Chatterton Square

Product Information

The book is set in the lead-up to the Munich Agreement in 1938 when Chamberlain was advocating for appeasement. Yes, the after-effects of the war are very much present throughout the novel, especially in Rosamund’s thoughts. Mr Blackett is an astonishingly real creation: a monster who is never openly cruel or even vindictive. There is less levity than some of her others (no character leaps off the page like the lovable Miss Mole), and it perhaps requires more commitment from a reader than some.

Rosamund Fraser heads up the family of five children – her husband is believed by some to be dead, but actually she is separated from him. I was surprised by this book, as I didn't really know anything about EH Young and expected it to be fairly frivolous. On the other hand I gained a fascinating insight into how married women's roles were perceived before the war and the kind of desperation many of them must have been sentenced to. A snap shot in time of society on the brink of change, bringing us closer to a time in history that has shaped us all for ever. The 'E H Young Prize for Greek Thought' was an annual essay prize awarded in her memory at Bristol Grammar School.Rosamund’s marital status, and hence her freedom to marry Piers Lindsay, remains somewhat open – as does the nature of the Blackett’s marriage when Bertha finally bows to the pressure inflicted by her husband.

I am reading through less known British women authors who wrote in the first half of the 20th Century and this is my first E. As the story progresses, the female members of the Blackett family develop increasingly close friendships with the Frasers much to Mr B's consternation.Nearly half way through but I'm abandoning it for now as I'm struggling to engage with the characters.

Initially, Miss Spanner was presented as a lonely spinster who was brought up by very strict parents whose goal it was to raise a person who would take care of them in their old age and be exactly like them (she was allowed very little freedom to do or to think as she pleased) — the father scared a potential suitor of Miss Spanner’s away from the house. Both women are in unhappy marriages – Rosamund’s husband has left her and she is in love with Piers Lindsay; Bertha’s husband is a conceited, selfish man.What he says goes, he is a vile, narcissistic obtuse individual who I don't think really likes women but thinks that all women fancy him! It is not one for speed-reading – but there is an awful lot to appreciate, and slow, attentive reading is rewarded. I’ll finish with a final quote, one that captures something of the sadness of this couple’s situation. But whilst he struts in the background, allegiances form between Rosamund and Bertha and their children, bringing changes to Chatterton Square which, in the months leading up to the Second World War, are intensified by the certainty that nothing can be taken for granted. So when I connected with the fact that British Library Publishing were re-releasing a series of books from 1910 through to 1940 with just this premise in mind, I knew I wanted to be involved.

I read Chatterton Square before this beautiful new edition came out, (in a green VMC) but I have this edition as well for when I want to re-read it. Miss Spanner, in turn, starts to become friendly with Rhoda, who sneaks over illicitly to borrow books. His three daughters Flora, Rhoda and Mary are repressed and his long suffering wife Bertha is trapped in a marriage she has regretted since her honeymoon in Florence. I wasn't sure when I started this if I was going to like it but by the time I had got half way through it I was really enjoying it.Disliked by her husband, Piers’ presence and growing relationship with Rosamund Fraser brings years of Bertha’s repressed anger and frustration to the surface. It’s rare to find this degree of depth and complexity in the creation of four key characters in the same book – Rosamund, Mrs Blackett, Miss Spanner and Mr Blackett (perhaps the most flawed of them all). This family transfixed me, and is the triumph of the novel in my opinion, but we should turn our attention to the other family.