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krobart's review against another edition
4.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2022/10/10/review-2041-the-marble-staircase/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2022/10/10/review-2041-the-marble-staircase/
thenovelbook's review against another edition
3.0
Charlotte Moley has inherited a house. It's in Nything, a seaside town distant from where she lives with her grown daughter. It's in poor repair. And it's full of an old woman's mementos. No one expects Charlotte to live there. And yet that is precisely what she decides to do.
To make a life for herself in Nything, Charlotte has to face down a lifetime's habits of meekly subsiding into the persona other people foist upon her. Her mother painted her as a pitiable widow whose only reason for living was her child. And her child, Alison, grew up into a most efficient young lady forever managing Charlotte into doing things the "right" way.
Indeed, Charlotte's periodic holidays in Italy became the flash of color in an otherwise monotone routine. It was in Italy that she met Mrs. Gamalion - the woman who would one day bequeath her the house.
As Charlotte tries to clear the literal cobwebs in her new home with the help of her new neighbors, she also dusts off her memories of Italy: Mrs. Gamalion's entourage of middle-class British ladies. The gallant Prince Charming. The snake in the grass "friend." Her present and her past intertwine in this story as she settles the question of who she really is.
This book, a previously unpublished manuscript just now seeing the light of day, is a gentle, slightly melancholic look at a life where the past looms large. Multiple characters play on themes of decay and nostalgia. It all feels very autumnal. The handling of some of the relationships is a bit vague, and yet there are delightful moments of wit and insight that remind one that yes, this is from the pen of Elizabeth Fair.
I think that fans of Elizabeth Von Arnim's "Enchanted April" or E.M. Forster's "A Room With a View" might find echoes in this book - echoes of the Italian "escape," and what it means to have your own identity.
I appreciate the publisher, Dean Street Press, for making this title at last available to the public, and for a digital review copy! It goes on sale in August.
To make a life for herself in Nything, Charlotte has to face down a lifetime's habits of meekly subsiding into the persona other people foist upon her. Her mother painted her as a pitiable widow whose only reason for living was her child. And her child, Alison, grew up into a most efficient young lady forever managing Charlotte into doing things the "right" way.
Indeed, Charlotte's periodic holidays in Italy became the flash of color in an otherwise monotone routine. It was in Italy that she met Mrs. Gamalion - the woman who would one day bequeath her the house.
As Charlotte tries to clear the literal cobwebs in her new home with the help of her new neighbors, she also dusts off her memories of Italy: Mrs. Gamalion's entourage of middle-class British ladies. The gallant Prince Charming. The snake in the grass "friend." Her present and her past intertwine in this story as she settles the question of who she really is.
This book, a previously unpublished manuscript just now seeing the light of day, is a gentle, slightly melancholic look at a life where the past looms large. Multiple characters play on themes of decay and nostalgia. It all feels very autumnal. The handling of some of the relationships is a bit vague, and yet there are delightful moments of wit and insight that remind one that yes, this is from the pen of Elizabeth Fair.
I think that fans of Elizabeth Von Arnim's "Enchanted April" or E.M. Forster's "A Room With a View" might find echoes in this book - echoes of the Italian "escape," and what it means to have your own identity.
I appreciate the publisher, Dean Street Press, for making this title at last available to the public, and for a digital review copy! It goes on sale in August.
paula_s's review against another edition
4.0
“The Marble Staircase”, de la británica Elizabeth Fair es un libro tranquilo, pausado y muy reflexivo que hará las delicias de todos aquellos que aman las descripciones y la psicología de personajes. La historia lleva dos líneas temporales, una en “presente” y la otra en un pasado no demasiado lejano.
La trama cuenta que Charlotte Moley hereda una casa en la costa de su vieja amiga y compañera de viaje, la señora Gamalion. Charlotte fue una vez una joven viuda con una hija que se vio obligada a volver a la casa de su madre para cuidarla. Tanto la señora Field como su nieta Alison tienen una personalidad muy fuerte y están muy seguras de si mismas, lo que contrasta con el temperamento tranquilo, sosegado y acomodaticio de Charlotte. Cuando vivía, la señora Field siempre era quien decidía lo que se debía hacer y manejaba a su hija según sus propios criterios. Esta manera de ser, aunque con un mayor grado de independencia, lo ha heredado Alison, quien no se lo piensa dos veces en acudir a Nything, donde su madre desea residir, un caserón antiguo, abandonado y con muchas cosas por arreglar, con la firme determinación de hacerle cambiar de idea. Pero Charlotte, ya madura, cree que Alison necesita su propio espacio y que, con el buen trabajo que tiene y su vida, no la necesita más.
La línea temporal del pasado habla de los viajes anuales a Italia que la entonces joven viuda realizaba con su amiga, la señora Gamalion, una mujer mayor con muchísima vitalidad, energía y de carácter fuerte, pero no manipulador. Junto a esta buena mujer y sus variadas y variopintas amistades y muchachas protegidas, Charlotte encuentra un resquicio de libertad en el que poder ser ella misma durante algunas semanas al año. Sin su madre, sin su hija… siendo ella quien decide sobre sí misma y para sí misma. Esta reminiscencia del pasado por parte de Charlotte es muy nostálgia, pero no tiene nada de romántico. Es muy real, las descripciones son en ambas líneas temporales minuciosas, como si todo se grabara tal cual fue y tal cual es en la memoria de la protagonista.
Una casa, un pueblo, una decadencia casi otoñal, vecinos peculiares pero amables y generosos. Una vida nueva es lo que supone Nything para Charlotte, pero para poder ser feliz tendrá que imponer sus propios deseos a los requerimientos de su hija.
En cierto sentido, esta pequeña obra es un canto a la sencillez de las pequeñas cosas, a la amistad, a la cotidianeidad, así como a la necesidad de romper con la rutina de vez en cuando.
Asimismo es una declaración al derecho a tener una segunda oportunidad en la vida, una puerta que se abre de nuevo al camino de la felicidad. En este sentido el libro tiene cierta semejanza con “Un abril encantado”, de Elizabeth von Arnim, más que a Trollope, cosa que aseveran anteriores lectores. De lo que no cabe duda es de que se trata de una lectura muy interesante que, a pesar de no maravillarme, no puedo menos que recomendar.
La trama cuenta que Charlotte Moley hereda una casa en la costa de su vieja amiga y compañera de viaje, la señora Gamalion. Charlotte fue una vez una joven viuda con una hija que se vio obligada a volver a la casa de su madre para cuidarla. Tanto la señora Field como su nieta Alison tienen una personalidad muy fuerte y están muy seguras de si mismas, lo que contrasta con el temperamento tranquilo, sosegado y acomodaticio de Charlotte. Cuando vivía, la señora Field siempre era quien decidía lo que se debía hacer y manejaba a su hija según sus propios criterios. Esta manera de ser, aunque con un mayor grado de independencia, lo ha heredado Alison, quien no se lo piensa dos veces en acudir a Nything, donde su madre desea residir, un caserón antiguo, abandonado y con muchas cosas por arreglar, con la firme determinación de hacerle cambiar de idea. Pero Charlotte, ya madura, cree que Alison necesita su propio espacio y que, con el buen trabajo que tiene y su vida, no la necesita más.
La línea temporal del pasado habla de los viajes anuales a Italia que la entonces joven viuda realizaba con su amiga, la señora Gamalion, una mujer mayor con muchísima vitalidad, energía y de carácter fuerte, pero no manipulador. Junto a esta buena mujer y sus variadas y variopintas amistades y muchachas protegidas, Charlotte encuentra un resquicio de libertad en el que poder ser ella misma durante algunas semanas al año. Sin su madre, sin su hija… siendo ella quien decide sobre sí misma y para sí misma. Esta reminiscencia del pasado por parte de Charlotte es muy nostálgia, pero no tiene nada de romántico. Es muy real, las descripciones son en ambas líneas temporales minuciosas, como si todo se grabara tal cual fue y tal cual es en la memoria de la protagonista.
Una casa, un pueblo, una decadencia casi otoñal, vecinos peculiares pero amables y generosos. Una vida nueva es lo que supone Nything para Charlotte, pero para poder ser feliz tendrá que imponer sus propios deseos a los requerimientos de su hija.
En cierto sentido, esta pequeña obra es un canto a la sencillez de las pequeñas cosas, a la amistad, a la cotidianeidad, así como a la necesidad de romper con la rutina de vez en cuando.
Asimismo es una declaración al derecho a tener una segunda oportunidad en la vida, una puerta que se abre de nuevo al camino de la felicidad. En este sentido el libro tiene cierta semejanza con “Un abril encantado”, de Elizabeth von Arnim, más que a Trollope, cosa que aseveran anteriores lectores. De lo que no cabe duda es de que se trata de una lectura muy interesante que, a pesar de no maravillarme, no puedo menos que recomendar.
robinwalter's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
This was something a bit different in my exploration of “middlebrow” books. I read this as part of Dean Street December, a month long challenge to read books published by Dean Street Press. The overwhelming majority of the books I chose were reissues, but this was a previously unpublished work, published in August 2022, only a few months before I read it. That’s why this is as much a celebration of the work that Dean Street Press (and Furrowed Middlebrow in this case) do as it is a review of the book.
A feature of Dean Street Press books, whether Golden Age Mysteries or middlebrow works, is the excellent introduction each book has. The introduction for this book, by Elizabeth Crawford, is one of the best of any DSP book I’ve read so far. As I neared the end of the book, I almost resented the introduction, because it said everything meaningful about the book, and did so much better than I possibly could.
I would describe this book as analytically poignant. Poignant, because memories of the past are fundamental to the story, and analytical because the protagonist is constantly analysing her memories and re-evaluating them. It’s positive, but thoughtful and not light, in that it is reflective and encourages reflection. It was not the gentle, sweet soufflé I’d been hoping for, being more substantial than that. It was also not humorous at all, I don’t recall laughing ever, and the only smiles it generated were wistful or, most often, in appreciation of the beautiful way in which Ms Fair wrote. A few of my favourite examples:
it’s because it is the past. You remember the sunlight, the good times, and forget the worries and the rain. Surely we all do that? But you’re still young, so there hasn’t been time yet for you to – to blot out the sadness.”
They looked both fragile and well-preserved, they reminded her of a careful arrangement of dried flowers and foliage which would fall to bits if you tried to alter it. But ‘everlasting’ in favourable circumstances.
Listening to her own voice speaking so fluently she realized she was repeating a tale learnt by heart, a trite, sad little tale about a girl called Charlotte who did not seem to be herself.
it was no good counting one’s blessings, for they like youth were transient, and would soon be later memories of a vanished summer
He could not hear her. They were separated by a glass partition, and by layers of intervening time. It was as if the young Charlotte in Florence had spoken his name and expected her voice to reach him across the years.
Those quotes highlight why the book was such a joy to read despite having more emotional depth than I’d been looking for. There were a few linguistic reminders of the age of the book too. One was in the perfectly correct and appropriate use of the word “immanent” (kudos to DSP and Furrowed Middlebrow for dodging a tempting typo there!) , another was a more pointed reminder of the need to read older books carefully, mindful of the way language changes over time. At one point, the protagonist looks at a “once upon a long ago” love interest and describes his actions as
pathetic leftover snippets of bygone charm
I had to read this phrase twice before reminding myself that 65-70 years ago when this book was written, “pathetic” had largely positive, or at least empathetic, connotations. Today it’s almost invariably pejorative. Read a phrase like that as if it were written now instead of then, and the effect is quite different from that intended.
For its thoughtful, balanced and overall optimistic look at the role of “temps perdu” in shaping our future as we age, and for being masterfully written, I’m happy to give this 4.25/5. For anyone considering this or any other “middlebrow” works by Fair and others, do yourself a favour and check the catalogues of Furrowed Middlebrow and Dean Street Press. If their editions are available to you – choose them over others. You won’t regret it.
charlielovesbooks's review
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
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