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Someone at a Distance
Excellent Book
12 pages, Audible Audio
First published January 1, 1953
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About the author
Dorothy Whipple
28 books334 followersBorn in 1893, DOROTHY WHIPPLE (nee Stirrup) had an intensely happy childhood in Blackburn as part of the large family of a local architect. Her close friend George Owen having been killed in the first week of the war, for three years she worked as secretary to Henry Whipple, an educational administrator who was a widower twenty-four years her senior and whom she married in 1917. Their life was mostly spent in Nottingham; here she wrote Young Anne (1927), the first of nine extremely successful novels which included Greenbanks (1932) and The Priory (1939). Almost all her books were Book Society Choices or Recommendations and two of them, They Knew Mr Knight (1934) and They were Sisters (1943), were made into films. She also wrote short stories and two volumes of memoirs. Someone at a Distance (1953) was her last novel. Returning in her last years to Blackburn, Dorothy Whipple died there in 1966.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 437 reviews
July 30, 2024
For the first hundred or so pages, I thought this was going to be a three-star read. Nothing bad, some good writing and character development, but quite slow-moving and unremarkable. I was not prepared for where Someone at a Distance was going.
I think it becomes clear when the shit goes down why we needed all that slow build and character development. The dramatic events become so effective and emotional precisely because we have come to know this family so well.
The story is about a family torn apart when the father has an affair with a young French woman. We move, in third person, between each family member, seeing the impact of this betrayal on their worldview and self-image. It is crushing because I had liked Avery and felt a sense of betrayal myself by his actions.
Seeing Ellen question everything she thought she knew about her marriage and partnership with Avery is hard to witness. She feels foolish and embarrassed for putting her trust in him and thinking that what they had was stronger than his impulse to shag some sexy young thing. The impact on the pair's children, too, is devastating. Anne struggles to trust men in the wake of what happened, and Hugh loses all respect for the father he once adored.
But we also get Louise's perspective. Not surprisingly for the 1950s, the woman bears the brunt of the blame-- a snake who worms her way into a perfect family --but, more surprisingly, Whipple gives her a voice and a reason for her actions. Louise is truly a piece of work, but she is driven by her own hurt pride.
This novel takes something idyllic and beautiful, then destroys it. The disintegration of this family, this ideal of perfect harmony and happiness, feels so horrendously wrong.
After the slow start, I struggled to put it down.
I think it becomes clear when the shit goes down why we needed all that slow build and character development. The dramatic events become so effective and emotional precisely because we have come to know this family so well.
The story is about a family torn apart when the father has an affair with a young French woman. We move, in third person, between each family member, seeing the impact of this betrayal on their worldview and self-image. It is crushing because I had liked Avery and felt a sense of betrayal myself by his actions.
Seeing Ellen question everything she thought she knew about her marriage and partnership with Avery is hard to witness. She feels foolish and embarrassed for putting her trust in him and thinking that what they had was stronger than his impulse to shag some sexy young thing. The impact on the pair's children, too, is devastating. Anne struggles to trust men in the wake of what happened, and Hugh loses all respect for the father he once adored.
But we also get Louise's perspective. Not surprisingly for the 1950s, the woman bears the brunt of the blame-- a snake who worms her way into a perfect family --but, more surprisingly, Whipple gives her a voice and a reason for her actions. Louise is truly a piece of work, but she is driven by her own hurt pride.
This novel takes something idyllic and beautiful, then destroys it. The disintegration of this family, this ideal of perfect harmony and happiness, feels so horrendously wrong.
After the slow start, I struggled to put it down.
February 25, 2021
When I find out a book is 400 pages long, my inclination is to either avoid it or at least to postpone reading it. Too long, I say! This book was 413 pages long. But nevertheless I ordered this book because I had this notation in my TBR list next to this book: “lots of GR friends gave it 4-5 stars”.
So, I started reading it last night and enjoyed the act of reading it. Engrossed in it, and didn’t give a damn how long it was. Woke up this morning and continued to read with 200 pages to go. Had duties related to my job but could not tear myself away from the book. While reading it I was asking myself “where have I been all my life? Not having read this…” All I can say is that I am eagerly looking forward to reading more of Dorothy Whipple. 😊 😊 😊
She has the most books on the Persephone Books menu of offerings. — I count 11. I read where she is wildly popular amongst those who appreciate the books that Persephone puts forward – lost treasures of forgotten authors brought back by this publishing house with its wonderful grey book covers and French flaps and endpapers that have “wonderful re-creations of patterns – wallpapers, fabrics, clothing or suchlike”. If a book long out of print is brought back out of obscurity by this publishing house it has to be good.
The plot is not too complicated at all. A husband and wife. Avery and Ellen, are both in their 40s and living a nice uncomplicated life with their daughter Anne who is at boarding school part of the year (and home periodically) and Hugh who is in the military (but manages to come home on leave), when a younger women, Louise (27 years old) insinuates herself into their lives and … The plot is good, but not anything extraordinary. It’s the writing.
A British novelist, Nina Bawden, wrote a preface for the book. I chose to read it after I finished the book and am glad I did. I didn’t want anything about the book’s story line divulged to me—I wanted to discover that on my own. The name Nina Bawden rang a bell in my head, and I searched my bookcases containing books I had recently read, and sure enough, Nina Bawden had a blurb on the back cover of a most excellent book I read by Barbara Comyns, Mr. Fox. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Bawden’s preface and end this review of this most wonderful book with an observation of Bawden’s that particularly resonated with me…she captures eloquently what enthralled me about this book:
• “…It is as I said, a fairly ordinary tale. But it is a great gift to be able to take an ordinary tale and make it compulsive reading. It is all in the telling and Dorothy Whipple is a storyteller—an art that cannot be taught, cannot be learned, an art only a few writers are lucky enough to be born with. At the end of the novel, you can look back and see how it was done, how the author held your attention and persuaded you how one thing was bound to lead to the next, but while you are reading you are only aware of the suspense, the need to turn the page.”
Notes:
• It is sad that at the time of this publication not one major newspaper reviewed this novel (according to Bawden).
• Among Dorothy Whipple’s admirers: Anthony Burgess (writer and author of ‘A Clockwork Orange’) and Orville Prescott (main book reviewer for The New York Times for 24 years, 1942-1966).
• I learned from a blogsite review (stuckinabook) that this book is one of a few Persephone editions that has Classic status (https://persephonebooks.co.uk/collect... )—rather than the classy grey cover of regular editions, this is graced with a painting on the cover.
Reviews (I was struck by the number of blogsite reviews of this book, and it only goes to show me how impressed others were impressed by her work 😊 —these are but a few of the reviews):
• https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2018...
• interesting contrarian view: https://rohanmaitzen.com/2019/08/17/t...
• https://www.stuckinabook.com/someone-...
So, I started reading it last night and enjoyed the act of reading it. Engrossed in it, and didn’t give a damn how long it was. Woke up this morning and continued to read with 200 pages to go. Had duties related to my job but could not tear myself away from the book. While reading it I was asking myself “where have I been all my life? Not having read this…” All I can say is that I am eagerly looking forward to reading more of Dorothy Whipple. 😊 😊 😊
She has the most books on the Persephone Books menu of offerings. — I count 11. I read where she is wildly popular amongst those who appreciate the books that Persephone puts forward – lost treasures of forgotten authors brought back by this publishing house with its wonderful grey book covers and French flaps and endpapers that have “wonderful re-creations of patterns – wallpapers, fabrics, clothing or suchlike”. If a book long out of print is brought back out of obscurity by this publishing house it has to be good.
The plot is not too complicated at all. A husband and wife. Avery and Ellen, are both in their 40s and living a nice uncomplicated life with their daughter Anne who is at boarding school part of the year (and home periodically) and Hugh who is in the military (but manages to come home on leave), when a younger women, Louise (27 years old) insinuates herself into their lives and … The plot is good, but not anything extraordinary. It’s the writing.
A British novelist, Nina Bawden, wrote a preface for the book. I chose to read it after I finished the book and am glad I did. I didn’t want anything about the book’s story line divulged to me—I wanted to discover that on my own. The name Nina Bawden rang a bell in my head, and I searched my bookcases containing books I had recently read, and sure enough, Nina Bawden had a blurb on the back cover of a most excellent book I read by Barbara Comyns, Mr. Fox. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Bawden’s preface and end this review of this most wonderful book with an observation of Bawden’s that particularly resonated with me…she captures eloquently what enthralled me about this book:
• “…It is as I said, a fairly ordinary tale. But it is a great gift to be able to take an ordinary tale and make it compulsive reading. It is all in the telling and Dorothy Whipple is a storyteller—an art that cannot be taught, cannot be learned, an art only a few writers are lucky enough to be born with. At the end of the novel, you can look back and see how it was done, how the author held your attention and persuaded you how one thing was bound to lead to the next, but while you are reading you are only aware of the suspense, the need to turn the page.”
Notes:
• It is sad that at the time of this publication not one major newspaper reviewed this novel (according to Bawden).
• Among Dorothy Whipple’s admirers: Anthony Burgess (writer and author of ‘A Clockwork Orange’) and Orville Prescott (main book reviewer for The New York Times for 24 years, 1942-1966).
• I learned from a blogsite review (stuckinabook) that this book is one of a few Persephone editions that has Classic status (https://persephonebooks.co.uk/collect... )—rather than the classy grey cover of regular editions, this is graced with a painting on the cover.
Reviews (I was struck by the number of blogsite reviews of this book, and it only goes to show me how impressed others were impressed by her work 😊 —these are but a few of the reviews):
• https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2018...
• interesting contrarian view: https://rohanmaitzen.com/2019/08/17/t...
• https://www.stuckinabook.com/someone-...
July 13, 2021
This is a stunner. Small pebbles of disloyalty combine to wreck a happy marriage in Someone at a Distance. Each act of selfishness and thoughtless behavior combine to destroy twenty years of harmony and love. Avery and Ellen are an upper middle class couple secure in their lives and marriage. They have two children, Anne, a pretty, exuberant teenager, and Hugh, calm and steady, who is doing his military service.
Their lives are happy and comfortable, mostly because of Ellen who creates harmony through her hard work in the kitchen and garden to keep everything running smoothly. Avery, a handsome, successful publisher is content and feels all her good work is his due. A pretty French woman comes to England to be a companion for his elderly mother. Louise is at first disliked by them all with her superior and rude attitude, later Avery is flattered by Louise's attention and is angry with Ellen for not realizing that he is an attractive man and that she should not be so complacent.
The characters of Ellen and Avery are so minutely rendered that you feel like you know them, and you really feel for them, especially Ellen, who is hurt and bewildered by her husband's betrayal to an animalistic suffering. She pulls inward and only is brought out of apathy by her feeling for Anne and Hugh. Louise, is more of a caricature, someone you love to hate and you do.
Their lives are happy and comfortable, mostly because of Ellen who creates harmony through her hard work in the kitchen and garden to keep everything running smoothly. Avery, a handsome, successful publisher is content and feels all her good work is his due. A pretty French woman comes to England to be a companion for his elderly mother. Louise is at first disliked by them all with her superior and rude attitude, later Avery is flattered by Louise's attention and is angry with Ellen for not realizing that he is an attractive man and that she should not be so complacent.
The characters of Ellen and Avery are so minutely rendered that you feel like you know them, and you really feel for them, especially Ellen, who is hurt and bewildered by her husband's betrayal to an animalistic suffering. She pulls inward and only is brought out of apathy by her feeling for Anne and Hugh. Louise, is more of a caricature, someone you love to hate and you do.
June 10, 2017
Once again, I've fallen in love with one or Dorothy Whipple's books, and I'm excited to read even more by her...
"Someone at a Distance" is about Louise who is one of the most atrocious characters I've ever read about. She's selfish, manipulating and heartless and right from the beginning you can't help but feel great distaste for her.
As an opponent to Louise we have Ellen who is the wife of Avery and has two lovely children. How the story of Louise and Ellen is mingled, I won't give away, but this novel turns out to become a novel of love, despair and everything in between.
"Someone at a Distance" is about Louise who is one of the most atrocious characters I've ever read about. She's selfish, manipulating and heartless and right from the beginning you can't help but feel great distaste for her.
As an opponent to Louise we have Ellen who is the wife of Avery and has two lovely children. How the story of Louise and Ellen is mingled, I won't give away, but this novel turns out to become a novel of love, despair and everything in between.
June 8, 2018
I have never read Dorothy Whipple before, although I have come across her name many times; especially on the podcast, “Tea or Books?” When this title was suggested on a book group I belong to, I read it with interest.
Published in 1953, this is not my typical read, but I was immediately drawn in. It is the story of the North family – wife Ellen, publisher husband, Avery, their son Hugh, who is doing National Service and horse obsessed daughter, Anne, who is still at school. Avery’s demanding mother lives nearby and, bored and resentful, she decides to invite a young Frenchwoman to stay.
Louise Lanier is the beloved daughter of a bookseller and his wife. She is spoiled, vicious and utterly self-obsessed. Although she is beautiful, she is rejected by the richest young man of her provincial town, who, having enjoyed an affair with her, marries a woman more of his social class and Louise is keen to get away. So, she goes to stay with Mrs North in England and ingratiates herself with the old woman, while upsetting everyone else.
Ellen, who loves her garden, her family and her quiet, comfortable life, fails to see the danger that Louise represents. When she catches Avery embracing her, the situation quickly gets out of hand. Avery, humiliated, feels that he has no choice but to leave. Ellen, who having spent her life being a wife, and a mother, is left bereft and abandoned and has to make a new life.
I am a wife and a mother, and have been so for many years, so I must admit my sympathies were all with Ellen. This book may be a little dated, but the emotions, situation and events are all still ones that the reader can understand and sympathise with. I am left a little emotionally shattered, but I did enjoy this greatly.
Published in 1953, this is not my typical read, but I was immediately drawn in. It is the story of the North family – wife Ellen, publisher husband, Avery, their son Hugh, who is doing National Service and horse obsessed daughter, Anne, who is still at school. Avery’s demanding mother lives nearby and, bored and resentful, she decides to invite a young Frenchwoman to stay.
Louise Lanier is the beloved daughter of a bookseller and his wife. She is spoiled, vicious and utterly self-obsessed. Although she is beautiful, she is rejected by the richest young man of her provincial town, who, having enjoyed an affair with her, marries a woman more of his social class and Louise is keen to get away. So, she goes to stay with Mrs North in England and ingratiates herself with the old woman, while upsetting everyone else.
Ellen, who loves her garden, her family and her quiet, comfortable life, fails to see the danger that Louise represents. When she catches Avery embracing her, the situation quickly gets out of hand. Avery, humiliated, feels that he has no choice but to leave. Ellen, who having spent her life being a wife, and a mother, is left bereft and abandoned and has to make a new life.
I am a wife and a mother, and have been so for many years, so I must admit my sympathies were all with Ellen. This book may be a little dated, but the emotions, situation and events are all still ones that the reader can understand and sympathise with. I am left a little emotionally shattered, but I did enjoy this greatly.
October 24, 2024
This didn't have quite the same depth as Whipple's masterpiece, 'They Were Sisters', but it was nevertheless a wonderful read.
June 7, 2021
“Things go wrong, even in exceptionally happy families.”
An examination of a marriage and family after an evil force comes into their midst and destroys their idyllic existence.
Dorthy Whipple has created an ordinary, loving family- a couple (Ellen and Avery) that were thought of as “an absolute ideal couple” and their two wonderful children, Anne and Hugh, and throws into their orbit an absolute viper.
Have you ever hated a character so much that you had to stop reading and take a walk before you exploded? Well that was Louise Lanier for me.
“ Louise had changed them all out of recognition.”
“He had ruined past, present and future.”
A domestic novel which completely engulfed me! How did the author do this? So many emotions were running through me as I read. I was so angry at times and brought to tears at other moments. When I wasn’t reading the book, I was thinking about it. I really could not rush through this book. There are so many layers to explore in this book.
This was my first Dorothy Whipple book- it certainly won’t be my last.
5 HUGE STARS for this one. Totally amazing.
An examination of a marriage and family after an evil force comes into their midst and destroys their idyllic existence.
Dorthy Whipple has created an ordinary, loving family- a couple (Ellen and Avery) that were thought of as “an absolute ideal couple” and their two wonderful children, Anne and Hugh, and throws into their orbit an absolute viper.
Have you ever hated a character so much that you had to stop reading and take a walk before you exploded? Well that was Louise Lanier for me.
“ Louise had changed them all out of recognition.”
“He had ruined past, present and future.”
A domestic novel which completely engulfed me! How did the author do this? So many emotions were running through me as I read. I was so angry at times and brought to tears at other moments. When I wasn’t reading the book, I was thinking about it. I really could not rush through this book. There are so many layers to explore in this book.
This was my first Dorothy Whipple book- it certainly won’t be my last.
5 HUGE STARS for this one. Totally amazing.
June 30, 2018
A really enjoyable read. Loved the characters!
April 10, 2023
Marriage, in-laws- adult kids (and their kids), growing older, a housekeeper/companion….
….an affair….
self- growth ….
….anger, jealousy, remorse,
….forgiveness….
moving on…
Avery North works in the publishing business. His demanding mother, Old Mrs. North lives nearby. She is cranky, bored, lonely, and resentful…..so she hires Louise, from France, to come live in her London home — more for companionship, then housework.
(Louise will be trouble between Ellen and Avery’s marriage) ….
Ellen is a good woman — she has moral integrity—is loving and kind.
She and Avery have been married many years — happy. They did community service together….and cared about the world and justice.
Their son, Hugh started his compulsory Army service. And their daughter, Anne is away at school.
Old Mrs. North, Avery’s mother, resented other peoples interests. (she also resented being old) ….
She resented her housekeeper’s singing, and her daughter-in-law’s gardening…..
which took up time that should have been time spent with ‘her’.
Her crankiness is actually funny …. but deep down we know she is lonely - and doesn’t like feeling put out to pasture due to her age.
……There are funny parts, but we (readers) aren’t fooled easily — there are some painful issues as well. ….facing all the members of the North family….
Louise, too.
I like the reflective prose and the easy flowing way Dorothy Whipple wrote.
Many scenes made me pause.
“At my age, I don’t expect fun, said Mrs. Norris. But I hope it will be interesting. I’m too old to go and search of change, so I’ll try to bring change into the house. It’s too quiet as it is”.
“She had learnt to wait for changes and the help that life brings. Life is like the sea, sometimes you are in the tough of the wave, sometimes on the crest. When you are in the tough, you wait for the crest, and always, trough or crest, a mysterious tide bears you forward to an unseen, but certain shore”.
Kudos to Persephone Publishing….for bringing back Dorothy Whipple’s books.
“Someone at a Distance” was first published in 1953 ….
I plan to keep reading more of her re-published books. —
….an affair….
self- growth ….
….anger, jealousy, remorse,
….forgiveness….
moving on…
Avery North works in the publishing business. His demanding mother, Old Mrs. North lives nearby. She is cranky, bored, lonely, and resentful…..so she hires Louise, from France, to come live in her London home — more for companionship, then housework.
(Louise will be trouble between Ellen and Avery’s marriage) ….
Ellen is a good woman — she has moral integrity—is loving and kind.
She and Avery have been married many years — happy. They did community service together….and cared about the world and justice.
Their son, Hugh started his compulsory Army service. And their daughter, Anne is away at school.
Old Mrs. North, Avery’s mother, resented other peoples interests. (she also resented being old) ….
She resented her housekeeper’s singing, and her daughter-in-law’s gardening…..
which took up time that should have been time spent with ‘her’.
Her crankiness is actually funny …. but deep down we know she is lonely - and doesn’t like feeling put out to pasture due to her age.
……There are funny parts, but we (readers) aren’t fooled easily — there are some painful issues as well. ….facing all the members of the North family….
Louise, too.
I like the reflective prose and the easy flowing way Dorothy Whipple wrote.
Many scenes made me pause.
“At my age, I don’t expect fun, said Mrs. Norris. But I hope it will be interesting. I’m too old to go and search of change, so I’ll try to bring change into the house. It’s too quiet as it is”.
“She had learnt to wait for changes and the help that life brings. Life is like the sea, sometimes you are in the tough of the wave, sometimes on the crest. When you are in the tough, you wait for the crest, and always, trough or crest, a mysterious tide bears you forward to an unseen, but certain shore”.
Kudos to Persephone Publishing….for bringing back Dorothy Whipple’s books.
“Someone at a Distance” was first published in 1953 ….
I plan to keep reading more of her re-published books. —
November 6, 2017
Although a rather hefty book, 'Someone at a Distance' really packs a punch and becomes addictive reading once you get past the first dozen pages or so. The characters are drawn so clearly and concisely that it pains you to read of their downfall. The theme of adultery is covered with intensity and the relationships between father and daughter before and after are heartbreaking. Dorothy Whipple really 'feels' her characters and I was enchanted, devastated and then momentarily happy as I experienced the highs and lows of a family torn apart by an affair.
April 27, 2019
(It's been awhile since I've written a review, so this may come out sort of stream of consciousness, but I'll shape up soon as I get back in the swing, I promise...)
I've been lucky enough to come across several authors like Dorothy Whipple. She writes what I'm sure would be-and was- condescendingly referred to as "domestic fiction," full of the concerns of the lives of women and their families. In this case, it was a story that could not be more typical or made fun of- happy family, "infiltrated" by an insinuating, false younger woman (threateningly French and lipsticked, of course), and the predictable things the husband does after that. The pace is slow, the end is maudlin, and nobody does anything very much out of the common way.
And these often end up being some of my favorite kinds of books- because then with the plot taken care of, we can focus on what truly matters: the people. Whipple's characterization is wonderful. While certain things happen and she doesn't pretend that her characters aren't going to feel what we expect them to- she is never lazy about the accuracy with which she describes what those feelings are like, and just how this particular character would process it- what images and memories and metaphors that this person's life experience would bring to mind. She is also firm about not skipping over the hesitations and the doubt and the twists and turns that lead back to that "expected" path. And we don't wind up there 100% of the time, either- or sometimes we do, but with everyone feeling differently about it than we expect them to. And despite all the careful insight she provides, she never allows it to feel like she thinks her characters' thoughts and feelings are the most special of all, or some unfathomable whirlpool- she's bracing about making it clear that a thousand people have felt the same before this person or experienced the same, and she expects her characters to buckle down and get through it just like everyone else has. It's a great mixture of gentle insight, kind wisdom and a bit of sentiment to make it all go down smoothly. She writes with a great respect for the ordinary feelings of people with small lives and never allows them to be less than three-dimensional, or to feel like a shadow play we've seen before is being enacted. I've read this story a thousand times and didn't roll my eyes once while reading it. Even the maudlin ending, while I thought, "Wow, this is maudlin," intellectually, I will say that it seemed heartfelt and honest. I'll forgive stories for a lot if they convince me they mean it from the inside. Do you know what I mean? That the characters have been created in such a way that what is happening is what they would want, not what some expected narrative or pre-plotted story says they should want. Their story may match those narratives, but if I'm convinced it comes from within, from reasons that mean something genuine, I'm on board. And Whipple delivers that.
And what was even more impressive is that I completely disagreed with the choice the main character was clearly going to make at the end of the book- if she had been my friend, I would have been horrified. But Whipple had made her feel so real that I also had a similar reaction to what I would have with an actual friend- that reaction of horror, but then actually listening and supporting a decision that makes this person happy because that's who she is and you can't change her.
Remember that part at the end of Midsummer where Theseus says, "For never anything can be amiss when simpleness and duty tender it"?
Whipple is like that, in the best way.
I've been lucky enough to come across several authors like Dorothy Whipple. She writes what I'm sure would be-and was- condescendingly referred to as "domestic fiction," full of the concerns of the lives of women and their families. In this case, it was a story that could not be more typical or made fun of- happy family, "infiltrated" by an insinuating, false younger woman (threateningly French and lipsticked, of course), and the predictable things the husband does after that. The pace is slow, the end is maudlin, and nobody does anything very much out of the common way.
And these often end up being some of my favorite kinds of books- because then with the plot taken care of, we can focus on what truly matters: the people. Whipple's characterization is wonderful. While certain things happen and she doesn't pretend that her characters aren't going to feel what we expect them to- she is never lazy about the accuracy with which she describes what those feelings are like, and just how this particular character would process it- what images and memories and metaphors that this person's life experience would bring to mind. She is also firm about not skipping over the hesitations and the doubt and the twists and turns that lead back to that "expected" path. And we don't wind up there 100% of the time, either- or sometimes we do, but with everyone feeling differently about it than we expect them to. And despite all the careful insight she provides, she never allows it to feel like she thinks her characters' thoughts and feelings are the most special of all, or some unfathomable whirlpool- she's bracing about making it clear that a thousand people have felt the same before this person or experienced the same, and she expects her characters to buckle down and get through it just like everyone else has. It's a great mixture of gentle insight, kind wisdom and a bit of sentiment to make it all go down smoothly. She writes with a great respect for the ordinary feelings of people with small lives and never allows them to be less than three-dimensional, or to feel like a shadow play we've seen before is being enacted. I've read this story a thousand times and didn't roll my eyes once while reading it. Even the maudlin ending, while I thought, "Wow, this is maudlin," intellectually, I will say that it seemed heartfelt and honest. I'll forgive stories for a lot if they convince me they mean it from the inside. Do you know what I mean? That the characters have been created in such a way that what is happening is what they would want, not what some expected narrative or pre-plotted story says they should want. Their story may match those narratives, but if I'm convinced it comes from within, from reasons that mean something genuine, I'm on board. And Whipple delivers that.
And what was even more impressive is that I completely disagreed with the choice the main character was clearly going to make at the end of the book- if she had been my friend, I would have been horrified. But Whipple had made her feel so real that I also had a similar reaction to what I would have with an actual friend- that reaction of horror, but then actually listening and supporting a decision that makes this person happy because that's who she is and you can't change her.
Remember that part at the end of Midsummer where Theseus says, "For never anything can be amiss when simpleness and duty tender it"?
Whipple is like that, in the best way.
June 17, 2018
A beautifully written story, full of empathy for the characters. My heart broke for the family, who I felt I had got to know and love.
Ellen and Avery are happily married with 2 children Hugh and Anne. His Mother lives not far away and is lonely and resentful that the family don't spend more time with her so she advertises for a companion. Louise, living in France, has recently been jilted by her lover, who has married a woman with better social standing, so she wants to get away from the small village and replies to the advert.
Ellen and Louise are opposites, Ellen middle-aged sensible mother who loves looking after her family and the garden is comfortable. Louise is bitter and out to hurt. She spends hours in the morning getting herself ready and cares deeply about her appearance. Soon she start to go after Avery.
My thanks to Karen for sending me a copy of this book.
Ellen and Avery are happily married with 2 children Hugh and Anne. His Mother lives not far away and is lonely and resentful that the family don't spend more time with her so she advertises for a companion. Louise, living in France, has recently been jilted by her lover, who has married a woman with better social standing, so she wants to get away from the small village and replies to the advert.
Ellen and Louise are opposites, Ellen middle-aged sensible mother who loves looking after her family and the garden is comfortable. Louise is bitter and out to hurt. She spends hours in the morning getting herself ready and cares deeply about her appearance. Soon she start to go after Avery.
My thanks to Karen for sending me a copy of this book.
December 8, 2021
Someone at a Distance is a gently told reflection on relationships, society and personality. It chronicles the dissolution of a marriage. Avery and Ellen North are a middle class English family settled into their well routinized life in 1950.Avery, a publisher, commutes to London.His wife, Ellen, finds fulfillment in managing the household, nurturing her children and managing her garden. The family’s lifestyle is both self sufficient and generally self contained. They make obligatory and sometimes reluctant visits to Avery’s querulous mother who lives nearby.
The elder Mrs North resents not being absorbed into the hub of the family structure and feels neglected. Consequently, she advertises for a live in companion.The inquiry is answered and filled by a young attractive French woman, Louise Lanier. Her presence alters the family dynamic and is the catalyst for gradual shifts in the personalities and actions of both the North family and Louise.
The trajectory of the story unfolds slowly and is not particularly surprising. Rather, the artistry of book is defined by the depth and interplay among the characters.Each person is extremely well drawn and the reader is able to understand the subtle and gradual shifts in their thought processes and personalities that lead to the novel’s denouement.
Dorothy Whipple has noted that the world of men and the world of women are so different that it is a wonder that they speak the same language. Subtly, this thought is one of the many themes underlying this narrative.We come to realize that there are unexplored and silent barriers that we erect in our personalities and relationships. External circumstances can create fissures in these barriers and might lead to craters that alter our life stories Can we ever be certain if someone we love is truly close and not at a distance? 4.5 stars, beautiful writing.
The elder Mrs North resents not being absorbed into the hub of the family structure and feels neglected. Consequently, she advertises for a live in companion.The inquiry is answered and filled by a young attractive French woman, Louise Lanier. Her presence alters the family dynamic and is the catalyst for gradual shifts in the personalities and actions of both the North family and Louise.
The trajectory of the story unfolds slowly and is not particularly surprising. Rather, the artistry of book is defined by the depth and interplay among the characters.Each person is extremely well drawn and the reader is able to understand the subtle and gradual shifts in their thought processes and personalities that lead to the novel’s denouement.
Dorothy Whipple has noted that the world of men and the world of women are so different that it is a wonder that they speak the same language. Subtly, this thought is one of the many themes underlying this narrative.We come to realize that there are unexplored and silent barriers that we erect in our personalities and relationships. External circumstances can create fissures in these barriers and might lead to craters that alter our life stories Can we ever be certain if someone we love is truly close and not at a distance? 4.5 stars, beautiful writing.
June 25, 2018
'There are times in our lives when the slightest move is dangerous' writes Dorothy Whipple in her last novel she wrote in 1953.
Avery North has it all, a successful job, a lovely home , a loving caring wife and two children .When Avery's elderly mother advertises for a companion, along comes French girl Louise Lanier who turns everyone's lives upside down.
My first Dorothy Whipple book and i absolutely loved it. It's so well written and the characters will stay with me for a very long time.Can't wait to read more by this author
Avery North has it all, a successful job, a lovely home , a loving caring wife and two children .When Avery's elderly mother advertises for a companion, along comes French girl Louise Lanier who turns everyone's lives upside down.
My first Dorothy Whipple book and i absolutely loved it. It's so well written and the characters will stay with me for a very long time.Can't wait to read more by this author
July 27, 2016
One word review - Read this book.
This book is one of my best reads of 2016. Someone at a Distance is the story of an ordinary family torn apart by the entry of a French woman named Louise. You are introduced to a middle class happy family- Avery and Ellen, one daughter and a son. Avery is a handsome publisher with a good pay and Ellen enjoys gardening and running the household. Their self sufficiency causes resentment in Avery's mom and she starts complaining they (especially Ellen) doesn't pay attention to her. She advertises for a companion and the ad is answered by a French woman named Louise.
Then follow an interesting set of events, that question the marriage, trust and family bonds. Whipple is such a talented writer and wrings out your emotions throughout. Particularly interesting is the contrasting character sketch of Ellen and Louise. A must read for anyone who loves a good book.
For full review check out http://www.thebooksatchel.com/someone...
This book is one of my best reads of 2016. Someone at a Distance is the story of an ordinary family torn apart by the entry of a French woman named Louise. You are introduced to a middle class happy family- Avery and Ellen, one daughter and a son. Avery is a handsome publisher with a good pay and Ellen enjoys gardening and running the household. Their self sufficiency causes resentment in Avery's mom and she starts complaining they (especially Ellen) doesn't pay attention to her. She advertises for a companion and the ad is answered by a French woman named Louise.
Then follow an interesting set of events, that question the marriage, trust and family bonds. Whipple is such a talented writer and wrings out your emotions throughout. Particularly interesting is the contrasting character sketch of Ellen and Louise. A must read for anyone who loves a good book.
For full review check out http://www.thebooksatchel.com/someone...
March 19, 2023
As soon as the book was handed to me by a bookseller, I was in love. It had a luscious painting on the cover, and was otherwise gray. I found myself holding a beautifully constructed paperback, with wallpaper from the era of the original printing of the book on endpages. It was just what I was looking for.
It was a copy of Dorothy Whipple’s Someone at a Distance, originally published in 1953, reprinted by Persephone Books in London.
I am relatively late in discovering Persephone, as is evidenced by a couple of Bookslut posts here and here. And this Stuck in a Book blog post.
Now I feel as if I have stumbled upon a huge treat, and I can’t wait to get my hands on more of Persephone’s dovegray reprints. Persephone Books is dedicated to reprinting “forgotten twentieth century novels, short stories, cookery books and memoirs by (mostly) women writers.” Persephone Books’ reprints are for “the discerning reader who prefers books that are neither too literary nor too commerical, and are guaranteed to be readable, thought-provoking and impossible to forget.”
That, my dears, is quite the mission statement. Persephone Books is the brainchild of publisher Nicola Beauman. Her book, A Very Great Profession: The Woman’s Novel 1914-39, originally published by Virago Press, explores the writings of many of the authors Persephone Books now republishes.
What makes me so smitten? These are authors who deserve to be rediscovered, celebrated and discussed.
Dorothy Whipple’s Someone at a Distance blew me away. Its simple premise, the dissolution of a marriage, is drawn in a subtle, skillful way. Whipple draws you into post-War rural England with an artist’s hand, taking you into the lives of the North family with deft, compassionate insight.
The principal characters are Avery and Ellen North. Avery works in London at a publishing house, and his wife, Ellen, a woman happily consumed with the daily tasks of keeping house. Ellen has little interest in entertaining or attending the literary events at Avery’s work. Even though it might be her duty as a publisher’s wife, she soon realized that “she didn’t look important and nobody wondered who she was,” and decided she was not missed.
Avery and Ellen and their two children lead an idyllic life. It is to all eyes a charmed family. But everything changes when Old Mrs. North, Avery’s demanding mother, hires a French girl, Louise, as a companion and language coach. Louise is a fine piece of work, a girl smarting from an affair to a man in a higher social class in her hometown, who is hellbent on exacting her revenge–success. Once Louise sets her sights on Avery, things get complicated.
Whipple explores family relationships, human motives and happiness with the kind of compassion and finesse that you don’t see nearly as readily in contemporary fiction.
I should mention that Persephone Books may not be easy to find. Some of them are available in America, but others you will have to order. If your book group is looking for some forgotten classics, it is well worth the hunt.
Post with links at:
http://bookgroupbuzz.booklistonline.c...
It was a copy of Dorothy Whipple’s Someone at a Distance, originally published in 1953, reprinted by Persephone Books in London.
I am relatively late in discovering Persephone, as is evidenced by a couple of Bookslut posts here and here. And this Stuck in a Book blog post.
Now I feel as if I have stumbled upon a huge treat, and I can’t wait to get my hands on more of Persephone’s dovegray reprints. Persephone Books is dedicated to reprinting “forgotten twentieth century novels, short stories, cookery books and memoirs by (mostly) women writers.” Persephone Books’ reprints are for “the discerning reader who prefers books that are neither too literary nor too commerical, and are guaranteed to be readable, thought-provoking and impossible to forget.”
That, my dears, is quite the mission statement. Persephone Books is the brainchild of publisher Nicola Beauman. Her book, A Very Great Profession: The Woman’s Novel 1914-39, originally published by Virago Press, explores the writings of many of the authors Persephone Books now republishes.
What makes me so smitten? These are authors who deserve to be rediscovered, celebrated and discussed.
Dorothy Whipple’s Someone at a Distance blew me away. Its simple premise, the dissolution of a marriage, is drawn in a subtle, skillful way. Whipple draws you into post-War rural England with an artist’s hand, taking you into the lives of the North family with deft, compassionate insight.
The principal characters are Avery and Ellen North. Avery works in London at a publishing house, and his wife, Ellen, a woman happily consumed with the daily tasks of keeping house. Ellen has little interest in entertaining or attending the literary events at Avery’s work. Even though it might be her duty as a publisher’s wife, she soon realized that “she didn’t look important and nobody wondered who she was,” and decided she was not missed.
Avery and Ellen and their two children lead an idyllic life. It is to all eyes a charmed family. But everything changes when Old Mrs. North, Avery’s demanding mother, hires a French girl, Louise, as a companion and language coach. Louise is a fine piece of work, a girl smarting from an affair to a man in a higher social class in her hometown, who is hellbent on exacting her revenge–success. Once Louise sets her sights on Avery, things get complicated.
Whipple explores family relationships, human motives and happiness with the kind of compassion and finesse that you don’t see nearly as readily in contemporary fiction.
I should mention that Persephone Books may not be easy to find. Some of them are available in America, but others you will have to order. If your book group is looking for some forgotten classics, it is well worth the hunt.
Post with links at:
http://bookgroupbuzz.booklistonline.c...
October 31, 2022
My one star rating does not mean the book is terrible. It means only that I personally dislike it. While it may be a book others enjoy, I do not.
Why do I dislike this book?
The characters are too simplified. I want characters to be drawn as people really are. Human beings are complicated. I think every person is a mixture of good and bad qualities. I want them drawn this way.
Secondly, I immensely dislike how the English and the French are compared. Not only are characters simplified but so are English versus French cultural differences. English ways are glorified. French habits and ways are consistently put in a bad light. I have lived in France, and therefore this irritates me a lot. I want balance in how different cultures are drawn.
In this story a happily married couple of twenty years is torn apart. The husband goes through a midlife crisis. He falls for “the French girl” whom his widowed and lonely mother has brought into her home. He knows he is behaving stupidly, but he continues to act unreasonably. His behavior is NOT believable.
I think of the details in the book, and I get furious. Time and time again, I reacted negatively to how the author chose to put together the story. The erring husband’s wife is so kind, self-sacrificing and wise. Their daughter is extremely naïve. Their son loyally supports his mom in every way he can. Lovely, huh? Very nice but not real! The good characters can be piled in one heap and the foolish and the meek in another. This made me squirm and feel uncomfortable. There is one unbelievably horrible villain. Guess who. “The French girl”, of course. This is how she is referred to.
I should mention this—there are other French figures. The “villain’s” parents are not stupid. They are aware of their daughter’s shallow behavior. Yet, they fail to adequately remonstrate or oppose her. Other French characters are drawn as being exceedingly meek. Neither is this realistic.
“The French girl” travels – all that we hear about is what she buys, her fancy and expensive clothing for example. If you are looking for a character to hate, you’ve got one here.
Neither do I like the ending. Ii’s wishy-washy. We observe characters behaving knowledgeable and wise. Give me instead the complicated and the rough and tumble of real life.
The audiobook is narrated by Susan Woodridge. Her narration I have given three stars. It’s fine. She simply relates what is there in the lines. She dramatizes a bit, but not a lot.
Not a book for me.
Why do I dislike this book?
The characters are too simplified. I want characters to be drawn as people really are. Human beings are complicated. I think every person is a mixture of good and bad qualities. I want them drawn this way.
Secondly, I immensely dislike how the English and the French are compared. Not only are characters simplified but so are English versus French cultural differences. English ways are glorified. French habits and ways are consistently put in a bad light. I have lived in France, and therefore this irritates me a lot. I want balance in how different cultures are drawn.
In this story a happily married couple of twenty years is torn apart. The husband goes through a midlife crisis. He falls for “the French girl” whom his widowed and lonely mother has brought into her home. He knows he is behaving stupidly, but he continues to act unreasonably. His behavior is NOT believable.
I think of the details in the book, and I get furious. Time and time again, I reacted negatively to how the author chose to put together the story. The erring husband’s wife is so kind, self-sacrificing and wise. Their daughter is extremely naïve. Their son loyally supports his mom in every way he can. Lovely, huh? Very nice but not real! The good characters can be piled in one heap and the foolish and the meek in another. This made me squirm and feel uncomfortable. There is one unbelievably horrible villain. Guess who. “The French girl”, of course. This is how she is referred to.
I should mention this—there are other French figures. The “villain’s” parents are not stupid. They are aware of their daughter’s shallow behavior. Yet, they fail to adequately remonstrate or oppose her. Other French characters are drawn as being exceedingly meek. Neither is this realistic.
“The French girl” travels – all that we hear about is what she buys, her fancy and expensive clothing for example. If you are looking for a character to hate, you’ve got one here.
Neither do I like the ending. Ii’s wishy-washy. We observe characters behaving knowledgeable and wise. Give me instead the complicated and the rough and tumble of real life.
The audiobook is narrated by Susan Woodridge. Her narration I have given three stars. It’s fine. She simply relates what is there in the lines. She dramatizes a bit, but not a lot.
Not a book for me.
November 4, 2024
I ordered this immediately after finishing They Were Sisters, and I couldn't wait to get started.
Once again, Dorothy Whipple has created a story simultaneously beautiful and ugly, happy and sad, and utterly compelling, and she brings together this domestic story, set in 1950s England, wonderfully well.
I took a little longer to get into this story - the first quarter seems to focus on setting up the premise, detailing the lives of this happy family unit, headed by husband and wife, Avery and Ellen, and their two children Anne and Hugh. They have an idyllic life in the countryside; Avery is a loving father and husband, Ellen is the model (1950s model) housewife and mother, and their children are happy and clearly adore their parents.
But then Ellen's mother employs a young French companion, Louise, and things begin to unravel. Louise is wounded after being dumped by a well-to-do suitor back in France - her pride is hurt and her view of men is dangerously loose. When she tempts Avery into an affair, the family unit shatters, and Whipple explores each shard in turn, detailing the devastating effects on them all.
I enjoyed how each character was given their chance to speak - we learn how the children are affected, how Avery tries to justify his actions, and how Ellen forms her reaction. But the most compelling character emerges in Louise - this wicked temptress, selfish and manipulative, seems to brush aside any sense of blame. Indeed, the affair allows her to 'restore confidence in herself'.
I love how these stories by Dorothy Whipple play out in a time that isn't much visited in literary fiction, and have, at their heart, a sense of domesticity to them. She makes sure we care about these characters and the family unit before she shatters them...and us. I didn't know who to blame most for the downfall of bliss...actually, I did; I'm blaming the young coquette from across the English Channel!
I'd put They Were Sisters a little above this one in my ranking, but I'm still going for five stars here. I loved it.
Once again, Dorothy Whipple has created a story simultaneously beautiful and ugly, happy and sad, and utterly compelling, and she brings together this domestic story, set in 1950s England, wonderfully well.
I took a little longer to get into this story - the first quarter seems to focus on setting up the premise, detailing the lives of this happy family unit, headed by husband and wife, Avery and Ellen, and their two children Anne and Hugh. They have an idyllic life in the countryside; Avery is a loving father and husband, Ellen is the model (1950s model) housewife and mother, and their children are happy and clearly adore their parents.
But then Ellen's mother employs a young French companion, Louise, and things begin to unravel. Louise is wounded after being dumped by a well-to-do suitor back in France - her pride is hurt and her view of men is dangerously loose. When she tempts Avery into an affair, the family unit shatters, and Whipple explores each shard in turn, detailing the devastating effects on them all.
I enjoyed how each character was given their chance to speak - we learn how the children are affected, how Avery tries to justify his actions, and how Ellen forms her reaction. But the most compelling character emerges in Louise - this wicked temptress, selfish and manipulative, seems to brush aside any sense of blame. Indeed, the affair allows her to 'restore confidence in herself'.
I love how these stories by Dorothy Whipple play out in a time that isn't much visited in literary fiction, and have, at their heart, a sense of domesticity to them. She makes sure we care about these characters and the family unit before she shatters them...and us. I didn't know who to blame most for the downfall of bliss...actually, I did; I'm blaming the young coquette from across the English Channel!
I'd put They Were Sisters a little above this one in my ranking, but I'm still going for five stars here. I loved it.
November 27, 2021
Brilliant! Now I want to track down everything Whipple wrote.
September 4, 2017
How could I not give this the full five *s? I haven't been this compelled to find out what was going to happen in a fictional story for a very long time. From the Sunday to Thursday in which I read all 413 pages, I didn't want to look away.
And the physical book is lovely. A Persephone Classic that appeals in every way, reminiscent of my beloved NYRB editions. But it really comes down to what is inside, right? I had never even heard of Dorothy Whipple until Chris (thank you Chris!) shared a review. Originally published in 1953, it is one of the first Persephone Classics to be reprinted. Set in post-war England, family relationships are the central focus. Loyalty. Betrayal. All the good things. Even though the time period is not the same at all, I had the feeling I was in the land of Emma/Jane Austen, but with more seriousness (aka less humour).
I can't wait to read another Dorothy Whipple book!
Coming soon: My favourite quotes.
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And the physical book is lovely. A Persephone Classic that appeals in every way, reminiscent of my beloved NYRB editions. But it really comes down to what is inside, right? I had never even heard of Dorothy Whipple until Chris (thank you Chris!) shared a review. Originally published in 1953, it is one of the first Persephone Classics to be reprinted. Set in post-war England, family relationships are the central focus. Loyalty. Betrayal. All the good things. Even though the time period is not the same at all, I had the feeling I was in the land of Emma/Jane Austen, but with more seriousness (aka less humour).
I can't wait to read another Dorothy Whipple book!
Coming soon: My favourite quotes.
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July 24, 2019
La escritora, Dorothy Whipple nos retrata la vida cotidiana de un matrimonio convencional, con dos hijos, de buena posición social, nos muestra su día a día, escenas domésticas, cuidado del jardín, comidas familiares, cenas de Navidad. Es como una balsa de agua, todo muy tranquilo, hasta que hace aparición en sus vidas Louise, una joven francesa que es contratada por la madre de Avery como acompañante, ya que la señora, es mayor, no tiene a sus hijos cerca, está sola y ve una manera de olvidar la soledad y recordar el francés.
Novela publicada en 1953 retrata el matrimonio de la época, la infidelidad y el acoso al que la sociedad trata a las mujeres abandonadas por sus maridos al irse con sus amantes, como son el centro de los comentarios, el trámite del divorcio, la negación al mismo y la superación o frustración ante estos hechos.
Leer esta novela hoy nos abre los ojos de lo que pasaron esas mujeres hasta hacer de este proceso algo aceptable socialmente.
Novela publicada en 1953 retrata el matrimonio de la época, la infidelidad y el acoso al que la sociedad trata a las mujeres abandonadas por sus maridos al irse con sus amantes, como son el centro de los comentarios, el trámite del divorcio, la negación al mismo y la superación o frustración ante estos hechos.
Leer esta novela hoy nos abre los ojos de lo que pasaron esas mujeres hasta hacer de este proceso algo aceptable socialmente.
Read
December 29, 2008This 1953 novel features a county of resourceful and morally upstanding British women versus one husband-thieving French tart who is so diabolical that her mere presence can make a baby vomit. How I love Persephone Books.
August 8, 2025
To live dangerously became the most exciting of games to Louise.
My introduction to Dorothy Whipple was by way of Louise Lanier, a Frenchwoman who happens to answer an advertisement to come to England to be a companion to the elderly Mrs. North whose grown children do not provide her with enough attention. One son and daughter in law live nearby. They have an ideal marriage and Ellen and Avery’s relationship is solid. Ellen is kind, trusting and quite happy with her life. Avery is an excellent provider to his family and a loving and doting father. However, the unsuspecting couple doesn’t realize how good and peaceful they have it until Louise barges into their rather idyllic lifestyle.
She hated men, she told herself. But unfortunately it was through them that women had to get what they wanted, at any rate, women like herself.
Too much can be said about the plot of this book and I certainly do not want to ruin the fun spoiling too much! This is a portrait of what happens when a whirlwind infiltrates itself into a rather steady and constant space. We get the interlocking stories of two families—the Norths as well as the Laniers. Whipple has taken an ordinary story and turned it into an absorbing and compulsive reading experience—one that no description from me can explain rather must be experienced first hand.
My introduction to Dorothy Whipple was by way of Louise Lanier, a Frenchwoman who happens to answer an advertisement to come to England to be a companion to the elderly Mrs. North whose grown children do not provide her with enough attention. One son and daughter in law live nearby. They have an ideal marriage and Ellen and Avery’s relationship is solid. Ellen is kind, trusting and quite happy with her life. Avery is an excellent provider to his family and a loving and doting father. However, the unsuspecting couple doesn’t realize how good and peaceful they have it until Louise barges into their rather idyllic lifestyle.
She hated men, she told herself. But unfortunately it was through them that women had to get what they wanted, at any rate, women like herself.
Too much can be said about the plot of this book and I certainly do not want to ruin the fun spoiling too much! This is a portrait of what happens when a whirlwind infiltrates itself into a rather steady and constant space. We get the interlocking stories of two families—the Norths as well as the Laniers. Whipple has taken an ordinary story and turned it into an absorbing and compulsive reading experience—one that no description from me can explain rather must be experienced first hand.
April 21, 2021
“Someone at a Distance” trata sobre el matrimonio North, que lleva veinte años feliz mente casados, tienen un hijo en el ejército y una hija interna en un colegio. Son una pareja feliz y perfecta de clase media, viven bien, no tienen problemas de dinero ni fisuras de ningún tipo. Son un par de hipócritas que se alegran de que la madre del señor North tenga a una joven francesa viviendo en su casa, entreteniéndola: no tienen espacio en sus vidas para la abuela, apenas la visitan y cuando lo hacen se despiden a la par que saludan al entrar.
No saben lo que tienen hasta que lo han perdido, es entonces cuando realmente lo valoran. Avery North tropieza dos veces con esa piedra en menos de un año.
Es una especie de karma, si la abuela no se hubiera sentido abandonada no habría contratado a Louise para que le diera clases de francés, ésta no se habría metido en sus vidas como una mala hierba difícil de arrancar y sus vidas no se habrían venido abajo. No tendrían que lidiar con los celos, el rencor, la culpa, el orgullo… al final no tenían unos lazos tan fuertes como parecía en un principio.
Dorothy Whipple es tan certera y eficaz escribiendo, tan precisa y realista que tenía la impresión de estar viendo las escenas, los gestos, las miradas. Está todo plasmado de una forma magistral con una crítica muy sutil: la capa más baja de las muchas que tiene este libro. Las apariencias engañan y la perfección no existe: todes tenemos trapos sucios que lavar, escondidos donde nadie los vea.
March 3, 2013
A highly readable study of the insertion of a sociopathic woman into a traditional marriage and the havoc that is wreaked as a result. Old Mrs. North, the widow of a highly successful industrialist, brings 27-year-old "French girl" Louise Lanier, into her home for companionship and light domestic duties. Louise, seething with resentment at being thrown over by her former lover, rich-boy Paul Devoisy--who has recently made a very bourgeois marriage to a plain and pious town girl with a good dowry--recognizes the new opportunities available to her. After Louise is left a significant amount of money by Mrs. North, she returns to England to collect it, finagling an extended stay at the home of the deceased woman's handsome and happily married middle-aged son, Avery, a partner in a successful London publishing firm. Motivated by her rage at Paul, Louise seduces Avery, whose family life is destroyed. The novel is an account of the ruination of a marriage by infidelity, but also an investigation into a female sociopathic mind. There is considerable melodrama, yes, and some moralizing, but the writing is generally smart and the characterization--with the exception of the limp and rather weak-willed Avery--convincing. A page-turner.
May 9, 2024
I absolutely loved this hidden gem. The first half was hard to read knowing what was going to happen, but I thought the ending was perfect.
June 28, 2024
Okay I take back what I said earlier about not being able to finish this book because it’s too sad but I found I had to rip off the bandaid. I’m glad I did because even though my heart literally felt like it was breaking at several points in this novel, Dorothy Whipple still manages to capture a redemptive hope and resilience that brings the tears to my eyes more quickly even than the heartbreakingly sad moments. She is a brilliant writer and this is my last full-length novel by her. I would say I’m sad about that (and I probably will be later) but I’m currently filled with such gratitude for Whipple’s genius. Like my other favorite novelists—Willa Cather, George Eliot, Elizabeth Goudge, etc.—Whipple captures the fullness and tragedy and beauty of being human in a way that goes straight to my heart every time. In this novel especially, her humanity is undergirded by a profound theology, and I’m going to be moved by this for a long time to come.
January 25, 2022
This is a book about a kind, decent person whose life is destroyed by the person who she trusts the most. Usually, I find kind and decent protagonists boring (I’ll take Emma Woodhouse over Fanny Price every time!) but somehow Whipple managed to keep me fully invested in a character with no sharp edges. It has been a long time since a book brought me to tears and had me yelling out loud at the characters. Thank goodness Persephone saved this gem from obscurity.
July 25, 2017
This tale of marriage and adultery has a rather pedestrian plot, but outstanding characterization; Whipple's lovely prose and the interest she creates in how the characters are going to react to each other and to events make the book utterly absorbing.
May 30, 2021
Someone at a Distance, written and also set in the post-World War II years, is the story of a seemingly happy family – Ellen, her husband, Avery, and their 2 kids. Their happiness is the envy of everyone. They seem to be in a world of their own, so happy they hardly need anyone else. Yet, the flaws in this overt happiness become visible as Louise, a French girl, enters their lives as Avery’s mother’s companion, with an objective to disrupt their relationships. As Avery gets attracted to Louise and makes mistake after mistake, his true selfishness in regards to his family is revealed along with Louise’s callousness.
Truthfully, at first I found Someone at a Distance very difficult to get into – the ‘domestic’ details seemed tiresome to me. However, as the ‘big event’ happened – the turning point in the book where Ellen and Avery’s marriage breaks down - that is when I truly started to get into it because this is such a deeply insightful albeit a painful exploration of a family breaking down and a realistic character portrait of those involved.
I loved the powerful exploration of gender roles in a marriage. I was very pleasantly surprised, given that this was written more than fifty years ago – while there are no clear indications of the author’s feminist stand point, the reader is very clear of where the author’s sympathies lie simply through her portrayals of Ellen and Louise.
I found Ellen pitiable and frustrating at the same time - her disregard of herself, her utter devotion to her family, her blindness to her husband’s laziness in regards to domestic duties and to his immaturity. Unfortunately, this still happens to be a current reality in many cases. At the same time, I found her strength and perseverance very empowering. So, when the marriage of twenty years which had defined her absolutely, collapses, the effect on her is devastating and author’s depiction of it is often too real to read at a go. She questions everything about her identity – Who am I without my family? What am I to do? It’s like she is left without a foundation, her identity torn from her. As she slowly starts to rebuild her life along with that of her children, it’s a sense of hope that permeates into the reader as you champion her on.
I have confused feelings about Louise. At some points, the author depicts her with so much sympathy – making her seem more gray than purely evil by showing the context to her sense of vengefulness against everyone; at other points, she is too one dimensionally (in this otherwise complex novel) portrayed as the ‘home wrecker’ without any sympathies. However, I did end up somewhat understanding her. Louise, in an era where nothing lay for women other than the promise of ‘blissful domesticity’, is an ambitious young woman who wants more and demands more from her life – yet, the only way she finds to do that is by wrecking people’s lives and breaking her parents’ hearts. You sometimes understand her anger and her feeling of suffocation. She has delusions of grandeur in regards to herself and her future – in the end, her illusions are the only things that she has to hold to on as she faces the reality.
In some ways, both Ellen and Louise are in prisons. Ellen is blissfully unaware of the prison that surrounds her, while Louise is aware and actively fights against it through often unacceptable ways. Both women are essentially prisoners of misogynistic norms and expectations.
The book also makes you question – in a marriage or a family in general, whose role is to maintain the relationships? Just the women’s? Why? You see Avery’s sense of freedom as he takes his family and Ellen for granted, you see him carelessly play the victim after his infidelity is discovered, and you feel outraged at him.
The depiction of a once happy and bustling home silenced is so beautiful, as evident in this paragraph:
“All incoming and outgoing tide of movement had ceased. The tradesmen’s vans stood no longer at the gate. No cheerful cry of ‘fish’ or ‘baker’ sounded at the back door. One bottle of milk stood solitary at the step where there had been whole companies. The telephone never rang. Nobody came to the door; even charity-collectors passed her by; perhaps because they were too embarrassed to face her…”
In the end, the central plot is very simple, but that is what makes the novel so easy to empathize with , as you keep thinking about your own seemingly strong familial relationships. You ask – Are relationships really this fragile? Can something that seems so strong and sacred break up in a span of a few minutes?
A complex novel written by an unfairly forgotten author, Someone at a Distance is something I would definitely recommend. On to the next Persephone book then!
Rating: 3.5/5
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Literarianism
Truthfully, at first I found Someone at a Distance very difficult to get into – the ‘domestic’ details seemed tiresome to me. However, as the ‘big event’ happened – the turning point in the book where Ellen and Avery’s marriage breaks down - that is when I truly started to get into it because this is such a deeply insightful albeit a painful exploration of a family breaking down and a realistic character portrait of those involved.
I loved the powerful exploration of gender roles in a marriage. I was very pleasantly surprised, given that this was written more than fifty years ago – while there are no clear indications of the author’s feminist stand point, the reader is very clear of where the author’s sympathies lie simply through her portrayals of Ellen and Louise.
I found Ellen pitiable and frustrating at the same time - her disregard of herself, her utter devotion to her family, her blindness to her husband’s laziness in regards to domestic duties and to his immaturity. Unfortunately, this still happens to be a current reality in many cases. At the same time, I found her strength and perseverance very empowering. So, when the marriage of twenty years which had defined her absolutely, collapses, the effect on her is devastating and author’s depiction of it is often too real to read at a go. She questions everything about her identity – Who am I without my family? What am I to do? It’s like she is left without a foundation, her identity torn from her. As she slowly starts to rebuild her life along with that of her children, it’s a sense of hope that permeates into the reader as you champion her on.
I have confused feelings about Louise. At some points, the author depicts her with so much sympathy – making her seem more gray than purely evil by showing the context to her sense of vengefulness against everyone; at other points, she is too one dimensionally (in this otherwise complex novel) portrayed as the ‘home wrecker’ without any sympathies. However, I did end up somewhat understanding her. Louise, in an era where nothing lay for women other than the promise of ‘blissful domesticity’, is an ambitious young woman who wants more and demands more from her life – yet, the only way she finds to do that is by wrecking people’s lives and breaking her parents’ hearts. You sometimes understand her anger and her feeling of suffocation. She has delusions of grandeur in regards to herself and her future – in the end, her illusions are the only things that she has to hold to on as she faces the reality.
In some ways, both Ellen and Louise are in prisons. Ellen is blissfully unaware of the prison that surrounds her, while Louise is aware and actively fights against it through often unacceptable ways. Both women are essentially prisoners of misogynistic norms and expectations.
The book also makes you question – in a marriage or a family in general, whose role is to maintain the relationships? Just the women’s? Why? You see Avery’s sense of freedom as he takes his family and Ellen for granted, you see him carelessly play the victim after his infidelity is discovered, and you feel outraged at him.
The depiction of a once happy and bustling home silenced is so beautiful, as evident in this paragraph:
“All incoming and outgoing tide of movement had ceased. The tradesmen’s vans stood no longer at the gate. No cheerful cry of ‘fish’ or ‘baker’ sounded at the back door. One bottle of milk stood solitary at the step where there had been whole companies. The telephone never rang. Nobody came to the door; even charity-collectors passed her by; perhaps because they were too embarrassed to face her…”
In the end, the central plot is very simple, but that is what makes the novel so easy to empathize with , as you keep thinking about your own seemingly strong familial relationships. You ask – Are relationships really this fragile? Can something that seems so strong and sacred break up in a span of a few minutes?
A complex novel written by an unfairly forgotten author, Someone at a Distance is something I would definitely recommend. On to the next Persephone book then!
Rating: 3.5/5
Visit my Bookstagram for more book reviews:
Literarianism
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