Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
NYRB Classics (2019), Edition: Reissue, 424 pages
Description
"To become a nun in the fourteenth century was often a business transaction rather than a spiritual calling; it is small wonder, then, that the inhabitants of the Benedictine convent of Oby are prey to worldly ambitions, frustrations, pleasures and jealousies. An outbreak of the Black Death the collapse of the convent spire and a disappearance are the dramas that strike this cloistered community, which is brought vividly to life in Sylvia Townsend Warner's masterpiece"--
User reviews
LibraryThing member baswood
The first thing I look for in an historical novel is the authors ability to place the reader in the time and place of her choosing (much the same could be said for science fiction and fantasy novels, but they have the advantage of placing their readers in an uncertain future rather than a
Most of the nuns were placed in the convent by their families and it was their job to serve god in prayer and virtue, their life was special and most spent their lives in a community that we would call institutionalised. In her first chapter Warner introduces the convent by sketching in the history of its founding and the book then proceeds to cover the period from April 1349 to March 1382: from the coming of the Plague to just beyond the peasants revolt of the summer of 1381. Two bookends that serve to enclose the lives of the women and their priest who pass through the book leaving fragmentary but lasting impressions. Four Prioresses are elected during this time and the lives of the nuns come and go; serving god and the convent, bickering, fighting, manoeuvring for position doing their duty and preparing for death. Ralph Kello (Sir Ralph) the nun’s priest is one of the few constant characters during this time outliving all of his nuns and hiding a terrible secret. There is no central story other than the nuns continual struggle to maintain their place in a world that is slowly changing. They are always short of money, their convent is poorly situated and they are dependent on the ancient rites and tithes that are slowly being eroded. Warner engages the reader in the nuns struggles, their daily routines, their brief moments of joy and their acceptance of a life that has them peering myopically at a world outside of their wicket gate.
Warner’s most striking achievement is to introduce her readers to the religious climate that was so much a part of 14th century life. Very important for the nuns of course whose lives were ruled by their religious (catholic) devotions, but also important for those outside of the convent because the religious communities were a part of everyday life and governed their day to day existence in varying degrees. We learn about the work that must be done on convent lands, the services that the nuns expected to be given to them and for their part their duties as providers of relief to the poor, these duties were onerous on both sides and it was duty allied with a fear of God (or more accurately a fear of the power of the church) that kept people in check. Warner is careful to make clear that it was an accepted belief that souls could be saved by people’s actions during their life on earth. The nuns were clear about this and their devotion and chastity could save their souls and help to save others. It was a time when religious people heard the voice of God or of the saints, they had visions, they fasted and were scourged as a matter of course. They made pilgrimages, visited shrines and fervently prayed, but they also sought answers to questions, sometimes believing in God’s will, but also clinging to more pagan and superstitious beliefs. Life was much more of a mystery to them and they needed some sort of answer to fill the gaps.
Warner writes beautifully about the landscape, the hot summers and cold wet winters, flowing water is used as a metaphor for changes to the lives inside the convent as the local river changes course after winter floods. Life ebbed and flowed around the seasons. She is careful not to reveal everything that happens, leaving the reader to form their own conclusion; for example it is not clear whether dame Susana committed suicide under the falling spire, or who played the greater part in the murder of Magdalen Figg. There is a mystery attached to some of the main events making this a thoughtful and at times puzzling read. Information was hard to come by, communications were slow and many a story became distorted in the telling and retelling and we get a sense of this through Warners prose.
There are dramatic moments: a spire collapses, plague visits the convent, there are elopements, murders and violence, but there are also some beautiful moments, for example; the novice nuns believing they can learn to fly, the joy of singing and individual acts of kindness. The Characters are very well described and their foibles, dreams, and ambitions become the stuff that drives the book along.
Sylvia Townsend Warner was a lover of early music and she brings her knowledge to bear on one of the best pieces of writing that I have read on the joy of hearing and performing new music. Singing was a part of religious life and the excitement of discovering new music of the Ars Nova from the continent provides a night to remember for the young Henry Yellowlees. Warner is able to describe why the music was so different and to imagine the effect it would have on a lover of music performing it for the first time. It is also historically accurate as is so much of this book. The peasants revolt of 1381 when the sturdy beggars united with labourers and farmworker to march on London is woven into the story as is the visitation of the black death.
It is hard to believe that “the Corner that Held Them was published in 1948 as its view of history seems more up to date with current thinking. She is not tempted to romanticise the past nor does she overindulge in cruelties or violence; no wisecracks, no jokes, no dumbing down, she just goes about painting her near perfect temporal portrait of a corner of England that happened to hold a convent of nuns in the late fourteenth century. What a great way to start a new year of reading with this special book and so 4.5 stars.
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historical past). Warner achieves this transportation back in time with consummate ease and she goes further by conveying convincingly the mindset of village people in 14th century England, however the main characters in The Corner That held Them are not ordinary village people: they are convent nuns living near the marshlands of Oby in Norfolk and her great achievement is allowing us to see the world through their eyes. It is unusual to find a book that hardly puts a foot wrong in distancing a 20th century viewpoint from one of a period so far back in history.Most of the nuns were placed in the convent by their families and it was their job to serve god in prayer and virtue, their life was special and most spent their lives in a community that we would call institutionalised. In her first chapter Warner introduces the convent by sketching in the history of its founding and the book then proceeds to cover the period from April 1349 to March 1382: from the coming of the Plague to just beyond the peasants revolt of the summer of 1381. Two bookends that serve to enclose the lives of the women and their priest who pass through the book leaving fragmentary but lasting impressions. Four Prioresses are elected during this time and the lives of the nuns come and go; serving god and the convent, bickering, fighting, manoeuvring for position doing their duty and preparing for death. Ralph Kello (Sir Ralph) the nun’s priest is one of the few constant characters during this time outliving all of his nuns and hiding a terrible secret. There is no central story other than the nuns continual struggle to maintain their place in a world that is slowly changing. They are always short of money, their convent is poorly situated and they are dependent on the ancient rites and tithes that are slowly being eroded. Warner engages the reader in the nuns struggles, their daily routines, their brief moments of joy and their acceptance of a life that has them peering myopically at a world outside of their wicket gate.
Warner’s most striking achievement is to introduce her readers to the religious climate that was so much a part of 14th century life. Very important for the nuns of course whose lives were ruled by their religious (catholic) devotions, but also important for those outside of the convent because the religious communities were a part of everyday life and governed their day to day existence in varying degrees. We learn about the work that must be done on convent lands, the services that the nuns expected to be given to them and for their part their duties as providers of relief to the poor, these duties were onerous on both sides and it was duty allied with a fear of God (or more accurately a fear of the power of the church) that kept people in check. Warner is careful to make clear that it was an accepted belief that souls could be saved by people’s actions during their life on earth. The nuns were clear about this and their devotion and chastity could save their souls and help to save others. It was a time when religious people heard the voice of God or of the saints, they had visions, they fasted and were scourged as a matter of course. They made pilgrimages, visited shrines and fervently prayed, but they also sought answers to questions, sometimes believing in God’s will, but also clinging to more pagan and superstitious beliefs. Life was much more of a mystery to them and they needed some sort of answer to fill the gaps.
Warner writes beautifully about the landscape, the hot summers and cold wet winters, flowing water is used as a metaphor for changes to the lives inside the convent as the local river changes course after winter floods. Life ebbed and flowed around the seasons. She is careful not to reveal everything that happens, leaving the reader to form their own conclusion; for example it is not clear whether dame Susana committed suicide under the falling spire, or who played the greater part in the murder of Magdalen Figg. There is a mystery attached to some of the main events making this a thoughtful and at times puzzling read. Information was hard to come by, communications were slow and many a story became distorted in the telling and retelling and we get a sense of this through Warners prose.
There are dramatic moments: a spire collapses, plague visits the convent, there are elopements, murders and violence, but there are also some beautiful moments, for example; the novice nuns believing they can learn to fly, the joy of singing and individual acts of kindness. The Characters are very well described and their foibles, dreams, and ambitions become the stuff that drives the book along.
Sylvia Townsend Warner was a lover of early music and she brings her knowledge to bear on one of the best pieces of writing that I have read on the joy of hearing and performing new music. Singing was a part of religious life and the excitement of discovering new music of the Ars Nova from the continent provides a night to remember for the young Henry Yellowlees. Warner is able to describe why the music was so different and to imagine the effect it would have on a lover of music performing it for the first time. It is also historically accurate as is so much of this book. The peasants revolt of 1381 when the sturdy beggars united with labourers and farmworker to march on London is woven into the story as is the visitation of the black death.
It is hard to believe that “the Corner that Held Them was published in 1948 as its view of history seems more up to date with current thinking. She is not tempted to romanticise the past nor does she overindulge in cruelties or violence; no wisecracks, no jokes, no dumbing down, she just goes about painting her near perfect temporal portrait of a corner of England that happened to hold a convent of nuns in the late fourteenth century. What a great way to start a new year of reading with this special book and so 4.5 stars.
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LibraryThing member lisapeet
A strange and lovely book, very drily funny and really hits a sweet spot between current events/politics (the Black Plague, Peasants' Revolt) and everyday interpersonal life. Beautiful descriptions of the natural world, as well. There's no plot other than that corner of the world and its history,
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but that's enough, honestly—or else I was just in the mood for that kind of narrative that feels as though you're floating by in a boat taking note of the details. Unlike anything else I've read in a while, and I have a feeling bits and pieces will keep surfacing in my head at odd moments. Show Less
LibraryThing member JulieStielstra
Not for everyone. Long, slow (if anything that leaps forward periods of years in a sentence can be called slow), complex, musing, imaginative. Characters come and go, arrive and die, power bases shift, and a community of medieval nuns bickers, palavers, worries, schemes, grieves, and stumbles on
Chops for writing about the medieval era entirely without Gadzooks and Prithees, yet evoking beautifully what it might have been like to live there: deaths in number, the force of weather and seasons and disease, the risks of unreliable builders and superiors, the treatment of young women by men and women alike as chattel pure and simple, as sources of money. A merciless look at a difficult age and the people who inhabited it.
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through plague, storm, theft, bureaucratic meddlings, and monetary (*always* monetary!) concerns. It is a group portrait, not individual spotlighting. It's difficult to keep the women straight sometimes, but it almost doesn't matter - it's more a study of how an enclosed group functions, with almost zero autonomy or ability to solve their own problems except by conniving and subterfuge. What struck me is that in a novel written by a gay woman, the women characters are far less complex than the very few men. They are rather shallow personalities, tending to be driven by emotion - only the men have any intellectual or cerebral thought on theology, music, politics. Is this because the cloistered life - or actually, the entire society and religious institutions- have imposed these limits on women's minds and opportunities, and ended up imprisoning them in their ignorance, petty rivalries, and spites? By the end, I wanted to be an anchoress too, rather than spend the rest of my life among these sisters.Chops for writing about the medieval era entirely without Gadzooks and Prithees, yet evoking beautifully what it might have been like to live there: deaths in number, the force of weather and seasons and disease, the risks of unreliable builders and superiors, the treatment of young women by men and women alike as chattel pure and simple, as sources of money. A merciless look at a difficult age and the people who inhabited it.
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LibraryThing member maryreinert
Four stars might be a bit much as there were parts of the book that I skimmed, but overall, this is fascinating in that it presents what seems like a real look back into a time so far away and so long ago, but yet clearly shows that human nature hasn't changed. Set in a small obscure nunnery in
Basically filled with women, the nuns, there is bickering, back-stabbing, grumbling all mixed in with a deep caring for one another which might be described as love although the word is not used. Religious faith is also not the point, but rather the mundane everyday efforts to keep the nunnery afloat as there is always a lack of funds.
The priest (not really a priest), is somewhat of a comical character who sort of comes and goes throughout the novel. The background of the Black Death, the peasants rebellion, etc. are all background, but yet have an affect on the lives of the women that live together. This is certainly not for everyone; rather it is like a painting of a particular time and place. The four stars are more for the respect I have for the book than the actual liking of it. It really seems as if I have spent time in Oby.
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England in the 1300's, there are no 'main characters" basically no plot. The novel is rather a long quiet look at the happenings in this small world - the corner of the world that held these women.Basically filled with women, the nuns, there is bickering, back-stabbing, grumbling all mixed in with a deep caring for one another which might be described as love although the word is not used. Religious faith is also not the point, but rather the mundane everyday efforts to keep the nunnery afloat as there is always a lack of funds.
The priest (not really a priest), is somewhat of a comical character who sort of comes and goes throughout the novel. The background of the Black Death, the peasants rebellion, etc. are all background, but yet have an affect on the lives of the women that live together. This is certainly not for everyone; rather it is like a painting of a particular time and place. The four stars are more for the respect I have for the book than the actual liking of it. It really seems as if I have spent time in Oby.
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LibraryThing member Tytania
Honestly, this book literally put me to sleep more nights than not. It's very hard to keep all the nuns straight and the story just meanders. A convent is founded in 1163. We begin following it in earnest in the 14th century, through a multitude of prioresses. A main character and constant
Couple of good sample quotes:
"To be traveling through this landscape so full of plenty and variety was like turning the pages of an illuminated psalter."
"But no summer is so long, so wide, as the summer before it. Time, a river, hollows out its bed and every year the river flows in a narrower channel and flows faster."
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throughout is Sir Ralph, a passing beggar who for reasons even he doesn't understand passes himself off as a priest, and lives as the convent priest for the rest of his life. This at least provides a unifying thread through all the cast of nuns who die as frequently as they are introduced.Couple of good sample quotes:
"To be traveling through this landscape so full of plenty and variety was like turning the pages of an illuminated psalter."
"But no summer is so long, so wide, as the summer before it. Time, a river, hollows out its bed and every year the river flows in a narrower channel and flows faster."
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LibraryThing member AlisonY
I had such a muddled reaction to this book, and those who commented to me in advance that it is bizarrely paced were spot on. At times I got really into it, and then on the next page I got completely bogged down and more often than not lost the thread of the story.
The story chronicles the lives of
It's a work of genius in many ways, yet at times it required stamina to keep my attention with it so veered into slog territory. It's probably the most lost I've got in a book's plot in quite some time, and sadly I mean lost as in confused rather than lost in a dreamy happy place. Many passages were quite dense with no particular focus, and I didn't realise I wasn't giving it my full attention until I realised that yet again I'd lost track of who was now prioress and the back-story of the nun currently under discussion.
3.5 stars - a work of beauty in many places, but not a book for snatched bouts of reading, and one that I was quite glad to finish in the end.
The story chronicles the lives of
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nuns at a nunnery over three decades in the fourteenth century. Major potential plot points come and go without a great deal of fuss, to the point that I kept regularly glossing over key sentences and then realising in the next few pages that I'd obviously completely missed something key. Normally I can quite happily read without distraction whilst the TV blares in the background and my family carry out a conversation over the top of my head, but that just didn't work with this book. It requires 100% attention, and I probably didn't get the full experience that I could have done if I'd have the luxury of reading it at a leisurely pace in peace and quiet.It's a work of genius in many ways, yet at times it required stamina to keep my attention with it so veered into slog territory. It's probably the most lost I've got in a book's plot in quite some time, and sadly I mean lost as in confused rather than lost in a dreamy happy place. Many passages were quite dense with no particular focus, and I didn't realise I wasn't giving it my full attention until I realised that yet again I'd lost track of who was now prioress and the back-story of the nun currently under discussion.
3.5 stars - a work of beauty in many places, but not a book for snatched bouts of reading, and one that I was quite glad to finish in the end.
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LibraryThing member wandering_star
Good low-key character studies - but possibly slightly too low-key...
LibraryThing member k2togger
On my top ten of all time fiction list - don't get stranded on desert island without it. Especially if accompanied by other women!
LibraryThing member ritaer
A small convent in an obscure corner of England holds the lives of a generation of nuns and a false priest as the Black Plague accelerated social change in a seemingly changeless society.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1948
Physical description
424 p.
ISBN
1681373874 / 9781681373874