Hugh WalpoleRecensioni

Pretty standard doppelganger/identity absorption type story, though the seaside setting, characters, and overt homoeroticism really pushed it from a 3 star read to a 4 star one for me. Also any story that has a Jekyll/Hyde body changing moment or two is always gonna get my heart racing.

Walpole arranged these pieces himself and sorted them into six Sections: 1, Some Children, 2, Men and Women, 3. Some Incidents, 4. London, 5. Country Places, and 6. Russia. Of these Section 1 was my favourite. He is a master of the descriptive and I found myself playing with the kids and knowing the people and places he described quite well.

A short horror story set during Christmas time. Is the second wife the cause of all the marital troubles, or can it be blamed on an apparition of the first wife? Read or listen to the story and reach your own conclusion.½

Judith Paris is the second volume in the family chronicle of the Herries family, another big book of well over 600 pages. However, this isn't felt as the book reads swiftly. The second volume is not as impressive as the Sturm-und-Drang character of the first volume, but still a major, broad-sweeping story. It reads seemingly so fast because of the tremendous pace of the story. Almost every chapter represents a jump in time of about ten years.

The opening chapter is surprisingly well able to bring back the memories of Volume One, which I read more than 10 years ago. It opens with a classical King's drama of a newly born baby in a castle surrounded by persished family. Subsequent chapters tell of her maturing, and her tempestuous marriage to the wild George Paris, a story that remotely mirrors that of her father, who is a presence looming over the first half of the book.

The second part of the book also introduces and connects to the various other family members and branches of the Herries family, which is a bit confusing, because it wasn't part of the first volume. As I was reading an ebook, the family tree diagram at the back of the book wasn't clear, but would have been very useful.

While the first volume, Rogue Herries was set against the historical backdrop of the Jacobite succession, particularly the 'Old Pretender', the second volume introduces romance in the form of various references to the Romantic poets Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, as part of the story is set in the Lake District, and later, more dramatically, reflects how the French Revolution was felt across the Channel.

The sweep of the story, the fascinating backdrop and the magnificent writing style of Hugh Walpole make Judith Paris a very interesting historic novel to pick up.

I found this novel to be bitingly funny while also drawing a devastating portrait of life in a closed community where people recognize they are being very petty, but cannot bring themselves to rise above their own self-important impulses. I read this shortly after reading Antonia White's Frost in May which is about a girlhood spent in a Catholic boarding school and the similarities are striking. People can be so mean-spirited and those, like Mr. Traill, who are not mean-spirited come across as naive and perhaps not too bright. I think the ending actually works well. All along, Mr. Perrin is shown to have a positive motivation, but he cannot communicate easily with others and so he feels himself to be an outsider. His final action reveals the truth of his character and fits well with what we have learned about him earlier. Walpole's description of the landscape also is very well done.

This collection really grew on me. Walpole touched some places with me where I felt he must understand just how I feel. Some of the stories were truly frightening while others were just melancholy or quietly joyful. All were well written and captivating and not all of the same character, quite a variety in the end. A very good read.

Final volume of the "Jeremy" series, set entirely at his boarding school, Crale.
I preferred the two earlier volumes: there's an awful lot of rugby and squabbles, "honour of the House" and incipent schoolboy crushes.
The child Jeremy we met in previous books- his dog, learning how the world works, the injustices...is now teetering on manhood....indeed, we get hints of his future career as a rugby player, that he goes to fight in France.....

This is the second book in the Jeremy series. Here, Jeremy is at a preparatory school; the story alternates between the challenges of that world with the holidays- returning to the family we met in Vol 1- his rather distant vicar father, mother...and the rather disliked Aunt Amy; and likeable failed artist Uncle Samuel, who understands Jeremy best of all. And- of course- the three sisters and Hamlet the dog, who now has long spells away from his master.
Very well written stories.

Hugh Walpole’s All Souls’ Night: A Book of Stories, is a fine collection of stylish thought-provoking tales. Most have supernatural elements, and those with only the faintest hint of the supernatural still offer a healthy dose of chills. Walpole is well attuned to the psychological hindrances - shyness, fear, insecurity, etc. - that limit personal growth and fulfillment, stifle relationships, and ultimately dictate the fate of those afflicted. And Walpole exhibits a curious affinity for unemotional characters who repress incredibly strong emotions: those conflicted souls who secretly love another or secretly loathe another or endlessly tamp down their deep unhappiness but can never quite express their true feeling. One can surmise that the author himself had difficulty bringing those sort of emotions to the surface. The theme of unquenched desire is also prevalent among these stories: intense longing for someone, for friendship, or for some other life entirely. The occasional homoerotic undercurrents reflect the repression that Walpole assuredly experienced as a gay man in early 20th century England. Note: Be advised that John Howard’s introduction contains spoilers for a couple of the stories, so one may wish to read that last.

The Whistle- The adoption of a handsome Alsatian dog seems to fill a void for Blake, the taciturn chauffeur. But their close relationship seems to unsettle those around them.

The Silver Mask - The benevolent Sonia Herries performs an act of kindness for a man in need, and unfortunate consequences ensue.

The Staircase - An anthropomorphic house known as Candil Place sees all, knows all, and has its figurative fingers on the pulse of its inhabitants. A subtle foreshadowing gives away the climax, but it still doesn’t spoil this little gem, a winning variation on the haunted house story.

A Carnation for an Old Man - In this gentle, touching story, an elderly man discovers a new world for himself during a trip to Seville.

Tarnhelm; or The Death of My Uncle Robert - Decades after witnessing that harrowing titular event as a child, the narrator recounts the vivid details. This is one of Walpole’s often anthologized stories, which packs a mighty punch, though the climax is marred a bit by a fairly obvious giveaway early on.

Mr. Oddy - A chance meeting in a bookshop results in a growing friendship between Tommy Brown, an aspiring young writer and an elderly gentleman who seems vaguely familiar to him. A pleasant story, but nothing remotely supernatural here.

Seashore Macabre: A Moment’s Experience - The narrator relates a bizarre incident from his childhood, which has haunted him since.

Lilac - Frederick Anstey encounters a host of dueling omens as he anxiously awaits word from the love of his life whether she will accept his proposal of marriage.

The Oldest Talland - Through a chance occurrence, the effervescent Mrs. Comber stops by the residence of the elderly Mrs. Talland, the bitter matriarch of that clan, feared and reviled by all - including the rest of the Tallands. An unpredictable family upheaval ensues.

The Little Ghost - A married man, deeply affected by the loss of a close friend, seeks solitude to grieve, and then accepts an offer to stay with the Baldwins, a family teeming with children. Here he finds solace from an unexpected source. An touching story of the joy of companionship.

Mrs. Lunt - Another effective and atmospheric ghost story told with great flair.

Sentimental But True - A sublimely heartwarming and heartbreaking story of Mrs. Comber and the odd little dog that befriends her.

Portrait in Shadow - Though well-intentioned, a decision born of youthful inexperience has devastating, life-altering consequences for all concerned parties. A thought-provoking story brimming with all of Walpole’s signature elements.

The Snow - The second Mrs. Ryder, she the young one with the uncontrollable temper, has has frightening visions of an old gray woman stalking her. And she hears a voice which seems to say “I warned you. This is for the last time…” Elinor, the first Mrs. Ryder, did always say she would watch over Herbert until he rejoined her in the next world. A classic ghost story.

The Ruby Glass - This slice of childhood life is a little comic gem that stands out from the rest in this anthology for its completely different tone. The wonderfully sardonic Jean Shepherd may well have drawn inspiration from this story of Jeremy and his Poor Cousin Jane.

Spanish Dusk - A dreamlike and richly atmospheric story of a young man’s first romantic encounter.

Written just after WW1 and set in the much cosier world of some 30 years before.
In the cathedral city of Polchester lives 8 year old Jeremy, with his sisters, Nurse, rector father, placid mother and a handful of other relatives (and Hamlet the dog). Covering a year in his life- from his birthday up to the day he's about to set off for boarding school- Jeremy starts to move from childhood to independence; he starts to realise stuff about the adut world and Life through his everyday adventures.
"The moment was one of a sequence that had come to him during the year-....All these moments had been something more than merely themselves, had had something behind them or inside them for which simply they stood as words for pictures. He analyzed, of course, nothing, being a perfectly healthy small boy, but if afterwards he looked back these were the moments that he saw as one sees stations on a journey. One day he would know for what they stood."

Quite an enchanting little book.½

This is the fourth and final novel in the main series of the author's Herries Chronicles, following the lives of the Herries family in the Lake District in the late 19th century and early 20th century, almost up to the time of the book's publication in the 1930s. The book begins with the death of the family's matriarch and heroine of the previous two novels, Judith Paris on her hundredth birthday in 1874. Her old rival Walter passes a few years later and the family rivalries descend to the younger generations, though these rivalries seem much less dramatic and vital than earlier ones. Vanessa, daughter of Judith's son Adam, is of course the heroine, shunned by most of the family, and loves her relation Benjie, who is similarly rejected by his kin. The relationship between these two is at the heart of the novel and they have an illegitimate daughter Sally. Apart from these characters, though, I found much of the novel more commonplace than its predecessors, and I thought it lost wind after Vanessa's death at the end of part 4 (of 5). However, the narrative still gave a sense of a strong flow of passing events and political and social changes, and beautiful descriptions of the Lake District countryside. I am sorry this series has ended.

This is the third novel in the main series of the author's Herries Chronicles, following the lives of the various branches of the Herries family in the Lake District in the 19th century. The focus here is the bitter feud between the two branches of the family headed by Judith Paris and Walter Herries, epitomised by the construction by the latter of the eponymous house, on high ground overlooking the house of Judith's branch of the family. Like its predecessor, this gives a wonderful feel for the ebb and flow of the lives and generations in the beautiful and majestic setting of the Lakes, where I am currently on holiday for the fourth consecutive year. The action of the novel takes place over a period of just over half a century, with a lot of change in the world outside, though this doesn't come across as clearly in affecting the lives of the characters as the political and economic changes in the previous volume (though Judith's son Adam joins the Chartists). These are wonderful novels, full of colourful characters and interesting incidents, and I look forward to the final volume on my next holiday here next year.½

All Souls' Night is an excellent collection of stories, originally published back in the 1930's. I listened to the audio version, narrated by the outstanding Matt Godfrey.

Not all of these tales were dark fiction or ghost stories, but-of course, those were my favorites. The ones that I enjoyed the most were found right at the beginning, namely:

Whistle I love tales about dogs and people that don't care for them. Dogs always know.

The Silver Mask Nothing outright horrific, really, but most definitely unsettling and surprising.

The Staircase Easily my favorite story in this collection. Featuring extremely keen insights into human behavior, (that stand up, even to this day), as viewed and acted upon, by the house itself. This one blew me away.

Lastly:

Lilac I thought this was going to be one kind of story, but it didn't go the way I thought it would at all.

As I said above, I listened to the audio of this book and I thought the narrator did a great job of bringing these tales alive. I could easily picture everything going on and the English accent was appropriate for the time and age in which the stories were set.

Overall, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. If you decide to try it out, don't expect all of the stories to be macabre, or to involve the supernatural. These tales vary widely, but all of them feature startling insights into the nature of humanity, and they are still true today. Highly recommended, especially the audio version!

You can get your copy here: All Souls' Night (Valancourt 20th Century Classics)

*I was provided this audio book free of charge from the narrator, (through Audio Boom!) in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it. Thanks to you both for the opportunity!*

Two volumes of a 3-volume series about the life of Jeremy. (I have volume 1 somewhere but couldn't find it). Generally I dislike books written from the perspective of children, but it must be said this was very well done. In «Jeremy and Hamlet» the story is about 8-year old Jeremy while in volume 3, «Jeremy at Crale» we follow his life at boarding school of the type of Harrow or Dragon School, perhaps aged 14. Hugh Walpole was the most successful novelist of the turn of the 19-to-20th century. His novels reflect life of a past era that defines Englishness. As Paul Watkins «Stand before your God» shows descriptions of life at English boarding schools are almost timeless. «Jeremy and Hamlet» describes the hallowed days of the golden age of youth, which apart from some details we might also find nearly of any time. Walpole is now mostly forgotten and his books are out of print, but these older editions are still very readable.

Two volumes of a 3-volume series about the life of Jeremy. (I have volume 1 somewhere but couldn't find it). Generally I dislike books written from the perspective of children, but it must be said this was very well done. In «Jeremy and Hamlet» the story is about 8-year old Jeremy while in volume 3, «Jeremy at Crale» we follow his life at boarding school of the type of Harrow or Dragon School, perhaps aged 14. Hugh Walpole was the most successful novelist of the turn of the 19-to-20th century. His novels reflect life of a past era that defines Englishness. As Paul Watkins «Stand before your God» shows descriptions of life at English boarding schools are almost timeless. «Jeremy and Hamlet» describes the hallowed days of the golden age of youth, which apart from some details we might also find nearly of any time. Walpole is now mostly forgotten and his books are out of print, but these older editions are still very readable.½

Apart from its soporific qualities, I really don't know what possessed me to read this book! I was browsing at the library when my eye fell upon the spines of the Herries Chronicles, each one of them 4cm wide — which meant that the author's name was in very large font and I recognised it as Hugh Walpole, the author so wickedly lampooned in Somerset Maugham's Cakes and Ale (which I'd read recently courtesy of the 1930s Club). So it's not as if I didn't know what I was in for, all 736 pages of it... Yet the book was widely praised. Walpole was a best-selling author in his day (and he was astonishingly prolific).

For me, the problem is that the characterisation is set in stone. Francis Herries is proud, violent, impetuous and spectacularly stubborn when he's young, and he's just the same when he's old. He takes offence at his brother's criticism of his decision to live in Borrowdale and never crosses the threshold again. The love of his life, Mirabell is devastated by the death of her gorgeous young lover Harry, and she never gets over it. David, Frances Herries' son (by his long suffering but *surprise!* devoted wife Margaret who conveniently dies when she's in the way of the plot), takes a childhood dislike to a cousin and is still nursing this grudge in his forties, to the dismay of his wife who *surprise!* gently rebukes him for it and *surprise!* he takes no notice. Nobody changes, nobody grows in maturity or wisdom.

The setting is the Lake District, so there are dramatic views and dreary fogs, and the story begins with the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745 which probably meant a lot more to British readers of the 1930s than it does to those of us with a weak grasp of British history and its succession squabbles.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2019/11/29/rogue-herries-the-herries-chronicles-1-by-hu...

This is the follow up to the author's Rogue Herries, the first in the main series of his Herries Chronicles, following the lives of the Herries family in the Lake District during the 18th and 19th centuries. The eponymous character here is Rogue's daughter by the lover of his old age, called Paris in later life as she marries a Frenchman Georges. As before, this novel evokes a wonderful sense of the ebb and flow of life in the Lake District (the action is mostly around Derwentwater and Skiddaw), and how the little communities, and the towns of Kendal and Keswick adapt to change at the turn of the 19th century, with industrial revolution transforming the economy, and the spectre of the French Revolution scaring the upper classes, with it and Napoleon's expansionism being seen by the rural communities as a threat to their peaceful way of life. The main struggles are within and between the branches of the Herries family, with Judith, born out of wedlock and later with a son Adam similarly born, having uneasy relationships with all sides and struggling to assert her independence. I thought this wasn't quite as good as Rogue Herries, lacking some of the same narrative drive, but still a very good read while holidaying in this wonderful part of the country. Some famous historical personalities appear briefly, including Wellington, Wordsworth, Coleridge and Robert Southey.

The language is quite flowery but surprisingly engaging. Atmosphere is almost another character.

I must admit that reading the 500 pages of this book was a real struggle and perhaps I shouldn't have persisted. Hugh Walpole was considered the world's foremost author in his day, and hence this novel was included in the Modern Library series. I did enjoy reading Rogue Herries a few years ago, a grand novel in it's day groping back to the great Victorian novellistic tradition creating a character as passionate and wild as Heathcliff, but Fortitude is not of that stature and best be forgotten.½

This is the first novel in the Herries Chronicles, a series of novels set in the Lake District, which I have read during my first week on holiday there, after reading the two sequels shortly beforehand. This one has a more organic feel than the prequels, as it follows in the main the life of the title character, Francis Herries (grandson to the Robert of Katherine Christian), and that of his son David. Set entirely in the Lake District and very nearby (occasional episodes in Penrith/Carlisle), it also brings across a love and huge feeling for the ebb and flow of life in the area during the 18th century, and for the beauty and wildness of the countryside. Numerous other members of the wider Herries clan make usually brief appearances, and there are very memorable female characters, in particular David's wife Sarah, and Mirabell, with whom Francis becomes obsessed and eventually marries. I came to care for the futures of these well-drawn characters. Wider historical events only rarely impinge on their lives, except in the case of the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion

As I said, the novel brings across very clearly the character of the Lake District as a region, as well as that of its inhabitants. Though it has been unusually dry during my holiday so far, as it has been everywhere, the novel contains a very evocative description of the more usual rainy conditions here:

"It was rain of a relentless, determined, soaking, penetrating kind. No other rain anywhere, at least in the British Isles (which have a prerogative of many sorts of rain), falls with so determined a fanatical obstinacy as does this rain. It is not that the sky in any deliberate mood decides to empty itself. It is rain that has but little connection either with earth or with sky, but rather has a life of its own, stern, remorseless and kindly. It falls in sheets of steely straightness, and through it is the rhythm of the beating hammer".

This is a beautifully written novel and I shall certainly read the following three volumes, though I will give the series a rest for now, having read three of them in a short space of time.

This is the second prequel novel the author penned to his Herries Chronicles, four novels set in the Lake District from the 18th century onwards. This prequel follows on more or less immediately from the enjoyable and dramatic narrative of The Bright Pavilions, with Nicholas Herries married late in life and with a young son Robert, at the beginning of the 17th century. Despite this, I did not enjoy it as much and I don't think really worked as a novel. There is a great deal of description of the lives and personalities of the various Herries family members and simply not enough plot and drama, despite the backdrop of the country sliding towards Civil War as some family members take up either the Royalist or Parliamentary side. Sadly the author died while writing this novel and the story ends ironically on a moment of high drama as Robert, who does not want to take sides, sees his house invaded by Parliamentary soldiers who see him as an enemy, as he had been knighted by the King. Had the author lived, the rest of the novel would very likely have lifted the story as a whole. But as it stands, despite being as well written, this is a much weaker story than its predecessor; I also found the title character rather implausible.

Hugh Walpole was a prolific writer of historical novels between the wars, but is little heard of today. Among his many novels was a series called the Herries Chronicles, set in the Lake District between the 18th and early 20th centuries. As I am intending to read the first of these during my holiday there in a couple of weeks, I have now read this prequel novel, featuring earlier generations of the family during the Elizabethan era. The main protagonists are two Herries brothers, Nicholas, strong, extroverted amorous and down to earth; and Robin, introverted and other wordly, desiring universal brotherhood and peace, but also susceptible to influence by Catholic priests, at a time when the religion was persecuted in England and priests and those who sheltered were liable to prosecution and worse. The writing style is very like that of 19th historical novelists like Sir Walter Scott and William Harrison Ainsworth, full of rich descriptions of the physical landscapes and emotional landscapes of the characters, although the references to sex here did not appear in the 19th century novels. There is frequently an undercurrent of homo-eroticism in Robin's relationships, reflecting I imagine the author's own homosexuality, necessarily kept in the closet at a time when this was illegal in this country. The characters become involved in a number of key historical events, for example the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the narrative contains many moments of drama and horror. I look forward to reading the series, though this novel was probably somewhat too long.

I really enjoyed this book, though I know Hugh Walpole isn't everyone's cup of tea!! A very old fashioned style of writing but I love that!
Maggie Cardinal's father dies very suddenly leaving her alone, not terribly upset as he never showed her much love. She is 'odd ' a little strange' 'misunderstood' a captive in a world where others fit in but she doesn't.
I found it compelling, rooting for things to work out for her, to stop her feeling so 'different'. She goes to London to live with her aunts, but is very unhappy, always a little strange and alone, you will have to read it to see if things get better for her, and join her on her journey to happiness! Does she get there?

Ugh. Walpole manages to commit the worst of DH Lawrence and Henry James's literary crimes without ever acheiving the insights of the others. The story swirls around Janet, a wellbred but poor woman who marries for companionship and security. Most of the book is about the characters around her--the good intentioned Purefoys who own the ancestral estate Wintersmoon, John Beauminster and Tom Seddon from [book: The Duchess of Wrexe] and Janet's younger, breezy sister Rosalind. Half of the book is about love, in its various forms: Janet falls in love with her husband, her husband desperately loves their son, Tom loves Rosalind but Rosalind loves no one but herself. It's rather histrionic, but the passing of some 80 years has not rendered it a meaningless puzzle.
The other half of the book is unfortunately about Walpole's favorite subject: the old vs the new. Janet and her new, aristocratic family stand for "Old England," made of traditions, stiff upper lips and doing ones duty. Rosalind and her catty friends stand for "New England," which is apparently all about criticizing the old, being completely emotionless and disconnecting physical compatability from love. The characters all talk about making a stand for their type of England, and how they have to be free to do the work they see needs doing--but absolutely none of them have any actual opinions or do anything at all. None of them translate their oh-so-important-feelings into campaigning for women's rights or labor unions or anything.
Walpole attempts more than he is capable of.

Superficially, this book is very similar to others of its type and time--a spirited girl comes out into society and must choose between her rebellious and outcast cousin or a conventional young man. Rachel chooses the conventional young man, but as their marriage begins to degenerate, she comes into contact with her cousin once more. She falls in love with him--will she leave her husband and run off with her romantic but weak lover? And looming over all of this is the spectre of her grandmother, The Duchess, an old woman whose powers and health are waning but not yet gone.

The story of Rachel, Francis, Roddy and Lizzie's tangled love affair is merely the frontispiece of an examination of the end of the Victorian Age.

I especially loved the juxtaposition of each character's torrid thoughts and feelings with their banal conversations.

And yet, at the end, Walpole just couldn't resist having his characters moralize about coming generations and "this new Individualism". Quit while you're ahead!