Catherine Herself

by James Hilton

James Hilton's first novel, published in 1920 when he was an undergraduate, describes the relationship between a woman pianist and her teacher, a character based on the author's father.

Genres: British Literature

324 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1920

About the author

James Hilton was an English novelist and screenwriter. He is best remembered for his novels Lost Horizon, Goodbye, Mr. Chips and Random Harvest, as well as co-writing screenplays for the films Camille (1936) and Mrs. Miniver (1942), the latter earning him an Academy Award.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/71786

This is the first novel written by James Hilton and I really liked it.

4* Lost Horizon (1933)
3* So Well Remembered (1945)
5* The Passionate Year (1924)
4* Terry (1927)
4* Catherine Herself (1920)
TR Good-Bye, Mr. Chips (1934)
TR Random Harvest (1941)
TR We Are Not Alone (1937)
TR Time and Time Again (1953)
TR Nothing So Strange (1947)

I made the proofing of this book for Free Literature and Project Gutenberg will publish it.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Try as she would, she could not detect in her feelings for her father anything much more than excitement, curiosity, amazement, even in a kind of way admiration, at what he had done. She felt he had done something infinitely bigger than himself. For the first time in her life she felt towards him impersonally, as she might have done towards any stranger: 'I should like to have known that man.'"

"She thought kaleidoscopically of her childhood and girlhood, and of one particular evening when her father had crept into her room at night and asked her to kiss him. It was terrible to remember that she had replied: 'Oh, go away!...' Terrible! All her life it seemed to her that her attitude towards him had been—' Oh, go away! .. .' And now he had gone away out of her reach for ever. She sat down in front of the writing-desk with the diary in front of her and cried. She cried passionately, as a child who is crying because by his own irrevocable act something has been denied him. She bowed her head in her hands and gave herself up to an orgy of remorse. She was truly heartbroken.
For a little while."

"She knew now why it was that she had not mourned the loss of her parents, why it was that her solitary struggle had been up to then so exhilarating, so pleasant. It was that absurd faith in herself, that fearful egoism, that terrible conceit, that had enabled her to fight on alone. And now her succour, her comfort, her support had suddenly cracked and given way, and she was left clinging to wreckage. The future was simply blank, a dull, drab hereafter of self-effacement. Life was not worth living. For the first time in all her life she felt alone—alone with the wreckage of dead dreams and shattered hopes."

At the age of seventeen, while attending Christ's College, Cambridge, James Hilton completed his first novel entitled Catherine Herself. It was published three years later, a year before he graduated. "Critics admired the novel, with many taking note of the author's gender and age; 'Mr. Hilton has had the audacity, despite his tender age, to write from the woman's point of view; but from a first glance at the book he seems to have a surprisingly accurate knowledge--or intuition--of the other sex."

As I read this novel, I was continually astonished that it was written by a young man of seventeen, particularly considering the complexity of the subject matter. Although he is writing the novel in third person, he is describing all the feelings and emotions of a young lady, similar to some of the "stream of consciousness" classics such as Sterne's Tristram Shandy, Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past", or Joyce's "Ulysses". Although I, for one, am not an enthusiast of that writing style, Hilton, even at that age, actually succeeded in telling a story along with describing the feelings and emotions of the primary character, Catherine Weston, as she experiences various stages of her life. In other words, the novel is not only reflective of Catherine, but it is actually interesting, which is more than I feel for other "stream of consciousness" classics I have experienced. In my opinion, it demonstrated the genius of this great writer even at a young age.

This isn't to say that Catherine is a likeable character. On the contrary, she is arrogant, conceited, and selfish. Consequently, due to her self-centeredness, she experiences retribution several times throughout Hilton's novel, causing the reader to wonder if she favorably evolves due to her comeuppance. I believe readers will need to make that determination on their own, asking themselves whether the ending Catherine is an improved paragon from the beginning Catherine. There is, however, one certainty. Readers will not be able to avoid introspection. In many cases, reading "Catherine Herself" is like looking in a glass, darkly and wondering.

I, for one, found the novel interesting, engaging, and satisfying. If you have read any of Hilton's later novels such as Lost Horizon, Goodbye Mr. Chips, or Random Harvest; Catherine Herself will be a revelation to you on how this great writer began his career as a young man. I recommend that you find a copy of this early novel and find out.

[Gary Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to wait years to find a copy of this, and finally ended up getting an Interlibrary Loan from Yale. I've read the rest of James Hilton's books, some are my favorites. This is the only one I did not like. It was written in 1920 while Hilton was an undergraduate. Perhaps it should never have been published. It shows none of the brilliance and talent Hilton developed later.