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A review by mat_tobin
The Chimneys of Green Knowe by Peter Boston, Lucy M. Boston
3.0
A historical and environmental conservationist whose focus is so often on a sense of place and the feeling we get in these spaces, Boston's second book, for me, is, ironically, one that may be stuck in the time in which it is written. Chimneys sees Tolly's second visit to Green Knowe riddled with a mystery involving the hunt for some missing jewels that are required to keep the site afloat due to maintenance costs.
As with The Children of Green Knowe, Tolly is enveloped in both present and past and Mrs. Oldknow is his guide, both historically and, perhaps, spiritually. Rather than the ghostly presences of Alexander, Toby and Linnet, this time, Toby's time-slip companions are Susan and Jacob. Susan, who is blind, lives at Green Knowe during the reign of George the 3rd and is cared for and supported by Jacob, a black child brought back by her father from the West Indies.
For me, I felt as if Boston's politics had changed from being a custodian of time and place to one with a more humanitarian message in wanting to challenge racial stereotypes of the time. Jacob is central to the text and, first published in 1958, would have made for a rare character: a black page in the start of the 19th century brought to life in the middle of the twentieth. He is also strong, defiant when needed to be and someone who does more good for Susan than anyone else.
What Boston does in challenging stereotypes around his character is possibly brave and important for its time but now it reads as clumsy and awkward, as does her representation of travelers who come across as part Romany and part Irish tinker.
I was also sad to see that Tolly's presence was more as a tool for supporting Mrs. Oldknow in recounting Jacob and Susan's story rather than seeing Tolly 'grow' and learn from the house.
As with The Children of Green Knowe, Tolly is enveloped in both present and past and Mrs. Oldknow is his guide, both historically and, perhaps, spiritually. Rather than the ghostly presences of Alexander, Toby and Linnet, this time, Toby's time-slip companions are Susan and Jacob. Susan, who is blind, lives at Green Knowe during the reign of George the 3rd and is cared for and supported by Jacob, a black child brought back by her father from the West Indies.
For me, I felt as if Boston's politics had changed from being a custodian of time and place to one with a more humanitarian message in wanting to challenge racial stereotypes of the time. Jacob is central to the text and, first published in 1958, would have made for a rare character: a black page in the start of the 19th century brought to life in the middle of the twentieth. He is also strong, defiant when needed to be and someone who does more good for Susan than anyone else.
What Boston does in challenging stereotypes around his character is possibly brave and important for its time but now it reads as clumsy and awkward, as does her representation of travelers who come across as part Romany and part Irish tinker.
I was also sad to see that Tolly's presence was more as a tool for supporting Mrs. Oldknow in recounting Jacob and Susan's story rather than seeing Tolly 'grow' and learn from the house.