A review by robinwalter
The Marble Staircase by Elizabeth Fair

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 The overwhelming majority of the books I chose were reissues, but this was a previously unpublished work, published in August 2022, only a few months before I read it.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.