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The Web of Days
Blue cloth hardcover. Publisher-D. Appleton-Century Company, Inc. in 1947. Southern gothic romance novel.
276 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1947
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 20, 2009
A Gothic novel--plantation setting, mental illness, mystery, cruel tyrant, indomitable heroine--that would be more fun if it weren't so horribly racist. A tag sale read.
April 20, 2018
An interesting gothic in that the narrator is a total bitch, yet she still manages to be sympathetic. It's definitely of the old school (i.e., mid-century) authorship, with prose that harkens to literate genre-benders like Marjorie Bowen & Eleanor Smith. The prose is very pretty, though it has unapologetic rough edges in tone or word choice -- some due to the era in which it was written, & others due to the era in which it's set. Either way, I liked it.
There's no easy route to examine the Reconstruction period, which is (still?) a touchy subject from all sides of the Mason-Dixon, but this one tries to portray both POVs from multiple angles. While Hester's abrasive pride & Puritan work ethic aren't always attractive traits, her disgust over wasted potential & the 'waiting to die' mentality of many defunct Southern plantations is entirely sympathetic. Likewise, you can see why her sanctimonious workaholic snobbery would have annoyed many natives -- but there's something inherently tragic in the way she's sucked into the mentality of I WILL NEVER LET THIS PLACE GO BECAUSE IT IS MINE & IT WILL PRODUCE, GODDAMMIT! Hester's obsession with Seven Chimneys is yet another facet of an untenable system -- not because it can't work financially so much as it destroys one's moral code a piece at a time, leeching away good intentions with the thrill of ownership.
...Anyway. All that Serious Stuff is sprinkled with demure WTFery like abusive marriages, traitorous bodies, creepster sadists, & sly townsfolk. It's a good balance of style & substance with a classic plot that tweaks the tropes just enough to keep it interesting.
Nicely done; solid 4 stars.
There's no easy route to examine the Reconstruction period, which is (still?) a touchy subject from all sides of the Mason-Dixon, but this one tries to portray both POVs from multiple angles. While Hester's abrasive pride & Puritan work ethic aren't always attractive traits, her disgust over wasted potential & the 'waiting to die' mentality of many defunct Southern plantations is entirely sympathetic. Likewise, you can see why her sanctimonious workaholic snobbery would have annoyed many natives -- but there's something inherently tragic in the way she's sucked into the mentality of I WILL NEVER LET THIS PLACE GO BECAUSE IT IS MINE & IT WILL PRODUCE, GODDAMMIT! Hester's obsession with Seven Chimneys is yet another facet of an untenable system -- not because it can't work financially so much as it destroys one's moral code a piece at a time, leeching away good intentions with the thrill of ownership.
...Anyway. All that Serious Stuff is sprinkled with demure WTFery like abusive marriages, traitorous bodies, creepster sadists, & sly townsfolk. It's a good balance of style & substance with a classic plot that tweaks the tropes just enough to keep it interesting.
Nicely done; solid 4 stars.
March 7, 2021
One of the most incredible pieces of literature I have ever finished . The writing style so beautiful, the pace of the story perfect and incredible. My heart was pounding at times, aching at others. This is a perfect winter time read. Possibly best started around fall when Halloween is approaching and you are looking for a creepy, fulfilling, shocking , well trimmed read. *Heads up for some racist language of the past to be treated with normalcy throughout.* The characters though, are wonderfully developed, and palpable in their entirety. You “feel” this book. Edna Lee was a master wordsmith. I can’t wait to read another of her books now that I have discovered this gem of her writings.
March 17, 2014
A gothic historical novel about a Yankee governess who goes to work on a decaying plantation during the early Reconstruction period. 1947.
Full review at Another look book
Reads as somewhere between "serious" historical fiction, a character study, and the typical gothic romance. A quality of writing and depth of characterization that makes me think Edna Lee will be worth sampling again. If you're a fan of Victoria Holt, Jane Eyre, or Rebecca: recommended!
Full review at Another look book
Reads as somewhere between "serious" historical fiction, a character study, and the typical gothic romance. A quality of writing and depth of characterization that makes me think Edna Lee will be worth sampling again. If you're a fan of Victoria Holt, Jane Eyre, or Rebecca: recommended!
December 13, 2019
I etched the line deeper with my knife. "Rupert," I said, "if you live on this side of this line, and another boy lives here on this other side, does that make you a good boy and this one bad?"
"That's too silly to answer."
"Yes. Isn't it? But a line all the difference there is between you and me," (Lee 33)
I wish I could say this to Edna Lee about Caucasians and African-Americans.
This is probably the most racist book I have ever read. Unfortunately, this fact can easily ruin the gothic themes, humor, romance, and the feminism within the book. I found myself cringing throughout the book because of said representation.
Hester Snow is quite interesting and I love her relationship with Rupert. Her mentality is progressive for a young woman living after the civil war, and one can easily admire her ethic and determination towards work.
Until she gets married to the plantation owner.
The book declines from there and I found myself rooting for the heroine to lose rather than win. She really becomes unlikeable, as well as the rest of the characters.
I think the most important thing a reader must be aware of before even opening this book is the racism and northern/southern stereotypes. The book takes place after the civil war, so it is to be expected, but not in the way where the book and author are aware of the historical facts. I am therefore left confused if this was intentional by the author, or the actual purpose of the book.
Personally, I found the story to be very uncomfortable and I struggled to get through it. It is a shame because the prose is well written. However, I would not recommend this book to anyone.
If you are still interested in reading it, you have been warned.
"That's too silly to answer."
"Yes. Isn't it? But a line all the difference there is between you and me," (Lee 33)
I wish I could say this to Edna Lee about Caucasians and African-Americans.
This is probably the most racist book I have ever read. Unfortunately, this fact can easily ruin the gothic themes, humor, romance, and the feminism within the book. I found myself cringing throughout the book because of said representation.
Hester Snow is quite interesting and I love her relationship with Rupert. Her mentality is progressive for a young woman living after the civil war, and one can easily admire her ethic and determination towards work.
Until she gets married to the plantation owner.
The book declines from there and I found myself rooting for the heroine to lose rather than win. She really becomes unlikeable, as well as the rest of the characters.
I think the most important thing a reader must be aware of before even opening this book is the racism and northern/southern stereotypes. The book takes place after the civil war, so it is to be expected, but not in the way where the book and author are aware of the historical facts. I am therefore left confused if this was intentional by the author, or the actual purpose of the book.
Personally, I found the story to be very uncomfortable and I struggled to get through it. It is a shame because the prose is well written. However, I would not recommend this book to anyone.
If you are still interested in reading it, you have been warned.
November 1, 2024
As a writer, I want to be able to write like Edna Lee. This novel her first one after she had worked in newspaper, and radio does a perfect job of telling the story. It sold about a million copies. It told a good story after the civil war, and has great gothic feeling like Jane Eyre. This book is almost a classic. It would’ve made a good movie. Her next two books would be adapted into classic films.
September 5, 2017
Honestly I couldn't finish this book. I think it is a boring predictable book.
April 15, 2018
Wow, this book was really racist. It was also not very good. Jane Eyre set in the Reconstruction-era South, tinged with tawdry romance.
June 11, 2018
The narrator worked hard, but had little in the way of a heart.
November 10, 2025
If this book wasn’t morally abhorrent, it really could have been okay. It’s part Southern Gothic, part white-supremacist fantasy. Once it gets going, the story is better than average, and the heroine is actually quite engaging. The problem is that the novel is so unapologetically racist that, for long stretches, it was very, very hard to focus on anything else.
Take for example the following exchange our heroine has w/ the master of the house:
“We are not accustomed to so much cleanliness, Miss Snow.” His voice was as ever drawling, and not knowing whether he was pleased or displeased, I answered somewhat tartly: “I can see that, sir. In all my life I have never seen so much dirt. And Negroes thick underfoot too.”
“Negroes, Miss Snow, are the most no-account creatures alive.”
This is but one example of dozens, many far worse. I chose this exchange b/c it gets us pretty near the heart of the story. A northern ice maiden comes to Reconstruction Georgia as a schoolmarm, but, unable to bear the chaos and disorder she sees around her, (which is blamed on the “laziness” of the former slaves and the dissipation of their former “masters”) she decides to set the plantation to rights.
As a Gothic novel, this book had a few things going for it. To start with, the setting works. Our story takes place in a secluded, run-down plantation called Seven Chimneys which is hidden in the middle of the Georgia bayou. It’s verdant and sultry, full of beauty and impending death -- be it from “gators” or disease.
But the thing that works the best for this story is the main character, Hester Snow. She’s smart, ambitious, organized, and hardworking. She’s also a bit of a sociopath. Ms. Snow navigates her life by setting her will either for or against things. After the war, the Southern way of life, embodied by Seven Chimneys and its occupants, is dying, and Hester is there, shovel in hand, waiting to bury the corpse and collect the spoils.
There's a romance thrown in too. The Master, Saint Clair (whose depiction as a refined, laconic dandy gave me a visual of late 50's Vincent Price that I couldn't shake, totally killing the mood), and his bastard brother Roi. And it is through those relationships that we get an indication that our girl Hester may not be made of ice after all.
In spite of these advantages, the book has major failings. Not the least of which is that it is a product of its time, and, while some of its views may have been considered progressive in 1947, I cringed through much of it. The racism in this book cannot be ignored, even if one should wish to do so, b/c, true to life, the success of the plantation, and of the central white characters, is wholly dependent on the work and mastery of former slaves.
I counted two whippings (post slavery), and the stereotypes of black people as slow, lazy, and lascivious abound. The brief concession that the black foreman, Shem, was actually a competent human being who could have done great things except for the “accident of birth and color” was somehow worse than anything.
From start to finish, it was a tough read. But, even if the social context was creepier to me than the actual plot, the writing was fair and it was a true window into a different time. I'm not going to hate on a book b/c it accurately reflects the attitudes of society at the time it was written -- but, at the same time, it did make it hard to "enjoy".
Finally, a bit of a spoiler here: it’s also worth noting that the book indulges in that form of misogyny peculiar to the first half of the 20th century, which gave us so many stories featuring strong, intelligent, independent women who push through insurmountable obstacles to achieve unprecedented success --- and then, on the last half of the last page, give all of it up in order to land their man.
Take for example the following exchange our heroine has w/ the master of the house:
“We are not accustomed to so much cleanliness, Miss Snow.” His voice was as ever drawling, and not knowing whether he was pleased or displeased, I answered somewhat tartly: “I can see that, sir. In all my life I have never seen so much dirt. And Negroes thick underfoot too.”
“Negroes, Miss Snow, are the most no-account creatures alive.”
This is but one example of dozens, many far worse. I chose this exchange b/c it gets us pretty near the heart of the story. A northern ice maiden comes to Reconstruction Georgia as a schoolmarm, but, unable to bear the chaos and disorder she sees around her, (which is blamed on the “laziness” of the former slaves and the dissipation of their former “masters”) she decides to set the plantation to rights.
As a Gothic novel, this book had a few things going for it. To start with, the setting works. Our story takes place in a secluded, run-down plantation called Seven Chimneys which is hidden in the middle of the Georgia bayou. It’s verdant and sultry, full of beauty and impending death -- be it from “gators” or disease.
But the thing that works the best for this story is the main character, Hester Snow. She’s smart, ambitious, organized, and hardworking. She’s also a bit of a sociopath. Ms. Snow navigates her life by setting her will either for or against things. After the war, the Southern way of life, embodied by Seven Chimneys and its occupants, is dying, and Hester is there, shovel in hand, waiting to bury the corpse and collect the spoils.
There's a romance thrown in too. The Master, Saint Clair (whose depiction as a refined, laconic dandy gave me a visual of late 50's Vincent Price that I couldn't shake, totally killing the mood), and his bastard brother Roi. And it is through those relationships that we get an indication that our girl Hester may not be made of ice after all.
In spite of these advantages, the book has major failings. Not the least of which is that it is a product of its time, and, while some of its views may have been considered progressive in 1947, I cringed through much of it. The racism in this book cannot be ignored, even if one should wish to do so, b/c, true to life, the success of the plantation, and of the central white characters, is wholly dependent on the work and mastery of former slaves.
I counted two whippings (post slavery), and the stereotypes of black people as slow, lazy, and lascivious abound. The brief concession that the black foreman, Shem, was actually a competent human being who could have done great things except for the “accident of birth and color” was somehow worse than anything.
From start to finish, it was a tough read. But, even if the social context was creepier to me than the actual plot, the writing was fair and it was a true window into a different time. I'm not going to hate on a book b/c it accurately reflects the attitudes of society at the time it was written -- but, at the same time, it did make it hard to "enjoy".
Finally, a bit of a spoiler here: it’s also worth noting that the book indulges in that form of misogyny peculiar to the first half of the 20th century, which gave us so many stories featuring strong, intelligent, independent women who push through insurmountable obstacles to achieve unprecedented success --- and then, on the last half of the last page, give all of it up in order to land their man.
June 10, 2015
This was a trip down memory lane for me, given than I first read this book at least 45 years ago. I remembered so many details! But what seemed so romantic and scandalous for my younger self now read as racist, stereotypical, and melodramatic. I hope that means I have progressed somewhat in my world view. I expect the other Gothic romances I adored during that time wouldn’t pass the test of time either. My earlier self would have given a five, prompting my older self to assign a charitable 2.
November 30, 2013
This book was an interesting easy read that was a soft side note kind of book. Like if you want to read a book after a bad breakup and getting over another book, this is a simple relaxed and interesting story
March 23, 2013
This was the first book of my mother's that she let me read. I have always loved it. I love rooting for the poor girl who makes it.
May 24, 2013
"I myself felt unreal, as I might lose my grasp on life and become merged with the inanimate pattern." Love these old books! This one was in a monthly book club my dad read in 1947!
November 12, 2019
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2019...
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2019...
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews