Persephone

Mariana by Monica Dickens

Once again, I am so grateful to Persephone Books for introducing me to an author I’d likely never have encountered if not for their efforts to reissue neglected women authors of the early 20th century.

We’re all well aware of Monica Dickens’s famous great-grandfather, a certain Charles, but I had never read any of Monica’s work until Mariana. I’ll be seeking out more.

First published in 1940, Mariana tells the story of a young Englishwoman named Mary who is reflecting on her life during a sleepless night spent waiting for word on her husband, whose ship has been sunk in battle. It’s a bit of a sad, stressful beginning, but from there on, Mary’s recollections of her family, education and early loves are a pleasure to read, even when they make you cringe.

Funny, tart, well-observed and definitely recommended.

William – an Englishman by Cicely Hamilton

I was already falling way behind on book reviews even before The Summer of Tendonitis – “the summer of”, I say, as if it’s anywhere close to being healed on this, the last day of summer – and now I’m so far behind I’m not sure there’s any point in trying to remember what I thought about books I read in January. Why why why don’t I take better notes? I sit down to read with a pen and notebook and immediately get so lost in the text that I forget all about the concept of notes. I never learn.

I do have a pretty clear memory of reading William – an Englishman by Cicely Hamilton, however. Written in 1918 as the First World War raged around her, Hamilton mercilessly skewered the pompous men and women who were so fixated on their stubborn, tiny perspectives on social issues that they completely missed the towering disaster of a global conflict bearing down on them. I was stunned by how relevant it still is. Some things never change, I suppose.

William – an Englishman is the first title re-published by Persephone Books which “reprints neglected fiction and non-fiction by mid-twentieth century (mostly) women writers.” There are currently 139 titles on Persephone’s list and you better believe I’m going to try to track down as many as I can.

(Back in March, I wrote about Persephone title number three: Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple. The fusspot in me believes I shouldn’t have done them out of order like this, but I think I was so jazzed about the Whipple book right after I finished it in March that I couldn’t help myself. It’s an exciting life, I tell you.)

Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple

When Dorothy Whipple submitted this perfect specimen of domestic fiction back in the early 1950s, her publisher was lukewarm about it, apparently, since the fashion in literature had turned decisively to action/adventure-type books and Someone at a Distance just didn’t fit the bill.It’s true that the plot summary probably sounds boring to thrill-seekers: Avery and Ellen have been happily married for 20 years. They have charming, precocious children, a lovely house and extensive gardens, and work that they each find personally and financially fulfilling. Then Avery’s cranky old mother hires a beautiful, young, French woman named Louise to serve as her companion and it becomes clear the clock is ticking on Avery and Ellen’s perfect lives.This is a quiet novel, for sure, but it definitely isn’t boring. Whipple is such a master at scene-setting and pacing and characterization that I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended for anyone who doesn’t care for (or needs to take a break from) Scandinavian police procedurals, courtroom thrillers or post-apocalyptic hellscapes.
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