Penelope Lively, Helen Hull, boarding houses and isolation – welcome to episode 109!
In the first half of this episode, Rachel and I compare boarding houses novels and novels where people live alone – up to and including complete isolation. The blog post by Jacqui that I mentioned is on her blog.
In the second half, we pit two novels set during heatwaves against each other – Heat Wave by Penelope Lively and Heat Lightning by Helen Hull. It was hot when I read them, even though it definitely isn’t now.
Do get in touch at teaorbooks[at]gmail.com with suggestions or questions. You can listen above, on Spotify, wherever you get podcasts. And you can support the podcast and get bonus content (and the podcast a couple of days early) through Patreon.
The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
The Flowering Thorn by Margery Sharp
Four Gardens by Margery Sharp
How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn
Hilary Mantel
Speedy Death by Gladys Mitchell
Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley
The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley
The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark
Barbara Pym
Paying Guests by E.F. Benson
The Slaves of Solitude by Patrick Hamilton
Of Love and Hunger by Julian McLaren-Ross
House of Dolls by Barbara Comyns
School for Love by Olivia Manning
The Boarding House by William Trevor
The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks
The Magnificent Spinster by May Sarton
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Gentleman Overboard by Herbert Clyde Lewis
The Wall by Marlen Haushofer
The Scapegoat by Daphne du Maurier
Begin Again by Ursula Orange
Living Alone by Stella Benson
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne by Brian Moore
Murder Underground by Mavis Doriel Hay
Yellow by Janni Visman
Summer by Ali Smith
Late and Soon by E.M. Delafield
A Helping Hand by Celia Dale
The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson
Even before I listen to this episode, you mention so many books that I like… Maybe I am a closet introvert after all!
Excellent! It was a fun one
Thank you both for another wonderfully insightful and inspiring discussion. I like Rachel’s comment about the quality of Dickens’ writing. I agree Trollope’ is far superior. I enjoyed Heat Wave (but I did not like the way it ended) and hope to read Heat Lightning soon.
I identify with Simon’s saying that he felt at home in novels from the first half of the 20th century. My current favourite books all seem to be from that period. I don’t like violence or blaspheming or novels that are very experimental (although there are always exceptions) and often I find the pace of contemporary writing seems too fast, so the characters cannot be as well developed.
I look forward to the next episode. Have you decided the books to compare yet?
Thanks Sarah! Hopefully if you get right to the end of the episode, you’ll hear the two books mentioned – A Helping Hand by Celia Dale and The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson. And that’s also where you’ll hear that you won the copy of Late and Soon! Please do send over your address to teaorbooks[at]gmail.com :)
Girls of Slender Means!! Yes!
Wow, this sounds like a brilliant episode, Simon! There are so many great books in your list. I’ll be lining it up on my podcast app forthwith!
Great episode ! A far cry from Kensington by Muriel Spark also features a deeply delicious boarding house.
I may have said this before, but have you read Lissa Evans Old Baggage and V for Victory? They are recent publications, set before and after WWII around suffrage issues. V for Victory, post war, is set in a boarding house and the relationships between the residents drives the plot. I think you’d like it!
An interesting episode, Simon, and hurrah for 1929 – so looking forward to it, and I may have to re-read the Mitchell myself!! :D
Thank you for the episode, Rachel and Simon. I’m a longtime listener, and I’ve found a lot of great older books through your podcast.
Rachel, I was wondering if you could clarify something about one type of book you said you don’t like to read because these books “upset you,” “get you annoyed,” etc. You said you don’t want to make time for older British books written about women, Jewish people, racial groups, and even disabled people which contain stereotypical, sexist, racist, antisemitic, or ableist views/portraits?
Do you think a lot of British fiction from the 1920s-30s is like that? Or were you referring mostly to 19th century fiction? I wondered if you could provide me with some examples of titles . . . just so I’m clear on what you’re talking about.
Thank you so much.
Hi Debra,
Thanks so much for your comment.
Just to clarify – I didn’t say (or didn’t mean to say!) I don’t like to read books ABOUT those things. I meant I don’t like coming across depictions in books in which those groups of people are depicted in a discriminatory way.
I am loathe to make generalisations as obviously we’re talking about a huge swathe of literature. That being said, I do find a lot of middlebrow fiction written by middle and upper class women in the early to mid twentieth century will feature some kind of discriminatory comments towards groups of society without any sense that such views are inappropriate. There is a sense of entitlement and snobbery about many of these writers too, which can be grating, particularly in their depictions of the lower classes. Examples I can think of off the top of my head are Stella Gibbons and Angela Thirkell, though there are many more. It’s not just racism, it will often also be class snobbery – depictions of working class people are often dreadful and patronising. It doesn’t always stop me reading these authors, but it does make me a bit more wary of them.
They are all products of their times of course, but it doesn’t make it any less unpleasant to read.
Nineteenth century fiction is obviously littered with sexism, racism and so on. Far too many examples for me to even begin! But it doesn’t stop me reading it – I just go in knowing I’m probably going to come across things that will be either upsetting or deeply annoying – usually depictions of helpless women!
Hope that answers your question! :)
Thank you so much for your response, Rachel. You’ve definitely clarified your position for me. I appreciate you taking the time to give me such a full answer.
Looking forward to the next episode of Tea or Books.
My most recent early 20th century reads included:
The Fortnight in September by R.C. Sherriff (and I’ve got his play on order from my library)
The Feast, by Margaret Kennedy, and
Business As Usual, by Jane Oliver.
Simon: I have read Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker both in print and on audio . . . on audio at least twice. Loved it, so thank you!
Oh wonderful news about Miss H! I have the audiobook downloaded myself, though haven’t listened yet – that might be my next reread of it.