25 December 2006 – Christmas present from Heaven-Ali

I was thrilled to open this on Christmas Day, as it completes my collection of (published now) E.M.Delafield novels. It’s an interesting if a little gloomy read. Inspired by a feminist viewpoint, she uses the novel to pour scorn on the fact that, at the turn of the 19th-20th century, a woman of a certain class *had* to snare a husband, or basically be doomed. Her heroine is a careful study of a weak character, and not a particularly likeable one, who lurches from mistake to mistake, ending up in a downward spiral she cannot escape. And her sisters and sister-in-law are, too, trapped in their choices.

Very interesting, and a wonderful character study – a real feel for the era.