Persephone - and now we are Ten - Redux

This seems to be Persephone week or if it is ten years ago in March, then Persephone month. So here is my final bit to add to it all.  Most of my Persephone reading took place before I started Random Jottings so have not written about most of them here, but out of interest I did a blog search to see what I could come up with and here listed below are links to reviews or mentions of Persephone publications since May 2006 when I posted my very first post, in fear and tremblling and wondering if anybody would read any of my entries

• Dorothy Whipple - All round post mentioning many of her books
• Frances Hodgson Burnett - Making of a Marchioness
• Richmal Crompton - General post with mention of Family Roundabout
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher - The Homemaker
• Kate Smallshaw - How to run your home without Help
• Frances Hodgson Burnett - The Shuttle

I have, however, reviewed quite a few on Amazon so I have sneakily nipped over there and copied my then comments which are as follows:

Bricks and Mortar - Helen Ashton

I had never heard of Helen Ashton prior to reading this novel which was originally published in 1932 and she is a real discovery. It is what nowadays might be filed in the library under 'sagas' in that it tells the story of Martin, a young architect dragooned and manipulated into a marriage with Letty, by her astute and clever mother and, quite simply, follows their lives together for the following 40 years. The marriage has its ups and downs, Martin finds his wife is not of his intellectual level and is not interested in his profession, but he finds recompense in the relationship he develops with his daughter Stacey, who shows signs of being a strong, feminist woman while his wife has her son, Aubrey. The emotions of Martin and his state of mind and character throughout his life are reflected in the architectural descriptions that run like a thread through the book. The title may lead you to think this is a dull, boring book but it is not. The architectural descriptions are enchanting and beautiful and if, like me, you do not know the difference between a pilaster and a cornice, it does not matter, the imagery and the language used are simply beautiful. Martin and Letty are characters that engage one immediately and you really care what happens to them and their happiness. This is a book of a high order, well crafted, superbly written and immensely readable. I was captured from the first page and I think anyone who reads this will do so too.

The New House - Lettice Cooper

This is another gem from Persephone - Lettice Cooper was the aunt of Jilly Cooper's husband Leo, and her introduction to this novel paints the picture of a fascinating woman. This story is quite simple, it is literally a day in the life of a house move and the thoughts and emotions of the family and characters that this affects. A house is to be demolished, an old way of life comes to an end, new flats are to be built in its place. Is this a good or a bad thing?  Lettice Cooper's socialist instincts are very clear throughout the book but she does not belittle the sadness felt by those who lived and loved the house they are leaving. The mother, a selfish and self obsessed woman, finding it hard to come to terms with the end of a comfortable and cosseted life and forced to face up to reality, her stay at home daughter frightened of life in the real world, the son and his rather unsatisfactory marriage - all their thoughts and emotions are expressed throughout 24 hours. It is amazing how little each member of the family understands each other and how at odds they all seem to be and yet by the end of the day and the move, enlightenment and understanding has come in different ways to them all, and decisions made. A sharply written book with humour and understanding and yet another to add to the Persephone canon. To be recommended.

Fidelity - Susan Glaspell

This book certainly puts one in mind of Edith Wharton at her finest and equals it for emotional punch and power. The question 'Is Love Enough' and whether it justifies everything is at the heart of this book. Ruth, who is young and thoughtless falls deeply in love with a married man and eventually they run off together. It never crosses her mind that her actions will have such an effect in the town where she lived until she returns some ten years later and founds herself shunned and ignored by her family and friends. She gradually comes to realise how much her family have suffered through her behaviour and this realisation forms the heartbreaking centre of the book. The book ends on an optimistic note. Ruth, despite everything, and despite the hardships and the unhappiness she has suffered, is optimistic that life holds great things for her and she is determined to live life to the full. I cannot recommend this book too highly. Superbly written and constructed it will take hold of you and your emotions and you will not be able to put it down. You may cry - I did.

I also wrote a very short review of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day but as I have just read this again (for the umpteenth time) I intend to write about it in a brand new post.