The Fox's Walk

by Annabel Davis-Goff

Alice Moore is eight years old and has just been left in the care of her autocratic grandmother at Ballydavid, a lovely old house in the south of Ireland. It is 1915, the First World War has just entered its second year, and, in Ireland, Nation-alists are edging toward revolution. Often lonely and homesick, living in a rigid old-fashioned household where propriety is all-important, Alice pieces together the world around her from overheard conversations, servants' gossip, and her own quiet observations. She soon realizes that her family's privilege is maintained at great cost to others. With the war always in the background, blood is spilled closer to home, and tensions mount. Divided in her loyalties and affections, Alice must choose between her heritage of privilege, her growing moral conscience, and the demands of the future.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Ireland, Fiction, Irish Literature, War, World War I, Historical

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

I was born in the South of Ireland in 1942. My parents belonged to the Anglo-Irish generation that had been brought up during English rule, and had lived through the Anglo-Irish War, the Civil War, the Irish Free State and, by the time I was born, were adapting to belonging to the Republic of Ireland. This is the period I wrote about in Walled Gardens, a family memoir that is also an account of a time and a place. Walled Gardens was generously reviewed in the US, and in the British Isles, where it is still in print. The book was, for some time, on the Irish Best Seller List.author

I left Ireland when I was seventeen – it was not the land of opportunity it now is – and worked in England as a secretary, in television, and eventually in the briefly flourishing film industry of the 1960s. When the movie boom ended, I moved to California, where I lived for over a year, and then married and moved to Connecticut. I worked briefly in American movies – first as a script supervisor (as I had in England) then as a screenwriter.

While I was at home bringing up my children in Connecticut, I started to write Walled Gardens (1989). My next book was The Dower House (1997), a novel (also generously reviewed). This Cold Country was published by Harcourt in the spring of 2002. Following publication I was interviewed by N.P.R and appeared on Good Morning, America. The paperback was issued in the spring of 2003. My most recent novel is The Fox’s Walk, also published by Harcourt and I am just finishing a non-fiction work, similar in tone to Walled Gardens, about a branch of my family within the historical context of the First World War and the struggle for Irish independence.

In addition to my novels, I edited the Literary Companion to Gambling (the use of gambling as a metaphor in literature), have reviewed books for The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly, and have written about houses and gardens, and travel. My most recent essay “Reading War and Peace to William Maxwell” was published in A William Maxwell Portrait, published by Norton.

I live in Manhattan and Vermont, where I teach Literature at Bennington College.

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book really dull. The only truly exciting plot point occurred, confusingly, in a chaotic jumble only a few pages from the end. The references to Roger Casement and the details of his case seem entirely beside the point - why were they included? That space could have been spent on character growth and action. This story seems to have no real focus, thesis, or purpose. Is it about war? Class? Religion? Loss? Families? Spiritualism? It touches on these things but goes nowhere with any of them.

[Trisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I found the first few pages - intended to provide some historical context for the novel – more confusing than helpful, I’m glad I didn’t let that stop me from reading the rest of the book. Told from the viewpoint of a little girl who was living with her Anglo-Irish grandmother and great-Aunt during the time of the First World War and the Easter Rising in Dublin, it was a fascinating glimpse into a turbulent time of change and unrest. What I found most impressive about the novel was how well the author succeeded in capturing the voice and the perspective of the young protagonist. We catch on to what was going on around her in exactly the way a child would have to do it - by trying to piece together bits and pieces of information based on what she was overhearing from adults who were trying to keep her from finding out. I was also fascinated with the author’s use of detail to paint a vivid portrait of the Anglo-Irish, who lived lives of privilege and wealth in their big houses, waited on by maids, cooks, gardeners and assorted other domestic servants many of whom had brothers and sons who were involved in revolutionary activities.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tale of a young girl spending the year with her Anglo-Irish grandmother and elderly aunt in the months leading up to the 1916 Easter Rising. Everything is seen and told from her viewpoint as she tries to make sense of events inside and outside of her restricted circle. Her knowledge is based on snatches of overheard conversations, unexplained adult actions and all the unspoken superstitions and rituals of Anglo-Irish behavior. Reminds me a bit of Mary McCarthy's "Memories of a Catholic Girlhood" in the sense of often commenting as an adult on her childhood experiences.

The author creates an almost mesmerizing sense of time and place in her slow unfolding of the story amidst the slow unraveling of the familiar world brought on by Irish politics and WWI. An unexpectedly shocking and violent ending that I should perhaps have seen coming; but one that still fits the story. My only criticism would be that some of the interwoven stories of the historical players in the revolutionary events made for confusion at times. And Davis-Goff often structures her sentences in what I found to be a convoluted manner. But those are minor quibbles about a book whose haunting memory will remain with me.

The following quote particularly resonated with me in light of the events in Wisconsin for the last year: “My nursery diaries and these books show me something that is always true but almost impossible to keep in mind, that our everyday lives — in the main part dull and lacking in important event — are lived in an historical context.”

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm having a difficult time getting into this book. Although there are pages of good story line, she then goes into pages of boring details that don't draw me in. I am going to continue reading though.

[Jonathan Beeson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather boring book largely about aristocratic gossip witnessed by the main character, the book drags on for the first 317 pages before the vast majority of the main character’s closer acquaintances are inexplicably gunned down on the last page, and the story more or less wraps up with an “OH WELL! I feel sorry for the person who did it tho”.

There was frankly a *lot* of other plot points or characters such as Sonia that seemed very interesting to read more about, but the story pretty much almost exclusively follows the main character’s grandmother as she spends her time wandering around the mansion gossiping and adhering to strange social rules, and any interaction with these more interesting characters happens only when it pertains in some capacity to the grandmother.

A dull book with a bizarre and anticlimactic, bordering on stupid ending. (At least the Irish Nationalist movement was somewhat of a plot point so there’s a logical connection to be made for the motive..) 2/5 because the writing was honestly decent so it breaks above a 1.

[Naomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I stuck this book out, but am very relieved to have finished it. I'm disappointed. The blurb and the cover promised better a better story than this. Quite slow, apathetic writing that failed to make me care about any of the characters or political events.

[Verena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not familiar with The Fox’s Walk. My sister gave it to me because my first name is mentioned in the book, and I’ve made a small collection of literature where my somewhat unusual name is used. Although she had some reservations about how much I would like the novel, I found it to be a very satisfying read.

The setting is Waterford County, Ireland in the five years leading up to and during World War I. It also sets the scene for the Irish political turmoil to come in the dream of Home Rule and the reality of The Troubles. Though the menace of war hovers off stage, it is a tale that has a gentle and humorous touch.

The story is told through the eyes of a five-year old girl who lives with her Anglo-Irish grandmother and great-aunt, apart from her parents and siblings in London. Through the next four years, she must adapt to a strict upbringing with its emphasis on class and religious differences, imposed upon her by her haughty grandmother who adheres to all the rules of the landed gentry.

The book reads like a memoir, and several times the narrator, as an adult, comments on what she didn’t understand at a young age. Historical events play a part, such as the sinking of the Lusitania and the story of Roger Casement, a traitor who was hanged for collaborating with the Germans. The book provided some interesting background about Irish history and has piqued my interest to learn more.

[Trudi · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is what I'd call a B&B book - bland and boring. Ireland during WWI. A little bit of Irish history and a look at the Anglo-Irish lifestyle. The only part I found at all interesting were the last couple of pages.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very slow novel. Almost nothing happens to the little girl, Alice, while enormous events are occurring in the world (World War I and rising Irish nationalism). I think the book would be improved by focusing on the real events occurring in Ireland and France, instead of trying to shoehorn them into this novel. All the action is secondhand - either from newspapers or letters, and filtered through the mind of a child. Yes, I understand that children have very little agency over their lives so this is quite true to life but maybe this isn’t the best design for a novel. Having said that, I now know more about Sir Roger Casement and the Easter Uprising that I did before.
Part of my problem with this book may be because recently I seem to have read too many stories of a child or young woman isolated in a big, old house in the country with emotionally distant carers. Not very exciting.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel was a slow burn for sure. It feels a little bit like “A Separate Peace” does—understated but also larger than life in what it has to say about growing up, finding a place, and telling the truth. The narrator is caught between the old world and the new (politically, socially, familialy, developmentally), and that tension is palpable—in fact, it’s what kept me reading. The ending is abrupt. But I also have the feeling that if I were to read it again, I would see how it’s an apt ending to a book that has a lot to say about Ireland during the First World War.

[Jenn Reilly · Rating 2 out of 5]

A glimpse into life in the early 1900’s in Ireland. I didn’t much care for back and forth between the actual story of the little girls experience living with her relatives in Ireland and what was going on politically at the time. I found it very dry and not very captivating. The ending was bizarre!

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I starting reading the book I kept wondering where is this story going. The references to people involved in the war seemed a little out of place in the story then I got to the end and it made much more sense. But basically a interesting book about a little girl in rural Ireland in the early 1900"s observing the adults around her.

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best thing I can say about this book is that I didn’t give up entirely. Incredibly dull.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were aspects of this book that didn't work and/or didn't fit, including the very abrupt, out-of-nowhere ending. A little foreshadowing would not have been a bad thing.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed the first half of this story, but struggled til the end. Got bogged down in Irish history leading to Home Rule during WWI. Don’t know any of the history and found it very boring

[Katelyn B · Rating 1 out of 5]

Huh?? The writing was nice I suppose. There was pretty much no plot, except for in the last three pages where the book ends with no explanation. Not to my taste that's all.

[J.S. Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting treatment of the early effect of the Rising on the Irish horsey set. This novel had insights about the stiff-necked Ascendancy in their crumbling residences--still hanging on today, 100 years later--that brought chuckles. Could not help being reminded of my own years of owning a horse property in Ireland and on which a particular neighbor felt privileged to trespass and ride her horse several times before she even asked my name or ascertained who I was. Guess I was the gardener, working away while she rode past in full riding costume.

Well-paced and deftly plotted, but lacks the resonance or depth of, eg, Sebastian Barry. It's also choppy to read. The overuse of commas, and oddly split clauses within sentences, prove annoying after the first few chapters.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a quick synopsis, a young girl is left behind by her parents in Southern Ireland during World War One, under the care of an autocratic Grandmother and an inconsistent, kind Grand Aunt. The current of the book is of a child's discovery of family and of an Anglo-Irish way of life, just as that way of life spirals down into the Rising, the Troubles, and the end of Edwardian norms.

This is a book about language and culture, not description of natural beauty or of compelling, fast-paced conflict and action. First, the voice of the child is far too nuanced and the language too subtle - rather it is a voice of a sixty year old woman looking back at her childhood through the imprint of her life, and of her class. Children are actually much more physical, and visceral than this little girl. But, the point the author brings us is not child-like verisimilitude, but is the narration, and the grace of the words that the child / woman uses to tell us of her life. Second, this book is about discovery. The principle vocation of the girl is to deduce how things work in this adult world, not to be a child - and so this book is less of a coming-of-age than it is an implication of an era.

Some minor problems - the interwoven history of Ireland is less compellingly portrayed than the movement of the family towards its destiny. In fact, the first painting of Irish context for the book occurs shortly into the first chapter and is a jarring right turn. Second, the book peaks with a scene of action, well prepared and even expected, but the book has so little description of movement and action in it that the culminating moment doesn't have as much force and drama as it could.

Why should you read this book? - because it is about a time we will never see again, because it is true in what it says about human beings, and because it speaks to us in an elegant stately voice that is a pleasure to hear.

Characterization: B
Plot: B
Dialogue: A
Craft: A
Language: A

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that expertly captures the emotion of its era. The Fox's Walk is the story of a sensitive young girl being raised by her Anglo-Irish upperclass grandmother and elderly aunt in their "big house" in southeastern Ireland during the First World War. Written in the first person, and crafted using perfect Austenian prose, Goff-Davis captures the bewildement and anxiety of a child navigating the complicated code of conduct, class and cucumber sandwiches of post-Edwardian drawing rooms. The narrator tries to make sense of her boundaries, why the Irish in the kitchen are different than the Irish in the dining room, the intricacies of proper behaviour for men and women, marriage and relationships (including that of her own parents). All of this is set against the background of the Anglo role in the European conflict and the terrifying tenseness of the 1916 uprising at home. The pace is stultfying, mirroring life in the upper classes, but it then spirals to a surpisingly exciting conconclusion. I hope there's a sequel.

[B]

This book was somewhat enchanting. It looked like the sort of literary book that would inevitably be depressing, but it wasn't really. I really liked reading about the small Edwardian world presented here and enjoyed the book. It happens that the book is written by one of my teachers at college, and for the first few chapters I would read it remembering this fact, then forget, then suddenly remember, then forget, kind of like trying to drift off to sleep. By the middle, I was picking it up just to read about what comes next. Possibly because I've taken a class with the author, I felt I understood some of what she was doing. The end was jarring, but at the same time I felt like it couldn't have ended any other way. This book has a lot beneath the surface, and I'd like to read it again at a later time and see what I find on a rereading. I may like it less, or more. In any case, I'll update this review when that happens.

[Susan Kavanagh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually a 4.25. Would have been a 5 except that I found the first few chapters that mixed a child's memories with actual events occurring in Ireland during World War I to be not quite as gripping as the rest of the book. The story is told by a sixty-year old woman who remembers when she was nine years old and spending a year in Ireland with her stuffy Anglo-Irish grandmother and aunt. Her story of day-by-day life is juxtaposed against the outside events of World War One and the Easter Monday uprising in 1916 in Dublin. I am partial to books narrated from a child's point of view. The author did a great job of showing how the child forms her opinions from the snippets of information gleaned from the different classes of the upstairs gentry and the Catholic Irish servants.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really an interesting read - different than I expected, but then again I judged the book by its cover.

I wish the story would have went a little further - the writing was beautiful and the historical aspect was awesome, but I feel like the plot did not really go anywhere...and it ended abruptly.

Either way, I enjoyed the book.

[Trent]

An unreliable child narrator from a rich Anglo-Irish (Protestant) family during the early 20th century. In that respect, shares plot elements with the film The Fallen Idol and many other works of art. Also interesting vis-a-vis Irish history and culture.
If this review makes you want to read this book, please buy it from a brick-and-mortar bookstore and not from Amazon.com

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is essentially no action until the final couple of pages and then really no adequate explanation for the impact of the violence on the main character. I turned the last page expecting more and was startled to see that the book was finished.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was giving to me on the British Isles cruise by Jack Gillis, who was reading it on the ship because he has Irish ancestors. Enjoyed the unusual writing from the girl's point of view. Great understanding of the plight of the Anglo/Irish during WWW2 and the time of Irish Independence.

[Sandy W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this four stars for the excellent writing style, not so much the intensity of the story. At times it seemed to move very slowly, but I was drawn to Alice, the young girl who told the story. I may make this a 're-read' for another time.

[Danon Dastugue · Rating 1 out of 5]

What am I missing with this novel? It jumps from one place to another and I cannot decide if it's a historical novel, a family piece, or just poorly organized. I go with the latter. One of the very few books I did not finish.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book club pick. A book based on Irish history from 1912-1916 through the eyes of a 10 year girl, Alice Moore. A coming-of-age novel. World War I references.

[Tfalcone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just did not come together for me.

[ANNETTE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well it was very drawn out and very slow. Didn't like the book but, managed to finish it.