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outsmartyourshelf 's review for:
The Dwelling Place
by Catherine Cookson
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
When her parents die from an illness, 16-year-old Cissie Brodie & her younger siblings are left penniless & homeless & facing the shadow of the workhouse. To prevent them being split up, Cissie searches for somewhere else to live but with no money they cannot afford anywhere, except a cave on the moor. Cold & drafty to start with, the local carpenter helps Cissie turn it into something resembling a dwelling place, if not a home.
The carpenter, Matthew, is taken with Cissie but cannot afford to help the family as business is slow. The only way he can think of helping is getting one of the older boys a job at the local mill, but to do that he would have to finally marry the miller's daughter, Rose. Just as it seems that things may work out, a confrontation between Cissie, & the son & daughter of Lord Fischel (brother Clive, & sister Isabelle) changes everything.
Now I'm well aware that this book has problematic elements but it's one of my favourite Catherine Cookson novels, along with 'The Fifteen Streets'. It's been a long time since I last read this one but it's still as compelling as ever. I first read it after watching the 1994 adaptation & there are some differences in the book, mainly that it takes place over a much longer period of time.
In this re-reading what really stood out was the unfairness of the time: the inequality between the rich & poor before the law, & between men & women. I felt for miller's daughter, Rose, this time as all she wanted was for her husband to love her yet he treated her with disdain because she wasn't beautiful & threatened to take away the money & property she inherited from her father because under the law then, the man owned everything. Grim.
The carpenter, Matthew, is taken with Cissie but cannot afford to help the family as business is slow. The only way he can think of helping is getting one of the older boys a job at the local mill, but to do that he would have to finally marry the miller's daughter, Rose. Just as it seems that things may work out, a confrontation between Cissie, & the son & daughter of Lord Fischel (brother Clive, & sister Isabelle) changes everything.
Now I'm well aware that this book has problematic elements but it's one of my favourite Catherine Cookson novels, along with 'The Fifteen Streets'. It's been a long time since I last read this one but it's still as compelling as ever. I first read it after watching the 1994 adaptation & there are some differences in the book, mainly that it takes place over a much longer period of time.
In this re-reading what really stood out was the unfairness of the time: the inequality between the rich & poor before the law, & between men & women. I felt for miller's daughter, Rose, this time as all she wanted was for her husband to love her yet he treated her with disdain because she wasn't beautiful & threatened to take away the money & property she inherited from her father because under the law then, the man owned everything. Grim.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Rape