Of course readers in 1947 would know exactly who and what were being referred to but I found it a little confusing. All the characters the author approves of share the same views (a kind of little Englander attitude full of complacent certainty) and speak in the same voice - obliquely but not interestingly oblique, just infuriatingly unspecific. Among other things, this book presents a cool, detached study of one of the most unfortunate marriages in the history of marriage. I am reading through less known British women authors who wrote in the first half of the 20th Century and this is my first E. It shows up life for what it is: memories, hopes, fears and illusions strung up like beads on a necklace.

Indeed there is a clear sense that her characters need and want relationships, and the beginnings of love are celebrated. For Rosamund Fraser who has two sons of an age to fight, and for Bertha Blackett who is married to a man determined to ignore the danger, the situation is indeed a terrible one. Mr Blackett is brilliantly drawn and violently unlikeable, so much so that I became desperate for Mrs Blackett to hit him on the head with a fire iron or for a bomb to fall on his head or at the very least to be run over by a bus. Nearly half way through but I'm abandoning it for now as I'm struggling to engage with the characters.Nevertheless this is a small criticism compared to the delight of seeing these wonderfully realistic people going about their lives in the Square, being mostly kind and happy despite the shadows hanging over them. Blackett is as pompous and ridiculous as any character in Dickens, and it is a true delight to watch his world unravel around him, without his understanding or knowing why. And then there was a World War I veteran, Piers Lindsay, who had a facial disfigurement from a war wound who was a second cousin of Bertha. H. Young novel I bought, but it’s now actually the fourth one that I’ve read – Miss Mole, William, and The Misses Mallett being on my have-now-read list, with William finding its way to the 50 Books You Must Read But May Not Have Heard About list. It feels like an ominous overtone and the book even ends on this overtone since it ends with "peace in our time" and we, the readers, know that peace won't last.

As you say, you’re right there with them, immersed in their lives – replete with all the various hopes and challenges.Some moments in history are easily overlooked, and it’s one of these on which Young focuses – the period before the outbreak of the Second World War when the nation waited to know if its fate was war or peace. It's not really a plot driven novel but more about the characters and their day to day lives during a time of uncertainty. I'm so happy that I finally finished this and am so looking forward to our discussion because I'm sure everyone will have a LOT of opinions about it! Both women are in unhappy marriages – Rosamund’s husband has left her and she is in love with Piers Lindsay; Bertha’s husband is a conceited, selfish man.

The setting is Upper Radstowe – the setting of the majority of E H Young’s novels, a thinly disguised Clifton – the genteel, prosperous suburb of Bristol where she herself lived for a time. I’ve only read three so far – Chatterton, Miss Mole and Jenny Wren — all excellent, with Chatterton leading the pack. Still although fashion has deserted this small corner of Upper Radstowe, these are houses with small gardens, basement kitchens and some – like the Frasers – have balconies. Even though she has lost interest in James by this point, Flora cannot help but feel envious of her sister’s connection with him due to their mutual love of the outdoors.

H. Young wrote with ironic tenderness — an irony more revealing because of the tenderness — about the rather comfortably off English middle classes. The unlikeable character of the neighbour, Mr Blackett, is a portrayal of human self-perception (take it in whatever degree you choose!

Throughout 1938, the summer of appeasement, when the possibility of war was stalking the country we are introduced to the Frasers and the Blacketts. What he says goes, he is a vile, narcissistic obtuse individual who I don't think really likes women but thinks that all women fancy him! It was first published in 1947 with World War II and its toll on Britain's young men, as well as on those who remained behind, still fresh and painful. It's much more serious than the witty Miss Mole and I still felt the time period was more late Victorian - probably because of Mr.

Young shows three of the options open to women at the time (this was , written in 1947): unhappily married, separated and unmarried. Mr Blackett is frustrated and confused by Rhoda, but Bertha Blackett actively dislikes her daughter Flora – while still loving her.