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Susan Spray
"Susan dreamed a strange dream... She had a curious sensation of being mistress of the world and of the suns, and she seemed to hear herself saying over and over again triumphantly, 'I am my own -- I am my own.'"
Born in 1834, Susan is the eldest daughter of a poor Sussex field labourer, Adam Spray, and his wife Ruth. Her large family belongs to the Colgate Brethren, an obscure religious sect which takes Susan to its bosom the day she declares, at the age of six, that she's seen the Lord. But the Spray children are soon orphaned; thrown helpless upon the world Susan and her younger sister, Tamara, find themselves working on a Sussex farm. Tamara spends her time in dalliance with young men, while for Susan, destined to become a preacher, the Ten Commandments, the Burning Bush and Ezekiel's temple are her daily -- and nightly -- fare. Yet Susan can sin and fall in love like any mortal; and when she does it is as glorious as a vision of God and his cherubim, and as consuming as the fires of hell.
Born in 1834, Susan is the eldest daughter of a poor Sussex field labourer, Adam Spray, and his wife Ruth. Her large family belongs to the Colgate Brethren, an obscure religious sect which takes Susan to its bosom the day she declares, at the age of six, that she's seen the Lord. But the Spray children are soon orphaned; thrown helpless upon the world Susan and her younger sister, Tamara, find themselves working on a Sussex farm. Tamara spends her time in dalliance with young men, while for Susan, destined to become a preacher, the Ten Commandments, the Burning Bush and Ezekiel's temple are her daily -- and nightly -- fare. Yet Susan can sin and fall in love like any mortal; and when she does it is as glorious as a vision of God and his cherubim, and as consuming as the fires of hell.
374 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1931
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48 people want to read
About the author
Sheila Kaye-Smith
114 books12 followersThe daughter of a country doctor, Shelia Kaye-Smith was born in St Leonards-on-Sea near Hastings. Her first novel, The Tramping Methodist was published when she was 21. In 1923 her book, The End of the House of Alard became a best-seller and gave her national prominence. She went on to write over 40 books.
Kaye-Smith's early novels were chiefly pre-occupied with rural life in Sussex and Kent. They focused on farming, land inheritance, agricultural mechanisation and changing women's roles in rural life. Joanna Godden, arguably her most famous novel, was adapted into a film in 1947.
Her later books focused on her religious pre-occupations, and her conversion to catholicism. She was also a passionate scholar of Jane Austen and with her friend, G.B. Stern wrote Speaking of Jane Austen and More About Jane Austen.
Kaye-Smith's early novels were chiefly pre-occupied with rural life in Sussex and Kent. They focused on farming, land inheritance, agricultural mechanisation and changing women's roles in rural life. Joanna Godden, arguably her most famous novel, was adapted into a film in 1947.
Her later books focused on her religious pre-occupations, and her conversion to catholicism. She was also a passionate scholar of Jane Austen and with her friend, G.B. Stern wrote Speaking of Jane Austen and More About Jane Austen.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 16, 2024
Sometimes you admire a book while you're reading it, but are mightily relieved when you finish.
Sheila Kaye-Smith's 1931 historical novel opens in rural Sussex in the 1840s. Titular character Susan Spray is the eldest child of a farm laborer who can barely manage to eke out a subsistence for his ever-growing wretchedly impoverished family. They are members of an obscure religious sect which I assume Kaye-Smith made up, the Colgate Brethren, which eschews ministry, the idea being that anyone can read the Scripture, and preach, if so moved, during their simple sabbath services. Susan, unlike most of the people in her world, learns to read as a child. Circumstances soon have her reading the texts every Sunday. Around the same time she starts having "visions" -- some are a little convenient, as when she is afraid of punishment for leaving her work, and claims to have seen the glory of God, when in fact it was a massive (and probably glorious to behold) thunderstorm that scared her away from her job shooing away birds in a more prosperous neighbor's field. Whether or not her visions are real, her religious fervor most certainly is. She is orphaned early on, leads her many siblings to a town where they're taken in by the poorhouse, and as a teenager leaves the poorhouse along with her next oldest sister to work on a farm run by Colgate brethren in a different community. What follows is a rather picaresque story of Susan building up a formidable reputation as a preacher -- which crashes down only to rise up stronger. It sounds like a spectacularly improbable story for an author to pull off, but Kaye-Smith does it brilliantly. So it's a remarkable book, but I didn't wholeheartedly enjoy it. Apart from religious fanaticism not really being my cup of tea, Susan is not a sympathetic character. Again and again she's shown to be a massively selfish hypocrite, and she rather horribly betrays her sister in the name of righteousness. But I kept reading just out of sheer amazement at Kaye-Smith's skill. She really makes us believe in Susan's gift for preaching -- and the extent to which her religious inspiration is real is left interestingly open for debate.
This novel was compared to Kaye-Smith's earlier more famous book, Joanna Godden, also about an independent strong-minded woman. I liked that one much better; Joanna is sometimes her own worst enemy, but she's far more relatable!
Sheila Kaye-Smith's 1931 historical novel opens in rural Sussex in the 1840s. Titular character Susan Spray is the eldest child of a farm laborer who can barely manage to eke out a subsistence for his ever-growing wretchedly impoverished family. They are members of an obscure religious sect which I assume Kaye-Smith made up, the Colgate Brethren, which eschews ministry, the idea being that anyone can read the Scripture, and preach, if so moved, during their simple sabbath services. Susan, unlike most of the people in her world, learns to read as a child. Circumstances soon have her reading the texts every Sunday. Around the same time she starts having "visions" -- some are a little convenient, as when she is afraid of punishment for leaving her work, and claims to have seen the glory of God, when in fact it was a massive (and probably glorious to behold) thunderstorm that scared her away from her job shooing away birds in a more prosperous neighbor's field. Whether or not her visions are real, her religious fervor most certainly is. She is orphaned early on, leads her many siblings to a town where they're taken in by the poorhouse, and as a teenager leaves the poorhouse along with her next oldest sister to work on a farm run by Colgate brethren in a different community. What follows is a rather picaresque story of Susan building up a formidable reputation as a preacher -- which crashes down only to rise up stronger. It sounds like a spectacularly improbable story for an author to pull off, but Kaye-Smith does it brilliantly. So it's a remarkable book, but I didn't wholeheartedly enjoy it. Apart from religious fanaticism not really being my cup of tea, Susan is not a sympathetic character. Again and again she's shown to be a massively selfish hypocrite, and she rather horribly betrays her sister in the name of righteousness. But I kept reading just out of sheer amazement at Kaye-Smith's skill. She really makes us believe in Susan's gift for preaching -- and the extent to which her religious inspiration is real is left interestingly open for debate.
This novel was compared to Kaye-Smith's earlier more famous book, Joanna Godden, also about an independent strong-minded woman. I liked that one much better; Joanna is sometimes her own worst enemy, but she's far more relatable!
July 13, 2023
1931.
Years ago at De Slegte [bookshop selling remainders] I came across a whole shelf of Virago Modern Classics, a series I knew nothing about, and decided to buy a dozen or more titles, none of whose authors I had ever heard of but the blurbs on the back made several sound interesting. I bought two by Sheila Kaye-Smith, which turn out to be the only two Virago published by her, and only recently I finally read Joanna Godden 1921, her 'most acclaimed book'. [see my review]
Then I read this book, 1931, and found it repetitive and with a great deal of overlap with Joanna Godden. Susan Spray has even more long boring [to me] exposes of Susan's religious beliefs and preachings; I couldn't keep my mind of the content of them.
Both books share a long tale of the main character falling madly in love with a man who turns out to be misusing or at least making irresponsible use of her and totally unsuited to her; in both cases she has so lost her head that she can't see straight. Though in the end, in both books, she is freed of her romantic obsession. [I have lost my head myself in such an affair and do not mean to suggest that that is not realistic.]. The account of the obsession in Susan Spray is much less convincing and less interesting than the one in Joanna Godden.
I don't recommend this book; go read Joanna Godden instead, for its wonderful depiction of rural life in Sussex long ago. Yet Susan Spray does have some worthwhile aspects, like her jealousy of her sister who has a very different personality and has made very different life choices. A nice contrast.
Janet Montefiore's introduction is good. e.g.
'As a woman Susan Spray is a product of the mid 19c: brought up in the bitter poverty of a farm labourer's family in the Hungry Forties [1840s] (the bleak chapters dealing with her childhood are the best writing in the book); vain and anxious to dress the part of preacher (she is constantly hungry for nice clothes); an ambitious and successful woman whose social and literal mobility is symbolised by travelling first class on the new railway across Sussex..."
Years ago at De Slegte [bookshop selling remainders] I came across a whole shelf of Virago Modern Classics, a series I knew nothing about, and decided to buy a dozen or more titles, none of whose authors I had ever heard of but the blurbs on the back made several sound interesting. I bought two by Sheila Kaye-Smith, which turn out to be the only two Virago published by her, and only recently I finally read Joanna Godden 1921, her 'most acclaimed book'. [see my review]
Then I read this book, 1931, and found it repetitive and with a great deal of overlap with Joanna Godden. Susan Spray has even more long boring [to me] exposes of Susan's religious beliefs and preachings; I couldn't keep my mind of the content of them.
Both books share a long tale of the main character falling madly in love with a man who turns out to be misusing or at least making irresponsible use of her and totally unsuited to her; in both cases she has so lost her head that she can't see straight. Though in the end, in both books, she is freed of her romantic obsession. [I have lost my head myself in such an affair and do not mean to suggest that that is not realistic.]. The account of the obsession in Susan Spray is much less convincing and less interesting than the one in Joanna Godden.
I don't recommend this book; go read Joanna Godden instead, for its wonderful depiction of rural life in Sussex long ago. Yet Susan Spray does have some worthwhile aspects, like her jealousy of her sister who has a very different personality and has made very different life choices. A nice contrast.
Janet Montefiore's introduction is good. e.g.
'As a woman Susan Spray is a product of the mid 19c: brought up in the bitter poverty of a farm labourer's family in the Hungry Forties [1840s] (the bleak chapters dealing with her childhood are the best writing in the book); vain and anxious to dress the part of preacher (she is constantly hungry for nice clothes); an ambitious and successful woman whose social and literal mobility is symbolised by travelling first class on the new railway across Sussex..."
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews