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Mirror in Darkness #3
None Turn Back
"There is the everlasting possibility of disobedience, civil disorder, destruction, yes, yes - but the mere whisper or cloud no larger than a man's hand of revolution in this country is madness"
It is 6th May 1926, the third day of the General Strike.
This is the story of that harrowing week seen through the eyes of the women and men of London as they move through that unreal city. We meet those who gave their all for the strike - and a vision of a better world. We meet, too, those who fought to break it with every weapon they had: power, politics, money - or brute force. There are masters and workmen, fascists and communists, politicians and trade unionists, wives and mistresses, artists, writers and scientists, all caught up in the web of each other's lives. But above all we follow the thread of Hervey Russell's life as she is swept up by the political ferment around her, by the difficulties of a new marriage, and by her hopes and fears for the future...
It is 6th May 1926, the third day of the General Strike.
This is the story of that harrowing week seen through the eyes of the women and men of London as they move through that unreal city. We meet those who gave their all for the strike - and a vision of a better world. We meet, too, those who fought to break it with every weapon they had: power, politics, money - or brute force. There are masters and workmen, fascists and communists, politicians and trade unionists, wives and mistresses, artists, writers and scientists, all caught up in the web of each other's lives. But above all we follow the thread of Hervey Russell's life as she is swept up by the political ferment around her, by the difficulties of a new marriage, and by her hopes and fears for the future...
- GenresFictionLiterary Fiction
322 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1936
79 people want to read
About the author
Storm Jameson
79 books23 followersMargaret Storm Jameson was an English writer, known for her 45 novels, and criticism.
Jameson studied at the University of Leeds, later moving to London, where in 1914 she earned an MA from King's College London. She was a teacher before becoming a full-time writer. She married writer Guy Chapman, but continued to publish as Storm Jameson.
From 1939, Jameson was a prominent president of the British branch of the International PEN association, and active in helping refugee writers. She wrote three volumes of autobiography.
A well-received biography, by Jennifer Birkett, Professor of French Studies at Birmingham University, was published by the Oxford University Press in March 2009.
Jameson studied at the University of Leeds, later moving to London, where in 1914 she earned an MA from King's College London. She was a teacher before becoming a full-time writer. She married writer Guy Chapman, but continued to publish as Storm Jameson.
From 1939, Jameson was a prominent president of the British branch of the International PEN association, and active in helping refugee writers. She wrote three volumes of autobiography.
A well-received biography, by Jennifer Birkett, Professor of French Studies at Birmingham University, was published by the Oxford University Press in March 2009.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 26, 2024
The third in the mirror in the darkness series is set over the 9 days of the 1926 General Strike. Hervey, the main character of the first 2 books, is now married to Nicholas, but there are strains as she faces a major operation, and Nicholas throws himself into the cause of the strike.
The joy of these stories is the picture it paints of English society in the years after the traumatic First World War. Many of the male characters are scarred by their experiences, while the establishment seeks to preserve their wealth and power. This is a period when it is easy to imagine a revolution occurring when poverty was rife but business and wealthy members of the upper class profit. The example of Russia is in the thoughts of everyone as the army prepare and people have their bags packed.
Hervey is a character who portrays how women's role in society is changing at that time, but with the eternal dilemma of a career and parenting. Hervey stands head and shoulders above the male characters, and the fact that she is less central in this episode is one of the only negatives in this episode.
This has been a trilogy that I was glad to have read, and I was fascinated then to read of the interesting life of the author.
The joy of these stories is the picture it paints of English society in the years after the traumatic First World War. Many of the male characters are scarred by their experiences, while the establishment seeks to preserve their wealth and power. This is a period when it is easy to imagine a revolution occurring when poverty was rife but business and wealthy members of the upper class profit. The example of Russia is in the thoughts of everyone as the army prepare and people have their bags packed.
Hervey is a character who portrays how women's role in society is changing at that time, but with the eternal dilemma of a career and parenting. Hervey stands head and shoulders above the male characters, and the fact that she is less central in this episode is one of the only negatives in this episode.
This has been a trilogy that I was glad to have read, and I was fascinated then to read of the interesting life of the author.
May 15, 2021
"MAI GUARDARSI INDIETRO" di Margaret Storm Jameson
Harvey, la protagonista, vive la quotidianità impegnandosi per dare un senso alle proprie azioni e una profondità ai rapporti interpersonali, senza risparmiare le proprie energie fisiche e morali. La profonda crisi sociale del momento, ci troviamo a Londra nel 1926, è ugualmente protagonista e racconta le vite di chi cerca di lottare e resistere per emergere da una condizione di miseria e sfruttamento, di chi non intende cedere sulle proprie posizioni di agio e potere e di chi cerca di sfruttare la situazione per intrufolarsi in modo subdolo in altre vite.
Harvey pensa, analizza i propri ricordi, i propri sentimenti e comportamenti e la ricaduta degli stessi sulla vita che la circonda e sulle persone che ne condividono il percorso.
Harvey non fa sconti e non si fa sconti.
Harvey, la protagonista, vive la quotidianità impegnandosi per dare un senso alle proprie azioni e una profondità ai rapporti interpersonali, senza risparmiare le proprie energie fisiche e morali. La profonda crisi sociale del momento, ci troviamo a Londra nel 1926, è ugualmente protagonista e racconta le vite di chi cerca di lottare e resistere per emergere da una condizione di miseria e sfruttamento, di chi non intende cedere sulle proprie posizioni di agio e potere e di chi cerca di sfruttare la situazione per intrufolarsi in modo subdolo in altre vite.
Harvey pensa, analizza i propri ricordi, i propri sentimenti e comportamenti e la ricaduta degli stessi sulla vita che la circonda e sulle persone che ne condividono il percorso.
Harvey non fa sconti e non si fa sconti.
July 9, 2021
"Company parade" è al primo posto perché mi ha fatto conoscere e appassionare alle vicende dei personaggi, ma "Mai guardarsi indietro" gli è subito dietro nella mia personale classifica di gradimento dei libri di questa trilogia.
Se con il secondo libro si era persa la questione sociale, qui ritorna di gran carriera e si può dire che sia il vero tema portante. Tutto il libro infatti si incentra sullo sciopero generale indetto per chiedere condizioni migliori per i minatori delle fabbriche di carbone londinesi; condizioni che non sono state ottenute, come tristemente tutti sappiamo.
Penso che la scrittrice dia il meglio di sé quando tratta tematiche come queste, perché grazie anche alla varietà di personaggi riesce a dare punti di vista differenti, senza però nascondere la parte dalla quale lei sta, ossia con i lavoratori.
Se con il secondo libro si era persa la questione sociale, qui ritorna di gran carriera e si può dire che sia il vero tema portante. Tutto il libro infatti si incentra sullo sciopero generale indetto per chiedere condizioni migliori per i minatori delle fabbriche di carbone londinesi; condizioni che non sono state ottenute, come tristemente tutti sappiamo.
Penso che la scrittrice dia il meglio di sé quando tratta tematiche come queste, perché grazie anche alla varietà di personaggi riesce a dare punti di vista differenti, senza però nascondere la parte dalla quale lei sta, ossia con i lavoratori.
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August 29, 2025"This frantic longing for freedom is only the dark side of a passion for order. But I want a new order; I want the parts of the design to shift, and release all the trapped and maimed creatures, caught between past and future. Her mind darkened, and sank with her into the passages under the earth; she saw the walls of the earth shift and fall together, squeezing the breath and blood out of the men bowed there, as paint is squeezed from a tube. Even the bone crumbled between her fingers and was scattered like dust into the pit."
November 6, 2021
Un libro davvero noioso, con parti inconcludenti e slegate tra loro. Ho finito di leggerlo solo perché orami lo avevo iniziato, ma è stata dura arrivare fino alla sua fine.
October 9, 2013
Not as good as the first two books in this series. I think even the author was tired of the story toward the end.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews