The Abode of Love

by Aubrey Menen

Paperback

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

Salvator Aubrey Clarence Menen was born in 1912 in London, of Irish and Indian parents. After attending University College, London he worked as a drama critic and a stage director. When World War II broke out, he was in India, where he organized pro-Allied radio broadcasts and edited film scripts for the Indian government. After the war ended, he returned to London to work with an advertising agency's film department, but the success of his first novel, The Prevalence of Witches (1947), induced him to take up writing full-time. Aubrey Menen’s writings, often satirical, explore the nature of nationalism and the cultural contrast between his own Irish–Indian ancestry and his traditional British upbringing. Apart from his novels and non-fiction works Menen wrote two autobiographies titled Dead Man in the Silver Market (1953) and The Space within the Heart (1970). He died in 1989 in Thiruvananthapuram.

Reviews

[Eddie Clarke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed. This is a novelisation of a real historical incident in the Victorian era, but the author never makes this clear. I came to this wanting to find out more about a specific incident which brought this strange religious cult to public notice during Victoria’s reign but the author dispenses with the documented reality completely and invents a totally different and less compelling story for the character involved, to fit with his overall narrative schema. As far as it goes, the book is fun and it’s readable, but best read as total fiction.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second worst thing to see on a cover is “based on a true story”. The anticipation of enjoyment is blighted. The heart sinks . But fortunately, I failed to notice this warning on The Abode of Love and launched into the book in cheerful ignorance that it was a fictionalized biography of Henry James Prince.

Prince was a passionate Victorian curate who founded an unusual religion that served his passions, both secular and spiritual, in more ways than the Anglican church could ever countenance. His story is strange enough to be of interest for its own sake – but the virtue of the novel is Aubrey Menen’s deft style, crisp wit, and mastery of the English language. “Clara, Cornelia and Louisa had no more need to go to the bathroom than archangels.” Wonderful line, suddenly coming out of nowhere, and, since the writing is diverted into whimsical anecdotes, Dickensian character portraits, and stories within stories (particularly “The Disgraceful Castaway” – what not to do on a desert island if you ever plan to be rescued), you almost forget the fact that The Abode of Love has no real structure as a novel, since it is bound and gagged to a true story.

So I liked it, even though I shouldn’t. And I shall read some more of Aubrey Menen’s novels, even though they may be based on true stories. And I think I shall be happy.

[Paul Jacob]

Was interesting.