Status
Available
Publication
Persephone Books (2009), 377 pages
Description
The story of a young Englishwoman's growth towards maturity in the 1930's, a funny, readable, and perceptive account of life and love.
User reviews
LibraryThing member lauralkeet
Mariana is the second book from Persephone, which publishes "mainly neglected fiction and non-fiction by women, for women and about women." Published in 1940, it is essentially a coming of age story about an ordinary English woman, and on the basis of that description might easily be dismissed. But
Mary grows up surrounded by interesting and influential characters. Her widowed, independent mother fosters a sense of independence in her daughter, even as Mary with school and vocational training. Mary's uncle Geoffrey, an actor, lives with Mary and her mother. His carefree approach to life strikes Mary as much more desirable than her mother's constant worry about having enough money for life's basic necessities. Mary’s first love is her cousin Denys, and it takes years for her to understand their close relationship can be nothing more than platonic. But she is resilient and every relationship with a man teaches her more about what she needs from life and love.
By the time we arrive at those moments in the cottage, we are fully invested in Mary's story and learning the details behind the news report. Monica Dickens reveals those details and wraps up Mary’s story in a most clever fashion. All in all, a very satisfying read.
Show More
what makes Mariana such a charming read is its structure. The book opens with our heroine, Mary, ensconced in a holiday cottage with her dog, Bingo, and a raging storm outdoors. She hears some upsetting news on the radio, but the weather prevents her venturing out to obtain more information. Instead, the reader is treated to the story of Mary's life, from idyllic childhood summers in the country, through her school days and young adulthood in London. Mary grows up surrounded by interesting and influential characters. Her widowed, independent mother fosters a sense of independence in her daughter, even as Mary with school and vocational training. Mary's uncle Geoffrey, an actor, lives with Mary and her mother. His carefree approach to life strikes Mary as much more desirable than her mother's constant worry about having enough money for life's basic necessities. Mary’s first love is her cousin Denys, and it takes years for her to understand their close relationship can be nothing more than platonic. But she is resilient and every relationship with a man teaches her more about what she needs from life and love.
By the time we arrive at those moments in the cottage, we are fully invested in Mary's story and learning the details behind the news report. Monica Dickens reveals those details and wraps up Mary’s story in a most clever fashion. All in all, a very satisfying read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member noodlejet22
Mariana is the story of a young girl growing up in England. When we meet her she has just heard on the radio that her husband's ship has gone down at sea. She then begins to recount the events in her life. From school girl follies with her cousin Denys, riding horses, her upbring by her mother and
This coming of age story was enjoyable. I wasn't sure how I would react to the flowery descriptions that I feel are always present in books written during this time. I did find that it was nice to read a story free of doom and gloom and at the same time to see that characters during this time could be human. Here was a girl who was not always prim, proper, and excelling at every venture. She struggled, she made nasty comments about people (this may just be a class issue during that time), and generally seemed to be unlikable. Mary even gets a school report saying so. To me, this is perfect. I always enjoy sassy adolescent girls and young women who seem to always be just beyond the reach of what others think they should be.
Show More
actor uncle, and vacationing at the Charbury home. We follow Mary through an actor's school in which she is pretty bad, and dressmaking and fashion design where she meets a young Frenchman who sweeps her off her feet...almost... and is later swept away by a less extravagant young man named Sam. This coming of age story was enjoyable. I wasn't sure how I would react to the flowery descriptions that I feel are always present in books written during this time. I did find that it was nice to read a story free of doom and gloom and at the same time to see that characters during this time could be human. Here was a girl who was not always prim, proper, and excelling at every venture. She struggled, she made nasty comments about people (this may just be a class issue during that time), and generally seemed to be unlikable. Mary even gets a school report saying so. To me, this is perfect. I always enjoy sassy adolescent girls and young women who seem to always be just beyond the reach of what others think they should be.
Show Less
LibraryThing member reeread
One of my all time favourites.
Mariana begins with Mary hearing a radio bulletin of her husband's ship being sunk. She is in a little cottage isolated because a storm has brought the telephone lines down. Not being able to get to the nearest public telephone until the following morning, she spends a
The story ends with the morning coming bleak and wet. Mary makes her way to the village shop by bus to see if she can find out more about her husband's plight.
Mariana begins with Mary hearing a radio bulletin of her husband's ship being sunk. She is in a little cottage isolated because a storm has brought the telephone lines down. Not being able to get to the nearest public telephone until the following morning, she spends a
Show More
sleepless night remembering her life - her upbringing with her mother, widowed in World War I, and her actor uncle Geoffrey in London, her schooldays, her holidays with her extended family, her first love, Denys, her unsuccessful stint at drama school, her more successful stint in Paris learning to be a dress designer, her engagement to a wealthy Frenchman, and eventually meeting and marrying her husband, Sam.The story ends with the morning coming bleak and wet. Mary makes her way to the village shop by bus to see if she can find out more about her husband's plight.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Kasthu
Mariana is the story of one young girl’s growth towards adulthood during the 1920s and ‘30s. The book begins when Mary Shannon is eight, and traveling with her somewhat flighty mother to Charbury, her grandparents’ house; and continues up through the time that Mary is twenty-four and waiting
Monica Dickens (a great-granddaughter of Charles) depicts Mary’s maturation to adulthood with perfection. The reader sympathizes with Mary as she experiences the ups and downs of relationships and careers—experimenting with both seems to be pretty characteristic of Mary, as she grapples a bit with identity and independence. And yet, there isn’t the usual amount of teenage angst that one usually finds in a novel about growing up, which I found to be very refreshing. Mary is a sweet and sometimes naïve girl, but at the same time, she’s also wonderfully sarcastic towards her peers. She’s hard to like at times, but in an odd way, I found myself sympathizing with her.
Even without reading the preface of the novel, one can tell that the author borrowed a lot from her own life to write this book. The tone of the book, with its triumphs and disappointments, absolutely rings true. Mariana, which takes its title from the Tennyson poem, is now the third Persephone book I’ve read. It’s a lighthearted and lovely book, as Persephones usually are.
Show More
to hear news of her husband from the war.Monica Dickens (a great-granddaughter of Charles) depicts Mary’s maturation to adulthood with perfection. The reader sympathizes with Mary as she experiences the ups and downs of relationships and careers—experimenting with both seems to be pretty characteristic of Mary, as she grapples a bit with identity and independence. And yet, there isn’t the usual amount of teenage angst that one usually finds in a novel about growing up, which I found to be very refreshing. Mary is a sweet and sometimes naïve girl, but at the same time, she’s also wonderfully sarcastic towards her peers. She’s hard to like at times, but in an odd way, I found myself sympathizing with her.
Even without reading the preface of the novel, one can tell that the author borrowed a lot from her own life to write this book. The tone of the book, with its triumphs and disappointments, absolutely rings true. Mariana, which takes its title from the Tennyson poem, is now the third Persephone book I’ve read. It’s a lighthearted and lovely book, as Persephones usually are.
Show Less
LibraryThing member LyzzyBee
25 Dec 2009 - from Bridget
Somehow, I've bought this book for quite a few people but didn't have a copy of my own until Bridget bought me one for Christmas.
From the atmospheric start to this book, where we find Mary in a remote cottage with her dog, waiting for news of... someone... I was hooked.
Only aspect I really didn't like was the casual anti-Semitism - I suppose this has to be read as being "of its time" and it's not as bad as some other novels of the period!
Somehow, I've bought this book for quite a few people but didn't have a copy of my own until Bridget bought me one for Christmas.
From the atmospheric start to this book, where we find Mary in a remote cottage with her dog, waiting for news of... someone... I was hooked.
Show More
With the frame set in Essex, we then follow Mary back through her somewhat uneventful life between the wars, in a charming portrait of the trials of being a poorer relative, without a father, in thrall to your glamorous cousins and trying to find your way. London, the countryside and Paris are all beautifully described and, as Mary encounters several different gentlemen, we always have those opening scenes at the back of our mind - of whom, exactly, is she waiting for news, and are they worthy of her attention? I particularly liked the portrayal of adult London life through the eyes of the young Mary, and enjoyed a character who is not always attractive, or indeed interesting, but so well drawn.Only aspect I really didn't like was the casual anti-Semitism - I suppose this has to be read as being "of its time" and it's not as bad as some other novels of the period!
Show Less
LibraryThing member Sarahsponda
The second Persephone title I’ve read and just as delightful as the first. Wryly humourous in some parts, wistful and gritty in others. Excellent cast of characters.
LibraryThing member MariaAlhambra
A rather fluffy and cliched romance, it is redeemed by its comic scenes and minor characters (I particularly like the vaudeville actor uncle) and by the careful recreation of 20/30s upper-middle class domesticity (including some nasty casual anti-Semitism ). The blurb compares it to 'I Capture the
Show More
Castle', but its heroine is a lot more conventional, sane and snobbish; and curiously untalented for a Coming-of-Age book heroine (the only non cliched aspect). Show Less
LibraryThing member janetf8
Rather conventional. File this under 'Quite interesting, but don't read any others by this author. Possibly too autobiographical to be satisfying as a novel and the idealism of marriage was so idealistic.
LibraryThing member otterley
I came across Monica Dickens first as the author of Follyfoot (pony stories) and One Pair of Hands and One Pair of Feet - very funny 'true' stories of life as a maid and a nurse in smart society between the wars. This is adult fiction, though still a 'girls growing up' story. Mary, the 'lead'
Show More
character, is a slightly out of kilter character, and the book takes her from adulthood back to childhood, passing the journey that leads her to romance, love and - potentially - loss. It's an enjoyable period story, perceptive and sly. Show Less
LibraryThing member Karin7
Mary Shannon has gone away to brood while her husband is at war in WW II. During a storm she hears on the radio that her husband's ship has gone down; frantically, she tries to telephone to get news, but her line is down. During the long night, she remembers her life from about age 8, and it is
Part of this book gripped me more than others. I did root for Mary, even if she was often self-centered; I think that is a natural part of most children's development, and if she didn't get out of it as early as many of us think she should have, just look around at how many self-centred teens and early twenties people there are today.
As far as women authors went, Monica Dickens was only outsold at that time by Daphne du Maurier, however, her work hasn't remained as popular over time. I haven't read du Maurier for years, so can't give a good comparison as to why, but I do think it's a shame she's so little known now. I didn't love this book, although I suspect that when I was younger I'd have liked it more.
Show More
part coming of age and part becoming her own person. This is the second novel by Monica Dickens, the great- granddaughter of Charles Dickens, and she said that it was semi-autobiographical.Part of this book gripped me more than others. I did root for Mary, even if she was often self-centered; I think that is a natural part of most children's development, and if she didn't get out of it as early as many of us think she should have, just look around at how many self-centred teens and early twenties people there are today.
As far as women authors went, Monica Dickens was only outsold at that time by Daphne du Maurier, however, her work hasn't remained as popular over time. I haven't read du Maurier for years, so can't give a good comparison as to why, but I do think it's a shame she's so little known now. I didn't love this book, although I suspect that when I was younger I'd have liked it more.
Show Less
LibraryThing member BeyondEdenRock
This may be the loveliest opening to a novel that I have ever read.
“Mary sometimes heard people say: ‘I can’t bear to be alone.” She could never understand this. All her life she had needed the benison of occasional solitude, and she needed it now more than ever. If she could not be with
It captured my own feelings perfectly, and expressed them more beautifully than I ever could.
Mary escaped to the country with just her small terrier dog, Bingo, in tow. Her husband was at sea, in the navy, and the country was at war. Because she wanted to be quiet, to remember, to think.
It was lovely watching Mary and Bingo settle in, lovely to be reminded of the depth of Monica Dickens’ understanding of character and of her talent for catching exactly the right details to paint a perfect picture.
I was particularly taken with her understanding that a terrier can be sound asleep and alert at the same time …
The peaceful scene was disturbed when Mary switched on the wireless, when she heard that her husband’s ship had been hit. There were survivors, there was hope, but Mary had a night to get through before she found out the next morning if her husband was alive or dead.
It was a sleepless night, and as she lay awake Mary turned over memories in her mind.
She remembered her childhood, with a mother who had been widowed in the last war and who worked as a dressmaker to support them. Her husband’s family would have helped but she didn’t want to be beholden to them. It was enough that they gave Mary lovely, idyllic summer holidays in the country. And a place in a bigger family.
She remembered going to drama school with grand plans, and coming to realise that she was on the wrong path. Fashion college in Paris was a much better idea. She could have a lovely time and she could play a part in the family business. Mary had a wonderful time in Paris, and she made a marvellous catch. But even the most marvellous catch is not necessarily the right catch.
Mary found her happy ending back in England, at the most unexpected moment.
Now it has to be said that Mary is not the most sympathetic of characters. She is often awkward, thoughtless, selfish even. But she was real, and for all her failing I did like her, I did want her to find her path in life, her place in the world. Sometimes fallible heroines are so much easier to love.
And Mary was real, alive, and her emotional journey was so utterly real. There were highs and lows, tears and laughter. Every emotion a young woman might go through. And so many incidents, so many moments to recollect.
All of this was observed so beautifully, with understanding, intelligence, and just the right amount of empathy.
But if Mary’s life was the foreground, the background was just as perfectly realised. Her world was as alive as she was, and every character who was part of that word, even if only for a short while, was caught perfectly.
I loved watching over Mary’s life. It was an ordinary life, but every ordinary life is unique and Monica Dickens highlighted that quite beautifully.
And I could have stayed in her world quite happily, but morning eventually came, and Mary had to face whatever news of her husband might come. And when it came I had to leave.
I’d love to know what happened in the next chapters of Mary’s life, but failing that I’ll go back and read about the years I know all over again one day. Because this is a lovely book, and a lovely way to get lost in another life and another world.
“Mary sometimes heard people say: ‘I can’t bear to be alone.” She could never understand this. All her life she had needed the benison of occasional solitude, and she needed it now more than ever. If she could not be with
Show More
the man she loved, then she would rather be by herself.”It captured my own feelings perfectly, and expressed them more beautifully than I ever could.
Mary escaped to the country with just her small terrier dog, Bingo, in tow. Her husband was at sea, in the navy, and the country was at war. Because she wanted to be quiet, to remember, to think.
It was lovely watching Mary and Bingo settle in, lovely to be reminded of the depth of Monica Dickens’ understanding of character and of her talent for catching exactly the right details to paint a perfect picture.
I was particularly taken with her understanding that a terrier can be sound asleep and alert at the same time …
The peaceful scene was disturbed when Mary switched on the wireless, when she heard that her husband’s ship had been hit. There were survivors, there was hope, but Mary had a night to get through before she found out the next morning if her husband was alive or dead.
It was a sleepless night, and as she lay awake Mary turned over memories in her mind.
She remembered her childhood, with a mother who had been widowed in the last war and who worked as a dressmaker to support them. Her husband’s family would have helped but she didn’t want to be beholden to them. It was enough that they gave Mary lovely, idyllic summer holidays in the country. And a place in a bigger family.
She remembered going to drama school with grand plans, and coming to realise that she was on the wrong path. Fashion college in Paris was a much better idea. She could have a lovely time and she could play a part in the family business. Mary had a wonderful time in Paris, and she made a marvellous catch. But even the most marvellous catch is not necessarily the right catch.
Mary found her happy ending back in England, at the most unexpected moment.
Now it has to be said that Mary is not the most sympathetic of characters. She is often awkward, thoughtless, selfish even. But she was real, and for all her failing I did like her, I did want her to find her path in life, her place in the world. Sometimes fallible heroines are so much easier to love.
And Mary was real, alive, and her emotional journey was so utterly real. There were highs and lows, tears and laughter. Every emotion a young woman might go through. And so many incidents, so many moments to recollect.
All of this was observed so beautifully, with understanding, intelligence, and just the right amount of empathy.
But if Mary’s life was the foreground, the background was just as perfectly realised. Her world was as alive as she was, and every character who was part of that word, even if only for a short while, was caught perfectly.
I loved watching over Mary’s life. It was an ordinary life, but every ordinary life is unique and Monica Dickens highlighted that quite beautifully.
And I could have stayed in her world quite happily, but morning eventually came, and Mary had to face whatever news of her husband might come. And when it came I had to leave.
I’d love to know what happened in the next chapters of Mary’s life, but failing that I’ll go back and read about the years I know all over again one day. Because this is a lovely book, and a lovely way to get lost in another life and another world.
Show Less
Awards
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1940
Physical description
377 p.; 5.5 inches
ISBN
9781906462048
Local notes
Fiction