The Power of a Compelling Story
'Someone at a Distance' is a novel I found utterly compelling from the very first line. Dorothy Whipple draws the reader in with such assurance yet the style of her prose is both understated and unpretentious. At the same time, one comes upon certain unexpectedly evocative passages which belie the straightforwardness of the novel as a whole. I was particularly struck by the following:
'If we could be seen thinking, we would show blown bright one moment, dark the next, like embers; subject to every passing word and thought of our own or other people's, mostly other people's.' (p.181)
How elegant and perceptive! I perceived some resemblances with another favourite novelist of that period, Elizabeth Bowen. Though these writers depart in style, they share a thematic preoccupation with the effect of environment on state of mind, the concept of home and the fragility of this idea. Similar existential concerns run through this novel, subdued at first though felt more palpably with the dispossession of Ellen and her children. The description of a home following the death or departure of the main resident as 'dead' chimes with Bowen's rendering of domestic space in her work.
The age-old art of story-telling is often underestimated these days when narrative high-jinks are the vogue. Whipple reminds one of the pleasure of complete immersion in a story and within an unfamiliar world which is simultaneously familiar in many ways. The Norths are, above all, an ordinary family and Ellen is an ordinary mother. Having finished the novel (within the space of a day and a half, I might add), I felt at such a loss that I immediately procured a copy of 'They Knew Mr. Knight'. This impulsiveness is testament to Whipple's skill as a storyteller and her power to move. This novel was, in all sincerity, a pleasure.
Read More Dorothy Whipple
This has to be one of the most quietly brilliant novels I've read in a long time.
It tells the story of the most perfect happy family destroyed by one foolish mistake and the arts of a young French woman. It's simply heart-breaking and can make the reader, by turns, fume with anger and cry with sadness!
Dorothy Whipple's writing is without embellishments but is able to grip the reader until the very end. Louise releases a Pandora's Box full of evil and pain upon the happy North family...but at the bottom of the box was of course...hope. This is what Whipple leaves us with and it's perfect.
Wife vs Young Temptress
Continuing with my run of Persephone titles (following the delightful Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day), Someone at a Distance lives up to the high standard I have come to expect from Persephone. Dorothy Whipple puts a unique spin on the all too familiar tale of a husband going off with a younger woman - leaving his wife and children to fend for themselves. Vividly imagined, the characters' inner dialogues and outward behaviour as they react to the events unfolding around them are both realistic and insightful. The wife's response, as she struggles to cope and find new accomodation and work, is especially moving.
Marriage turned upside down
Dorothy Whipple is yet another unjustly forgotten woman writer of the 40s and 50s. Someone at a distance is the story of an ordinary marriage. Ellen is a little complacent, a little smug about the happiness of her life and the security of her relationship with her husband, Avery. Avery is just drifting along in his comfortable job and familiar home life. The catalyst for change and tragedy in the novel is a discontented Frenchwoman Louise, who arrives as a companion to Avery's mother and insinuates herself into the family. In one memorable scene, Avery feels he is being engulfed by Louise's strong perfume, a wonderful metaphor for her effect on his life. He is too weak to fight off the effects of the perfume, and ultimately, he is too weak to fight off the consequences of his dalliance with Louise. Ellen emerges as a much stronger, more sympathetic character as she deals with the aftermath of Avery's desertion- dealing with gossips, sympathetic yet shocked relatives, and discovering a new place for herself in the changed world she inhabits. This is a beautifully written book with a strong moral sense and the ending is full of hope. Persephone have also republished Dorothy Whipple's They knew Mr Knight. If you enjoy well-written, absorbing novels with believable characters, I can't recommend Whipple's work too highly.
