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Description
"One late spring evening in 1912, in the kitchens at Sterne, preparations begin for an elegant supper party in honor of Emerald Torrington's twentieth birthday. But only a few miles away, a dreadful accident propels a crowd of mysterious and not altogether savory survivors to seek shelter at the ramshackle manor-and the household is thrown into confusion and mischief. The cook toils over mock turtle soup and a chocolate cake covered with green sugar roses, which the hungry band of visitors is not invited to taste. But nothing, it seems, will go according to plan. As the passengers wearily search for rest, the house undergoes a strange transformation. One of their number (who is most definitely not a gentleman) makes it his business to join the birthday revels. Evening turns to stormy night, and a most unpleasant parlor game threatens to blow respectability to smithereens: Smudge Torrington, the wayward youngest daughter of the house, decides that this is the perfect moment for her Great Undertaking."--Dust jacket.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Chatterbox
"It's all been so unusual," says Charlotte Torrington, already bemused and overwhelmed by the time the invited guests arrive to celebrate her elder daughter's 20th birthday at Sterne, the family mansion that they can no longer afford to maintain. Her second husband has gone off to Manchester to try
From the outset, it's clear that these passengers are unusual. They appear out of the woods; when the cart sent to locate them, returns, it is empty, not having spotted anyone. The passengers, with one exception -- a first class passenger in a red silk waistcoat -- are an amorphous mass whom Charlotte and her family try desperately to contain. "Are those shabby creatures safely shut away in the morning room?" Charlotte enquires. But neither they nor a host of nasty secrets can be contained for long; before long, storms are raging outdoors and indoors, as the inexplicably multiplying number of "uninvited guests" spill out of the morning room and become more and more demanding. The mysterious first class passenger turns out to be a figure from Charlotte's past, and seems bent on wreaking mayhem in her carefully ordered Edwardian life as well as Emerald's birthday party.
At first, I admit I battled to read this; the first 50 or so pages felt like some kind of forced route march, and I wondered that what felt like some kind of 21st century version of a century-old Edwardian country house novel had won the kind of plaudits I read among the blurbs. Gradually, I became captivated as events became more and more bizarre. I stopped trying to making sense of what was happening and simply immersed myself in the story, awed by Sadie Jones's ability to morph what first appeared to be a straightforward and even banal tale and twist it into something beyond recognition. The tone was perfect throughout; it's as if Jones had beamed herself back in time and embraced the language and attitudes of an Edwardian novelist, even as the tale she was spinning became increasingly strange.
I'm still not sure I like the book -- that seems the wrong word to use. Certainly, at times, it creeped me out at the beginning, when it began to metamorphose from something purporting to be akin to "Downton Abbey" (for want of a better comparison) to a novel that I simply can't compare to anything else I have ever read. There are all kinds of tensions and dysfunctional relationships within the family, as well as between them and their invited guests, who have preconceptions about each other, view each other through different prisms, thinking primarily of what they should want, what they deserve, etc. By the time the dust settles (literally) and the next day dawns, they have all been through a stormy night, literally and rhetorically.
This is perhaps the most difficult book I've ever had to review. It is without question a very well-written, clever and witty (not funny, but witty) novel (is it a fable of some kind??), but will it appeal to anyone else?? It's hard to even hazard a guess. This is one that is very much going to be an individual choice; some will hate/loathe it, others will wrinkle their noses; some will be baffled by it and some will be captivated. As I said, like? Not sure. Left in awe at Jones's ambition and imagination? Abso-bloody-lutely. Oh, and I'm glad I read it.
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and save the day; Charlotte is left to play hostess to her son, Clovis; Emerald, her daughter; Patience, a young family friend, and Ernest, Patience's brother, as well as bluff young local farmer, John Buchanan. But the evening has scarcely even begun, and it's going to get even more unusual, when the uninvited guests show up. Because before the carefully-planned (and, the reader feels, carefully scripted) events can get underway, comes news that a train has derailed nearby, and Sterne has been designated to shelter the passengers until "the Railway" can come to claim them.From the outset, it's clear that these passengers are unusual. They appear out of the woods; when the cart sent to locate them, returns, it is empty, not having spotted anyone. The passengers, with one exception -- a first class passenger in a red silk waistcoat -- are an amorphous mass whom Charlotte and her family try desperately to contain. "Are those shabby creatures safely shut away in the morning room?" Charlotte enquires. But neither they nor a host of nasty secrets can be contained for long; before long, storms are raging outdoors and indoors, as the inexplicably multiplying number of "uninvited guests" spill out of the morning room and become more and more demanding. The mysterious first class passenger turns out to be a figure from Charlotte's past, and seems bent on wreaking mayhem in her carefully ordered Edwardian life as well as Emerald's birthday party.
At first, I admit I battled to read this; the first 50 or so pages felt like some kind of forced route march, and I wondered that what felt like some kind of 21st century version of a century-old Edwardian country house novel had won the kind of plaudits I read among the blurbs. Gradually, I became captivated as events became more and more bizarre. I stopped trying to making sense of what was happening and simply immersed myself in the story, awed by Sadie Jones's ability to morph what first appeared to be a straightforward and even banal tale and twist it into something beyond recognition. The tone was perfect throughout; it's as if Jones had beamed herself back in time and embraced the language and attitudes of an Edwardian novelist, even as the tale she was spinning became increasingly strange.
I'm still not sure I like the book -- that seems the wrong word to use. Certainly, at times, it creeped me out at the beginning, when it began to metamorphose from something purporting to be akin to "Downton Abbey" (for want of a better comparison) to a novel that I simply can't compare to anything else I have ever read. There are all kinds of tensions and dysfunctional relationships within the family, as well as between them and their invited guests, who have preconceptions about each other, view each other through different prisms, thinking primarily of what they should want, what they deserve, etc. By the time the dust settles (literally) and the next day dawns, they have all been through a stormy night, literally and rhetorically.
This is perhaps the most difficult book I've ever had to review. It is without question a very well-written, clever and witty (not funny, but witty) novel (is it a fable of some kind??), but will it appeal to anyone else?? It's hard to even hazard a guess. This is one that is very much going to be an individual choice; some will hate/loathe it, others will wrinkle their noses; some will be baffled by it and some will be captivated. As I said, like? Not sure. Left in awe at Jones's ambition and imagination? Abso-bloody-lutely. Oh, and I'm glad I read it.
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LibraryThing member richardderus
Rating: 3* of five
The Book Report: Emerald Torrington turns twenty today. Her shabby-genteel mama Charlotte, bratty brother Clovis, and afterthought baby sister Smudge, née Imogen, are celebrating with a dinner party, to include Emerald's old friend Insignificance, née Patience, and her brother
The the Railway wishes upon the family an entire carriage-load of strangers due to an accident which occurred on the branch line. Florence, the housekeeper tasked with keeping house and making a party with one maid who's time is in demand as a hairdresser-cum-lady's-maid for all the abovestairs women, fetches them tea and then the whole household, and invited guests, forget about them.
Except Charlie. Charlie, from First Class unlike the ragtag and bobtail who arrived before him, moves right on in to the birthday party, with surprising...shocking, in fact...results.
Some guests are more uninvited than others. Poor Emerald...such a decent sort trapped in that last moment of adolescent intolerability and intolerance. Well...not any more.
My Review: Three stars? Does that seem a bit mingy? It isn't. I'll tell you why.
What begins as a species of Edwardian-style Heyeresque silliness turns into The Turn of the Screw, and for no really good reason. It's nicely written, being a Sadie Jones novel, and it's plotted with some care, but the mash-up takes a lot of suspension of disbelief and it's not asked of one until too late in the game. I don't think of myself as an inattentive or oblivious reader. No adequate set-up was done for the surprise twist, and so instead of feeling excited and pleased, I felt slightly seasick at the sudden change of direction as the boat, previously making for a harbor I could see miles away, goes across the waves' direction towards a more distant island.
Surprise me, yes; do a hard one-eighty, and you risk making me feel duped instead of pleasantly surprised. And that is where The Uninvited Guests left me. Looking for clues as to why I ended up in Calais when my ticket says Southampton.
The Book Report: Emerald Torrington turns twenty today. Her shabby-genteel mama Charlotte, bratty brother Clovis, and afterthought baby sister Smudge, née Imogen, are celebrating with a dinner party, to include Emerald's old friend Insignificance, née Patience, and her brother
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Ernest; and a last-minute addition, rich local businessman John Buchanan. Charlotte is hoping John will marry Emerald, who Does Not Fancy him and wastes no time letting him know this; he responds by laughing at her arrogance (go John!), yet he still gives her a beautiful cameo as a birthday gift, and still feels...well.The the Railway wishes upon the family an entire carriage-load of strangers due to an accident which occurred on the branch line. Florence, the housekeeper tasked with keeping house and making a party with one maid who's time is in demand as a hairdresser-cum-lady's-maid for all the abovestairs women, fetches them tea and then the whole household, and invited guests, forget about them.
Except Charlie. Charlie, from First Class unlike the ragtag and bobtail who arrived before him, moves right on in to the birthday party, with surprising...shocking, in fact...results.
Some guests are more uninvited than others. Poor Emerald...such a decent sort trapped in that last moment of adolescent intolerability and intolerance. Well...not any more.
My Review: Three stars? Does that seem a bit mingy? It isn't. I'll tell you why.
What begins as a species of Edwardian-style Heyeresque silliness turns into The Turn of the Screw, and for no really good reason. It's nicely written, being a Sadie Jones novel, and it's plotted with some care, but the mash-up takes a lot of suspension of disbelief and it's not asked of one until too late in the game. I don't think of myself as an inattentive or oblivious reader. No adequate set-up was done for the surprise twist, and so instead of feeling excited and pleased, I felt slightly seasick at the sudden change of direction as the boat, previously making for a harbor I could see miles away, goes across the waves' direction towards a more distant island.
Surprise me, yes; do a hard one-eighty, and you risk making me feel duped instead of pleasantly surprised. And that is where The Uninvited Guests left me. Looking for clues as to why I ended up in Calais when my ticket says Southampton.
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LibraryThing member nosajeel
The writing is light, delightful, witty, and perceptive from the first page of this comedy of manners. Which is a good thing because it carries it through much of the first third of the book which drags somewhat as the high expectations build but never reach fruition. But then the mock turtle soup
The Unwanted Guests is set in England in 1912 and is an upstair-downstairs comedy, although the downstairs is somewhat reduced by the financial state of the family. It takes place in a 24-hour period that is meant to be a birthday party, and potential betrothal, for the daughter but goes badly awry when the third class passengers, plus one ostensible first class passenger, from a nearby train wreck show up for shelter. The increasingly noisy, ungrateful and apparently ever multiplying guests eat their way through everything as they spread around the house.
Against this backdrop, it is a Shakespeare-esque story in which the normal rules are suspended for a night, roles are reversed, unlikely romances form, discoveries are made, but all is restored by the daylight.
Overall, The Unwanted Guests is well-executed, unique, and mostly an enjoyable read--and it is even more enjoyable in retrospect.
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breaks, spills all over the floor, and inaugurates a new and even more enthralling phase of the book.The Unwanted Guests is set in England in 1912 and is an upstair-downstairs comedy, although the downstairs is somewhat reduced by the financial state of the family. It takes place in a 24-hour period that is meant to be a birthday party, and potential betrothal, for the daughter but goes badly awry when the third class passengers, plus one ostensible first class passenger, from a nearby train wreck show up for shelter. The increasingly noisy, ungrateful and apparently ever multiplying guests eat their way through everything as they spread around the house.
Against this backdrop, it is a Shakespeare-esque story in which the normal rules are suspended for a night, roles are reversed, unlikely romances form, discoveries are made, but all is restored by the daylight.
Overall, The Unwanted Guests is well-executed, unique, and mostly an enjoyable read--and it is even more enjoyable in retrospect.
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LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
This is the first book that I've read by Sadie Jones. I read it knowing nothing about it, but that Jones is a well-respected author, the cover is striking and it was there on the English language shelf at the local bookstore. This is the kind of book which should be read all in one go, or as close
Emerald is turning twenty. Her stepfather, whom she does't love, but also doesn't hate the way her brother Clovis does, won't be there. He's on his way to Birmingham in a last ditch attempt to get the money that would allow them to stay in their beloved home. But her best friend, Patience, will be there, along with her brother. The housekeeper has prepared an elaborate menu, everyone is dressed up, including Clovis and Emerald's much younger sister, Smudge and the celebration is about to begin when news comes of a horrible train derailment on the branch line, and the survivors are to sheltered at Sterne until the railroad can collect them.
What follows is an unusual evening, where the celebrants try to continue as though nothing is different, and despite one of the travelers having insinuated himself into their festivities. The survivors, sequestered in the morning room, are growing increasingly unhappy and, it seems, numerous. And Smudge has brilliant plan of her own.
This is pure entertainment, of the kind involving crossed communications and new reactions to old friends, but also high comedy and an increasing feeling that things are very much not right.
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to that as possible. It has the feel of an Oscar Wilde play, were Wilde to have written about a disastrous birthday party.Emerald is turning twenty. Her stepfather, whom she does't love, but also doesn't hate the way her brother Clovis does, won't be there. He's on his way to Birmingham in a last ditch attempt to get the money that would allow them to stay in their beloved home. But her best friend, Patience, will be there, along with her brother. The housekeeper has prepared an elaborate menu, everyone is dressed up, including Clovis and Emerald's much younger sister, Smudge and the celebration is about to begin when news comes of a horrible train derailment on the branch line, and the survivors are to sheltered at Sterne until the railroad can collect them.
What follows is an unusual evening, where the celebrants try to continue as though nothing is different, and despite one of the travelers having insinuated himself into their festivities. The survivors, sequestered in the morning room, are growing increasingly unhappy and, it seems, numerous. And Smudge has brilliant plan of her own.
This is pure entertainment, of the kind involving crossed communications and new reactions to old friends, but also high comedy and an increasing feeling that things are very much not right.
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LibraryThing member devenish
A truly remarkable and completely unique book. Veers from comedy through to horror and back to farce in a effortless manner. I have always admired an author who can produce something which no one else has thought of,and Sadie Jones has certainly done it with 'The Uninvited Guests'.
The inhabitants
Brilliant !
The inhabitants
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of the grand,but shabby house of Sterne,prepare for Emerald Torrington's twentieth birthday party. News comes that the survivors of a nearby train crash are about to arrive at the house for shelter and sustenance. Sterne is about to be turned upside down with the arrival of the Uninvited Guests.Brilliant !
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LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
This tried to hard to be many books, it tried to be a comedy of manners, but left out most of the comedy; it tried to be a gothic novel, but failed to raise the tension to make it truly that. It feels like a vaguely magical realistic period piece with unlikeable characters and I just didn't care
The Torrington family are struggling, great dilapidated pile of a house, daughter turning 20 and now a train crash has landed them with several survivors. Only the survivors aren't of their class, and they're not sure how to deal with them. But what's going on isn't obvious and it will change the people involved.
I didn't care, wish I had stopped reading after the 30 pages or so that I found tedious because it didn't change, no matter how much I wanted it to.
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enough about what happened.The Torrington family are struggling, great dilapidated pile of a house, daughter turning 20 and now a train crash has landed them with several survivors. Only the survivors aren't of their class, and they're not sure how to deal with them. But what's going on isn't obvious and it will change the people involved.
I didn't care, wish I had stopped reading after the 30 pages or so that I found tedious because it didn't change, no matter how much I wanted it to.
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LibraryThing member Helenliz
This started out really well and at about 2/3rds distance just completely went off the rails and ended in, for me, a disappointing mess.
Set in a well to do house, pre-WW1, that's clearly fallen on bad times, it takes place on Emerald's 20th birthday. Her step father is off on business, trying to
Then a further guests appears and the front door and promptly invites himself to dinner, claiming acquaintance with Charlotte (the mother). He is clearly a bounder and a cad, but is older and so manages to overwhelm by sheer force of personality the other males at the dinner party.
things get increasingly out of hand, with the number of stranded passengers seeming to increase and become more and more demanding and unruly. All the while, Smudge embarks on her great undertaking (which is just brilliantly funny and I really won't give that away).
And it's somewhere here that it goes wrong for me. Emerald & the younger members of the party come good and rally round to aid the passengers, while Charlotte goes all self centered and shuts herself away. Then the caddish passenger who's infiltrated the party introduces a game that turns really quite nasty, resulting in revelations about Charlotte's youth that do not reflect well on her.
And then the bombshell hits (spoiler time) and the guests is revealed as a ghost who's died in the train accident, only his proximity and strong passions for Charlotte cause him to materialise and drags the other dead souls with him. And so it limps on to the end becoming ever more far fetched, and the ending is completely unsatisfactorily resolved. So Its 4 stars for the first 2/3rds but the final section drops that score to a merely Ok 2 because I was so disappointed in it. If it had been sustained it would have been a stonking good book.
Set in a well to do house, pre-WW1, that's clearly fallen on bad times, it takes place on Emerald's 20th birthday. Her step father is off on business, trying to
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save them from losing the house while she has guests over for a dinner party. So there's a fair amount of to-do, what with the guests arriving and one of the housemaids being off ill. There's also a fair amount of family angst going in, with Emerald's brother Clovis being a typical bothersome brother and their younger sister Imogen (Smudge) who seems to be poorly. Clovis is sent to the station to collect patience & her brother Ernest from the station, only they end up being gone a long time, returning with the nes that there's been a train accident on the branchline and that the railway need to send the passengers up to the house to shelter. Emerald manages to be the level headed mature one, while her mother seems to shrink from the passengers and is quite cruel and rather snobbish. Then a further guests appears and the front door and promptly invites himself to dinner, claiming acquaintance with Charlotte (the mother). He is clearly a bounder and a cad, but is older and so manages to overwhelm by sheer force of personality the other males at the dinner party.
things get increasingly out of hand, with the number of stranded passengers seeming to increase and become more and more demanding and unruly. All the while, Smudge embarks on her great undertaking (which is just brilliantly funny and I really won't give that away).
And it's somewhere here that it goes wrong for me. Emerald & the younger members of the party come good and rally round to aid the passengers, while Charlotte goes all self centered and shuts herself away. Then the caddish passenger who's infiltrated the party introduces a game that turns really quite nasty, resulting in revelations about Charlotte's youth that do not reflect well on her.
And then the bombshell hits (spoiler time) and the guests is revealed as a ghost who's died in the train accident, only his proximity and strong passions for Charlotte cause him to materialise and drags the other dead souls with him. And so it limps on to the end becoming ever more far fetched, and the ending is completely unsatisfactorily resolved. So Its 4 stars for the first 2/3rds but the final section drops that score to a merely Ok 2 because I was so disappointed in it. If it had been sustained it would have been a stonking good book.
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LibraryThing member teresa1953
This novel is very different. Possibly quite mad, but intriguing nontheless.
Set in pre-war England, the story begins on a spring evening at Sterne...a manor house which is a little shabby round the edges, but grand and well loved by the Torrington-Swift family who reside there. Friends and family
Unbeknown to the assembling guests, there has been a dreadful rail disaster a few miles away from Sterne. As news reaches the partygoers, shock and sympathy give way to preparations which carry on unabated. It therefore comes as a surprise when a small group of people is seen "emerging from the gloom of the drive onto the gravel" and it becomes clear that they are "from the accident." Not exactly welcomed with open arms, the travellers believe that they are to remain at the house until further notice. Phone calls to the Rail Company are mysteriously disconnected and the dozen or so folk behave in a most peculiar manner. Worse still...they appear to be increasing in number and are becoming more and more raucous. The appearance of a further passenger who acts as a kind of spokesman for the group, but behaves in a most ungentlemanly manner, causes Charlotte, in particular, much grief.
As a portrait of the early twentieth century upper classes, this novel is immaculate. There are glimpses of "Downton Abbey" and also of the film "The Others." There are amusing moments that made me laugh out loud, but also great sadness and empathy. The oddities and bizarre behaviour of both the partygoers and the "uninvited guests" is so well illustrated, they actually seem fairly "normal" when the reader is absorbed in the story.
I loved it, but I can see that it may not be to everyone's taste. It is certainly a huge departure from Sadie Jones's first two novels, but, for me, that illustrates her talent and diversity. One thing is certain......it would make a great movie!
This book was made available to me, prior to publication, for an honest review.
Set in pre-war England, the story begins on a spring evening at Sterne...a manor house which is a little shabby round the edges, but grand and well loved by the Torrington-Swift family who reside there. Friends and family
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are gathering for Emerald Torringtons's twentieth birthday party. Charlotte Swift, Emerald's mother, is feeling anxious by her husband's departure to London and subsequent absence from the celebrations. He is, however, on an important mission to secure money from the bank to safeguard Sterne for the family whose finances have been strained in recent years.Unbeknown to the assembling guests, there has been a dreadful rail disaster a few miles away from Sterne. As news reaches the partygoers, shock and sympathy give way to preparations which carry on unabated. It therefore comes as a surprise when a small group of people is seen "emerging from the gloom of the drive onto the gravel" and it becomes clear that they are "from the accident." Not exactly welcomed with open arms, the travellers believe that they are to remain at the house until further notice. Phone calls to the Rail Company are mysteriously disconnected and the dozen or so folk behave in a most peculiar manner. Worse still...they appear to be increasing in number and are becoming more and more raucous. The appearance of a further passenger who acts as a kind of spokesman for the group, but behaves in a most ungentlemanly manner, causes Charlotte, in particular, much grief.
As a portrait of the early twentieth century upper classes, this novel is immaculate. There are glimpses of "Downton Abbey" and also of the film "The Others." There are amusing moments that made me laugh out loud, but also great sadness and empathy. The oddities and bizarre behaviour of both the partygoers and the "uninvited guests" is so well illustrated, they actually seem fairly "normal" when the reader is absorbed in the story.
I loved it, but I can see that it may not be to everyone's taste. It is certainly a huge departure from Sadie Jones's first two novels, but, for me, that illustrates her talent and diversity. One thing is certain......it would make a great movie!
This book was made available to me, prior to publication, for an honest review.
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LibraryThing member AlisonY
This, Jones' third novel, has a period setting centred around a remote English country house where the owners and some guests have gathered to celebrate a member of the family's birthday. Tension underpins the celebrations as the family are on the brink of losing the family home, and the day
This was a bit of a frustrating Sadie Jones' book. The first three-quarters were true to her usual form - there was a sense of foreboding and mystery which kept me hooked, and whilst her writing may not be high literature it is eminently readable. Easy comfort reading I would call it. However, the last quarter of the book, when all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, verged on the ridiculous. I was sure she was leading the mystery to a satisfyingly ominous conclusion, but the turn it took was so far-fetched it was like sticking a pin in the balloon of tension. All the build up was spoilt by the silliness of the climax, and to ruin it further she squeezed in some improbable romances at the 11th hour which just felt like very amateur story telling. This is not Mills & Boon - it wasn't necessary.
Harsh as this review sounds, however, I did enjoy most of the book, and it was just the kind of easy read I needed to get me back into the reading groove.
3.5 stars - a slip of form for Sadie Jones. There was a great start and middle but an expectedly poor ending.
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descends into further disarray and dark confusion when a large group of strangers arrive at the house following a railway crash on a nearby branch line.This was a bit of a frustrating Sadie Jones' book. The first three-quarters were true to her usual form - there was a sense of foreboding and mystery which kept me hooked, and whilst her writing may not be high literature it is eminently readable. Easy comfort reading I would call it. However, the last quarter of the book, when all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, verged on the ridiculous. I was sure she was leading the mystery to a satisfyingly ominous conclusion, but the turn it took was so far-fetched it was like sticking a pin in the balloon of tension. All the build up was spoilt by the silliness of the climax, and to ruin it further she squeezed in some improbable romances at the 11th hour which just felt like very amateur story telling. This is not Mills & Boon - it wasn't necessary.
Harsh as this review sounds, however, I did enjoy most of the book, and it was just the kind of easy read I needed to get me back into the reading groove.
3.5 stars - a slip of form for Sadie Jones. There was a great start and middle but an expectedly poor ending.
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LibraryThing member kakadoo202
this book left me puzzled. the people were so unreal. only during one on one conversation you had a sense of reality. and what about the passangers? would anyone treat them like this? or where they even real? they vanished without a trace, same as Charlie. where they ghosts? and the sex scene
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towards the end was so strange to be thrown in. Show Less
LibraryThing member BooksCooksLooks
This was a book quite unlike any other I have ever read. I can honestly say I only truly liked one character in it and yet the book was a total hoot. Usually when I don't care for the characters I can't stand the book but that was definitely not the case in Ms. Jones satire of Edwardian mores. This
We start by meeting the Torrington/Swifts on the day of Emerald's birthday. Her mother, Charlotte has remarried - to Edward Swift, a one armed barrister. Emerald and Clovis, her brother felt that the marriage happened too quickly after the death of their father. The father who bought their beloved home, Sterne, and then lost all the family money. Edward was leaving to try and save the home. The last member of the family was little Imogen, called Smudge who plans a Great Undertaking on the day of Emerald's birthday.
The writing style is very spare, very British. So is the humor. An understanding of Edwardian class distinctions is necessary to true appreciation of the story. So is an appreciation for a British sense of humor. The Torrington/Swifts are veddy, veddy British in their thoughts and quite Edwardian how they treat the lessor amongst them. It makes for some horrifying moments but also for some quite funny moments.
All I can say is that if you want a truly unique reading experience this is the book to read. I'll be keeping it to read again because I know this is one of those books that will improve upon a second read.
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will be a very hard review to write without giving the whole of the plot away but I will try.We start by meeting the Torrington/Swifts on the day of Emerald's birthday. Her mother, Charlotte has remarried - to Edward Swift, a one armed barrister. Emerald and Clovis, her brother felt that the marriage happened too quickly after the death of their father. The father who bought their beloved home, Sterne, and then lost all the family money. Edward was leaving to try and save the home. The last member of the family was little Imogen, called Smudge who plans a Great Undertaking on the day of Emerald's birthday.
The writing style is very spare, very British. So is the humor. An understanding of Edwardian class distinctions is necessary to true appreciation of the story. So is an appreciation for a British sense of humor. The Torrington/Swifts are veddy, veddy British in their thoughts and quite Edwardian how they treat the lessor amongst them. It makes for some horrifying moments but also for some quite funny moments.
All I can say is that if you want a truly unique reading experience this is the book to read. I'll be keeping it to read again because I know this is one of those books that will improve upon a second read.
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LibraryThing member kraaivrouw
I'm not entirely sure what I expected from The Univited Guests - something Noel Cowardish (even though set in 1912), I suspect - quick, clever, punchy. As I began to read I was reminded of Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford (again the wrong time period).
There is much to enjoy in this book -
There is much to enjoy in this book -
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the writing is lush and descriptive. I always think of the Edwardian period as the kaleidoscopic moment befor the gray of World War I and this book truly captures that feeling. Unlikeable though everyone in the book may be, they are still well-characterized if a bit satirized and that makes for some good fun. This is a light breezy novel that turns into something more wicked before going back to its lush English countryside self. It's an interesting transition and tale. Show Less
LibraryThing member jasonlf
The writing is light, delightful, witty, and perceptive from the first page of this comedy of manners. Which is a good thing because it carries it through much of the first third of the book which drags somewhat as the high expectations build but never reach fruition. But then the mock turtle soup
The Unwanted Guests is set in England in 1912 and is an upstair-downstairs comedy, although the downstairs is somewhat reduced by the financial state of the family. It takes place in a 24-hour period that is meant to be a birthday party, and potential betrothal, for the daughter but goes badly awry when the third class passengers, plus one ostensible first class passenger, from a nearby train wreck show up for shelter. The increasingly noisy, ungrateful and apparently ever multiplying guests eat their way through everything as they spread around the house.
Against this backdrop, it is a Shakespeare-esque story in which the normal rules are suspended for a night, roles are reversed, unlikely romances form, discoveries are made, but all is restored by the daylight.
Overall, The Unwanted Guests is well-executed, unique, and mostly an enjoyable read--and it is even more enjoyable in retrospect.
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breaks, spills all over the floor, and inaugurates a new and even more enthralling phase of the book.The Unwanted Guests is set in England in 1912 and is an upstair-downstairs comedy, although the downstairs is somewhat reduced by the financial state of the family. It takes place in a 24-hour period that is meant to be a birthday party, and potential betrothal, for the daughter but goes badly awry when the third class passengers, plus one ostensible first class passenger, from a nearby train wreck show up for shelter. The increasingly noisy, ungrateful and apparently ever multiplying guests eat their way through everything as they spread around the house.
Against this backdrop, it is a Shakespeare-esque story in which the normal rules are suspended for a night, roles are reversed, unlikely romances form, discoveries are made, but all is restored by the daylight.
Overall, The Unwanted Guests is well-executed, unique, and mostly an enjoyable read--and it is even more enjoyable in retrospect.
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LibraryThing member carold49
Charming victorian novel where all hell breaks loose at the end. Images- pony on the stairs. Ghostly passengers from a train wreck.....
LibraryThing member bookmagic
I wanted to like the book and was excited about it after reading the blurb. But I really could not get into the story and find most of the characters unlikeable. Because this was a Vine pick, I gave it 80 pages, 30 more than my usual before I decided to put the book down.
Normally, I love any book
Normally, I love any book
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that takes place in England but this was so disjointed and uninteresting that I could not finish. I would not recommend this to anyone. Show Less
LibraryThing member wbwilburn5
Great story, a ghost story. Very fast paced with wonderful characters.
LibraryThing member franoscar
Kinda weird. Spoilers abound. A family living in the country. When? 20's, 30's? 40's? Maybe it said in the beginning. House is threatened with foreclosure. Stepfather, not liked by son & daughter who are too old to be there & are immature. Part of story is their coming of age. Friends visit for a
Well written but I'm not so sure about the story.
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birthday party. People show up, supposed to be survivors of a train wreck sent to their home for shelter. Makes no sense and the numbers keep growing. It turns out that they are the dead, brought there by 1 victim who is connected to the woman of the house. So, things happen.... But it all turns right at the end, and the dead leaves, and the youngest child -- who has been neglected -- gets a big legacy that saves the house & bonds with her mother (and probably/certainly is the child of the main ghost).Well written but I'm not so sure about the story.
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LibraryThing member tsutton
I'm not sure how to describe this novel, except to say it deserved to be read in one sitting.
Emerald Torrington is set to celebrate her 20th birthday with her family and a few close friends at a dinner at her family home, Sterne, in April 1912. The night is thrown into disarray when, as her guests
At first, the novel reminded me very much of the Flavia de Luce novels by Alan Bradley. The tone was playful, and the families were similar in some ways - emotionally distant but loving parents, a family living in genteel poverty, a precocious child, etc. However, that quickly changed as the plot began to turn toward more adult themes.
This is a great read that I would definitely recommend.
Emerald Torrington is set to celebrate her 20th birthday with her family and a few close friends at a dinner at her family home, Sterne, in April 1912. The night is thrown into disarray when, as her guests
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arrive, so does news of a train derailment, sending dozens of passengers to Sterne for the evening to await rescue by the railway. The assembled group tries it's best to carry on with the party, but the arrival of an unexpected guest sends the night into an unexpected direction.At first, the novel reminded me very much of the Flavia de Luce novels by Alan Bradley. The tone was playful, and the families were similar in some ways - emotionally distant but loving parents, a family living in genteel poverty, a precocious child, etc. However, that quickly changed as the plot began to turn toward more adult themes.
This is a great read that I would definitely recommend.
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LibraryThing member TheBentley
This is an unusual little book, which makes use of the current mini-trend in modern writers working in 19th century style. One of the main criticisms I've read of The Uninvited Guests is that none of the characters are likeable, and there's some truth to that assessment. If anything, it's to Jones'
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credit that she manages scenes of taught suspense with characters you didn't think you cared about. Nevertheless, I found the book enjoyable in an odd, almost Lord-of-the-Flies kind of way. It's not surprising that opinions on it tend to run all over the map, as it's a book that is surely not to everyone's taste--a mash up of drawing room farce, class-conscious tragedy, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. If Jones occasionally seems discombobulated by the mix--as if she's not quite sure where she's going with this--it's hard to blame her. It's quite a feat to have pulled it off at all. Not what I'd call a must-read, but I'm glad I read it. Show Less
LibraryThing member lycomayflower
I did a lot of veering from opinion to opinion with The Uninvited Guests. It starts out rather pleasant and Edwardian-y, then becomes a bit odd and discomfiting, and finally ends up somewhere mostly satisfying and affirming. I can't say much for fear of giving things away which I suspect are better
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left discovered on one's own, but I will say I had suspicions about a third of the way through which I thought were surely nonsense but which turned out to be quite correct. Not what I was expecting, exactly, but a worthwhile read all the same, and well done. The enjoyment I had in reading the novel doesn't quite call for a reread, but I think I really ought read it over again some day to understanding more fully just what it is Jones is doing here. If I have any real complaint about the book, it is that I'm not sure the seeming largeness of some of the goings on are entirely supported by the smallness of the narrative's circumstances. But therein lies my desire to reread. It niggles the back of my mind that I may have missed something very clever. Show Less
LibraryThing member 2chances
It's Emerald Torrington's twentieth birthday, but things are not going well. Her stepfather is headed to London to make a last ditch attempt at saving their beloved home, Sterne; her handsome brother Clovis is sulking and refusing to cooperate with birthday arrangements; their neglected little
Sadie Jones has an antic way with her narration, and as the story descends into darker and creepier depths, the narration becomes paradoxically funnier. Strangely, this does not detract from the genuinely eerie moments, but rather makes the entire story tenser - as the story gets creepier, the desire to laugh becomes more shocking (yet just as irresistible) to the reader. At least, to me. Gothic, but sparkling, if that makes any sense. It makes sense when Sadie Jones does it.
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sister Imogen ("Smudge") is ill, but not so ill that she cannot plot a Great Undertaking. Into this domestic welter comes the news that a train has derailed nearby, and the surviving passengers must seek shelter at Sterne. Arrive they do, as the Torringtons struggle to reconcile proper birthday dinner party arrangements with the increasingly peculiar needs of their uninvited guests. Sadie Jones has an antic way with her narration, and as the story descends into darker and creepier depths, the narration becomes paradoxically funnier. Strangely, this does not detract from the genuinely eerie moments, but rather makes the entire story tenser - as the story gets creepier, the desire to laugh becomes more shocking (yet just as irresistible) to the reader. At least, to me. Gothic, but sparkling, if that makes any sense. It makes sense when Sadie Jones does it.
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LibraryThing member SilversReviews
What else could happen on Emerald's birthday....her step-father leaves for one day to try to save their home, a friend isn't coming for her birthday, a suitor who isn't anyone she likes gives her a gift, a train accident that causes twenty or more "uninvited guests" to stay at their home, grumpy
The Torrington family definitely had a situation on their hands mostly caused by the folks who have been in the morning room all day from the accident site and had only been given tea. Would they be staying there for more than that evening or would the railway station drop by and take them to their original destinations? No communication from the railway station was bad enough, but if the Torringtons thought the uninvited guests were a bad situation, wait until they find out what Smudge has done...their uninvited guests may not be considered a bad situation.
This book was filled with the propriety of an English household along with things that were not. The descriptive writing style of Ms. Jones is phenomenal....you feel as though you are right on the scene and can see all the details of the surroundings and furnishings. The characters are devilish, fun, and of course proper....well proper for the most part. You will feel each character's mood whether it be fear, pleasure, anger, or irritation. Most of the characters were filled with irritation at the things going on except Smudge who was in a world of her own.
Smudge is loveable and comical, but I felt sorry for the poor neglected girl. I can see why she did the things she did. Clovis was lazy, Charlotte was helpless and whiny and had a secret that became revealed to the horror of her family, Emerald was the responsible one, and the servants worked but complained. Charlotte couldn't handle anything out of the ordinary and would hide in her room....Charlotte was the mother of Clovis, Emerald, and Smudge. The children were more able to handle things than she could.
The book took a few pages to get going, but don't put it down....it is humorous and a bit odd. I enjoyed the book because of its being a bit absurd and because the proper English household wasn't a usual proper household. You will love the characters as I mentioned above. There is one chapter that is frightening because of the behaviors of one of the uninvited guests who was allowed to associate with the family, but overall it was an amusing look into an English household. 4/5
This book was given to me free of charge by the publisher and TLC Tours without compensation in return for an honest review.
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servants, and then Smudge's decision to carry out a ridiculous undertaking.The Torrington family definitely had a situation on their hands mostly caused by the folks who have been in the morning room all day from the accident site and had only been given tea. Would they be staying there for more than that evening or would the railway station drop by and take them to their original destinations? No communication from the railway station was bad enough, but if the Torringtons thought the uninvited guests were a bad situation, wait until they find out what Smudge has done...their uninvited guests may not be considered a bad situation.
This book was filled with the propriety of an English household along with things that were not. The descriptive writing style of Ms. Jones is phenomenal....you feel as though you are right on the scene and can see all the details of the surroundings and furnishings. The characters are devilish, fun, and of course proper....well proper for the most part. You will feel each character's mood whether it be fear, pleasure, anger, or irritation. Most of the characters were filled with irritation at the things going on except Smudge who was in a world of her own.
Smudge is loveable and comical, but I felt sorry for the poor neglected girl. I can see why she did the things she did. Clovis was lazy, Charlotte was helpless and whiny and had a secret that became revealed to the horror of her family, Emerald was the responsible one, and the servants worked but complained. Charlotte couldn't handle anything out of the ordinary and would hide in her room....Charlotte was the mother of Clovis, Emerald, and Smudge. The children were more able to handle things than she could.
The book took a few pages to get going, but don't put it down....it is humorous and a bit odd. I enjoyed the book because of its being a bit absurd and because the proper English household wasn't a usual proper household. You will love the characters as I mentioned above. There is one chapter that is frightening because of the behaviors of one of the uninvited guests who was allowed to associate with the family, but overall it was an amusing look into an English household. 4/5
This book was given to me free of charge by the publisher and TLC Tours without compensation in return for an honest review.
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LibraryThing member bachaney
Sadie Jones' The Univited Guests is set at an English country house in the early 20th century where both the house and the family who lives in it, have seen better days. The family is trying to simultaneously save their house and celebrate the 20th birthday of their oldest daugher, Emerald. Just
I really, really, wanted to like this book. I liked the premise and I liked other books by the author. Unfortunately, this book was really a drag for me. I just couldn't get into it. Between the unlikeable characters and the incredibly slow pacing, there just wasn't anything to draw me in. It felt like the author was trying to hard to be clever, and as a result the book just sunk like a rock. None of the features--smart writing, interesting perspectives--that drew me to Jones' earlier books were present here.
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before Emerald's birthday guests start arriving, a set of unexpected guests--survivors of a train crash--arrive at the house. What follows is a comedy of errors with the guests and the house.I really, really, wanted to like this book. I liked the premise and I liked other books by the author. Unfortunately, this book was really a drag for me. I just couldn't get into it. Between the unlikeable characters and the incredibly slow pacing, there just wasn't anything to draw me in. It felt like the author was trying to hard to be clever, and as a result the book just sunk like a rock. None of the features--smart writing, interesting perspectives--that drew me to Jones' earlier books were present here.
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LibraryThing member arielfl
A gathering has assembled to celebrate the occasion of Emerald Torrington's twentieth birthday. Present are Miss Torrington, her mother Charlotte, younger sister Smudge, brother Clovis, friend Patience and her brother Edmund, and John who is a possible suitor for Emerald. Rounding out the cast is
I was attracted to the idea that this novel was compared to Downton Abbey meeting The Others. Downton Abbey mixed with the supernatural? Sign me up. The execution however was somewhat disappointing. The first three quarters of the novel dragged for me. Once it hit the parlor game and the character of Charlie came to the forefront I was hooked in. In the end I very much enjoyed the story even though it took a long time to connect.
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housekeeper Florence. Edmund is Charlotte's husband and stepfather to Emerald and her siblings. He is away during the party to put forth an effort to secure money to save the family estate. During the party an train crashes and the family is instructed by the railway to house the survivors until the morning. Among the survivors is a man named Charlie Traversham-Beechers who has some connection to Charlotte's past. Charlie becomes the de facto leader of the railway survivors whose needs throughout the night increasingly press on the family. A particularly nasty parlor game conducted by Charlie reveals long held family secrets which force Charlotte to face up to her past.I was attracted to the idea that this novel was compared to Downton Abbey meeting The Others. Downton Abbey mixed with the supernatural? Sign me up. The execution however was somewhat disappointing. The first three quarters of the novel dragged for me. Once it hit the parlor game and the character of Charlie came to the forefront I was hooked in. In the end I very much enjoyed the story even though it took a long time to connect.
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LibraryThing member herschelian
I was deeply disappointed in this book, as I had enjoyed Sadie Jones' previous fiction very much. The Edwardian setting of the story was well drawn, but the plot was peculiar to say the least. It was as though the author hadn't decided what type of book she was writing. There were places where the
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action became farcical, and with the best will in the world I could not suspend my disbelief. The description of the attempts to coax the pony down the stairs went on and on, and on and on... I kept hoping it would improve and something would pull the tale together but it never did. Lets hope this book is just an aberation in a long writing career, and that Ms Jones' next book will get back to reality and fine writing. Show Less
Awards
Globe and Mail Top 100 Book (2012)