Virago Monthly Reads: August 2018: Angela Thirkell

From Wikipedia:
Angela Margaret Thirkell (/ˈθɜːrkəl/; née Mackail, 30 January 1890 – 29 January 1961), was an English and Australian novelist. She also published one novel, Trooper to Southern Cross, under the pseudonym Leslie Parker.

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Thirkell began writing early in her life in Australia, chiefly through the need for money. An article appeared in the Cornhill Magazine in November 1921 and was the first of many articles and short stories, including work for Australian radio. On her return to England in 1929, this career continued with journalism, stories for children, and then novels. Her success as a novelist began with her second novel, High Rising (1933). She set most of her novels in Anthony Trollope's Barsetshire, his fictional English county developed in the six novels known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire. An alert reader of contemporary fiction, Thirkell also borrowed freely from such now-arcane titles as John Galsworthy's The Country House, from which, for example, she lifted the name 'Worsted' which she used for the village setting of her novel August Folly (1936). She also quoted frequently, and without attribution, from novels by Charles Dickens, William Thackeray, and Elizabeth Gaskell. Thirkell published a new novel every year, which she referred to in correspondence with her editor, Jamie Hamilton of Hamish Hamilton, as new wine in an old bottle. She professed horror at the idea that her circle of well educated and upper-middle-class friends might read her fiction: she expected them to prefer, as she did, such writers as Gibbon, Austen, Dickens, and Proust. She drew the epigraph to T 1951 from Proust: "Les gens du monde se représentent volontiers les livres comme une espèce de cube dont une face est enlevée, si bien que l'auteur se dépêche de 'faire entrer' dedans les personnes qu'il rencontre" ("Society people think that books are a sort of cube, one side of which the author opens the better to insert into it the people he meets.")

Her books of the 1930s in particular had a satiric exuberance, as in Pomfret Towers, which sends up village ways, aristocratic folly and middle-class aspirations. Three Houses (1931, Oxford University Press; repeatedly reprinted) is a short childhood memoir which simultaneously displays Thirkell's precociously finished style, her lifelong melancholy, and her idolisation of her grandfather, Edward Burne-Jones. Trooper to the Southern Cross (1934; republished in 1939 as What Happened on the Boat) "is concerned with the experiences of a number of English and Australian passengers aboard a troop-ship, the Rudolstadt, on their way back to Australia immediately after World War I. It is particularly interesting for its depiction of the Australian 'digger'; his anti-authoritarianism, larrikinism, and, at the same time, his loyalty to those whom he respects."

In the 1940s, her work was coloured by the war and the war efforts. The home front figured particularly in Cheerfulness Breaks In (1940), showing how women saw their loved ones off to the front, and Northbridge Rectory, which showed how housewives coped with the annoyances of wartime life. These books include Marling Hall, Growing Up and The Headmistress, and provide a vibrant picture of the attitude, struggle, and resigned good cheer, of British women during the war. Even a book which did not deal exclusively with the war effort, Miss Bunting, addressed changes in society the war had wrought, as the title character, a governess, grows to middle age and wonders how to live out her life, and where her ambitions might take her as the world turns upside down. These books provide a time capsule of the age.

Later books in the 1950s became more romantic and less contemporary. Among these, The Old Bank House in particular shows Thirkell concerned with the rise of the merchant class, her own prejudices evident, but giving way to grudging respect for industriousness and goodhearted generosity. Later books are simpler romances. The romance The Duke's Daughter deals in a way more directly than some of her others with descendants of Trollope's Barsetshire characters. Her final book, Three Score and Ten, was left unfinished at her death, but was completed later by C. A. Lejeune.

Thirkell showed a keen social sense and a lively eye for the telling detail of everyday life. Many of her books remain in print.

The Angela Thirkell Society has a fairly comprehensive guide to Angela Thirkell's Books. This is a useful reference for the Barsetshire novels in particular, since it provides plot summaries and notes the novels each character appears in. Beware of spoilers, though.

The Barsetshire novels can stand alone and do not need to be read in order. It's fun to meet a character again, especially when they have matured from a child to an adult, and there are occasional references to events in past books, but they are never essential to the story being told. So if you are new to Thirkell, just dive in!

I was introduced to Angela Thirkell through this group, when I received Pomfret Towers as a Virago Secret Santa gift. I then decided to read the Barsetshire novels in order. In August I'll be reading The Headmistress.

I have so many Thirkell books on my shelves. (I think you're responsible for sending me at least one of them, Laura!) I enjoy reading her, and hope to fit one in in August.

I only have Trooper to the Southern Cross and The Brandons so will attempt to read both those this month. Strangely the library only has Before Lunch in addition to these. I'm astonished that they don't at least have High Rising or some of the other early Barsetshire novels.

I've got Pomfret Towers and the next 3 or 4 books in the Barsetshire series lined up to read. Looking forward to it!

In recent years, Virago has released very pretty editions of the Barsetshire novels, a few at a time. Just in case anyone needs an excuse to buy books for this month's read. 😀

Various other responsibilities and commitments are coming to the fore in the next month or two, but I shall try to read Trooper to the Southern Cross during August.

I started Pomfret Towers on the train this morning and didn't want to get stop reading and get off! Delightful and funny.

Oh, well that's handy as I can actually take part! I have The Brandons and Summer Half (both from lovely Verity) on my AV/AA pile. Hooray!

I’ve never read anything by Angela Thirkell but I have High Rising on my shelf so that’s what I’ll be reading this month.

I've just finished Summer Half - I am reading the Barsetshire books in order - and will go on to Pomfret Towers, and beyond if I have time.

I enjoyed Pomfret Towers and am now starting August Folly. These are perfect reads for the hot summer that we're currently having in the Uk!

I'm not sure how we ended up assigning Angela Thirkell to August, but I agree the timing is perfect. The Barsetshire novels are excellent summer reading.

I've been caught in a small avalanche of library holds that I need to get through before I can start The Headmistress, but I'm very much looking forward to it.

My first reading of anything by Thirkell, so I started at the Barsetshire beginning with High Rising (3***) which I got on Kindle. A bit fluffy, not exactly written for "literary immortality," and with a somewhat contrived plot, but still, it serves its humorous purpose. I have a feeling I'm going to be quite satisfied with Thirkell (and I've just acquired a number of the Barsetshire books) so long as I don't expect her to be a Brontë or a Virginia Woolf or a George Eliot!

>15 CurrerBell: A bit fluffy, not exactly written for "literary immortality"

That's a pretty accurate description, Mike. They are light, fun, and yes sometimes contrived. And sometimes just what I need. At the moment I'm steeped in a couple of biographies, and am really looking forward to reading Thirkell next.

By the way, in her Barsetshire novels Thirkell was reimagining Anthony Trollope's Victorian-era Barsetshire in the early 20th century. Trollope fans will notice occasional allusions to characters or settings from the past.

I've just started The Headmistress.

Over on the AV/AA thread, Mike commented on the "light" nature of Thirkell's books, and Claire said, "I could easily binge on the Barsetshire books but I think they are best savoured in small doses."

I find I am drawn to Thirkell's books when I need something light and fun. For example, I just finished two nonfiction books that were "heavy" in different ways. Thirkell is the perfect palate-cleanser. I took a look at my library and noticed I haven't read any of her books since this time last year. I only read one in 2017, but five in 2016 which was a difficult year for me personally.

>17 lauralkeet: Thirkell is definitely a go-to for comfort and light amusement. And thank goodness for authors like that when we have "one of those years".

I reviewed Summer Half and forgot to tell you all! https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2018/08/11/book-review-angela-thirkell-summe...

>19 LyzzyBee: I've just started Summer half so will save your review to read afterwards!

I read Before Lunch which was part of my lovely VSS from Dee last Christmas. It also ticked off another year in my A century of books. Delightful comfort reading, really enjoyed it. Away for a few days next week so preparing blog posts for when I am away, my review of Before Lunch will be up next Thursday.

I am having so much fun reading The Headmistress. Thirkell's formula is familiar in a comfortable way. Sometimes her snobbishness is annoying bordering on cruel, but for the most part I really enjoy seeing her stories develop and guessing how the couples will pair off. Because they always do. 😀

I'm half way through The Brandons and thoroughly enjoying it!

>19 LyzzyBee: Having finished Summer half (and loved it) I've just read your review. Yes, I liked Tony a lot in this book, far more so than when we first meet him in High Rising. And Hacker and his chameleon are hilarious! I do love books set in schools and this one was lovely.

>24 Sakerfalcon: Oh yes, Tony. I was so glad he redeemed himself in Summer Half!

If you ever wondered if a well-connected English 'lady novelist' could write from the point of view of an Australian army officer, with the vernacular and attitudes appropriate to that group of men, Trooper to the Southern Cross is your answer. I'm not sure that I would call this literary fiction, it's more of a 'rollicking good yarn' type of book, so not what I usually read these days. The plot device of a troopship converted from a German merchantman, which has been sabotaged by the German engineers before being handed over to the British after the armistice, sounds quite far-fetched but both this and the experiences described throughout the voyage are based on the author's experiences while travelling to Australia with her new husband after the First World War. She had obviously observed very closely the laconic (male) Aussie humour, speech patterns and mannerisms, even though she spent only a few years in that country before returning to England, and is able to reproduce them quite convincingly in this novel.

I'm sure this is not typical of Angela Thirkell's work (I nearly wrote Angela Merkel there, that's an interesting word association for you!), but the only other one of her novels I currently have access to is The Brandons so I'll be starting that next.

The only one of her books I've read Grant but I loved it.

I finished The Headmistress yesterday and really enjoyed it. Set during WW II, the Belton family turns over their large house to be used as a school for girls, and they relocate to a smaller house in town. Their young adult children are all doing "war work" in some capacity so they come and go throughout the story. The school's Headmistress is an important figure but not as important as the title implies. There are a few concurrent storylines involving the Beltons, Miss Sparling, and other local notables and as usual all's well that ends well.

Perfect summer reading.

>26 europhile: I read this a few years ago for AV/AA and really enjoyed it. It certainly is different from the Barsetshire novels, although I would say that her gift for observing people's quirks and follies is evident in both.

>19 LyzzyBee: Hooray! He crops up a year older in The Brandons too and it was lovely to see him again!

I read Before Lunch and my review came out today.

https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2018/08/23/before-lunch-angela-thirkell-1939/

And I reviewed The Brandons yesterday https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2018/08/23/book-review-angela-thirkell-the-b...

Well, I find I don't have the next Barsetshire novel I need to read in the series - No. 3 - although I do have 4, 14, 18 and 20! So I'm reading Thirkell's memoir Three Houses. Not sure I'll finish it by the end of the month, but we'll see.

Touchstone not engaging at the moment ETA: There was a failure of the catalog search feature last night, and it apparently also affected touchstones. Tim reports it has happened before around 8 pm ET, and the wizards are trying to get to the bottom of it. It seems to be OK now.

I just finished High Rising, which I was happily surprised by. I've started it before and was definitely in a better mood for it this time.

There must be someone in my small, not very bookish community who reads Angela Thirkell, because I've seen a handful of her books on the paperback exchange cart in the library. I'd love to know who it is. Probably the same person whose contributions introduced me to Josephine Tey.

I found The Brandons very light reading indeed. I had a little trouble with all the new characters who were regularly being added but got used to them all eventually. I think I could get to like this series if I was to continue with her other 'Barsetshire' novels. For some reason this story reminded me of Evelyn Waugh's Decline and Fall a couple of times. I'm not sure if it was the humorous tone or the social setting or something else, as it's many years since I read that novel (time for a reread perhaps?). I will now have to wait till Before Lunch is returned to the library by another borrower, but it's not due till a over a week from now, so that's it for me for Angela Thirkell this month.

I've just started The Brandons.

I read Trooper to the Southern Cross this month. It doesn't seem to be typical of her work, looking at other reviews. Even allowing for the period and the voice in which the author was writing, I did find some of the national and ethnic stereotypes jarring and am surprised this hasn't been mentioned elsewhere. It made it hard for me to like the narrator who otherwise might come over as a likeable and well-meaning person.

I read three this month:

Summer Half
Pomfret Towers
The Brandons

They made excellent summer reading but after three in a row I have had enough for a while.

I did summer half and the brandons too, and loved both, but have no more now!

I finished Three Houses last night. I enjoyed it, but a bit less than her fiction, I think. It was very descriptive, nostalgic and sometimes quite lovely. She really evoked childhood well, especially the parts where she and her sib/cousins/friends were managing to play freely out of range of Nanny's watchful eyes.

Before Lunch was the ideal antidote to Stevie Smith. Definitely 'comfort reading' and a quick one, even though it looked a lot longer than it was because this was a large print edition (the only copy the library had). Written with a light, humorous touch, containing several interesting and appealing characters, and it turned out (fairly predictably) all right in the end for most, but mot quite all, of them.