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Available
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Publication
Persephone Books (2008), Edition: Revised, Paperback, 420 pages
Description
An outstanding novel about the fragility and tenacity of love.
User reviews
LibraryThing member romain
I was very keen to read this book for a number of reasons, not least of which was that Virago chose not to publish Dorothy Whipple. In fact they used 'the Whipple line' as a point below which they were reluctant to go when choosing books for publication.
Having read Someone at a Distance I can see
Nevertheless, I loved the book. The only thing that jarred was the last 20 pages, which I considered unnecessary and unbelievable. I liked that there was no moral ambiguity and I mentally applauded when, as Nina Bawden says in her introduction, "the right people get their come-uppance" at the end.
Interestingly, this book is a carbon copy of Elizabeth Buchan's Revenge of the Middle Aged Woman and its sequel. Given that Buchan wrote hers 50 years after Whipple I did wonder if she had read Someone at a Distance and consciously or unconsciously stolen the plot.
Having read Someone at a Distance I can see
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why. The book is definitely not a feminist read. The characters are all black and white, with no nuances of grey. Ellen, the wronged wife is just too good and Louise, the femme fatale, just too bad to be true. Avery, the weak and stupid husband, is somewhat excused his bad behavior on the grounds that Louise was the prime mover in their affair. And Ellen is shown as happy in her domesticity; deeply unfashionable in Virago's hey day. Nevertheless, I loved the book. The only thing that jarred was the last 20 pages, which I considered unnecessary and unbelievable. I liked that there was no moral ambiguity and I mentally applauded when, as Nina Bawden says in her introduction, "the right people get their come-uppance" at the end.
Interestingly, this book is a carbon copy of Elizabeth Buchan's Revenge of the Middle Aged Woman and its sequel. Given that Buchan wrote hers 50 years after Whipple I did wonder if she had read Someone at a Distance and consciously or unconsciously stolen the plot.
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LibraryThing member AlisonY
Part of the Persephone Classics series that covers forgotten authors, Dorothy Whipple (unbeknown to be) wrote 8 successful novels from the 1930s up to 1953, when she wrote this, her final novel.
[Someone at a Distance] tells the story of the North family, who are leading an idyllic, happy life in
This quietly disarming book excels at getting into the psychology of it's characters, delving painfully into the complexity of how the affair affects each of the family members, including the perpetrator Mr. North. The affair itself is so subtly and delicately developed, Whipple capturing so perceptively how it only takes the igniting of the tiniest spark to painfully change the course of a happy marriage forever.
This is not a book with any pretensions of literary brilliance, yet it is brilliant - pared back, hard hitting and thought provoking. Is it so simple to put 20 years of marriage in the past? How do children impact the decisions that you make about that marriage?
The characterisation is just fantastic - you are totally drawn into the whole painful mess, feeling the myriad of emotions that the characters swing between. Lust, greed, pride, sloth, shame - how each of these can blind us and send us down the wrong path.
A quietly brilliant observation of human frailty - 4.5 stars.
[Someone at a Distance] tells the story of the North family, who are leading an idyllic, happy life in
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the commuter belt until a cold and calculating young French woman comes to live for a short time with Mr. North's mother. Setting her sights on Mr. North, she succeeds in tearing apart not only Ellen and Avery North's happy marriage, but the loving trust and security of the whole family unit.This quietly disarming book excels at getting into the psychology of it's characters, delving painfully into the complexity of how the affair affects each of the family members, including the perpetrator Mr. North. The affair itself is so subtly and delicately developed, Whipple capturing so perceptively how it only takes the igniting of the tiniest spark to painfully change the course of a happy marriage forever.
This is not a book with any pretensions of literary brilliance, yet it is brilliant - pared back, hard hitting and thought provoking. Is it so simple to put 20 years of marriage in the past? How do children impact the decisions that you make about that marriage?
The characterisation is just fantastic - you are totally drawn into the whole painful mess, feeling the myriad of emotions that the characters swing between. Lust, greed, pride, sloth, shame - how each of these can blind us and send us down the wrong path.
A quietly brilliant observation of human frailty - 4.5 stars.
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LibraryThing member rainpebble
I fell in love with my first (knowingly) read of a Persephone. I am hoping that all of the Persephone I go on to read will have this quality of writing.
Ellen and Avery live a busy but quiet life in the English countryside with their two children and with Avery's mother living not far away.
As the story moves on we learn that said young French lady has come from a background of shopkeepers but has had a secretly & extensive love affair with a young gentleman from a very good family in the village. When it comes time for him to marry however, he must choose a young lady of 'higher breeding', which angers our slutty French girl. So she leaves her village for this English position thinking that she will go out into the world, make something better of herself and come back and show him!
When our slutty French girl arrives in England she does everything for the Grandmama to make her happy and needful of her attentions. However she appears rude and distanced from everyone else. The daily help cannot abide her and even Grandmama's family raise their eyebrows though they are very happy that Grandmama is happy. She is so happy in fact that when she passes unexpectedly she leaves our slutty French girl 1,000 pounds along with her furs and jewels. Slutty French girl decides she must remain the 3 months or so that it will take for the paperwork, probate, etc to all come to a conclusion so she can take possession of her monies and goods. She helps the family to clean out Grandmama's house (where the help will not allow her to remain so Ellen mistakenly takes her in) and sends box after box of things to her parents in France, even down to the draperies.
While living with Avery and Ellen our slutty French girl gets bored and goes on the hunt after their son, Hugh, who is home on holiday from the Army. He doesn't like it and attempts to avoid her at all costs to the point of rudeness. At one point he out to the stable to make some shelving for his younger sister Ann who is off at school. He wants to surprise her with someplace to put her horse's brushes and gear, but he is mainly attempting to get away from slutty French girl. Avery comes upon slutty French girl making a play for his son and becomes very angry with her and tells her to keep away from Hugh so she provokes him by telling him: Why? You don't pay any attention to me.
So guess what? EeeYup, our slutty French girl goes all out after Avery who after a while weakens a bit and finally one day Ellen, his wife and Ann, his daughter come upon the two of them locked in an embrace on the settee. Ellen and Ann are both shocked and when Ann leaves, Ellen tells her husband that our slutty French girl must go and go now.
And the story goes on from there only to get better and better. The only fault I can find with this book is that the very last bit is just a smidge too tidy.
This book is beautifully written and the characters are wonderfully drawn. One even comes to not like, but to understand our slutty French girl.
I love, love, loved the writing in this book and can't wait to read another by Dorothy Whipple. I gave it a 5 star rating very highly recommend it.
Ellen and Avery live a busy but quiet life in the English countryside with their two children and with Avery's mother living not far away.
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Grandmama feels sorry for herself that she is not anyone's number one since the passing of Grandpapa and her children's reaching of adulthood with lives of their own. Ellen tries to visit a couple of times a week but this is not enough for Grandmama, who answers an advertisement in the paper for placement of a French young lady looking for work as companion/light housekeeping sort. Her letter to the young French lady is simply one of several but it is the position the French girl chooses to accept.As the story moves on we learn that said young French lady has come from a background of shopkeepers but has had a secretly & extensive love affair with a young gentleman from a very good family in the village. When it comes time for him to marry however, he must choose a young lady of 'higher breeding', which angers our slutty French girl. So she leaves her village for this English position thinking that she will go out into the world, make something better of herself and come back and show him!
When our slutty French girl arrives in England she does everything for the Grandmama to make her happy and needful of her attentions. However she appears rude and distanced from everyone else. The daily help cannot abide her and even Grandmama's family raise their eyebrows though they are very happy that Grandmama is happy. She is so happy in fact that when she passes unexpectedly she leaves our slutty French girl 1,000 pounds along with her furs and jewels. Slutty French girl decides she must remain the 3 months or so that it will take for the paperwork, probate, etc to all come to a conclusion so she can take possession of her monies and goods. She helps the family to clean out Grandmama's house (where the help will not allow her to remain so Ellen mistakenly takes her in) and sends box after box of things to her parents in France, even down to the draperies.
While living with Avery and Ellen our slutty French girl gets bored and goes on the hunt after their son, Hugh, who is home on holiday from the Army. He doesn't like it and attempts to avoid her at all costs to the point of rudeness. At one point he out to the stable to make some shelving for his younger sister Ann who is off at school. He wants to surprise her with someplace to put her horse's brushes and gear, but he is mainly attempting to get away from slutty French girl. Avery comes upon slutty French girl making a play for his son and becomes very angry with her and tells her to keep away from Hugh so she provokes him by telling him: Why? You don't pay any attention to me.
So guess what? EeeYup, our slutty French girl goes all out after Avery who after a while weakens a bit and finally one day Ellen, his wife and Ann, his daughter come upon the two of them locked in an embrace on the settee. Ellen and Ann are both shocked and when Ann leaves, Ellen tells her husband that our slutty French girl must go and go now.
And the story goes on from there only to get better and better. The only fault I can find with this book is that the very last bit is just a smidge too tidy.
This book is beautifully written and the characters are wonderfully drawn. One even comes to not like, but to understand our slutty French girl.
I love, love, loved the writing in this book and can't wait to read another by Dorothy Whipple. I gave it a 5 star rating very highly recommend it.
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LibraryThing member LyzzyBee
25 Dec 2010 - from Ali
It is lovely to be having a Persephone-fest now I've got up to my birthday and Christmas books in Mt TBR!
Whipple never disappoints, so adept is she at the tiny psychological moments and tipping points of family life. In this one, we find a perfectly nice woman who has the
It is lovely to be having a Persephone-fest now I've got up to my birthday and Christmas books in Mt TBR!
Whipple never disappoints, so adept is she at the tiny psychological moments and tipping points of family life. In this one, we find a perfectly nice woman who has the
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misfortune to have a weak husband and a strong enemy, whose life is effectively destroyed, even though she's a kind and blameless figure (although sympathetically portrayed, she has a range of emotions and an interior life which stop her being a plaster saint), although Whipple's strong sense of morality means that just deserts are never far away. The villainess is wonderfully shallow and nasty and we long for her comeuppance, and there's a wonderful cast of supporting characters - Mrs Beard in particular - and I needn't have worried about the cat which is introduced early on. Satisfying, page-turning and comforting in equal measure. Show Less
LibraryThing member thorold
This was Whipple's last novel, and its publication in 1953 was met with a deafening silence from the critics. It's hard to see why at this distance: Whipple was obviously a a clever, confident and witty writer, with a gift for spotting the telling detail. Probably it was simply that the literary
It's a very simple plot, the interest is all in the characters and detailed observation. A young French woman, Louise Lanier, turns up as companion to Ellen's mother-in-law, and then somehow incrusts herself into Ellen's own home, doing her best to seduce everyone within range without the slightest concern for the consequences. It turns out that she is on the rampage and determined to avoid going home to her parents' provincial librairie-papeterie because her prestigious boyfriend has dumped her to marry someone from his own social class.
Of course, all this gives Whipple a lot of scope for playing around with British prejudices about the French and French prejudices about the British, as well as exploring some of the horrors of post-war life for women like Ellen, who grew up in a class and time where the permanence and certainty of marriage made it redundant to think about marketable skills, and where expectations of the kind of home you would live in and the things you would do there were conditioned by the availability of cheap domestic service. Ellen has to face the realities of a world where you can't get live-in servants any more, but her husband and children haven't quite registered yet that it's the washing-up she's doing when she disappears after dinner — it's always fatally easy to be lazy when someone else does all the work without complaint.
There is an element of post-war reactionary panic here, but it is nowhere near so crass as — to take an extreme example — Angela Thirkell. Whipple clearly has a lot of sympathy with people who actually do useful work for a living, and doesn't see post-war England as a massive conspiracy to do down "people like us". Sometimes she even seems to be quietly mocking her privileged characters, as when daughter Anne discusses the possibility of not going back to boarding-school and her father points out that "there are no schools here" — "here" being a small town half an hour or so out of London. Obviously, by "schools" he means "schools where people like us go".
The real joy of the book is in the many bizarre confrontations between people who can't begin to understand each other: the arch-conservative Mrs North and her housekeeper Miss Daley, star of the Chapel choir; Louise trying to give beauty advice to Ellen, who is the type who would rather have a new pair of secateurs than a pearl necklace; the lovely M and Mme Lanier trying to make sense of their daughter's world, and so on. A quiet delight, if very much of its time.
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world in the mid-fifties wasn't looking for ironic little stories about overprivileged upper-middle-class families in the Home Counties struggling with the post-war Servant Problem and worried whether they would be able to keep their daughter's horse if they were forced to move. Whipple might have done better to write about factory workers and teenage pregnancies, but then we probably wouldn't be reading her books now...It's a very simple plot, the interest is all in the characters and detailed observation. A young French woman, Louise Lanier, turns up as companion to Ellen's mother-in-law, and then somehow incrusts herself into Ellen's own home, doing her best to seduce everyone within range without the slightest concern for the consequences. It turns out that she is on the rampage and determined to avoid going home to her parents' provincial librairie-papeterie because her prestigious boyfriend has dumped her to marry someone from his own social class.
Of course, all this gives Whipple a lot of scope for playing around with British prejudices about the French and French prejudices about the British, as well as exploring some of the horrors of post-war life for women like Ellen, who grew up in a class and time where the permanence and certainty of marriage made it redundant to think about marketable skills, and where expectations of the kind of home you would live in and the things you would do there were conditioned by the availability of cheap domestic service. Ellen has to face the realities of a world where you can't get live-in servants any more, but her husband and children haven't quite registered yet that it's the washing-up she's doing when she disappears after dinner — it's always fatally easy to be lazy when someone else does all the work without complaint.
There is an element of post-war reactionary panic here, but it is nowhere near so crass as — to take an extreme example — Angela Thirkell. Whipple clearly has a lot of sympathy with people who actually do useful work for a living, and doesn't see post-war England as a massive conspiracy to do down "people like us". Sometimes she even seems to be quietly mocking her privileged characters, as when daughter Anne discusses the possibility of not going back to boarding-school and her father points out that "there are no schools here" — "here" being a small town half an hour or so out of London. Obviously, by "schools" he means "schools where people like us go".
The real joy of the book is in the many bizarre confrontations between people who can't begin to understand each other: the arch-conservative Mrs North and her housekeeper Miss Daley, star of the Chapel choir; Louise trying to give beauty advice to Ellen, who is the type who would rather have a new pair of secateurs than a pearl necklace; the lovely M and Mme Lanier trying to make sense of their daughter's world, and so on. A quiet delight, if very much of its time.
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LibraryThing member dablackwood
This is not a book for those who like action and suspense. Rather it is a book for a cozy afternoon tucked under a blanket. The story is an ageless one. A young woman sets her sights on a married man and in the process of getting him almost destroys three families. You are invited by the author to
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learn of the events and how the characters involved are affected. It moves slowly but is without much fanfare. Simply a story well told. I liked it very much and will look for others in the Persephone Collection. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kasthu
Dorothy Whipple’s Someone at a Distance is a very complicated novel to write about. It’s the story of the Norths, a suburban couple with two teenage children. Avery North’s aging mother engages a young Frenchwoman as her companion, and he develops an attachment to her that develops into an
Dorothy Whipple’s language is very simple. Her prose is uncomplicated, yet there’s a lot of meaning behind it. Her upper-middle-class English characters are all absorbed in their own mundane lives, until the arrival of Louise literally shakes them all up. Louise is obviously not meant to be a sympathetic character (unlike Ruth in Susan Glaspell’s Fidelity); and at times she devolves into the stereotypical “other woman.” Much more preferable is Ellen, the sensible English housewife who finds her life shattered during the after the divorce.
It’s a sad subject, yet there are some truly funny moments; the surly Miss Daley going postal on Louise is an example that comes to mind. So in the end, each of the characters get what they deserve—even Avery, towards whom I feel a bit ambivalent. I feel as though he simply sat back and let things happen to him, rather than be an active member of the cast of characters.
It’s interesting that I’ve chosen to read this book now, so shortly after reading another Persephone title, Fidelity—it’s the story of an extramarital affair as told from the conventional point of view. Despite my feelings towards Avery and Louise, I though many of the other characters were well-drawn. Whipple’s description of the angst teenage Anne goes through is very real, as are the difficulties that Ellen must feel as she prepares for a life alone. After all, she’s been married for twenty years, and she’s never had a job or had to pay her own bills; how will she cope? It's funny, then, how Ellen ultimately finds solace in a group of elderly ladies. Like the other Whipple novel I've read, The Priory, this is not a novel in which much “happens,” but it’s a powerfully emotional novel. Whipple’s prose is simple, as I've said, but her way with words is absolutely stellar. She really knew how to play on her readers’ emotions, so that you feel invested in the lives of her characters.
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affair and later leads to divorce from his wife Ellen. This novel is a stunning book about the wide-ranging effects an affair can have on several families.Dorothy Whipple’s language is very simple. Her prose is uncomplicated, yet there’s a lot of meaning behind it. Her upper-middle-class English characters are all absorbed in their own mundane lives, until the arrival of Louise literally shakes them all up. Louise is obviously not meant to be a sympathetic character (unlike Ruth in Susan Glaspell’s Fidelity); and at times she devolves into the stereotypical “other woman.” Much more preferable is Ellen, the sensible English housewife who finds her life shattered during the after the divorce.
It’s a sad subject, yet there are some truly funny moments; the surly Miss Daley going postal on Louise is an example that comes to mind. So in the end, each of the characters get what they deserve—even Avery, towards whom I feel a bit ambivalent. I feel as though he simply sat back and let things happen to him, rather than be an active member of the cast of characters.
It’s interesting that I’ve chosen to read this book now, so shortly after reading another Persephone title, Fidelity—it’s the story of an extramarital affair as told from the conventional point of view. Despite my feelings towards Avery and Louise, I though many of the other characters were well-drawn. Whipple’s description of the angst teenage Anne goes through is very real, as are the difficulties that Ellen must feel as she prepares for a life alone. After all, she’s been married for twenty years, and she’s never had a job or had to pay her own bills; how will she cope? It's funny, then, how Ellen ultimately finds solace in a group of elderly ladies. Like the other Whipple novel I've read, The Priory, this is not a novel in which much “happens,” but it’s a powerfully emotional novel. Whipple’s prose is simple, as I've said, but her way with words is absolutely stellar. She really knew how to play on her readers’ emotions, so that you feel invested in the lives of her characters.
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LibraryThing member herschelian
Someone at a Distance is the story of a marriage and it's destruction. In this day and age an all too common tale. However Dorothy Whipple gives such a beautifully gentle depiction of the strengths and weaknesses of marriage that despite the book being written 50+ years ago it seems very modern in
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someways. The feelings and emotions of the various parties involved in the break-up of the twenty year marriage of Ellen and Avery North ring as true today as they would have done when the book was written. T'he effect of marital break-up and loss of trust felt by the children is wonderfully illustrated. This book is a classic. Show Less
LibraryThing member Iambookish
I'm in a quandary about how to rate this book. I again loved Whipple's writing style and I quickly devoured this book, but I really didn't like the actions of the characters. I guess you could argue that the namby pamby main character Ellen is a product of the time period in which this is written,
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the 1950's, but I don't buy that. It was so frustrating to have this woman be so extremely naive and weak, and there were several times I found myself getting angry with her! I guess maybe that makes it a great book? A reaction that strong, whether positive or negative must mean the author has done something right! So I'm changing my original 3 star rating to a 4 :) Show Less
LibraryThing member pgchuis
Ellen loves her husband Avery for no discernible reason, and he loves her back in a totally-takes-her-for-granted way. Avery’s mother brings the scheming utterly selfish Louise into their lives. Disappointed when her lover ditches her for a more suitable bride (this read a bit like a Regency
I quite enjoyed this novel, although the first half dragged a little - Louise perhaps travelled between England and France more times than was strictly necessary to advance what there was of a plot - but after that things picked up. The very ending was so appalling that I am deducting a star for it. (less)
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romance) she revenges herself on him by stealing Avery from Ellen.I quite enjoyed this novel, although the first half dragged a little - Louise perhaps travelled between England and France more times than was strictly necessary to advance what there was of a plot - but after that things picked up. The very ending was so appalling that I am deducting a star for it. (less)
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LibraryThing member Aspenhugger
"On the way home, Ellen had been busy building up Louise into a friend of the family. But face to face with her now, she saw that she was as before -- cold and self-centered.
"Besides, she hadn't even set the table for supper. Only a woman and a housewife, perhaps, would have judged Louise on this
" 'I don't think I shall ask her to stay,' thought Ellen, preceding Louise into the house."
~~front flap
"Someone at a Distance has a deceptively simple plot about a deceived wife and a foolish husband. Avery North has been contentedly married to Ellen for twenty years, they have two children and live in the rural commuter belt outside London; when his mother advertises for a companion, the French girl who arrives sets her sights on Avery and callously threatens the happy marriage. Throughout the book Ellen and Avery are so realistically described that it is almost painful to read: this is a deeply involving and perceptive novel by the literary heir to Mrs. Gaskell."
~~back cover
It wasn't almost painful to read this book -- it was extremely painful. From the outside looking in, the reader sees Ellen as a loving wife and mother, and completely unaware of the danger living inside her house. The reader sees Avery as a loving husband and father, completely unaware of the danger living inside his house, and a crack of male "what if?" that Louise slowly broadens into disaster. I think every woman who reads this book, whether or not they're married, reads with the fascination of horror, and pictures herself in Ellen's place.
Louise is most skillfully delineated: the quintessential beautiful, angry and vindictive man stealer. From the outside looking in, the reader sees all her petty jealousies, her stunted and mean personality, and her very skillful manipulations guaranteed to attract men to her, and let her then rule them.
I couldn't put the book down: what was going to happen? Was Avery going to go off with Louise, perhaps marry her? Or was he going to come to his senses and return to Ellen? Ellen is the shining star of the book, soldiering on through sorting her finances and taking care of all the other grim, heart-wrenching details that have to be taken care of.
All in all, a tremendous book, even if so painful to read, evoking as it does fears of almost every woman -- that they are at risk from another woman who is the direct opposite of themselves.
"Besides, she hadn't even set the table for supper. Only a woman and a housewife, perhaps, would have judged Louise on this
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point. But she was right: it was an indication of character." 'I don't think I shall ask her to stay,' thought Ellen, preceding Louise into the house."
~~front flap
"Someone at a Distance has a deceptively simple plot about a deceived wife and a foolish husband. Avery North has been contentedly married to Ellen for twenty years, they have two children and live in the rural commuter belt outside London; when his mother advertises for a companion, the French girl who arrives sets her sights on Avery and callously threatens the happy marriage. Throughout the book Ellen and Avery are so realistically described that it is almost painful to read: this is a deeply involving and perceptive novel by the literary heir to Mrs. Gaskell."
~~back cover
It wasn't almost painful to read this book -- it was extremely painful. From the outside looking in, the reader sees Ellen as a loving wife and mother, and completely unaware of the danger living inside her house. The reader sees Avery as a loving husband and father, completely unaware of the danger living inside his house, and a crack of male "what if?" that Louise slowly broadens into disaster. I think every woman who reads this book, whether or not they're married, reads with the fascination of horror, and pictures herself in Ellen's place.
Louise is most skillfully delineated: the quintessential beautiful, angry and vindictive man stealer. From the outside looking in, the reader sees all her petty jealousies, her stunted and mean personality, and her very skillful manipulations guaranteed to attract men to her, and let her then rule them.
I couldn't put the book down: what was going to happen? Was Avery going to go off with Louise, perhaps marry her? Or was he going to come to his senses and return to Ellen? Ellen is the shining star of the book, soldiering on through sorting her finances and taking care of all the other grim, heart-wrenching details that have to be taken care of.
All in all, a tremendous book, even if so painful to read, evoking as it does fears of almost every woman -- that they are at risk from another woman who is the direct opposite of themselves.
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LibraryThing member burritapal
4.5 stars
Madame north, Avery North's mother, answers an ad in the paper for someone to speak French with and do light domestic duties. Louise Lanier is ecstatic, when she shows her parents the picture of the house that Madame North has sent her.
" 'what does this Madame North wish you to do?' asked
'Speak French with her,' said louise. She said nothing of her offer to undertake domestic duties. She was so anxious to go to England that she had presented herself as attractively as possible. But she avoided domestic duties so successfully at home that she didn't want them to know that she would undertake them abroad."
Louise lanier, who seduces the weak -spined Avery away from his wife, is an ingrata. She treats her loving parents like doormats. When her mother signs her up to tabling at a charity event, she lets her mother know what she thinks about that in cruel terms:
" 'louise,' Said her mother humbly, 'I'm so sorry. You must forgive me. I thought you would like it darling.'
'you were wrong,' said louise. 'A stupid provincial sale of work... All those stupid people. Oh, it is always the same,' she said in disgust. 'I wish I'd never come home.'
They were silent, their heads bowed over the empty cream pots. They did not look at each other.
'I shall go to bed,' said Louise harshly. 'I am very tired.'
She went round the table and laid her lips without warmth to her father's brow. 'Good night, papa...'
'Good night, maman,' she said, doing the same for her mother.
'Oh, louise. I am so sorry... '
Louise flapped a hand.
'No more,' she said. 'I've had enough.' "
Ellen, Avery's long-suffering wife, makes the supreme mistake of treating a man she loves nicely. Not realizing that men only take such women for granted, she sets herself up for failure when she asks Avery to be nice to louise. Ellen believes the best of everybody, to her own detriment.
Madame north, having died, has left Louise a large inheritance of money. Louise decides that she'll stay in England to make sure she leaves with the cash. Instead of setting Louise up in a hotel, Ellen, the supreme fool, invites her to stay in their own home.
At first, Avery does not like Louise, because her ugly personality is so obvious. Ellen urges him to be nice to her, as their daughter Anne needs help in French, and Louise reluctantly has agreed to conversate with her in french:
" 'But if she stays,' Ellen began again after a time, 'you will be nicer to her, won't you? You've been rather distant so far. I don't suppose she's noticed, because she doesn't know what you're usually like. But I could see that you didn't like her being always with us. Still, if she's going to help Anne with her french, you'll be a bit more friendly, won't you?'
.. "on the way home Ellen had been busy building up Louise into a friend of the family. But face-to-face with her now, she saw that she was as before - cold and self-centred.
Besides, she hadn't even set the table for supper. Only a woman and a housewife, perhaps, would have judged Louise on this point. But she was right; it was an indication of character.
If we could be seen thinking, we would show blown bright one moment, dark the next, like embers; subject to every passing word and thought of our own or other people's, mostly other people's.
'I don't think I shall ask her to stay,' thought ellen, preceding Louise to the house."
but she does.
Anne and Ellen are going out one afternoon. But Ellen has forgotten something and tells Anne they must go back to retrieve it.
Walking across the grass, their feet make no noise, and they step in through the open French doors.
Avery and Louise are entwined on the sofa. Avery runs away like the coward he is, and only telephones Ellen to say that he's not coming back.
" 'Anne,' called her mother from the garden. 'Will you come to breakfast?'
'I'm coming,' Anne called back.
Their voices had changed and the things they said. They spoke levelly now and kept to the point. No happy squeakings and exaggerations from anne, no prolonged fits of laughter.
Ellen didn't wait for Anne now, as she would once have done, because she knew Anne didn't want her to. SHe walked across the lawn, indifferent to the neglected riot of the garden.
Signs of neglect were not so patent in the house, but they were there. Everything to do with the house seemed to have lost meaning and reason. A family is like a jigsaw puzzle. If a piece is lost, the rest no longer makes a pattern.
'He would actually marry her,' thought Ellen, reaching the breakfast table, her hand on the letter in her pocket.
He was cruel. He was callous.
'Let him go,' she thought, all at once blazing with anger."
Ellen has a dear little cat, called moppet. In her saddest moments, moppet is there to comfort her:
".. suddenly the little cat was there, purring and rubbing around her bare feet.
'Hello' said ellen, wonderfully cured by this arrival. 'Did you hear me? Would you like a drink too?'
.. Ellen was glad of her, but sleep was still out of the question. She picked up the book again. it was one Mrs brockington had given her, one of Evelyn Underhill's [inspirational]. She hadn't read it, and opened it at random now. It was just something to drive her eyes over, to keep them going until they closed.
'selfless endurance of pain and failure,' she read. 'The destruction of one's old universe, the brave treading of deep gloomy and miserable paths--all this is as essential to the growth of man's "top story" as the joyous consciousness of the presence of god.'
Ellen read it again. 'The destruction of one's old universe.' hers was destroyed. 'The selfless endurance of pain and failure.' She had to endure, but she wasn't doing it selflessly. 'The brave treading of a deep gloomy and miserable past.' she was treading them, but not bravely.
It was as if someone has spoken to her out of the silence, someone who knew, and her spirit, which had been thrashing about in resentment, anger, jealousy, self-pity, quietened itself to listen."
What utter b*******. One thing I did not appreciate in this book was the idea that all of this pain is "God's plan," and yet Ellen does take Avery back in the end, which cost this book one star. All this suffering and she's willing to do it all over again, for a MAN.
Although I was disappointed in the ending, I was much impressed by this author's writing. How delicately and thoughtfully and thoroughly she treats her characters' thoughts, emotions, their lives. I particularly loved the way Ellen was friends with all the old women living in the hotel, where she ends up going to live and work. Ellen was her supreme creation.
I will be reading more of this author, soon.
Madame north, Avery North's mother, answers an ad in the paper for someone to speak French with and do light domestic duties. Louise Lanier is ecstatic, when she shows her parents the picture of the house that Madame North has sent her.
" 'what does this Madame North wish you to do?' asked
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Madame lanier. 'Speak French with her,' said louise. She said nothing of her offer to undertake domestic duties. She was so anxious to go to England that she had presented herself as attractively as possible. But she avoided domestic duties so successfully at home that she didn't want them to know that she would undertake them abroad."
Louise lanier, who seduces the weak -spined Avery away from his wife, is an ingrata. She treats her loving parents like doormats. When her mother signs her up to tabling at a charity event, she lets her mother know what she thinks about that in cruel terms:
" 'louise,' Said her mother humbly, 'I'm so sorry. You must forgive me. I thought you would like it darling.'
'you were wrong,' said louise. 'A stupid provincial sale of work... All those stupid people. Oh, it is always the same,' she said in disgust. 'I wish I'd never come home.'
They were silent, their heads bowed over the empty cream pots. They did not look at each other.
'I shall go to bed,' said Louise harshly. 'I am very tired.'
She went round the table and laid her lips without warmth to her father's brow. 'Good night, papa...'
'Good night, maman,' she said, doing the same for her mother.
'Oh, louise. I am so sorry... '
Louise flapped a hand.
'No more,' she said. 'I've had enough.' "
Ellen, Avery's long-suffering wife, makes the supreme mistake of treating a man she loves nicely. Not realizing that men only take such women for granted, she sets herself up for failure when she asks Avery to be nice to louise. Ellen believes the best of everybody, to her own detriment.
Madame north, having died, has left Louise a large inheritance of money. Louise decides that she'll stay in England to make sure she leaves with the cash. Instead of setting Louise up in a hotel, Ellen, the supreme fool, invites her to stay in their own home.
At first, Avery does not like Louise, because her ugly personality is so obvious. Ellen urges him to be nice to her, as their daughter Anne needs help in French, and Louise reluctantly has agreed to conversate with her in french:
" 'But if she stays,' Ellen began again after a time, 'you will be nicer to her, won't you? You've been rather distant so far. I don't suppose she's noticed, because she doesn't know what you're usually like. But I could see that you didn't like her being always with us. Still, if she's going to help Anne with her french, you'll be a bit more friendly, won't you?'
.. "on the way home Ellen had been busy building up Louise into a friend of the family. But face-to-face with her now, she saw that she was as before - cold and self-centred.
Besides, she hadn't even set the table for supper. Only a woman and a housewife, perhaps, would have judged Louise on this point. But she was right; it was an indication of character.
If we could be seen thinking, we would show blown bright one moment, dark the next, like embers; subject to every passing word and thought of our own or other people's, mostly other people's.
'I don't think I shall ask her to stay,' thought ellen, preceding Louise to the house."
but she does.
Anne and Ellen are going out one afternoon. But Ellen has forgotten something and tells Anne they must go back to retrieve it.
Walking across the grass, their feet make no noise, and they step in through the open French doors.
Avery and Louise are entwined on the sofa. Avery runs away like the coward he is, and only telephones Ellen to say that he's not coming back.
" 'Anne,' called her mother from the garden. 'Will you come to breakfast?'
'I'm coming,' Anne called back.
Their voices had changed and the things they said. They spoke levelly now and kept to the point. No happy squeakings and exaggerations from anne, no prolonged fits of laughter.
Ellen didn't wait for Anne now, as she would once have done, because she knew Anne didn't want her to. SHe walked across the lawn, indifferent to the neglected riot of the garden.
Signs of neglect were not so patent in the house, but they were there. Everything to do with the house seemed to have lost meaning and reason. A family is like a jigsaw puzzle. If a piece is lost, the rest no longer makes a pattern.
'He would actually marry her,' thought Ellen, reaching the breakfast table, her hand on the letter in her pocket.
He was cruel. He was callous.
'Let him go,' she thought, all at once blazing with anger."
Ellen has a dear little cat, called moppet. In her saddest moments, moppet is there to comfort her:
".. suddenly the little cat was there, purring and rubbing around her bare feet.
'Hello' said ellen, wonderfully cured by this arrival. 'Did you hear me? Would you like a drink too?'
.. Ellen was glad of her, but sleep was still out of the question. She picked up the book again. it was one Mrs brockington had given her, one of Evelyn Underhill's [inspirational]. She hadn't read it, and opened it at random now. It was just something to drive her eyes over, to keep them going until they closed.
'selfless endurance of pain and failure,' she read. 'The destruction of one's old universe, the brave treading of deep gloomy and miserable paths--all this is as essential to the growth of man's "top story" as the joyous consciousness of the presence of god.'
Ellen read it again. 'The destruction of one's old universe.' hers was destroyed. 'The selfless endurance of pain and failure.' She had to endure, but she wasn't doing it selflessly. 'The brave treading of a deep gloomy and miserable past.' she was treading them, but not bravely.
It was as if someone has spoken to her out of the silence, someone who knew, and her spirit, which had been thrashing about in resentment, anger, jealousy, self-pity, quietened itself to listen."
What utter b*******. One thing I did not appreciate in this book was the idea that all of this pain is "God's plan," and yet Ellen does take Avery back in the end, which cost this book one star. All this suffering and she's willing to do it all over again, for a MAN.
Although I was disappointed in the ending, I was much impressed by this author's writing. How delicately and thoughtfully and thoroughly she treats her characters' thoughts, emotions, their lives. I particularly loved the way Ellen was friends with all the old women living in the hotel, where she ends up going to live and work. Ellen was her supreme creation.
I will be reading more of this author, soon.
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Awards
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1953
Physical description
420 p.; 7.55 inches
ISBN
1906462003 / 9781906462000
Local notes
Persephone Classics