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Nobody writes just this kind of domesticated horror story and in this one, her best since her first, Celia Fremlin's at the top of the form she's created--appealing, funny and eventually grim. Claudia, a really dreadful modern young woman representative of the psychiatric enlightenment, collects misfits, inflicts them on her mother (a wonderful old lady) and daughter (a nice youngster)--most recently a young woman muddling around the house in hair curlers, and a poet with a prison record who writes gloomy sonnets. What happens will keep an unprotesting captive audience quiet--it's superb entertainment.
-Kirkus Review
-Kirkus Review
300 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
40 people want to read
About the author
Celia Fremlin
78 books88 followersCelia was born in Kingsbury, now part of London, England. She was the daughter of Heaver Fremlin and Margaret Addiscott. Her older brother, John H. Fremlin, later became a nuclear physicist. Celia studied at Somerville College, Oxford University. From 1942 to 2000 she lived in Hampstead, London. In 1942 she married Elia Goller, with whom she had three children; he died in 1968. In 1985, Celia married Leslie Minchin, who died in 1999. Her many crime novels and stories helped modernize the sensation novel tradition by introducing criminal and (rarely) supernatural elements into domestic settings. Her 1958 novel The Hours Before Dawn won the Edgar Award in 1960.
With Jeffrey Barnard, she was co-presenter of a BBC2 documentary “Night and Day” describing diurnal and nocturnal London, broadcast 23 January 1987.
Fremlin was an advocate of assisted suicide and euthanasia. In a newspaper interview she admitted to assisting four people to die.[1] In 1983 civil proceedings were brought against her as one of the five members of the EXIT Executive committee which had published “A Guide to Self Deliverance” , but the court refused to declare the booklet unlawful.
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celia...]
With Jeffrey Barnard, she was co-presenter of a BBC2 documentary “Night and Day” describing diurnal and nocturnal London, broadcast 23 January 1987.
Fremlin was an advocate of assisted suicide and euthanasia. In a newspaper interview she admitted to assisting four people to die.[1] In 1983 civil proceedings were brought against her as one of the five members of the EXIT Executive committee which had published “A Guide to Self Deliverance” , but the court refused to declare the booklet unlawful.
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celia...]
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 2, 2022
This, the sixth of Celia Fremlin's novels, was published in 1967 and is threaded through with all of the hippy, self-indulgent language of the moment. Claudia and her absent husband, Derek (conveniently away at a conference for the whole of the book), live with their fifteen year old daughter, Helen, and Claudia's mother, Margaret. Margaret is often infuriated by Claudia, who has a tendency to adopt lame ducks and bring them home. They currently have Mavis, a single mother, whose son has been packed off to boarding school but who is still situated in the spare room, and, before long, they will have Maurice, a poet with a shadowy, criminal past.
Claudia is, indeed, infuriating and not particularly pleasant. Although the house belongs to Margaret, she is greedily trying to sell-off her mother's beloved field at the back of the house where she keeps her chickens. She fails to see how she humiliates and embarrasses her daughter, by trying to be always understanding, while Margaret, with her practical sense, is far more able to make things run smoothly and not cause discomfort. Meanwhile, as everyone else can see, Claudia's constant interfering is far more for her own sake than anyone else's. When she takes up the case of Maurice, inviting him into the house and the lives of the women living there, the scene is set for an unsettling and uncomfortable thriller.
Although this is not my favourite of the books I have read by Fremlin so far, the characters are brilliantly written and the dialogue, both spoken and internal, pitch perfect. I am so pleased to have discovered her and to still have 'new' books by her to read.
Claudia is, indeed, infuriating and not particularly pleasant. Although the house belongs to Margaret, she is greedily trying to sell-off her mother's beloved field at the back of the house where she keeps her chickens. She fails to see how she humiliates and embarrasses her daughter, by trying to be always understanding, while Margaret, with her practical sense, is far more able to make things run smoothly and not cause discomfort. Meanwhile, as everyone else can see, Claudia's constant interfering is far more for her own sake than anyone else's. When she takes up the case of Maurice, inviting him into the house and the lives of the women living there, the scene is set for an unsettling and uncomfortable thriller.
Although this is not my favourite of the books I have read by Fremlin so far, the characters are brilliantly written and the dialogue, both spoken and internal, pitch perfect. I am so pleased to have discovered her and to still have 'new' books by her to read.
December 16, 2022
Celia Fremlin should win a Nobel. Yes, her stories are all straight forward, character driven domestic noir, and no she doesn’t take chances nor experiment with form; her prose is not lyrical nor brilliant, and maybe after creating a creeping sense of dread that evolves into stark fear her endings are a bit anti-climatic, but if that prestigious prize was awarded to the author that through dark humor and taut psychological thrillers, with well drawn characters we love to hate or at least want to throttle, best portrays the horrors of the relentless monotony, unreasonable expectations, and sheer exhaustion endured by the twentieth century housewife Celia Fremlin would be a worthy winner.
This book might be my favorite yet. An out of town husband and 3 generations of women, so two mother-daughter relationships and one grandmother-granddaughter relationship, with two emotionally needy houseguests provide more humor than the other Fremlin books I’ve read, but there is still mounting dread and a mystery though and I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
This book might be my favorite yet. An out of town husband and 3 generations of women, so two mother-daughter relationships and one grandmother-granddaughter relationship, with two emotionally needy houseguests provide more humor than the other Fremlin books I’ve read, but there is still mounting dread and a mystery though and I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
December 12, 2022
Again, Fremlin writes a domestic suspense novel where most of the action takes place at a residence or on the residential property. The central character is Margaret, a 60sh grandmother who owns a home and shares it with her daughter, Claudia, Claudia’s always absent husband, Claudia’s daughter Helen and whatever lame duck Claudia had collected in the home to feed her savior-complex inflated ego. Although Margaret owns the home, Claudia is always trying to assert ownership rights and control, incorrectly thinking that she and her husband are the rightful and true owners since they take care of the home more than Margaret does.
While there is a suspense story here, the key to this novel is its character study of the Margaret/Claudia/Helen generational triangle. Margaret is a wonderful creation, competent, straightforward, cantankerous, yet able to sympathize when needed, insightful and truthful. However, Claudia is the true “pip” of a creation serving as a thorn in Margaret’s side over everything. She is so unusual yet believable that I have difficulty describing her personality. But, to me, she is truly an evil character, with the evil in her actions enhanced by her pretense of being well-intentioned and righteous. Teenager Helen is stuck with a bizarre mother who would scream if she ever realized that daughter Helen actually bonds with and adores her Grandmother. Fremlin’s great characterization in this novel makes up for the lack of the usual amount of her witty and insightful social observations.
There are various domestic issues between the characters that held my interest but the primary issue for suspense purposes involves Claudia’ latest lame-duck. (this aspect of Claudia reminded me of June Forsyte and her young painter lame ducks in the Forsyte Saga) an off-beat young poet named Maurice who is attempting to make his name after a period of incarceration. Suspense starts when he comes to live at Margaret’s house and starts acting strangely, especially spooking Claudia’s previous lame-duck, Mavis, who still inhabits the house during the beginning of her successor’s reign.
The characterization and set-up story were well done, as were the build up to the suspenseful event and most of the suspense itself. I was smiling to myself while reading the last 30 pages right up until the last few pages. While I was disappointed by the end, it may have been the appropriate one. In any event, any dissatisfaction with the end does not detract enough from the rest of the story to reduce my intended 4- star rating. Overall, this was a well-done, if partially disappointing Fremlin effort. A solid 4 stars.
MY RATINGS FOR FREMLINS READ SO FAR
(Instead of rating 3.5 stars I rate at 3.7 and 3.3 stars for better rounding).
4.3 - The Long Shadow
4.3 – The Jealous One
4.3 – The Hours Before Dawn
4.0 - Prisoner’s Base
4.0 – The Trouble Makers
3.7 - Uncle Paul
3.7 – Ghostly Stories
3.3 – Seven Lean Years
While there is a suspense story here, the key to this novel is its character study of the Margaret/Claudia/Helen generational triangle. Margaret is a wonderful creation, competent, straightforward, cantankerous, yet able to sympathize when needed, insightful and truthful. However, Claudia is the true “pip” of a creation serving as a thorn in Margaret’s side over everything. She is so unusual yet believable that I have difficulty describing her personality. But, to me, she is truly an evil character, with the evil in her actions enhanced by her pretense of being well-intentioned and righteous. Teenager Helen is stuck with a bizarre mother who would scream if she ever realized that daughter Helen actually bonds with and adores her Grandmother. Fremlin’s great characterization in this novel makes up for the lack of the usual amount of her witty and insightful social observations.
There are various domestic issues between the characters that held my interest but the primary issue for suspense purposes involves Claudia’ latest lame-duck. (this aspect of Claudia reminded me of June Forsyte and her young painter lame ducks in the Forsyte Saga) an off-beat young poet named Maurice who is attempting to make his name after a period of incarceration. Suspense starts when he comes to live at Margaret’s house and starts acting strangely, especially spooking Claudia’s previous lame-duck, Mavis, who still inhabits the house during the beginning of her successor’s reign.
The characterization and set-up story were well done, as were the build up to the suspenseful event and most of the suspense itself. I was smiling to myself while reading the last 30 pages right up until the last few pages. While I was disappointed by the end, it may have been the appropriate one. In any event, any dissatisfaction with the end does not detract enough from the rest of the story to reduce my intended 4- star rating. Overall, this was a well-done, if partially disappointing Fremlin effort. A solid 4 stars.
MY RATINGS FOR FREMLINS READ SO FAR
(Instead of rating 3.5 stars I rate at 3.7 and 3.3 stars for better rounding).
4.3 - The Long Shadow
4.3 – The Jealous One
4.3 – The Hours Before Dawn
4.0 - Prisoner’s Base
4.0 – The Trouble Makers
3.7 - Uncle Paul
3.7 – Ghostly Stories
3.3 – Seven Lean Years
March 28, 2023
Margaret shares her home with her arrogant, meddling, psychology obsessed daughter Claudia, and Claudia's teenage daughter, Helen. Claudia's husband, Derek, works abroad - a very sensible career move for anyone with a spouse as obnoxious as Claudia!
Although it is Margaret's house, Claudia acts as if she is the real owner, and regularly invites misfits to stay, so that she can 'understand' and 'help' them - although her mother thinks it is more a case of 'playing God'. When the novel opens, the only 'lame duck' present is Mavis, an unmarried mother who Claudia decides is suffering from an inferiority complex. Margaret is "sick of Mavis' inferiority complex. It seemed to her that someone who could extend a Christmas visit to halfway through the summer must have a hide like a rhinoceros' if that was what Mavis was like with an inferiority complex, then the mind reeled at the contemplation of what she would have been like without one."
Matters take a darker turn when Claudia attends a poetry group at her friend Daphne's house and meets new member Maurice. Maurice tells the group that he has just come out of prison, and before long, Claudia and Daphne are competing as to who can be most unshockable and 'understanding' of their new protégé. Determined to win the competition and prove that even a murderer is not beyond her ability to help, Claudia invites Maurice to stay. "You're doing terrible harm, Claudia." says Margaret. "I don't know yet what it is that is going to happen, but I can see it building up, and I'm getting frightened...And when the crash comes...You will think that the catastrophe has happened in spite of your efforts, but you will be wrong; it will have happened because of them." Sadly, Margaret's words are all too prophetic.
I found myself totally absorbed in this book, although the gradual building of tension made it quite draining to read. I loved Margaret and Helen and the affectionate, relaxed relationship between them. I felt mingled pity and exasperation for Mavis, a weak character who ended up being controlled by Claudia. And I wanted to slap Claudia, especially at the end, where she endangers her own daughter's safety rather than 'lose face' to Daphne.
And the last line was devastating. As so often happens in real life, tragedy leaves the originator comparatively unscathed while wreaking devastation on the innocent.
Although it is Margaret's house, Claudia acts as if she is the real owner, and regularly invites misfits to stay, so that she can 'understand' and 'help' them - although her mother thinks it is more a case of 'playing God'. When the novel opens, the only 'lame duck' present is Mavis, an unmarried mother who Claudia decides is suffering from an inferiority complex. Margaret is "sick of Mavis' inferiority complex. It seemed to her that someone who could extend a Christmas visit to halfway through the summer must have a hide like a rhinoceros' if that was what Mavis was like with an inferiority complex, then the mind reeled at the contemplation of what she would have been like without one."
Matters take a darker turn when Claudia attends a poetry group at her friend Daphne's house and meets new member Maurice. Maurice tells the group that he has just come out of prison, and before long, Claudia and Daphne are competing as to who can be most unshockable and 'understanding' of their new protégé. Determined to win the competition and prove that even a murderer is not beyond her ability to help, Claudia invites Maurice to stay. "You're doing terrible harm, Claudia." says Margaret. "I don't know yet what it is that is going to happen, but I can see it building up, and I'm getting frightened...And when the crash comes...You will think that the catastrophe has happened in spite of your efforts, but you will be wrong; it will have happened because of them." Sadly, Margaret's words are all too prophetic.
I found myself totally absorbed in this book, although the gradual building of tension made it quite draining to read. I loved Margaret and Helen and the affectionate, relaxed relationship between them. I felt mingled pity and exasperation for Mavis, a weak character who ended up being controlled by Claudia. And I wanted to slap Claudia, especially at the end, where she endangers her own daughter's safety rather than 'lose face' to Daphne.
And the last line was devastating. As so often happens in real life, tragedy leaves the originator comparatively unscathed while wreaking devastation on the innocent.
August 28, 2023
Celia Fremlin's greatest strength is in her characterisation and dialogue, which is always utterly plausible. In this novel, first published in 1967, three generations of women - the elderly Margaret, her daughter Claudia and granddaughter Helen - live under one roof, accompanied by a shifting population of waifs and strays ministered to by Claudia.
Claudia is a bit of a narcissist, though, perceiving every situation only in terms of how it reflects on her and validates her own self-image to herself and others. Her fifteen year old daughter Helen staying out till after midnight is great, because Claudia's (apparently genuine) unbotheredness about where Helen is or what time she gets home enables her to show off about what a liberal, progressive parent she is. (Amusingly, Helen herself is forced to sneak back into the house at nine-thirty pm to avoid maternal disappointment at her earliness.) Taking a young man, Maurice - a self-professed poet recently released from prison - under her wing is a heaven-sent opportunity for Claudia to boost her credentials even more.
Claudia is really rather unbearable, one of those awful people who wins every argument by twisting things until it somehow reflects badly on you and your psychological flaws, all the while being terribly understanding about all your deficiencies.
Margaret generally seems like an oasis of sanity, even if some of her ideas (her disapproval of "unmarried mother" Mavis) are old-fashioned. Despite her ongoing battles with Claudia, though, she has to recognise that her daughter's good works do at times (though definitely not always) benefit others.
Claudia's own parenting methods leave a great deal to be desired. Her enthusiasm for the idea of Helen's boyfriend seems to far exceed her daughter's own somewhat lukewarm feelings towards him. And I was frequently appalled by her attitude to the fifteen year old Helen, who she's determined to treat as a fully grown adult, failing to see how much of the child is still in her: clearly and believably shown by the sections from Helen's point of view.
When everything comes to a head, it's clear that Claudia's own actions have been a trigger. But oh... I wish it hadn't ended the way it did.
Claudia is a bit of a narcissist, though, perceiving every situation only in terms of how it reflects on her and validates her own self-image to herself and others. Her fifteen year old daughter Helen staying out till after midnight is great, because Claudia's (apparently genuine) unbotheredness about where Helen is or what time she gets home enables her to show off about what a liberal, progressive parent she is. (Amusingly, Helen herself is forced to sneak back into the house at nine-thirty pm to avoid maternal disappointment at her earliness.) Taking a young man, Maurice - a self-professed poet recently released from prison - under her wing is a heaven-sent opportunity for Claudia to boost her credentials even more.
Claudia is really rather unbearable, one of those awful people who wins every argument by twisting things until it somehow reflects badly on you and your psychological flaws, all the while being terribly understanding about all your deficiencies.
Margaret generally seems like an oasis of sanity, even if some of her ideas (her disapproval of "unmarried mother" Mavis) are old-fashioned. Despite her ongoing battles with Claudia, though, she has to recognise that her daughter's good works do at times (though definitely not always) benefit others.
Claudia's own parenting methods leave a great deal to be desired. Her enthusiasm for the idea of Helen's boyfriend seems to far exceed her daughter's own somewhat lukewarm feelings towards him. And I was frequently appalled by her attitude to the fifteen year old Helen, who she's determined to treat as a fully grown adult, failing to see how much of the child is still in her: clearly and believably shown by the sections from Helen's point of view.
When everything comes to a head, it's clear that Claudia's own actions have been a trigger. But oh... I wish it hadn't ended the way it did.
November 24, 2022
This may not be one of my favourite Fremlins but it features some outstanding characters, noticeably the monstrous Claudia who has jumped on all the fashionable 1960s bandwagons, especially the dangers of Freudian repression, and uses them to manipulate her mother and daughter and to evade her own responsibilities: bad parenting? no, no, it's just giving the nearly-adult Helen (she's fifteen) agency over her own life; lack of compassion and care for her mother? no, no, it's just trying to force the old reactionary into the modern world...
But, being a Fremlin character, Claudia is more than just outrageously wrong, she's also well-intentioned, if for egotistical reasons, in the way she picks up strays and moves them into her home: the single mother, Mavis, who came to stay for a few nights and is still there months later, and her latest trendy rescue-nik, the enigmatic Maurice with his eleven thousand unpublished sonnets and his stories of having been found guilty of manslaughter and served a prison term...
There's less slow build up of eerie tension and foreboding in this book and more almost-comedy so the tone is slightly wavering: Mavis has nightmares but we're never sure of their source, and there's significant social comedy around the rescuing of Maurice as various women jostle to be most bountiful.
With Claudia's husband away for the entire book this is a house of women with much circulating around Maurice. It's all so nebulous, if entertaining, that the sudden move to the end, with an unusual sleight of hand, followed by an unexpected climax feels rushed and not quite in keeping with what's gone before. There's a little bit of fizzling silliness around where the Maurice story goes but real impact by the finish of the book as well.
But, being a Fremlin character, Claudia is more than just outrageously wrong, she's also well-intentioned, if for egotistical reasons, in the way she picks up strays and moves them into her home: the single mother, Mavis, who came to stay for a few nights and is still there months later, and her latest trendy rescue-nik, the enigmatic Maurice with his eleven thousand unpublished sonnets and his stories of having been found guilty of manslaughter and served a prison term...
There's less slow build up of eerie tension and foreboding in this book and more almost-comedy so the tone is slightly wavering: Mavis has nightmares but we're never sure of their source, and there's significant social comedy around the rescuing of Maurice as various women jostle to be most bountiful.
With Claudia's husband away for the entire book this is a house of women with much circulating around Maurice. It's all so nebulous, if entertaining, that the sudden move to the end, with an unusual sleight of hand, followed by an unexpected climax feels rushed and not quite in keeping with what's gone before. There's a little bit of fizzling silliness around where the Maurice story goes but real impact by the finish of the book as well.
December 5, 2022
I didn't like this quite as much as some of this author's other books, but it was still a very good domestic thriller. This one is set in the 1960's, so it contains a lot of the ideas that were prevalent during that time among the hippie types. Free love, anti authoritarianism, and so on. This is about a woman, called Claudia, her mother and her daughter, who live together in the older woman's house. There is a father of the daughter but he does not appear in this at all. Claudia is a working mother who left her daughter's upbringing to the grandmother, however, she does like to collect lame-ducks and bring them home while she attempts to analyse them and solve their problems. Much to the detriment of the household. At this present time, there is an hysterical, unmarried mother, who has been there for some months, when Claudia meets a young man, who claims to have been in prison for the last seven years, and takes him home to stay.
Fremlin certainly builds the tension of the whole situation, making Claudia appear as a megalomaniac, who likes people to notice her and praise her. The grandmother and daughter, tend to let Claudia do as she likes, while following their own lives, in their own way, whilst trying to live with this collection of miss-fits.
I did like the way Fremlin ended the book
Fremlin certainly builds the tension of the whole situation, making Claudia appear as a megalomaniac, who likes people to notice her and praise her. The grandmother and daughter, tend to let Claudia do as she likes, while following their own lives, in their own way, whilst trying to live with this collection of miss-fits.
I did like the way Fremlin ended the book
July 29, 2023
I can see why this is something of a forgotten book (and as a side note I'm not particularly impressed with this Faber Finds imprint that is actually print on demand from Amazon). It fails to stick its twisty landing, and I think it would be a great deal more successful if it was three chapters shorter as there's a weak muddiness to the way that it ends that thoroughly undercuts the successful sense of menace built up. It's also a deeply stressful read, because of the unpleasantness of a number of the characters, which is very sharply and clearly drawn. I'm glad I tried it, though: it has some interesting, although very bitter, things to say about family dynamics, and some beautiful prose. It's also pretty funny in lots of places.
November 10, 2019
Absurdity is the name of the game and this time Celia seemed to try to push the envelope even further with the domestic clashes of psychologies.
Too over the top to be believable maybe but still familiarly unputdownable as usual.
Cozily exaggerated and somehow lacking in sharper dialogue exchanges, nevertheless its slow crescendo in small vicious clues creeps silently into the reader from the very first line.
This is Celia's realms and you never guess if and when the climax suddenly crushes down your imagination. At her narrative's mercy is all you can picture yourself.
No point in being brave, the finale is always too unpredictable to fight.
Too over the top to be believable maybe but still familiarly unputdownable as usual.
Cozily exaggerated and somehow lacking in sharper dialogue exchanges, nevertheless its slow crescendo in small vicious clues creeps silently into the reader from the very first line.
This is Celia's realms and you never guess if and when the climax suddenly crushes down your imagination. At her narrative's mercy is all you can picture yourself.
No point in being brave, the finale is always too unpredictable to fight.
January 14, 2023
I have given this book 4 stars even though I gave up half way through. It wasn't the prose which was flowery and long winded but ultimately quite poetic. Nor was it the characterisation, she captured each of them to a T. It was the fact that I didn't warm to any of the characters so found I didn't care what happened next. This is more me than the book, it is very feminine book exploring the subtle politics and behaviours of 4 ladies over 3 generations living in the same house. I think it was just too subtle for me to understand. But, it is a well written book, hence the decent review.
March 16, 2013
Oh my. Poor Granny! I have to admit I didn’t see that coming, although obviously something bad was bound to happen. I complained in my last review about how Fremlin seems to like writing female characters who are constantly spouting off about the newest thing they’ve learned about child psychology. Claudia, however, is not quite the same as Mrs. Hooper in The Hours Before Dawn and Stella in The Trouble Makers: she has a psychology-related response for everything. Margaret is absolutely right when she says something like there’s no arguing with Claudia; she has an answer for everything. I really don’t feel sorry for her at all; for most of the novel I wanted to smack her, or just tell her to go away and stop talking. There’s a small sign that she will reform and try to act like a normal person, when she realizes all the trouble she’s caused and apologizes to her mother when they’re both sitting by the phone waiting for a call back from the police. She can’t wholeheartedly believe that nothing is criminal and everything is the fault of Society. Why would she bother going to work for a paycheck, when she could just rob a bank as needed? Why bother paying for anything at all? Etc., etc. I do feel sorry for Helen having such a lunatic for a mother, and not having her grandmother to rely on anymore, but at least she’s nearly grown up and her personality is pretty well developed. Margaret seems to feel guilty for acting like she’s the one who raised Helen instead of her parents, since Margaret took care of her while they were both working, but it’s really true; Margaret is the one Helen turns to with all her problems, and they have real conversations, and listen to records together (which is really cute – I wish I had a grandmother who didn’t mind listening to the music I liked as a teenager, instead of one who said “turn off that noise” and called everything rap). I’ve enjoyed all of Fremlin’s novels I’ve read so far (this is the sixth), despite wanting to strangle those characters who can’t shut up about psychology and the modern way of raising children, but this was the first to make me actually tear up a little at the end. This was the saddest ending so far, taking the characters, at least Margaret for sure, beyond the point of no return.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 8, 2024
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