah enters a period of reflection on her life. Vita Sackville-West uses Deborah's voice to decry woman's role in society and female subservience to males through marriage:
Oh, what a pother, she thought, women make about marriage! and yet who can blame them, she added, when one recollects that marriage -- and its consequences -- is the only thing that women have to make a pother about in the whole of their lives? Though the excitement be vicarious, it will do just as well. Is it not for this function that they have been formed, dressed, bedizened, educated -- if so one-sided an affair may be called education -- safeguarded, kept in the dark, hinted at, segregated, repressed, all that at a given moment they may be delivered, or may deliver their daughters over, to Minister to a Man? (p. 159)
Henry by the compulsion of love had cheated her of her chosen life, yet had given her another life, an ample life, a life in touch with the greater world, if that took her fancy; or a life, alternatively, pressed close up against her own nursery. For a life of her own, he had substituted his life with its interests, or the lives of her children with their potentialities. He assumed that she might sink herself in either, if not in both, with equal joy. It had never occurred to him that she might prefer simply to be herself. (p. 178)
Henry by the compulsion of love had cheated her of her chosen life, yet had given her another life, an ample life, a life in touch with the greater world, if that took her fancy; or a life, alternatively, pressed close up against her own nursery. For a life of her own, he had substituted his life with its interests, or the lives of her children with their potentialities. He assumed that she might sink herself in either, if not in both, with equal joy. It had never occurred to him that she might prefer simply to be herself. (p. 178)
Deborah is acutely aware that she is nearing the end of her life, and is clear in her need for independence. She sets very clear boundaries: no visits from children or grandchildren! Once established in her home, the rest of the book is a reflective piece as Deborah mentally re-lives her adult life. She also forms a few friendships important to her new-found independence. The ending is quite profound, as Deborah begins to see how life could be different for women of younger generations. (
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The Diary of a Provincial LadyE.M. Delafield
172 pages
This book is a delightful light read. The heroine chronicles daily events and inner thoughts in a quite witty diary. Daily life in "the provinces," i.e.; well outside London, revolves around relationships with her husband, her children, the servants, and fellow villagers. She pokes fun at all of this, while simultaneously revealing her own feelings of inadequacy as wife, parent, employer, friend, or woman of intellect. Several humorous situations are followed through the diary: an attempt to grow garden bulbs, an adopted stray cat who has kittens, vain attempts to stay one step ahead of a bank overdraft, the eccentric behavior of certain villagers, and her husband's general reticence. All are described in a wonderful style, such as this comment about the husband: Very marked difference between the sexes is male tendency to procrastinate doing practically everything in the world except sitting down to meals and going up to bed. Should like to purchase little painted motto: 'Do it now', so often on sale at inferior stationers' shops, and present it to Robert, but on second thoughts qutie see that this would not conduce to domestic harmony, and abandon scheme at once (p. 156).
The "provincial lady" 'is so engaging, and so easy to identify with, and yet is never given a name. Perhaps this is because she is "everywoman"? In any case, this fun little book had me smiling and laughing to myself from page 1 to the end. Delightful. ( )
The "provincial lady" 'is so engaging, and so easy to identify with, and yet is never given a name. Perhaps this is because she is "everywoman"? In any case, this fun little book had me smiling and laughing to myself from page 1 to the end. Delightful. (
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A View of the Harbour
Elizabeth Taylor
313 pages
'Interesting,' he observed, 'what two people can make of the same view. We all see places a bit different to what the next man does. That stands to reason. (p. 309)
Newby is an English seaside town a bit past its prime. The fishing trade has waned, and summer visitors are not as numerous as before the war. Taylor's imagery brings the scene to life: To the men on the boats the harbour was at first dingy and familiar, a row of buildings, shops, cafe, pub, with peeling plaster of apricot and sky blue; then as the boats steered purposefully from the harbour-mouth to the sea, houses rose up in tiers, the church-tower extricated itself from the roofs, the lettering on the shops faded and the sordid became picturesque. (p. 9)
With this backdrop, A View of the Harbour focuses on the day-to-day events and relationships of the community. Like any small town, people spend a lot of time watching one another and gossiping. Characters are presented first at a distance, as viewed through a window by a neighbor. But Taylor also transitions seamlessly to first-hand accounts of each character, bringing detail, depth and emotion to each situation. Many events play out through the perspective of Bertram, a visitor who has supposedly come to paint the scenery, but manages to insert himself into the lives of several community members. As he becomes acquainted with various people, so does the reader.
Women's friendships are a key theme in the novel. Beth, a writer and mother of two daughters, has been close friends with Tory, a vain and frivolous divorcee, since they were in school. Although these two women were close as children, now they have little in common but still turn to each other for support. And, sadly, each puts relationships with men ahead of their relationship with each other.
I love Elizabeth Taylor's writing, which so vividly evokes the shabby seaside town and the recent impact of the war on its inhabitants. And her characters are "real people," that could be found anywhere. I am looking forward to reading more by this wonderful author. ( )
Newby is an English seaside town a bit past its prime. The fishing trade has waned, and summer visitors are not as numerous as before the war. Taylor's imagery brings the scene to life: To the men on the boats the harbour was at first dingy and familiar, a row of buildings, shops, cafe, pub, with peeling plaster of apricot and sky blue; then as the boats steered purposefully from the harbour-mouth to the sea, houses rose up in tiers, the church-tower extricated itself from the roofs, the lettering on the shops faded and the sordid became picturesque. (p. 9)
With this backdrop, A View of the Harbour focuses on the day-to-day events and relationships of the community. Like any small town, people spend a lot of time watching one another and gossiping. Characters are presented first at a distance, as viewed through a window by a neighbor. But Taylor also transitions seamlessly to first-hand accounts of each character, bringing detail, depth and emotion to each situation. Many events play out through the perspective of Bertram, a visitor who has supposedly come to paint the scenery, but manages to insert himself into the lives of several community members. As he becomes acquainted with various people, so does the reader.
Women's friendships are a key theme in the novel. Beth, a writer and mother of two daughters, has been close friends with Tory, a vain and frivolous divorcee, since they were in school. Although these two women were close as children, now they have little in common but still turn to each other for support. And, sadly, each puts relationships with men ahead of their relationship with each other.
I love Elizabeth Taylor's writing, which so vividly evokes the shabby seaside town and the recent impact of the war on its inhabitants. And her characters are "real people," that could be found anywhere. I am looking forward to reading more by this wonderful author. (
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I've just received the most beautiful gift from a fellow Virago aficionado: the 30th Anniversary Edition of E. M. Delafield's The Diary of a Provincial Lady. One of the pleasures of Virago collecting is the cover art. These anniversary editions are hardbound with unique cover designs. Here's what my new treasure looks like:
It's a slim volume, maybe 5"x8", and the cover is so pretty it just begs to be put on display. I am absolutely thrilled to have this book! For months now, my UK-based Virago-loving friends have been raving about these new editions, but I assumed they were out of my reach unless I wanted to have one shipped from abroad. Then, a fellow Virago collector on LibraryThing received several 30th anniversary editions. She surprised me by sending this one to me.
And this brings to mind yet another pleasure of Virago collecting: the wonderful people I have met, all of whom share an interest in preserving and promoting the work of these oft-neglected authors. The last time I posted here about Viragos, I said I'd taken a "collecting hiatus." Well, that was about the time I discovered the Virago Modern Classics group on LibraryThing. Its members are both enthusiastic, and incredibly generous. Standard practice is to buy any VMC you can find and, if you happen to already own it, offer it up to any interested group member.
How can I take a "collecting hiatus" with such golden opportunities available? I have no willpower whatsoever; during this supposed hiatus I have nearly doubled my collection! I've received several from fellow LibraryThing collectors, and occasionally one pops up on Paperbackswap. I keep vowing to return to a nearby used bookshop where I found 7 VMCs last winter, but I haven't quite gotten around to it. Each volume receives its special place on my Virago bookshelf. Once in a while, I tend my "garden." flipping through unread works and making sure everything is in order on the shelf. The Diary of a Provincial Lady is my 45th VMC and it is very special to me since it's not only a book I'm quite interested in reading, but an enduring reminder of the generosity and friendship of fellow book-lovers.
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The Return of the Soldier
Rebecca West
188 pages
This short novel describes one of the tragedies of war from a woman's perspective. Chris Baldry returns from WW I with shell-shock amnesia, and does not remember the last 15 years of his life. He thinks of his cousin Jenny as a playmate, and doesn't recognize his wife Kitty at all. Worse still, the person he most wants to see is an old girlfriend, Margaret, who is now married to another man. The story is narrated by Jenny, who clearly doesn't think much of the other women: Kitty, because she is spoiled and self-centered, and Margaret because she is of a lower class. While Kitty wallows in grief over her "lost" husband, Jenny learns more about Margaret and Chris' relationship and, together with a doctor, they determine how to use his past to "cure" him. The result is quite poignant and moving.
Rebecca West was 24 years old in 1918, when this book was published. Her writing is wonderful, full of beautiful, descriptive phrases of characters and setting. She also brings a bit of humor with phrases such as, "He was a lank man with curly gray hairs growing from every place where it is inadvisable that hairs should grow..." and "so many of them ... had stood round Chris and looked at him with the consequenceless deliberation of a plumber."
This is an engaging novel by a talented woman writer. ( )
Rebecca West was 24 years old in 1918, when this book was published. Her writing is wonderful, full of beautiful, descriptive phrases of characters and setting. She also brings a bit of humor with phrases such as, "He was a lank man with curly gray hairs growing from every place where it is inadvisable that hairs should grow..." and "so many of them ... had stood round Chris and looked at him with the consequenceless deliberation of a plumber."
This is an engaging novel by a talented woman writer. (
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Elizabeth and her German Garden Elizabeth von Arnim
207 pages
"I see a time coming when the passion for my garden will have taken such a hold on me that I shall not only entirely cease buying more clothes, but begin to sell those that I already have." (p. 154)
This is a delightful autobiographical novel set at a German country house. Elizabeth, the mother of three young girls, convinced her German husband to live in this house instead of in the city, and set about developing the garden. Her joy and humor illuminate every page. Her husband, who early on chastises her for not writing to him while he is away, is called simply "the Man of Wrath," and her children are called "April baby," "May baby," and "June baby" according to the month they were born (three years in a row, I might add!) While Elizabeth's joy in gardening is evident, so is her frustration at being a woman at the beginning of the 20th century. She pokes fun at her husband's superior attitude, but there is also a lengthy scene in which he discusses women's place and at this point, her anger is evident. The novel takes place over a year's time, in which she discusses both gardening and family life. At Christmastime, Elizabeth has two visitors: one, a dear friend and the other, a student she was asked to take in over the holidays. The interactions among the three women, and the ways in which houseguests can grow tiresome, are all brilliantly portrayed.
As was common for women of that time, Elizabeth von Arnim published this book anonymously. Subsequent books were published "by the author of Elizabeth and her German Garden," and also "by Elizabeth." This book is a perfect example of why Virago Press publishes the Virago Modern Classics: to bring to life the excellent work of women who were overlooked during their day. (
)This year marks the 30th anniversary of Virago Modern Classics, and lately I've read a number of news articles and blog posts celebrating the history of Virago Press. Virago Press is a publisher of women's literature, and with Virago Modern Classics the company "launched a list dedicated to the celebration of women writers and to the rediscovery and reprinting of their works." I love this concept. Perusing the list of Virago Modern Classics, there are few well-known authors there, and that's the point. Women often didn't have the same opportunity to get published as men, but that doesn't make their work any less worthy.
I am a relatively new Virago collector, having caught the bug last autumn on a weekend book binge with some friends. I currently have about two dozen of these beauties, some with the much-loved green covers and others in black:
Alas, I've only read two from my burgeoning collection: Frost in May, and Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont. Now, in honor of the anniversary I intend to rectify that situation. I was thinking about this last week and oddly enough, Danielle at A Work in Progress had the exact same idea on the exact same day: to commit to read a set number of Virago Modern Classics over the rest of 2008. Since my reading plan is already full of challenges and project goals, I'm going for six. I'll just choose the titles as I go; call it my own little bit of spontaneity in the midst of my well-planned reading life!
I've actually taken a collecting hiatus simply because I've read so few of them and was feeling guilty.
With hundreds of published VMCs, and a preference for the older green (and as a second choice, black) covers, this is a long-term treasure hunt. So with 2008 reading goals ahead of me, I now absolve myself of any guilt and will resume collecting as the mood and opportunity strikes!
I'd love to hear from others who have been charmed by Virago Modern Classics ... comments please!
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Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont
Elizabeth Taylor
206 pages
First sentence: Mrs. Palfrey first came to the Claremont Hotel on a Sunday afternoon in January.
Reflections: This engaging, character-driven novel is the story of an elderly widow who moves into a residential hotel in London. Mrs. Palfrey herself is a certain type -- the widow of a British colonial administrator, "a tall woman with big bones and a noble face, dark eyebrows and a neatly folded jowl. She would have made a distinguished-looking man and, sometimes, wearing evening dress, looked like some famous general in drag." (p. 2) Being English is very important to her: "When she was young, it had semed that nearly all the world was pink on her school atlas -- 'ours', in fact. Nearly all ours! she had thought." (p. 104)
The other hotel residents -- all but one, female -- are each eccentric in their own way. Unable to live completely on their own, but not yet in need of extensive medical care, the residents' lives revolve around daily minutiae: the lunch and dinner menus, trips to the library, and so on. Mrs. Palfrey often fills time by stretching even the smallest errand into an all-morning affair. Sometimes, there are visitors: children, grandchildren, or cousins. It's quite poignant; most of these visits are obligatory, and it shows. Shortly after her arrival at The Claremont, Mrs. Palfrey has a fall while out for a walk, and is found and cared for by a young writer named Ludovic. They strike up a friendship, and Ludo poses as her grandson when visiting The Claremont. While she also develops relationships with some of the other residents, it is Ludo who brings her real happiness.
Published in 1971, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont was Elizabeth Taylor's second-to-last novel (she died in 1975). It made the Booker Prize shortlist and is very much in keeping with Virago Press' commitment to "enduring works by women novelists." A great way to close out my reading year! (
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Frost in May
Antonia White
221 pages
First sentence: Nanda was on her way to the Convent of the Five Wounds.
Reflections: As noted in the introduction, Frost in May is of the genre known as "school stories": books about the horrors of boarding school. These stories usually concern boys' schools, and those written about girls were insulting and unrealistic. Antonia White attempted to change that with this, her first novel, published in 1933. Nanda is a quite normal and ordinary 9-year-old heroine, sent to a convent school following her parents' conversion to Catholicism. She is devout and excited about her new faith. Bit by bit, she is broken down by the nuns who stifle creativity, independent thought, and freedom of expression. Nanda struggles to reconcile her early enthusiasm with reality: How could an institution be wrong that was evidently so divinely inspired, that had survived for nearly two thousand years in spite of persecution and slander, that stood firm through scandals, heresies and schisms?
My main reason for reading this book is that it it was the first Virago Modern Classic to be published. Virago Modern Classics celebrate women writers, often resurrecting and reprinting older works which may have gone unrecognized. Antonia White writes in a style not unlike Jane Austen, often poking fun at Nanda's world. Convent-educated herself, she no doubt spoke from direct experience. I've recently acquired about 10 Viragos by hunting through various used bookshops, including some other works by White. I'm looking forward to becoming better acquainted with our "literary foremothers," by reading more Virago Modern Classics. (
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E. H. Young
336 pages
The Curate's Wife is a story of marriage. Dahlia and Cecil Sproat, the title couple, are newly married. Cecil adores Dahlia; she is affectionate but not passionate towards him. Dahlia chose marriage primarily in response to a strong desire to live away from her mother and stepfather. She also desperately misses her sister Jenny, who left town to live near a young antiques dealer, formerly a lodger in her mother's house. Dahlia doesn't share Cecil's spiritual views, and with her outspoken nature she finds it difficult to play the part of a curate's wife. Every day the couple dance around one another, too shy to show strong affection and nearly always surprised by some newly-discovered aspect of the other's character. These discoveries often lead to arguments, and later, reconciliation: