Collection
Description
A wartime housewife is forced beyond the limits of her sheltered domestic world in order to protect her family in this 1947 classic. Praised by Raymond Chandler as "the top suspense writer of them all," Elisabeth Sanxay Holding excelled at the exploration of domestic unease. The Blank Wall exemplifies the drama of the sheltered housewife forced to take charge. While her husband serves overseas during World War II, Lucia Holley finds herself in the midst of a situation involving blackmail and manslaughter. She becomes quickly aware that the habits of her life, the domestic expectations that surround her, make it difficult for her to act with even the slightest independence, and she must herself begin to behave like a criminal in order to deal with a threat to her family of which they must never know. In the course of the action she becomes involved with a man who is a prototypical fallen angel, adding the possibility of forbidden romance. The ambivalence with which Holding depicts the household sphere that Lucia works so hard to protect is matched by her subtle exploration of questions of guilt and responsibility in a middle class facade of harmony.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member LyzzyBee
02 June 2009 - from Ali, who found it in a charity shop in Southwold
When Ali asked if I'd like this duplicate copy of one she owned that she found in a charity shop (why do we only find duplicates? It's not like either of us has the complete set!!) I had a look on the Persephone website and
When Ali asked if I'd like this duplicate copy of one she owned that she found in a charity shop (why do we only find duplicates? It's not like either of us has the complete set!!) I had a look on the Persephone website and
Show More
wondered if it was quite my thing, being in effect a murder mystery. I thought the same when I picked it up to read it. But as soon as I met the heroine, Lucia, and recognised in her a typical Persephone Lady (often a mother, often a wife, devoted to her family but with a rich inner life of her own - of course!) and then started to get caught up in the fast-moving and wryly funny plot, I was enjoying myself... and all of a sudden it was late at night with absolutely NO ability to put the thing down! I loved this book - I loved the sweet blackmailer, the more and more complex situations, and the completely believable heroine, dealing with murder and mayhem much as one would handle a recalcitrant toddler or an awkward garden party. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kasthu
Lucia Holley is a middle-aged housewife, living somewhere in America during WWII. Her husband is away, and she is raising her two teenaged children on the homefront. After her daughter begins dating an unattractive, married man who then turns up dead, Lucia inadvertently becomes involved in the
Holding wrote this novel at around the same time that Patricia Highsmith was writing The Talented Mr. Ripley series; and while The Blank Wall isn’t quite as suspenseful as Highsmith’s books, it belongs to the same school of psychological suspense novels. The plot moves quickly, and Holding doesn’t waste her words in order to convey the tension of the plot. The reader really feels Lucia’s inner struggle as she tries to cover up the crime and carry on as usual. It’s interesting that once people start to notice her odd behavior, the attribute it to the completely wrong reasons—but they make complete sense to the people around Lucia because the truth is so bizarre! In that way, I thought this book was well-written.
I was disappointed, however, with the ending of the book, since things seemed to go on as usual without any kind of consequences. I definitely think the ending could have been improved upon. Also, the story line with the mysterious Donnelly is kind of predictable (but sad). A good book, but not my favorite Persephone.
Show More
crime when she attempts to cover it up in order to protect the person she thinks killed the boyfriend.Holding wrote this novel at around the same time that Patricia Highsmith was writing The Talented Mr. Ripley series; and while The Blank Wall isn’t quite as suspenseful as Highsmith’s books, it belongs to the same school of psychological suspense novels. The plot moves quickly, and Holding doesn’t waste her words in order to convey the tension of the plot. The reader really feels Lucia’s inner struggle as she tries to cover up the crime and carry on as usual. It’s interesting that once people start to notice her odd behavior, the attribute it to the completely wrong reasons—but they make complete sense to the people around Lucia because the truth is so bizarre! In that way, I thought this book was well-written.
I was disappointed, however, with the ending of the book, since things seemed to go on as usual without any kind of consequences. I definitely think the ending could have been improved upon. Also, the story line with the mysterious Donnelly is kind of predictable (but sad). A good book, but not my favorite Persephone.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bsquaredinoz
THE BLANK WALL is, essentially, the story of Lucia Holley. She is a New Yorker but has rented a house outside the city while her husband is away at war. She lives with her ageing father, two teenage children and a lone servant. From the outside her life appears perfect, perhaps aside from the
With domestic suspense being in vogue at the moment it’s a shame that Holding and authors like her aren’t receiving more of a resurgence. THE BLANK WALL is at least as good as any of the modern tales bearing the categorisation and a whole lot better than a most of them. It’s genuinely tense and suspenseful, really never letting up on the calamities befalling poor Lucia. Lucia is never one of those loveable characters that worms their way into a reader’s heart but I grew increasingly sympathetic towards her. Holding paints a picture of a woman overwhelmed by the gulf between the expectations everyone has of her and her ability, or lack thereof, to live up to those expectations. Though I can’t actually imagine the human being that could give Bee and David what they’re looking for in a mother; they are a pair of insufferable, patronising ingrates. At least that’s how I view them at my age. I did wonder how I might have viewed them when I was closer to their age than their mother’s.
Lucia alternates between displaying amazing strength and an almost debilitating sense of failure as she faces an unwanted dead body, being blackmailed and the deep embarrassment of not having enough money to protect her loved ones. She hides these terrors from everyone, especially her absent husband who she writes to every night without giving even a hint of what’s really going on in her life. She doesn’t want to worry him. Only Sybil, the housekeeper, has some idea of what’s really happening. Until Lucia meets the nice(ish) gangster. Martin Donnelly, who seems to fall under Lucia’s spell, is the only character in the book I never fully believed but perhaps that’s because I’ve seen too many mafia movies.
Although it’s 70 years old this year THE BLANK WALL does not feel dated in the way that some older books do. I’m sure many women, and to be fair a lot of men too, would sympathise with the feelings Lucia goes through when she is confronted by things outside her control and being unable to do all the things her loved ones need her to do. The depiction of a supposedly ‘normal’ woman quietly unravelling is totally compelling and feels very ‘now’. A highly recommended read.
Show More
hardships associated with wartime, but from her perspective Lucia’s life is anything but perfect. And that’s even before her 17 year old daughter Bee hooks up with a much older, married gangster-type. She is socially awkward and feels like a failure as she compares herself unfavourably to the neighbours and other women she knows.With domestic suspense being in vogue at the moment it’s a shame that Holding and authors like her aren’t receiving more of a resurgence. THE BLANK WALL is at least as good as any of the modern tales bearing the categorisation and a whole lot better than a most of them. It’s genuinely tense and suspenseful, really never letting up on the calamities befalling poor Lucia. Lucia is never one of those loveable characters that worms their way into a reader’s heart but I grew increasingly sympathetic towards her. Holding paints a picture of a woman overwhelmed by the gulf between the expectations everyone has of her and her ability, or lack thereof, to live up to those expectations. Though I can’t actually imagine the human being that could give Bee and David what they’re looking for in a mother; they are a pair of insufferable, patronising ingrates. At least that’s how I view them at my age. I did wonder how I might have viewed them when I was closer to their age than their mother’s.
Lucia alternates between displaying amazing strength and an almost debilitating sense of failure as she faces an unwanted dead body, being blackmailed and the deep embarrassment of not having enough money to protect her loved ones. She hides these terrors from everyone, especially her absent husband who she writes to every night without giving even a hint of what’s really going on in her life. She doesn’t want to worry him. Only Sybil, the housekeeper, has some idea of what’s really happening. Until Lucia meets the nice(ish) gangster. Martin Donnelly, who seems to fall under Lucia’s spell, is the only character in the book I never fully believed but perhaps that’s because I’ve seen too many mafia movies.
Although it’s 70 years old this year THE BLANK WALL does not feel dated in the way that some older books do. I’m sure many women, and to be fair a lot of men too, would sympathise with the feelings Lucia goes through when she is confronted by things outside her control and being unable to do all the things her loved ones need her to do. The depiction of a supposedly ‘normal’ woman quietly unravelling is totally compelling and feels very ‘now’. A highly recommended read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member JanetinLondon
I had never heard of this author before I saw her recommended on LT, and this is the first book I have read purely on the basis of such a recommendation. It aso helped that it was a Persephone edition, in beautiful plain grey covers, which just made me want to pick it straight off the library
The main character is Lucia Holley, a mother living with her two teenagers and her father while her husband is away in the navy during WWII. Her daughter has become involved with an “unsuitable young man”, and Lucia tries to dissuade them from continuing their relationship. This is the starting point for a series of events which I can’t discuss too much without ruining it for those who want to read it, but it involves murder, blackmail, and deception.
What I found interesting was Lucia’s amazement at how “normal” everyday life still seemed to be, despite the very not normal things that were happening. She can’t believe everyone doesn’t see all her surreptitious actions written on her face. When they do begin to think she’s being a bit odd, they jump to completely the wrong conclusions – and they don’t like it, because to them she is just so ordinary and normal (which I suspect is even more important in wartime than otherwise). She herself starts to get better at understanding other people – her children, her maid, the various shady characters she has to deal with - and realizing they may have their own agendas and thoughts, rather than just focussing on herself and assuming that everyone is the same.
Events do get a bit surreal, and some characters are harder to believe than others, but I thought the portrait of an ordinary woman being drawn into extraordinary events one step at a time was good and it kept my attention. I think there’s also a secondary theme – setting the book during the war means that Lucia has to deal with things that her husband would surely have handled if he had been there, and I think some of the things wouldn’t even have happened at all if it hadn’t been wartime. Although she is not happy about what happens, I think she does surprise herself by how well she deals with it all.
All in all, a good read. I would be encouraged to pick up other books by this author.
Show More
shelf. I really enjoyed it.The main character is Lucia Holley, a mother living with her two teenagers and her father while her husband is away in the navy during WWII. Her daughter has become involved with an “unsuitable young man”, and Lucia tries to dissuade them from continuing their relationship. This is the starting point for a series of events which I can’t discuss too much without ruining it for those who want to read it, but it involves murder, blackmail, and deception.
What I found interesting was Lucia’s amazement at how “normal” everyday life still seemed to be, despite the very not normal things that were happening. She can’t believe everyone doesn’t see all her surreptitious actions written on her face. When they do begin to think she’s being a bit odd, they jump to completely the wrong conclusions – and they don’t like it, because to them she is just so ordinary and normal (which I suspect is even more important in wartime than otherwise). She herself starts to get better at understanding other people – her children, her maid, the various shady characters she has to deal with - and realizing they may have their own agendas and thoughts, rather than just focussing on herself and assuming that everyone is the same.
Events do get a bit surreal, and some characters are harder to believe than others, but I thought the portrait of an ordinary woman being drawn into extraordinary events one step at a time was good and it kept my attention. I think there’s also a secondary theme – setting the book during the war means that Lucia has to deal with things that her husband would surely have handled if he had been there, and I think some of the things wouldn’t even have happened at all if it hadn’t been wartime. Although she is not happy about what happens, I think she does surprise herself by how well she deals with it all.
All in all, a good read. I would be encouraged to pick up other books by this author.
Show Less
LibraryThing member isabelx
She hung up the telephone and stood beside it, irresolute, flustered. There are such a lot of things . . . she thought. People are idiots to talk about getting married and being your own mistress, so much more free than women with jobs.
If Bee comes back and finds the dishes in the sink . . . Even
Blank Wall is an enjoyable thriller written in 1947 and set during World War II. Lucia Holley is a middle-class housewife living in a lakeside house in New York State with her elderly father and teenage son and daughter while her husband is in the forces. When her daughter takes up with a disreputable older man, Lucia is desperate to get her away from him, but things go horribly wrong and she is forced to confront blackmailers and lie to the police in an attempt to protect her family and save her daughter from ruin. But this isn't easy for a 1940s housewife whose family expect to know where she is at all times, even with her housekeeper to help her.
If Bee comes back and finds the dishes in the sink . . . Even
Show More
unsuspicious Father would think that was queer . . . What reason can I give for running out of the house?Blank Wall is an enjoyable thriller written in 1947 and set during World War II. Lucia Holley is a middle-class housewife living in a lakeside house in New York State with her elderly father and teenage son and daughter while her husband is in the forces. When her daughter takes up with a disreputable older man, Lucia is desperate to get her away from him, but things go horribly wrong and she is forced to confront blackmailers and lie to the police in an attempt to protect her family and save her daughter from ruin. But this isn't easy for a 1940s housewife whose family expect to know where she is at all times, even with her housekeeper to help her.
Show Less
LibraryThing member sandpiper
A curious book, in which a lot happens, but mostly to the main character, Lucia. Many of the other characters, most of which are her close family, don't really know what's going on, but it is their changed reactions to only slight deviations in behaviour from a woman whom they thought was just a
Show More
boring housewife & mother which make the book fascinating. Show Less
LibraryThing member LovingLit
This book was very flawed, but I enjoyed it anyway.
A woman, Lucia, is caring for her teenaged children in WWII North America. Her husband is away at war, but she is well-off enough to keep her faithful maid who runs the place. The daughter has been hanging about with an unsavory type in an attempt
So. The blackmailer is good-cop, to his partners bad-cop and has feelings for Lucia. He ends up trying to help her, but only ends up complicating matters. It is never made clear why he falls for Lucia, or why she warms to him, considering he is blackmailing her and that she loves her husband.
She ums, ahs and agonises over everything all the time, and is generally a scatty lead character. But I was ready for a story that I could just read and take in easily, so it sat relatively well with me.
A woman, Lucia, is caring for her teenaged children in WWII North America. Her husband is away at war, but she is well-off enough to keep her faithful maid who runs the place. The daughter has been hanging about with an unsavory type in an attempt
Show More
to broaden her horizons and not end up like her boring mother. This fella ends up being accidentally killed, and as an aside, someone comes to blackmail Lucia with letters from her daughter to this ruffian. Presumably it would ruin the family name if news of her association with the dead man gets out. Lucia, it turns out, will do anything to prevent this shame.So. The blackmailer is good-cop, to his partners bad-cop and has feelings for Lucia. He ends up trying to help her, but only ends up complicating matters. It is never made clear why he falls for Lucia, or why she warms to him, considering he is blackmailing her and that she loves her husband.
She ums, ahs and agonises over everything all the time, and is generally a scatty lead character. But I was ready for a story that I could just read and take in easily, so it sat relatively well with me.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ellen66
Excellent. Suspenseful and full of detail of immediate post WW2 US. Very different from almost anything else I have read.
LibraryThing member rmarcin
Quick read about a woman in the 1940s and the depths she will go to protect her family. Lucia Holley does not like Ted Darby, a man with whom her 17 year old daughter Bee has become involved. Lucia tries to keep them apart, but that only drives them closer together. When Lucia discovers Ted dead in
This kicks off a series of events with unsavory characters. She is blackmailed by Nagle, and then further harassed by Donnelly.
This is a mystery written in 1947, with a mix of everyday life and extraordinary circumstances.
#TheBlankWall #ElisabethSanxayHolding
Show More
a boat near their home, she is frantic, and decides to hide the body. This kicks off a series of events with unsavory characters. She is blackmailed by Nagle, and then further harassed by Donnelly.
This is a mystery written in 1947, with a mix of everyday life and extraordinary circumstances.
#TheBlankWall #ElisabethSanxayHolding
Show Less
LibraryThing member starbox
Lonely wife Lucia Holley writes dull letters to her husband, serving in WW2. Meanwhile she, her affable elderly father and two judgemntal teenage kids - and a housekeeper - live a respectable life.
When 17 year old Bea is found to have been consorting - and writing incriminating letters- to a dodgy
This is a memorable work as it combines a tense-making thriller with really well drawn profiles of all the characters. Lucia feels overwhelmed, determined to keep her family together at all costs, to tell no one anything. She also feels dismissed and despised by Bea (who mocks her mother's uneventful life); criticized by David (she doesn't conform to what he expects of a mother) and inferior to the competent housekeeper.
Nothing is black and white- criminal Donnelly was arguably a finer character than Lucia...
When 17 year old Bea is found to have been consorting - and writing incriminating letters- to a dodgy
Show More
older man, Lucia is resolved to nip their liaison in the bud. However the situation goes horribly wrong...This is a memorable work as it combines a tense-making thriller with really well drawn profiles of all the characters. Lucia feels overwhelmed, determined to keep her family together at all costs, to tell no one anything. She also feels dismissed and despised by Bea (who mocks her mother's uneventful life); criticized by David (she doesn't conform to what he expects of a mother) and inferior to the competent housekeeper.
Nothing is black and white- criminal Donnelly was arguably a finer character than Lucia...
Show Less