English Country Novel

‘Miss Plum and Miss Penny’ by Dorothy Evelyn Smith

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Yesterday I finished ‘Miss Plum and Miss Penny’ written by Dorothy Evelyn Smith and republished by Dean Street Press as part of the Furrowed Middlebrow Collection. The e-book has been sent to me for review.

First of all I want to alert everyone that this particular book is the perfect one to read in the lead up to the Christmas season. The book starts two months before Christmas Day, on the day of Miss Penny’s fortieth birthday and most of the major events happen around and after Christmas. This is hence the perfect festive read.

The story introduces us to the world of Miss Alison Penny, unmarried and leading a comfortable life in the small Yorkshire village of Greeth, in a house, romantically called ‘The Laurels’ bequeathed to her by her parents. Alison Penny wants for nothing in life, except a suitable romantic interest. On the day of her birthday, her most pressing problem is with whom she shall while away the few hours of the evening, in front of the television. Will it be her faithful maid of many many years, Ada, the retired and slightly hypochondriacal bachelor, Stanley Hartley or the village vicar – the widowed Hubert Sturgess? 

All things come to a pass however, when Miss Penny steps into the village park on her birthday morning and thereby rescues a suicidal woman from drowning herself in the duck pond. Unsure of how to deal with the situation, kind hearted Miss Penny, decides to bring Miss Victoria Plum home. Since, Miss Plum has no relations, no friends and no place in the world- this seems to be the best option to her.

Miss Plum is brought home, much to Ada’s consternation and Miss Penny and Ada help her to regain her health and strength in a long convalescence. However, in the lead up to Christmas, Miss Penny doesn’t have the heart to turn Miss Plum out, or help her find a job at the local employment agency. Everything is postponed till after Christmas, especially as Miss Plum seems likely to have hysterics whenever the future is mentioned.

Ada and Alison both fall ill simultaneously and in that instance, Miss Plum nurses them back to health. Though her efforts at housekeeping aren’t up to Ada’s standards, she does seem eager to please and certainly seems aware of where things are kept and how the house is run. Everyone wonders about the new member residing at The Laurels. Hubert and Stanley are asked to help in resolving Miss Plum’s future but everyone’s plans are disturbed when a mysterious stranger from Miss Penny’s past, knocks on her doorstep on Christmas Eve and threatens to disturb the delicate balance of things at The Laurels and in the village, in general. 

Though the book is centred around Miss Penny’s simple life in the small Yorkshire village of Greeth, it is noteworthy that the title of the story is ‘Miss Plum and Miss Penny’ and not the other way around. Definitely, the character of Miss Plum is at the centre of affairs in the book. The reader’s sympathies wax and wane for Miss Plum as the story progresses. She certainly seems very alone in the world but is she more manipulative than is apparent at first glance? Why is it that the interests and sympathies of the entire village menfolk are aroused by Miss Penny’s predicament? What quality does Miss Penny possess, that makes her the centre of attention in Greeth?

I won’t say much more because this would reveal too much about the plot but suffice it to say that I thought that the writing and the character development in this book were excellent. Each individual character was beautifully fleshed out and seemed so real. I loved the quirks of character in the old-aged bachelor Stanley Hartley. So pernickety and used to having his comforts arranged ‘just-so’, it was a delight to read about his life and his domestic arrangements. At the other end of the spectrum was the widowed vicar and his estranged teenage son – in dire need of home comforts. Even minor characters were so well drawn. 

I found Miss Penny’s predicament most interesting – to give up the comforts of hearth and home or lead a more adventurous, exciting life abroad with a rakish character? Luckily, for Miss Penny, she was a woman of independent means, and she didn’t need to resort to the path of marriage as her only salvation, like many others.

On the surface, Miss Plum and Miss Penny is a delight of a story. Set in a charming Yorkshire village in the autumn and winter – there are idyllic chapters of night time carol singing, skating on frozen lakes in the depths of midwinter. Below these layers though, this is a more serious story about women and their struggle for financial independence. It is a story about homelessness, loneliness and the choices that women make in life to secure their future. It is a story of personal worries, anxiety, the need to do good but also the conflicting emotion of not wanting one’s life rearranged to please someone else. 

I’m so pleased to have read this heartwarming story. In my opinion, one of the best from the Furrowed Middlebrow publications so far!

The Faded Glory of the Old English Country House: Milton Place by Elisabeth de Waal

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Milton Place - Elisabeth de WaalMilton Place’ is the story of an old English country house and that of its owner, Mr Barlow and the turn of events that present themselves, when he invites the daughter of an old friend into his heart and home.

As with all good stories, Milton Place is a tale that has a dual storyline. On the surface, there is an absorbing story that recounts the complex tangle of relations and relationships between a group of individuals who either live in or visit Milton Place. But peeling back the layers of the story, ‘Milton Place’ is an ode to the old English countryhouse, the old aristocratic way of living and thinking that perished in the face of two earth shattering World Wars. It is the story of the dissolution of a way of life and the attempts of the English landed gentry to hold on to the old life, for as long as possible and de Waal renders this picture, quite perfectly.

The story starts out with elderly Mr Barlow, owner of Milton Place, receiving a letter from the daughter of an old friend. We discover that the old friend was a sweetheart, who lived in Vienna and whom he was unable to marry due to family and societal expectations. Mr Barlow invites the daughter, Anita Seiler, a widow to his old, rundown countryhouse, Milton Place.

Barlow, a widower himself, lives alone with the help of an elderly couple who endeavour to take care of the house and those duties that are required in minimally keeping up such a large house. There are two grown-up, married daughters. Cecilia, who has married a doctor and lives a restricted and unhappy provincial life. They have a teenage son Tony, who benefits from a private education due to the largesse of his grandfather, much to the chagrin of his son-in-law. Emily, his other daughter has married well and lives a busy life involved with several local committees and charities.

The life that Mr Barlow leads is a lonely one, in a ghostly shell of a house that has known better days. His daughters are completely self-absorbed. Cecilia suffers from pangs of depression and is bullied by her bitter husband. The estranged relationship with her only son, doesn’t help matters.  Emily is constantly scheming to sell Milton Place and remove the burden of the upkeep of a country house languishing on dwindling resources.

Anita Seiler, with all her energy, efficiency and pleasant demeanour comes as a breath of fresh air to Mr Barlow’s dull and dreary life. Slowly but surely, Anita, who has come to England in search of work, carves out a place for herself at Milton Place. She is a companion to Mr Barlow, devotes time to long walks and conversation and even tries to revive certain rooms in the old house. Mr Barlow’s daughter’s see her as a threat to their lives and are unhappy with her continued presence at Milton Place. Then, an unexpected event occurs that threatens to upset the delicate balance of Milton Place and things must come to a head…

Though Elisabeth de Waal’s storytelling was quite compelling there were other aspects of the book that made it stand out in my mind- and that was the background story of the dwindling fortunes of the English countryhouse. Although the comparison might be a tad long-drawn, the books of Thirkell come to mind when examining Milton Place.

Thirkell’s plots are often quite loose, some might deem them as silly, but I enjoy reading the books to learn about a lost era, a long forgotten way of life. Social history and domestic detail are so important for our better understanding of historical and political events. Snippets of daily life add luscious detail to the intricate tapestry of human living. Each story from the past can provide rich details to render this picture, all the more clearer.

There are also particularly moving musings on life and old age, seen through the eyes of old Mr Barlow:

At my time of life every season, almost every day day, is a grace, and the spring is not an ache, but a glory. It is true, one loses most of one’s desires, but one also loses one’s impatience, and there is given to one the only moment of life that is real- the moment that always had seemed to escape- the present.

 

If you read Milton Place, I hope you will enjoy the story, but more so, I hope the facade of the crumbling old house, the gentle manners of an old English country squire, the long walks in the English countryside, descriptions of flora and fauna that grow in the gardens will inspire you, as they have done me, to read more and learn more about that particular time, that is no more.

I was provided a complimentary review copy of ‘Milton Place’ by Persephone Books, but all opinions are my own.

The Fairacre Festival by Miss Read

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On a stormy night in October, calamity strikes the placid, Cotswold village of Fairacre. High winds fell some ancient elm trees, which in turn damage the roof of St. Patrick’s Church.

The entire village, especially the vicar Mr Partridge, witness the damage done to their beloved church in the aftermath of the storm. Estimates to repair the roof and restore the church to its former glory, come in at the huge sum of two thousand pounds.

Even the most optimistic villager can foresee that innumerable jumble sales, weekly raffles and whist drives will not be able to meet that amount.

An emergency meeting of the Parochial Church Council is called, at which Mr Willett, the church sexton, comes up with the marvellous idea of hosting a Fairacre Festival in the summer- a sort of Edinburgh Festival on a smaller scale.

A number of smaller events like a fête, a jumble sale, whist drives, bingo and dances are planned around the main event- a Son et Lumiére with St. Patrick’s as the backdrop. A famous opera singer, Jean Cole’s performance is added to the roster of events, but will these collected efforts be enough to raise the entire sum of money or will the village’s Queen Anne’s reign silver chalice have to be sold to save the roof?

As usual, this is a slow, quiet, amusing book that has some lovely moments. The stories though very simple have an underlying message. This book emphasizes the importance of community and the strength of collective endeavour to achieve a single purpose.

The more I read of Miss Read, the greater appreciation I develop for her knack of appreciating the small things in life and imparting wit to small everyday instances.