Undertow

by A. Hamilton Gibbs

Leather Binding on Spine and Corners with Golden Leaf Printing on round Spine (extra customization on request like complete leather, Golden Screen printing in Front, Color Leather, Colored book etc.) Reprinted in 2018 with the help of original edition published long back [1932]. This book is printed in black & white, sewing binding for longer life, Printed on high quality Paper, re-sized as per Current standards, professionally processed without changing its contents. As these are old books, we processed each page manually and make them readable but in some cases some pages which are blur or missing or black spots. If it is multi volume set, then it is only single volume, if you wish to order a specific or all the volumes you may contact us. We expect that you will understand our compulsion in these books. We found this book important for the readers who want to know more about our old treasure so we brought it back to the shelves. Hope you will like it and give your comments and suggestions. - English, Pages 316. EXTRA 10 DAYS APART FROM THE NORMAL SHIPPING PERIOD WILL BE REQUIRED FOR LEATHER BOUND BOOKS. COMPLETE LEATHER WILL COST YOU EXTRA US$ 25 APART FROM THE LEATHER BOUND BOOKS. {FOLIO EDITION IS ALSO AVAILABLE.} Complete Undertow, by A. Hamilton Gibbs. 1932 Gibbs, A. Hamilton -.

297 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1932

About the author

Arthur Hamilton Gibbs (9 March 1888 – 24 May 1964) was an English-American novelist. He was the brother of Cosmo Hamilton and Sir Philip Gibbs.

Born in London, Gibbs wrote 16 novels and two books of poetry. His novels include The Persistent Lovers (1915) (which was adapted into a 1922 film of the same name), Soundings (1925) (the best-selling book in the United States that year), and Chances (1930).

Gibbs became a United States citizen in 1931, and thereafter lived primarily in Lakeville, Massachusetts. He died in Boston in 1964, survived by his wife Jeanette (Philips), a writer and lawyer.

Reviews

[Dorcas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Hamilton Gibbs is the brother of author Philip Gibbs and screenwriter/playwright Cosmo Gibbs. I was thinking he may be similar to Philip in writing style but they're quite different. A Hamilton Gibbs has a style similar to Warwick Deeping (at least in this book, which is the first I've read).
So Jocelyn Phillips has a teaching job he detests, in a town that leaves him cold, no real friends but the books he can scrimp and save for, and his one passion, sketching, which brings him a few extra coins when he can sell a piece in the window of the bookstore.

At some point, the bookseller's niece comes to stay and Jocelyn imagines himself in love with her even though she's a frigid fish. He wants to get married straight away but she puts him off to the autumn and suggests he go away for the summer so they don't see so much of each other before the wedding and he can draw and earn more money while school is out. With an eagerness that surprises even himself, he agrees.

And once in France, he truly finds himself. France is where he belongs. He begins to feel that he isn't Jocelyn Phillips at all, but Josselin Phillippe who has lived before. This feeling becomes more entrenched when he meets his soulmate and starts thinking that they were meant to be because they always had been.

Meanwhile letters keep coming from his fiancee in England and they are ignored. Eventually a telegram arrives demanding his return....

There is more to this story but I don't want to give the rest away. It can be found on public domain for those who care to search it out.

[Eden Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Visit JetBlackDragonfly (The Man Who Read Too Much) at www.edenthompson.ca/blog

Undertow is the fifth novel from A. Hamilton Gibbs which follows Sounding (1925), Labels (1926), Harness (1928) and Chances (1930). A review at the time says 'His 'wide appeal has been due to qualities too seldom found in present day fiction - sincerity, idealism, and a poet's sense of the potential beauty that lies just beneath the surface of every day life.'
Undertow, written in 1932, tells of one Englishman's journey towards life and true romance before his youth slips away untasted.

Phillip Jocelyn, undermaster of Arts at an Uxminster University is well known to many but single, with entrenched habits such as billiards on Saturday and browsing the local bookstore. One day he asks the owner if he could display some of his sketches for sale in the window, and a few sell. When he meets the owner's daughter Millicent, he is shy but smitten. On her part, the plans to marry quickly go into motion. They agree he should take time off before the wedding for her to prepare the event. Reluctantly, he heads off to Normandy to sketch.
In Vence, he finds an old antique shop with a room to rent. Situated in the beautiful countryside, he paints and finds it easy to forget about university life. Slowly, he befriends the owner Jeanne and falls in love with her relaxed, open ways - he finds there is another way to live and love than the scheduled engagement he was in.

It's a simple story, filled with seeking and emotion - consuming passion over scheduled partnerships - as Phillip discovers what makes him happy, and how he can maintain his new found, free life in France. It's quite the 'woman's novel', interestingly told with a male lead instead. It would make quite a nice film starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Phillip, Carey Mulligan as Millicent and Juliette Binoche as Jeanne, a small film highlighting the beautiful scenery directed by Kenneth Branagh.

This is the kind of story I find reading James Hilton or W. Somerset Maugham. I'd say this is more simply written, but enjoyable - with a long-lasting echo.