Recent reading, etc.
Oct. 16th, 2020 06:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
regshoeThe last few books have been a little underwhelming, altogether, but not without their good points.
By Berwen Banks by Allen Raine (1899). I was in the mood for some turn-of-the-century Welsh melodrama, for which this was pretty ideal! Set on the coast of Ceredigion, it tells the story of the romance between Caradoc 'Cardo' Wynne, the son of the local Anglican vicar, and Valmai Powell, the niece of the local Methodist minister. The two clergymen hate each other (there's a very funny bit near the beginning about them punctiliously and passive-aggressively praying for each other every week), and are not thrilled at the prospect of a match between their young relations, but of course True Love wins in the end, after many hardships. The melodramatic twisting of the plot got a bit much, I think, but it was still enjoyable (and interesting to see an 1890s take on travel to Australia by someone other than E. W. Hornung, haha...). There were some good historical bits in there too—I enjoyed the description of the big Methodist revival meeting with huge crowds singing hymns and open-air preaching, and Raine's pro-Welsh language digressions were appreciated.
Every Good Deed by Dorothy Whipple (1946). This book is about two sisters, wealthy ladies, adopting a teenager from a Bad Home, and I don't know what happened with it—it's nothing like the other books I've read by Whipple. Not just the mean-spiritedness, classism and sexism, but the basic mechanics of the plot and emotional sensitivity of the writing, which I've admired in her other books, just weren't there. I thought it might be a still-finding-their-style early work, but no, this was sixteen years after High Wages, probably my favourite of her books so far. Oh well—I suppose we all have off days!
The War-Workers by E. M. Delafield (1918). This is about women 'war-workers'—in this case, the staff in the office of the Midland Supply Depot, responsible for overseeing and organising a wide range of military-adjacent activities—during the First World War, and in particular Charmian Vivian, the autocratic and mercilessly dedicated Director of the Depot. It made me feel a bit unsettled, overall. I felt very sympathetically towards Char, despite the fact that she really is quite unpleasant as a person. I think it was the way the other characters criticised her, particularly the doctor, who I found completely insufferable—and the way the 'good' characters find happiness in getting around her and shutting her out. I think I feel instinctively that anyone who gets that sort of treatment must be on the right side in a way, even if they do kind of deserve it. (Having read Consequences recently, I'm not at all sure this reaction wasn't intended by Delafield, who certainly has a thing about difficult, isolated loners who only make things worse for themselves). However, I really enjoyed the portrayal of the friendly camaraderie and petty enmities between the rest of the office workers, who all live together in a cramped and makeshift Hostel next to the office, and the book was historically interesting as well—I'd not appreciated how much administrative and organisational work women did in the First World War, and it was fascinating getting a look into what that was like.
In other stuff, I'm in the middle of watching Ghosts, the BBC sitcom about a haunted house from the people who did Horrible Histories, having found the second series on iPlayer. I'm really enjoying it! The comedy gets just a little embarrassment-squicky at times, but the characters and their interactions are all great, and I love how this series is exploring the ghosts' backstories and their hidden depths—I've just watched the episode about Thomas and now feel really sad for him, and the one about the Captain was so sweet. I'd love to know more about Mary's backstory—I think she's my fave of the ghosts, and I'm sure the writers will come up with something more complicated than 'she was burned as a witch' (which they must know is anachronistic anyway...!)—and Kitty's, because I like her a lot too and because so far I don't think we've had any real hint of what her backstory might actually be. Looking forward to the last two episodes :D
By Berwen Banks by Allen Raine (1899). I was in the mood for some turn-of-the-century Welsh melodrama, for which this was pretty ideal! Set on the coast of Ceredigion, it tells the story of the romance between Caradoc 'Cardo' Wynne, the son of the local Anglican vicar, and Valmai Powell, the niece of the local Methodist minister. The two clergymen hate each other (there's a very funny bit near the beginning about them punctiliously and passive-aggressively praying for each other every week), and are not thrilled at the prospect of a match between their young relations, but of course True Love wins in the end, after many hardships. The melodramatic twisting of the plot got a bit much, I think, but it was still enjoyable (and interesting to see an 1890s take on travel to Australia by someone other than E. W. Hornung, haha...). There were some good historical bits in there too—I enjoyed the description of the big Methodist revival meeting with huge crowds singing hymns and open-air preaching, and Raine's pro-Welsh language digressions were appreciated.
Every Good Deed by Dorothy Whipple (1946). This book is about two sisters, wealthy ladies, adopting a teenager from a Bad Home, and I don't know what happened with it—it's nothing like the other books I've read by Whipple. Not just the mean-spiritedness, classism and sexism, but the basic mechanics of the plot and emotional sensitivity of the writing, which I've admired in her other books, just weren't there. I thought it might be a still-finding-their-style early work, but no, this was sixteen years after High Wages, probably my favourite of her books so far. Oh well—I suppose we all have off days!
The War-Workers by E. M. Delafield (1918). This is about women 'war-workers'—in this case, the staff in the office of the Midland Supply Depot, responsible for overseeing and organising a wide range of military-adjacent activities—during the First World War, and in particular Charmian Vivian, the autocratic and mercilessly dedicated Director of the Depot. It made me feel a bit unsettled, overall. I felt very sympathetically towards Char, despite the fact that she really is quite unpleasant as a person. I think it was the way the other characters criticised her, particularly the doctor, who I found completely insufferable—and the way the 'good' characters find happiness in getting around her and shutting her out. I think I feel instinctively that anyone who gets that sort of treatment must be on the right side in a way, even if they do kind of deserve it. (Having read Consequences recently, I'm not at all sure this reaction wasn't intended by Delafield, who certainly has a thing about difficult, isolated loners who only make things worse for themselves). However, I really enjoyed the portrayal of the friendly camaraderie and petty enmities between the rest of the office workers, who all live together in a cramped and makeshift Hostel next to the office, and the book was historically interesting as well—I'd not appreciated how much administrative and organisational work women did in the First World War, and it was fascinating getting a look into what that was like.
In other stuff, I'm in the middle of watching Ghosts, the BBC sitcom about a haunted house from the people who did Horrible Histories, having found the second series on iPlayer. I'm really enjoying it! The comedy gets just a little embarrassment-squicky at times, but the characters and their interactions are all great, and I love how this series is exploring the ghosts' backstories and their hidden depths—I've just watched the episode about Thomas and now feel really sad for him, and the one about the Captain was so sweet. I'd love to know more about Mary's backstory—I think she's my fave of the ghosts, and I'm sure the writers will come up with something more complicated than 'she was burned as a witch' (which they must know is anachronistic anyway...!)—and Kitty's, because I like her a lot too and because so far I don't think we've had any real hint of what her backstory might actually be. Looking forward to the last two episodes :D
no subject
Date: Oct. 16th, 2020 05:48 pm (UTC)I always read and enjoy your reviews - I wish I read more books from the 1880s-1940s, especially bc I did my masters on that period (approximately) and am doing my PHD on it (slightly different approximate!), and I really enjoy reading about them even though I haven't had a chance to read them for myself!
no subject
Date: Oct. 16th, 2020 06:37 pm (UTC)It's a period I find fascinating and really enjoy learning about through contemporary literature, although I've never studied it academically. The sheer scale of social, cultural and technological change is amazing, and these sorts of books give such an interesting perspective on how people dealt with that in their everyday lives. And I like the sorts of writing styles that were typical back then, too—slower-paced and more distant than a lot of modern fiction, which I tend to find a bit overwhelming. You probably already know who the big authors are, if you study the period, but let me know if you'd like recs for particular things!
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Date: Oct. 19th, 2020 04:00 pm (UTC)I will let you know! I'm looking for some books to read atm but I don't know /what/ I'm looking for yet to ask more specifically! (although, to that end, have you ever read any Robert Murray Gilchrist? I know a lot about his relationship with William Sharp and next to nothing about his actual work except that he went a bit gothic? I might have that wrong. Anyway...I'll stop chattering now!
*aka William Sharp, if you didn't know already. A complicated how's your father at best.
no subject
Date: Oct. 19th, 2020 05:13 pm (UTC)Those names sound vaguely familiar, but no, I've not read any of either of their books. Ooh, although Gilchrist's wikipedia page compares him to Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker and Vernon Lee, which sounds interesting—I do like that kind of late nineteenth-century gothic stuff. :D
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Date: Oct. 18th, 2020 12:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Oct. 18th, 2020 09:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Oct. 18th, 2020 02:52 pm (UTC)(And your post inspired me to watch the last three episodes I was missing, and OMG the last one was lovely and made me so happy!)
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Date: Oct. 18th, 2020 04:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Oct. 18th, 2020 08:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Oct. 19th, 2020 04:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Oct. 19th, 2020 05:24 pm (UTC)