I think this is the first actual Virago book in my All Virago (etc.) / All August pile, and it’s a swap in my 20Books of Summer after I was a bit bamboozled when facing three books in a row published in the early 1920s. This one was first published in 1940 so fits into that poignant set of books I seem to quite often come across which were written and published when war had broken out, but the outcome was not at all clear. This is one of Virago’s gradual repreints of Thirkell’s Barchester series; rather oddly, they published ones that come in between these three first, two of which I’ve already read, but feel I want to re-read now so I can get all of the Second World War ones done in sequence. Not least because this one ends on a massive cliffhanger and I’ve already read the next one.
But first, a content warning.
Angela Thirkell – “Cheerfulness Breaks in”
(20 August 2020)
Angela Thirkell presents problems to the modern reader – or at least I hope she does. There are large problems with this book and many of her others, and I always feel I need to raise these when discussing her, as I would hate anyone to think I condoned some of the attitudes she espouses in her books. Yes, she is very much “of her time,” and in fact I’ve found almost exactly the same problem as one of the issues with this one in the next book I picked up (published 1923). But it makes it difficult to read her sometimes and standing silent is the same as being complicit.
So, Thirkell does go in for a) casual and not-so-casual racism (not so evident in this one, and in fact there is a joke at the expense of a missionary that puts his African congregation in the position of power (hooray! but rare) including introducing an entire central European race just to mock them. b) massive overweening snobbery (again, this one is not so bad with that and a character mentions they fear they are being snobbish). c) (a new one in this one I think), very outdated and offensive language around a child living with a developmental disorder. These things are of course unacceptable to the modern reader, and you very much have to put a firm “of those days, thank goodness she wouldn’t get away with this now” hat on.
So why do I continue to read her? Good question. Writing as she does at the time of the events in the book, we get almost reportage on the minutiae of village and country life at the outbreak of the war, from spivs and dodgy folks with too bright headlights on their petrol-filled cars to inventive curtains to keep the blackout, from girls desperate for more than a blackout injury in their hospital to older schoolboys and clergy who feel useless and embarrassed not to be fighting. And there’s an added poignancy to the rumour mill that’s constantly working, as it does today in our times of pandemic. There is real emotional depth in the responses of families sending their sons away and, especially, the masters and old boys of the boys’ school being sent off to fight. We find a celebration of unconventional, strong women, from capable spinsters to the moving development of Lydia Keith from bumptious schoolgirl to serious housekeeper running an estate and a house and doing much volunteering as her mother ails.
More poignancy comes from the rather lovely Noel’s realisation of his feelings for a character he thought of as a friend, when he sees her worn out and wants to support her. and there’s a touching and underplayed scene at old Lord Pomfret’s funeral, where the congregation will never see each other all at the same time again.
There’s also a lot of humour, with some terrible characters being nicely squashed and a perfect scene when the Birketts are treated to an unforeseen proposal:
When they compared notes afterwards they found that noting better than tags from Victorian novels had floated into their minds (p. 261)
This reminded me irresistibly of the time Mr Liz was running a Terrible Temperature and I phoned NHS 111 to ask for advice, then found myself saying, “Ah, the fever will break, will it” which I then realised I had got entirely from Victorian novels.
So, there is more to like than to dislike in this book, for sure, and while it’s important to note the dodgy details, register them, talk about them and make sure they’re not dusted under the carpet, it would be a shame to censor them when the intelligent and fair-minded reader should be able to separate out the wheat from the chaff.
This was Book 18 in my 20 Books Of Summer project. I’m reading Book 19 at the moment so I might even do it!
cdvicarage
Aug 26, 2020 @ 08:55:50
I’m also working my way through this series for AV/AA and have managed to keep in the right order so far. I had to get the next one straight away because of the cliffhanger!
Agree with you about the unacceptable attitudes but also find myself feeling sorry for those who regret the changes as they often realise that they things must (and should) change but don’t see what their new roles could be.
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Liz Dexter
Aug 26, 2020 @ 08:59:17
It’s interesting, in the one I’m reading now (The Ladies of Lyndon) there is someone who is stated to be “mentally defective” (argh) but then he’s actually totally vindicated for his actual neurodiversity so that’s a bit better (but 17 years before this!). But the stuff about the small child in this one is distasteful, isn’t it.
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kaggsysbookishramblings
Aug 26, 2020 @ 12:11:13
I think you’re quite right. I’m not one for removing this kind of book from the shelves (although personally I decided not to read Thirkell becasuse the balance wasn’t right for me). But we need to apply context and realise that things have moved on so much in a positive way.
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Liz Dexter
Aug 26, 2020 @ 12:22:05
I felt quite on the line with this one but kept going – also in the current read there’s someone described as “mentally defective” but then he’s actually vindicated beautifully and the people describing shown up. No hunting in this one, at least …
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Pink Roses
Aug 26, 2020 @ 12:15:55
Hello Liz. I don’t think there is any point in removing these books; people will read them, or not, as they choose. As for re-writing some authors – that’s nonsense. However, I would be very uncomfortable reading older books with those awful attitudes. I’m a great classics fan all the same!
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Liz Dexter
Aug 26, 2020 @ 12:22:40
It’s a bit of a funny series for Virago to throw themselves into reprinting I have to say, but there we go. I will carry on with them as the good usually does outweigh the bad.
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JacquiWine
Aug 26, 2020 @ 14:02:00
It’s good to hear that the ups outweigh the downs in this book as I too have found Thirkell’s casual racism and class snobbery somewhat unpalatable in the past. Maybe it’s time I gave her another try – the details of village life sound spot on!
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Liz Dexter
Aug 27, 2020 @ 09:24:18
That’s the thing, and the almost direct reportage of the mood and activities in wartime is very moving and interesting.
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Jane
Aug 26, 2020 @ 15:29:35
I haven’t come across these, but I am tempted and agree that they need to be read with the view that we have made some progress. I love your falling into Victoriana!
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Liz Dexter
Aug 27, 2020 @ 09:24:39
It was funny to find other (OK, fictional) people doing the same!
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heavenali
Aug 26, 2020 @ 18:20:57
I finished Growing up the other day, less offensive than some Thirkell, but very snobby. It clearly comes after this one though, because the war is in full swing. I find her very problematic as you know, though I keep coming back to her. To be honest I probably only read Growing up because Virago sent it me for review. I tend to have big gaps between my Thirkell reads.
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Liz Dexter
Aug 27, 2020 @ 09:25:33
I think I’m going to power through what I’ve got (maybe including the two that interleave with these that I have already read) as they don’t take long to read but I do forget who’s who!
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buriedinprint
Aug 26, 2020 @ 19:41:04
The gaps in my Thirkell reading have gotten broader and broader as the years have passed, but at her best she is charming and funny, and some of the virtues extolled remain desirable. I wonder, though, is she so much of another (i.e. less enlightened) time, or is she of another class. There were certainly people in her time who were working against racism, but perhaps there weren’t very many people in her class who considered such matters important?
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Liz Dexter
Aug 27, 2020 @ 09:27:15
I think you might be on to something re class there, yes. I try to just read her for the reportage and almost immediacy of these particular books – this run of war ones are basically published one per year until 1946 so it’s so interesting from that perspective. And I will send review readers back to my statement here to make sure no one thinks I espouse the dodgy views!
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Simon T
Aug 27, 2020 @ 11:28:09
Right, approach with caution! I’ve only read a handful of her (not incl this one) and gave up on the last one I read, but have been thinking I might try them more systematically.
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Liz Dexter
Aug 28, 2020 @ 07:35:50
They do pay reading in order as you can see the war building etc. Which one did you give up on?
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Tredynas Days
Aug 27, 2020 @ 13:16:49
I just looked back at my 2 posts on her: Wild Strawberries and High Rising. I too found her casual racism and xenophobia distasteful – even allowing for the attitudes of the time; not everyone thought that way.
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Liz Dexter
Aug 28, 2020 @ 07:36:43
Yes, indeed. With the wartime ones, the directness of her publishing them each year as the war wore on gives so much interest that it just about balances things out. But I think I’ll draw a line after these, and I’m not sure I’ll keep the set.
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