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A review by ashleylm
Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann
4.0
But a very high four. I wavered close to 5, but then worried that perhaps Joanna Lumley's excellent delivery (I listened via Audible) might have nudged it up a bit.
There was a time when stuff had to happen for people to bother writing about it: murdered Danish kings, ordinary girls marrying fabulously wealthy men, foundlings reunited with long-lost family members, Chancery court cases and spontaneous combustion. Eventually some writers dabbled in more ordinary concerns (especially the French, I hear) ... somebody overspends, or has an unhappy marriage. Finally we have those daring folk in the earliest 20th century who decided even if nothing in particular happens, it's still worth writing about. This is one of those books.
It's still a lovely, gratifying read, and I say that as someone who thrills to the cruel, sarcastic melodrama of a Vanity Fair, or the hilarious twists and turns of a To Say Nothing of the Dog--even I can appreciate this beautifully-written account of, basically, one day and one (later) evening. Not much happens, but the very little that does is splendidly written, with an absolute precision of perfect details and nuances to make each character seem just exactly as if you were to meet them in life.
Further, the author is a bit wiser and cleverer than her characters. I think this ought to be a prerequisite to publication--so many books are ruined when average thinkers with mediocre taste start writing about the most Amazing! Brilliant! Wonderful! characters ever, but they can't make them come off. There's a reason it's often suggested to "write what you know."
Anyhow, I digress. This is a perfectly lovely, charming book, beautifully written. It will not excite, but it will comfort (it's a perfect read after a death, say, when you want to escape but in the other direction from where escapist fiction normally takes you).
In case you're wondering (because the first part takes up quite a bit of time) yes, the characters do get to waltz in the second half. And it turns out that prior to dance clubs, very much the same sort of thing was held in grand homes from time to time, with much the same environment and only slightly different rules (you ask people to dance ahead of time, and book which song in your matching cards). The behaviour may have changed a bit since then, but people are people, and the writing's as fresh as if it were written yesterday.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
There was a time when stuff had to happen for people to bother writing about it: murdered Danish kings, ordinary girls marrying fabulously wealthy men, foundlings reunited with long-lost family members, Chancery court cases and spontaneous combustion. Eventually some writers dabbled in more ordinary concerns (especially the French, I hear) ... somebody overspends, or has an unhappy marriage. Finally we have those daring folk in the earliest 20th century who decided even if nothing in particular happens, it's still worth writing about. This is one of those books.
It's still a lovely, gratifying read, and I say that as someone who thrills to the cruel, sarcastic melodrama of a Vanity Fair, or the hilarious twists and turns of a To Say Nothing of the Dog--even I can appreciate this beautifully-written account of, basically, one day and one (later) evening. Not much happens, but the very little that does is splendidly written, with an absolute precision of perfect details and nuances to make each character seem just exactly as if you were to meet them in life.
Further, the author is a bit wiser and cleverer than her characters. I think this ought to be a prerequisite to publication--so many books are ruined when average thinkers with mediocre taste start writing about the most Amazing! Brilliant! Wonderful! characters ever, but they can't make them come off. There's a reason it's often suggested to "write what you know."
Anyhow, I digress. This is a perfectly lovely, charming book, beautifully written. It will not excite, but it will comfort (it's a perfect read after a death, say, when you want to escape but in the other direction from where escapist fiction normally takes you).
In case you're wondering (because the first part takes up quite a bit of time) yes, the characters do get to waltz in the second half. And it turns out that prior to dance clubs, very much the same sort of thing was held in grand homes from time to time, with much the same environment and only slightly different rules (you ask people to dance ahead of time, and book which song in your matching cards). The behaviour may have changed a bit since then, but people are people, and the writing's as fresh as if it were written yesterday.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).