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Hungry Hill
'I tell you your mine will be in ruins and your home destroyed and your children forgotten . . . but this hill will be standing still to confound you.' So curses Morty Donovan when 'Copper John' Brodrick builds his mine at Hungry Hill.
The Brodricks of Clonmere gain great wealth by harnessing the power of Hungry Hill and extracting the treasure it holds. The Donovans, the original owners of Clonmere Castle, resent the Brodricks' success, and consider the great house and its surrounding land theirs by rights. For generations the feud between the families has simmered, always threatening to break into violence . . .
527 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1943
294 people are currently reading
3242 people want to read
About the author
Daphne du Maurier
431 books10.4k followersDaphne du Maurier was born on 13 May 1907 at 24 Cumberland Terrace, Regent's Park, London, the middle of three daughters of prominent actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and actress Muriel, née Beaumont. In many ways her life resembles a fairy tale. Born into a family with a rich artistic and historical background, her paternal grandfather was author and Punch cartoonist George du Maurier, who created the character of Svengali in the 1894 novel Trilby, and her mother was a maternal niece of journalist, author, and lecturer Comyns Beaumont. She and her sisters were indulged as a children and grew up enjoying enormous freedom from financial and parental restraint. Her elder sister, Angela du Maurier, also became a writer, and her younger sister Jeanne was a painter.
She spent her youth sailing boats, travelling on the Continent with friends, and writing stories. Her family connections helped her establish her literary career, and she published some of her early work in Beaumont's Bystander magazine. A prestigious publishing house accepted her first novel when she was in her early twenties, and its publication brought her not only fame but the attentions of a handsome soldier, Major (later Lieutenant-General Sir) Frederick Browning, whom she married.
She continued writing under her maiden name, and her subsequent novels became bestsellers, earning her enormous wealth and fame. Many have been successfully adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek, My Cousin Rachel, and Jamaica Inn, and the short stories The Birds and Don't Look Now/Not After Midnight. While Alfred Hitchcock's films based upon her novels proceeded to make her one of the best-known authors in the world, she enjoyed the life of a fairy princess in a mansion in Cornwall called Menabilly, which served as the model for Manderley in Rebecca.
Daphne du Maurier was obsessed with the past. She intensively researched the lives of Francis and Anthony Bacon, the history of Cornwall, the Regency period, and nineteenth-century France and England. Above all, however, she was obsessed with her own family history, which she chronicled in Gerald: A Portrait, a biography of her father; The du Mauriers, a study of her family which focused on her grandfather, George du Maurier, the novelist and illustrator for Punch; The Glassblowers, a novel based upon the lives of her du Maurier ancestors; and Growing Pains, an autobiography that ignores nearly 50 years of her life in favour of the joyful and more romantic period of her youth. Daphne du Maurier can best be understood in terms of her remarkable and paradoxical family, the ghosts which haunted her life and fiction.
While contemporary writers were dealing critically with such subjects as the war, alienation, religion, poverty, Marxism, psychology and art, and experimenting with new techniques such as the stream of consciousness, du Maurier produced 'old-fashioned' novels with straightforward narratives that appealed to a popular audience's love of fantasy, adventure, sexuality and mystery. At an early age, she recognised that her readership was comprised principally of women, and she cultivated their loyal following through several decades by embodying their desires and dreams in her novels and short stories.
In some of her novels, however, she went beyond the technique of the formulaic romance to achieve a powerful psychological realism reflecting her intense feelings about her father, and to a lesser degree, her mother. This vision, which underlies Julius, Rebecca and The Parasites, is that of an author overwhelmed by the memory of her father's commanding presence. In Julius and The Parasites, for example, she introduces the image of a domineering but deadly father and the daring subject of incest.
In Rebecca, on the other hand, du Maurier fuses psychological realism with a sophisticated version of the Cinderella story.
She spent her youth sailing boats, travelling on the Continent with friends, and writing stories. Her family connections helped her establish her literary career, and she published some of her early work in Beaumont's Bystander magazine. A prestigious publishing house accepted her first novel when she was in her early twenties, and its publication brought her not only fame but the attentions of a handsome soldier, Major (later Lieutenant-General Sir) Frederick Browning, whom she married.
She continued writing under her maiden name, and her subsequent novels became bestsellers, earning her enormous wealth and fame. Many have been successfully adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek, My Cousin Rachel, and Jamaica Inn, and the short stories The Birds and Don't Look Now/Not After Midnight. While Alfred Hitchcock's films based upon her novels proceeded to make her one of the best-known authors in the world, she enjoyed the life of a fairy princess in a mansion in Cornwall called Menabilly, which served as the model for Manderley in Rebecca.
Daphne du Maurier was obsessed with the past. She intensively researched the lives of Francis and Anthony Bacon, the history of Cornwall, the Regency period, and nineteenth-century France and England. Above all, however, she was obsessed with her own family history, which she chronicled in Gerald: A Portrait, a biography of her father; The du Mauriers, a study of her family which focused on her grandfather, George du Maurier, the novelist and illustrator for Punch; The Glassblowers, a novel based upon the lives of her du Maurier ancestors; and Growing Pains, an autobiography that ignores nearly 50 years of her life in favour of the joyful and more romantic period of her youth. Daphne du Maurier can best be understood in terms of her remarkable and paradoxical family, the ghosts which haunted her life and fiction.
While contemporary writers were dealing critically with such subjects as the war, alienation, religion, poverty, Marxism, psychology and art, and experimenting with new techniques such as the stream of consciousness, du Maurier produced 'old-fashioned' novels with straightforward narratives that appealed to a popular audience's love of fantasy, adventure, sexuality and mystery. At an early age, she recognised that her readership was comprised principally of women, and she cultivated their loyal following through several decades by embodying their desires and dreams in her novels and short stories.
In some of her novels, however, she went beyond the technique of the formulaic romance to achieve a powerful psychological realism reflecting her intense feelings about her father, and to a lesser degree, her mother. This vision, which underlies Julius, Rebecca and The Parasites, is that of an author overwhelmed by the memory of her father's commanding presence. In Julius and The Parasites, for example, she introduces the image of a domineering but deadly father and the daring subject of incest.
In Rebecca, on the other hand, du Maurier fuses psychological realism with a sophisticated version of the Cinderella story.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 193 reviews
June 25, 2013
I came across this book on a market stall whilst in West Wales just recently, purchased it and I loved it.
This incredible but strangely convoluted book (divided into five books with an epilogue), is a magnificent family saga of five generations of Brodricks, Irish landowners, and spans the period 1820 – 1920. I’ve always been fascinated by sagas and to see the mix of individuals who end up “in the ever changing gene pool” down through history. The unravelling mixture of passions, revenge, hate, love, death, sadness and disappointment make up the fabric of this mesmerising book.
John Brodrick, a widower whose wife Sarah had died a few years before, lives in Clonmere Castle in Dunhaven, Ireland and with his neighbour Robert Lumley, living at Castle Andriff, enter into a partnership agreement for the nearby copper mine on Hungry Hill. And that’s when the problems start for this land had originally belonged to the Donovan family and Monty Donovan, as soon as he hears about the opening of this mine, is intent to destroy it in one way or another. The Donovan family’s hatred continues throughout the book and there are some rather dreadful incidents due to this.
Brodrick known as “Copper John” and he’s a force to be reckoned with. He doesn’t care who he tramples on but strangely enough I found him to be the cornerstone of this work. When he loses his first born Henry, who dies eighteen months after succumbing to a chill after helping his father out with problems at the mine, Brodrick hardens even more. Disappointment then continues to flow throughout his life, starting with the weakness of his second son, John (known as “Greyhound John”), who certainly has no interest in the mines and is more interested in breeding and racing his greyhounds.
The genes, however, then kick into action and will make new changes in future generations when John sets eyes on Fanny-Rosa:
“The only thing that matters to John was this: that never in his life had he set eyes on anything quite so lovely as Simon Flower’s daughter Fanny-Rosa”.
She leads him a merry dance as he vainly pursues her and can clearly see that she has the choice of so many men, but then unexpectedly she decides to marry him. It could possibly be due to the fact that she had found out he would eventually be the owner of the Clonmere Estate. John happened to love his wife too much and I think that the author was very wise in killing him off, so that he would be remembered regardless:
“ ‘At least’, he thought, ‘if I have been the dullest of the Brodricks, I have also been the happiest.’ ”
“Wild Johnnie” the son of John and Fanny-Rosa is also thoroughly mixed up, insecure and ends up with a very unfortunate end.
“In one hand he clutched an empty bottle, and in the other, the New Testament.”
As for Fanny-Rosa, she’s an exceptional individual and one is never too sure what she’s thinking, but she’s a fabulous character, lives in utter bedlam, confusion and a joy to read. In the end she runs off to Nice in France and well, it’s certainly a turn up for the books with her final outcome. She also turns out to have an addiction and not of the best kind.
Henry is the exact opposite of his mother Fanny-Rosa and his brother Johnnie, and lives sedately with his kind and thoughtful wife Katherine, who is also somewhat intriguing like Fanny-Rosa. Before marrying Henry, there is a hint that there’s a mutual attraction between herself and Johnnie but then he “disappears” off the scene. Whenever Johnnie was mentioned, tears would come to her eyes. Was Henry aware of this and perhaps this is why he stated shortly afterwards:
“How unlike Katherine to have tears; she who never gave way, who was so calm, so quiet. It was not possible that she should have anything on her mind (this sentence incensed me!). But when he had read her the chapter of the novel, and had laid it aside, he leant over and taking her in his arms, he said, searching her eyes, and feeling for the words, ‘Tell me, darling, tell me the truth – are you happy with me?’ ”
It’s also interesting to see how the author can change tempo so easily to gradually end up in the twentieth century with “The Inheritance”; to go the full circle and for John-Henry, returning from the war and wishing to return to Clonmere, to see the violence that was so alive in Ireland at that time.
This work enthralled me, as it was racy, exciting and you never knew what could happen next. Also there is so much detail so that one is completely in tune with what is going on. Anticipation is a wonderful thing and I spent several late nights reading it. Just as well that I was on holiday. When I finished the last page, all I could think was, well Daphne du Maurier, you have succeeded again with such a spell-binding book. How do you manage to have such a wonderful imagination and magical writing style in that your work just lives on and on.
This incredible but strangely convoluted book (divided into five books with an epilogue), is a magnificent family saga of five generations of Brodricks, Irish landowners, and spans the period 1820 – 1920. I’ve always been fascinated by sagas and to see the mix of individuals who end up “in the ever changing gene pool” down through history. The unravelling mixture of passions, revenge, hate, love, death, sadness and disappointment make up the fabric of this mesmerising book.
John Brodrick, a widower whose wife Sarah had died a few years before, lives in Clonmere Castle in Dunhaven, Ireland and with his neighbour Robert Lumley, living at Castle Andriff, enter into a partnership agreement for the nearby copper mine on Hungry Hill. And that’s when the problems start for this land had originally belonged to the Donovan family and Monty Donovan, as soon as he hears about the opening of this mine, is intent to destroy it in one way or another. The Donovan family’s hatred continues throughout the book and there are some rather dreadful incidents due to this.
Brodrick known as “Copper John” and he’s a force to be reckoned with. He doesn’t care who he tramples on but strangely enough I found him to be the cornerstone of this work. When he loses his first born Henry, who dies eighteen months after succumbing to a chill after helping his father out with problems at the mine, Brodrick hardens even more. Disappointment then continues to flow throughout his life, starting with the weakness of his second son, John (known as “Greyhound John”), who certainly has no interest in the mines and is more interested in breeding and racing his greyhounds.
The genes, however, then kick into action and will make new changes in future generations when John sets eyes on Fanny-Rosa:
“The only thing that matters to John was this: that never in his life had he set eyes on anything quite so lovely as Simon Flower’s daughter Fanny-Rosa”.
She leads him a merry dance as he vainly pursues her and can clearly see that she has the choice of so many men, but then unexpectedly she decides to marry him. It could possibly be due to the fact that she had found out he would eventually be the owner of the Clonmere Estate. John happened to love his wife too much and I think that the author was very wise in killing him off, so that he would be remembered regardless:
“ ‘At least’, he thought, ‘if I have been the dullest of the Brodricks, I have also been the happiest.’ ”
“Wild Johnnie” the son of John and Fanny-Rosa is also thoroughly mixed up, insecure and ends up with a very unfortunate end.
“In one hand he clutched an empty bottle, and in the other, the New Testament.”
As for Fanny-Rosa, she’s an exceptional individual and one is never too sure what she’s thinking, but she’s a fabulous character, lives in utter bedlam, confusion and a joy to read. In the end she runs off to Nice in France and well, it’s certainly a turn up for the books with her final outcome. She also turns out to have an addiction and not of the best kind.
Henry is the exact opposite of his mother Fanny-Rosa and his brother Johnnie, and lives sedately with his kind and thoughtful wife Katherine, who is also somewhat intriguing like Fanny-Rosa. Before marrying Henry, there is a hint that there’s a mutual attraction between herself and Johnnie but then he “disappears” off the scene. Whenever Johnnie was mentioned, tears would come to her eyes. Was Henry aware of this and perhaps this is why he stated shortly afterwards:
“How unlike Katherine to have tears; she who never gave way, who was so calm, so quiet. It was not possible that she should have anything on her mind (this sentence incensed me!). But when he had read her the chapter of the novel, and had laid it aside, he leant over and taking her in his arms, he said, searching her eyes, and feeling for the words, ‘Tell me, darling, tell me the truth – are you happy with me?’ ”
It’s also interesting to see how the author can change tempo so easily to gradually end up in the twentieth century with “The Inheritance”; to go the full circle and for John-Henry, returning from the war and wishing to return to Clonmere, to see the violence that was so alive in Ireland at that time.
This work enthralled me, as it was racy, exciting and you never knew what could happen next. Also there is so much detail so that one is completely in tune with what is going on. Anticipation is a wonderful thing and I spent several late nights reading it. Just as well that I was on holiday. When I finished the last page, all I could think was, well Daphne du Maurier, you have succeeded again with such a spell-binding book. How do you manage to have such a wonderful imagination and magical writing style in that your work just lives on and on.
November 16, 2024
Hungry Hill is Daphne du Maurier's fictionalized account of the real-life family of John Puxley. The story progresses through multiple generations spanning from about 1820 to 1920. As time moves on, each subsequent generation becomes more accustomed to the wealth created by the enterprising first character in the series, "Copper John." Following Copper John, members of each successive generation are seen adopting the attitudes of the previous generation and then progress through their own neuroses in the absence of any need for personal drive or success.
One problem with Hungry Hill is the sheer number of characters. Not only is it difficult to keep all the names straight, but their brief illuminations in the overall story makes it difficult to empathize with them when tragedy strikes. This lack of empathy is compounded by du Maurier's setting of wealth, which makes the characters seem more like spoiled children than tragedy-afflicted adults. All of this makes for a rather dull story filled with victims. It was a struggle at times to stay awake, and making it to the blank space at the end of each chapter felt like a reward for perseverance.
This was my second du Maurier novel, after reading Rebecca about ten years ago. In reading my thoughts about Rebecca, I found that a lack of empathy for the main characters was also the problem with that novel back then. Both novels were filled with victims of circumstance or fate. It may be that de Maurier sees victimhood as a final state of being, as opposed to my desire to see characters that rise above their lot in life, or at least try.
One interesting aspect of Hungry Hill is the sense of place that du Maurier creates on a remote peninsula located on the west coast of Ireland. After all, the location is the only constant throughout the story. There have been several people who have translated du Maurier's fictional place names from the story back to their actual names in Ireland. The following map places them all together and helps to define the setting…
Doonhaven, Ireland
One problem with Hungry Hill is the sheer number of characters. Not only is it difficult to keep all the names straight, but their brief illuminations in the overall story makes it difficult to empathize with them when tragedy strikes. This lack of empathy is compounded by du Maurier's setting of wealth, which makes the characters seem more like spoiled children than tragedy-afflicted adults. All of this makes for a rather dull story filled with victims. It was a struggle at times to stay awake, and making it to the blank space at the end of each chapter felt like a reward for perseverance.
This was my second du Maurier novel, after reading Rebecca about ten years ago. In reading my thoughts about Rebecca, I found that a lack of empathy for the main characters was also the problem with that novel back then. Both novels were filled with victims of circumstance or fate. It may be that de Maurier sees victimhood as a final state of being, as opposed to my desire to see characters that rise above their lot in life, or at least try.
One interesting aspect of Hungry Hill is the sense of place that du Maurier creates on a remote peninsula located on the west coast of Ireland. After all, the location is the only constant throughout the story. There have been several people who have translated du Maurier's fictional place names from the story back to their actual names in Ireland. The following map places them all together and helps to define the setting…
Doonhaven, Ireland
June 11, 2014
This id not definitely my favorite book written by Dame du Maurier. This book is very low-paced and I haven't felt so engaged into the narrative compared with her other books.
5* Rebecca
5*The Glass-Blowers
4* Mary Anne
4* Jamaica Inn
5* The House on the Strand
5* Frenchman's Creek
5* The King's General
3* The Years Between
4* Don't Look Now
5* My Cousin Rachel
4* The Parasites
4* The Flight of the Falcon
4* The Birds
3* September Tide: A Play
3* The Blue Lenses and Other Stories
3* Os Americanos Estão Chegando
3* The Doll: Short Stories
3* The Rendezvous and Other Stories
3* The Scapegoat
TR Vanishing Cornwall: The Spirit and History of Cornwall
TR Myself When Young: The Shaping of a Writer
TR Enchanted Cornwall: Her Pictorial Memoir
TR Julius
TR The Winding Stair
TR The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte
TR I'll Never Be Young Again
TR The Breaking Point
5* Rebecca
5*The Glass-Blowers
4* Mary Anne
4* Jamaica Inn
5* The House on the Strand
5* Frenchman's Creek
5* The King's General
3* The Years Between
4* Don't Look Now
5* My Cousin Rachel
4* The Parasites
4* The Flight of the Falcon
4* The Birds
3* September Tide: A Play
3* The Blue Lenses and Other Stories
3* Os Americanos Estão Chegando
3* The Doll: Short Stories
3* The Rendezvous and Other Stories
3* The Scapegoat
TR Vanishing Cornwall: The Spirit and History of Cornwall
TR Myself When Young: The Shaping of a Writer
TR Enchanted Cornwall: Her Pictorial Memoir
TR Julius
TR The Winding Stair
TR The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte
TR I'll Never Be Young Again
TR The Breaking Point
October 14, 2019
So this to me is not a typical Daphne du Maurier novel. There are hints of some Gothic elements here and there with a curse being flung about. But other than that, du Maurier just follows along following five generations of the Brodrick family from 1820 to 1920 following five of the male characters from the Brodrick family. I have to say that from beginning to end the tale of "Hungry Hill" is going to grab you. And you start to wonder if a curse is really what is affecting certain members of the family or is it simply fate? I loved the writing, the character development, the setting, and ultimately the ending. It seems that in the end, the last male surviving member of that family has changed his family's fate.
"Hungry Hill" starts off following a man that is named Cooper John (due to the cooper mine he opens up on Hungry Hill). Cooper John is a widower with two sons (Henry and John) and three daughters. Cooper John is focused on enlarging his family's castle called Clonmere and having enough money left to take care of his children's children. I don't think that Cooper John was a bad man, but he is very black and white on things and he loves his children though he is often left confused and frustrated with his second eldest son, also named John. From there, du Maurier follows the rest of the family line and the book is broken up into parts. From Cooper John we follow Greyhound John, Wild Johnnie, Henry, Hal, and finally we go into the last book called The Inheritance.
I have to say that all of the sections were fascinating. I don't think you will come away liking most of the people in this book, but you will love reading about them. I think my favorite book though had to be the one with Henry. My least favorite (as much as one was my least favorite) was the one with Hal. I don't want to get into talking too much and spoiling things, but you have to wonder at times if only so and so happened this may have meant a different fate for the characters that follow. Except for the character of Greyhound John, I don't think that any in the Brodrick family loved the land truly. And even then with him, he lost interest in it as soon as he finally gets the woman he has desired.
The Donovan family is another big piece of this book and we find out at the beginning of the book, Cooper John's grandfather was shot in the back by a Donovan. And the Donovan's of the present seem focused on ruining Cooper John and his family's fortune. There seems to be parts superstition and just plain rage towards the Brodrick's and I wonder if du Maurier contemplated showing their side of the story at all.
The writing was so good. I honestly felt sad when I got to the end. I would have loved to read on about this family past the 1920s. The flow was great too. From book to book it makes sense who we follow and why and I always loved books where I can follow characters through decades.
The setting of this book is Ireland in the late 1800s and the first World War. I have to say that it read as different to me than what I expected. I don't know what I thought about Ireland back then, but I honestly didn't know anything about cooper mines existing there.
The ending of the book though gives a glimmer that a new change is finally coming to the Brodrick clan and with that the end of the supposed curse.
"Hungry Hill" starts off following a man that is named Cooper John (due to the cooper mine he opens up on Hungry Hill). Cooper John is a widower with two sons (Henry and John) and three daughters. Cooper John is focused on enlarging his family's castle called Clonmere and having enough money left to take care of his children's children. I don't think that Cooper John was a bad man, but he is very black and white on things and he loves his children though he is often left confused and frustrated with his second eldest son, also named John. From there, du Maurier follows the rest of the family line and the book is broken up into parts. From Cooper John we follow Greyhound John, Wild Johnnie, Henry, Hal, and finally we go into the last book called The Inheritance.
I have to say that all of the sections were fascinating. I don't think you will come away liking most of the people in this book, but you will love reading about them. I think my favorite book though had to be the one with Henry. My least favorite (as much as one was my least favorite) was the one with Hal. I don't want to get into talking too much and spoiling things, but you have to wonder at times if only so and so happened this may have meant a different fate for the characters that follow. Except for the character of Greyhound John, I don't think that any in the Brodrick family loved the land truly. And even then with him, he lost interest in it as soon as he finally gets the woman he has desired.
The Donovan family is another big piece of this book and we find out at the beginning of the book, Cooper John's grandfather was shot in the back by a Donovan. And the Donovan's of the present seem focused on ruining Cooper John and his family's fortune. There seems to be parts superstition and just plain rage towards the Brodrick's and I wonder if du Maurier contemplated showing their side of the story at all.
The writing was so good. I honestly felt sad when I got to the end. I would have loved to read on about this family past the 1920s. The flow was great too. From book to book it makes sense who we follow and why and I always loved books where I can follow characters through decades.
The setting of this book is Ireland in the late 1800s and the first World War. I have to say that it read as different to me than what I expected. I don't know what I thought about Ireland back then, but I honestly didn't know anything about cooper mines existing there.
The ending of the book though gives a glimmer that a new change is finally coming to the Brodrick clan and with that the end of the supposed curse.
July 24, 2014
"I have the silver, you have the land"
Du Maurier recounts the lives of several generations of the Brodrick family, landholders in Dunhaven Ireland starting in 1820 when "Copper John" Brodrick cements a deal to start a copper mine at the base of Hungry Hill. John's main priorities are the business and its profits, with little concern for the day to day welfare of the miners and their families - enflaming a long-standing family grudge that leads to a curse on the Brodrick family. The story of the family continues with subsequent generations as Copper John's sons and his grandsons battle to maintain the mines and the family fortune with the fluctuating price of copper and tin, along with their own personal and mental battles. The story finally culminates in 1920 as the last of the line John-Henry returns from the Great War in 1920 to reclaim the family estate and finds himself unwittingly involved in the Irish rebellion with unexpected consequences to him and the family home Clonmere.
Overall, this was quite a good read despite a stereotyped character or two (it was written in the 1940s) and a storyline a bit on the predictable side. While it might not appeal as much to those readers used to Du Maurier's usual fare, i.e. Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel, her writing is superb and understated as always and IMO raises this from a three to a four star read as the reader sees the viewpoint of both the Landholder and the difficulties of the Irish tenants. Still tops with me in multi-generational family sagas is Susan Howatch's Cashelmara- don't miss it.
Du Maurier recounts the lives of several generations of the Brodrick family, landholders in Dunhaven Ireland starting in 1820 when "Copper John" Brodrick cements a deal to start a copper mine at the base of Hungry Hill. John's main priorities are the business and its profits, with little concern for the day to day welfare of the miners and their families - enflaming a long-standing family grudge that leads to a curse on the Brodrick family. The story of the family continues with subsequent generations as Copper John's sons and his grandsons battle to maintain the mines and the family fortune with the fluctuating price of copper and tin, along with their own personal and mental battles. The story finally culminates in 1920 as the last of the line John-Henry returns from the Great War in 1920 to reclaim the family estate and finds himself unwittingly involved in the Irish rebellion with unexpected consequences to him and the family home Clonmere.
Overall, this was quite a good read despite a stereotyped character or two (it was written in the 1940s) and a storyline a bit on the predictable side. While it might not appeal as much to those readers used to Du Maurier's usual fare, i.e. Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel, her writing is superb and understated as always and IMO raises this from a three to a four star read as the reader sees the viewpoint of both the Landholder and the difficulties of the Irish tenants. Still tops with me in multi-generational family sagas is Susan Howatch's Cashelmara- don't miss it.
November 12, 2021
Du Maurier's signature skill as an author, which I greatly admire, is her ability to present horrible characters as sympathetic. Whether they be cruel, lazy, narcissistic, weak, selfish, bullying, spiteful, cold, she manages to give you such an intimate insight into their personality that you understand their failings and feel for them. Sometimes, even shed a tear. What a talent!
July 13, 2016
Whilst preparing for my Du Maurier December posts, I decided that I would read her 1943 novel, Hungry Hill, rather early on. It was the book which I can safely say I was least looking forward to. I generally find du Maurier’s historical fiction rather mesmerising, but on the face of it, nothing about Hungry Hill really appealed to me at all.
I love visiting Ireland, the country in which the story of Hungry Hill takes place, but I oddly do not tend to enjoy books which are set there. Largely, those which I have encountered thus far follow the same kind of pattern; they are generally familial sagas in which none of the generations are particularly likeable, they often share similar themes, and they tend to become a little predictable and quite unexciting in consequence. The storyline of this novel, too – ‘It is a passionate story of five generations of an Irish family and the copper mine on Hungry Hill [previously a beloved picnic spot of the children] with which their fortunes and fate were so closely bound’ – held very little appeal for me. Despite this, I thought that as du Maurier is one of my favourite authors, I would purchase the novel anyway, mainly to see how she rendered her material, and to discover whether she could make the story an interesting one for me.
The novel is split into five separate parts, every one of which follows a member of each consequent generation of the Brodrick family, who live at Clonmere Castle. The first part begins in 1820 with patriarch ‘Copper John’, the second in 1828 with his son ‘Greyhound John’, the third in 1837 with his brother’s son, known as ‘Wild Johnnie’, the fourth in 1858 with Henry, and the fifth in 1874 with his son, Hal. The novel’s epilogue is set in 1920, and deals with John-Henry, the sixth generation of the family.
Almost the entirety of the first generation whom we are introduced to are not very likeable; they largely exude a sense of pompousness and self-importance from the very beginning, thinking themselves above everyone else merely because of their father’s projected wealth. The local community feels animosity toward the mine – and, in turn, the Brodricks – as, when it was established, rather than calling upon the local workforce to man it, John Brodrick shipped over miners from Cornwall. Hostility between the two reigns from the very beginning, and, somewhat predictably, the ore soon begins to be stolen.
Du Maurier demonstrates the odd and, in some ways, very fitting of-the-time family relationship which exists within the Brodrick clan. Despite this, some elements of the family dynamic are a little peculiar; John Brodrick’s ‘natural brother’ Ned acts as his agent, but is ‘careful never to presume upon his relationship in any way, so that John Brodrick was always “Mr Brodrick” and his nieces “the young ladies”‘. As one might expect in a novel which begins in 1820, sexism within the family is rife. In the first generation – as is traditional, of course – the boys are sent to Eton and Oxford University, but the girls receive no education whatsoever. No Brodrick child is more treasured than the eldest son, Henry. Whilst slightly different things do happen to each generation’s protagonist within Hungry Hill, details and many aspects of personality are repeated. It felt rather predictable, particularly as it went on.
Whilst Hungry Hill is well written, there are very few characters with whom one is able to sympathise. The descriptions are well rendered, but are certainly quite dreary on the whole, and set the tone well in consequence. In a few instances throughout, the dialogue which du Maurier has crafted feels a touch too modern for the period in question; an odd and quite jarring mistake, since she normally excels at such things. Whilst some of the scenes are quite vivid, this has not been sustained throughout, and parts of the novel which should be dramatic are rendered rather flat and insipid. Many of the facts and technicalities which du Maurier weaves in tend to feel quite dull and repetitive; it feels as though one is reading a piece of non-fiction at times.
It perhaps goes without saying that Hungry Hill is my least favourite du Maurier to date, and if she had not penned it, I would never have picked it up. In some ways, it presents an interesting portrayal of days gone by, but I personally believe it to be the weakest of her historical novels. Whilst part of this is certainly due to the fact that the book does not appeal to me, it does not feel as though its atmosphere and storyline have been captured as well as books such as The House on the Strand and Rebecca. The characters within Hungry Hill are also not overly memorable. Hungry Hill feels something of an anamoly in du Maurier’s otherwise sparkling literary career.
I love visiting Ireland, the country in which the story of Hungry Hill takes place, but I oddly do not tend to enjoy books which are set there. Largely, those which I have encountered thus far follow the same kind of pattern; they are generally familial sagas in which none of the generations are particularly likeable, they often share similar themes, and they tend to become a little predictable and quite unexciting in consequence. The storyline of this novel, too – ‘It is a passionate story of five generations of an Irish family and the copper mine on Hungry Hill [previously a beloved picnic spot of the children] with which their fortunes and fate were so closely bound’ – held very little appeal for me. Despite this, I thought that as du Maurier is one of my favourite authors, I would purchase the novel anyway, mainly to see how she rendered her material, and to discover whether she could make the story an interesting one for me.
The novel is split into five separate parts, every one of which follows a member of each consequent generation of the Brodrick family, who live at Clonmere Castle. The first part begins in 1820 with patriarch ‘Copper John’, the second in 1828 with his son ‘Greyhound John’, the third in 1837 with his brother’s son, known as ‘Wild Johnnie’, the fourth in 1858 with Henry, and the fifth in 1874 with his son, Hal. The novel’s epilogue is set in 1920, and deals with John-Henry, the sixth generation of the family.
Almost the entirety of the first generation whom we are introduced to are not very likeable; they largely exude a sense of pompousness and self-importance from the very beginning, thinking themselves above everyone else merely because of their father’s projected wealth. The local community feels animosity toward the mine – and, in turn, the Brodricks – as, when it was established, rather than calling upon the local workforce to man it, John Brodrick shipped over miners from Cornwall. Hostility between the two reigns from the very beginning, and, somewhat predictably, the ore soon begins to be stolen.
Du Maurier demonstrates the odd and, in some ways, very fitting of-the-time family relationship which exists within the Brodrick clan. Despite this, some elements of the family dynamic are a little peculiar; John Brodrick’s ‘natural brother’ Ned acts as his agent, but is ‘careful never to presume upon his relationship in any way, so that John Brodrick was always “Mr Brodrick” and his nieces “the young ladies”‘. As one might expect in a novel which begins in 1820, sexism within the family is rife. In the first generation – as is traditional, of course – the boys are sent to Eton and Oxford University, but the girls receive no education whatsoever. No Brodrick child is more treasured than the eldest son, Henry. Whilst slightly different things do happen to each generation’s protagonist within Hungry Hill, details and many aspects of personality are repeated. It felt rather predictable, particularly as it went on.
Whilst Hungry Hill is well written, there are very few characters with whom one is able to sympathise. The descriptions are well rendered, but are certainly quite dreary on the whole, and set the tone well in consequence. In a few instances throughout, the dialogue which du Maurier has crafted feels a touch too modern for the period in question; an odd and quite jarring mistake, since she normally excels at such things. Whilst some of the scenes are quite vivid, this has not been sustained throughout, and parts of the novel which should be dramatic are rendered rather flat and insipid. Many of the facts and technicalities which du Maurier weaves in tend to feel quite dull and repetitive; it feels as though one is reading a piece of non-fiction at times.
It perhaps goes without saying that Hungry Hill is my least favourite du Maurier to date, and if she had not penned it, I would never have picked it up. In some ways, it presents an interesting portrayal of days gone by, but I personally believe it to be the weakest of her historical novels. Whilst part of this is certainly due to the fact that the book does not appeal to me, it does not feel as though its atmosphere and storyline have been captured as well as books such as The House on the Strand and Rebecca. The characters within Hungry Hill are also not overly memorable. Hungry Hill feels something of an anamoly in du Maurier’s otherwise sparkling literary career.
June 16, 2012
I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into when I decided to read du Maurier's Hungry Hill. I wanted to read something different from her best known works and thought that a family saga might make an interesting story.
Well... it did! An interesting, but, also a tragic and depressing story. The story of the Brodrick family and their life in Ireland from 1820 to 1920. The story opens with the patriarch John Brodrick, called Copper John. However we immediately know that the family has been in Ireland for a few generations and that one of the Brodrick man ended up being killed by a member of the Donovan family and the feud is still very much open. In fact one could say that the story begins with a Donovan cursing Copper John and all his children.
I tell you your mine will be in ruins and your home destroyed and your children forgotten ...but this hill will be standing still to confound you.
Copper John is a man of progress. He lives in Clonmere with his five children and has decided he will open a mine on Hungry Hill. Although the land belongs to his partner it is Copper John who runs the mine and makes it a success. Hungry Hill ends up being their fortune.
However the Brodricks are never well accepted by the locals. Something neither Copper John nor Henry, his oldest son, are very worried about but that his second son, John. soon realises and feels uncomfortable with. Trouble with the miners leads Henry to fall ill and eventually die. John becomes his father heir but he is only interested in his dogs. Even after he marries and has children his interest is only in what gives him pleasure and he leaves all boring and tiresome decisions to his carefree and temperamental wife Fanny Rosa. It is an interesting thing that John seems like a sympathetic character in the beginning. He understands the way the locals think and anticipates the troubles his father is going to have. But he becomes more and more of a dreamer and his marriage makes him even more selfish and detached from the reality he finds tiresome.
John also dies young. He tries to end the feud with the Donovans and catches diphtheria. His children are still young and are left in the care of their mother. It is his oldest son, Johnnie, who eventually succeeds Copper John. The mines are still making them rich and Johnnie, a bit the image of his own mother, thinks only of his own pleasure. He lacks any self-control, which brings him very little friends and it is only when he falls in love with his brother Henry's fiancée that he realises he leads an empty life. He makes friends with the Donovans and once again that association does not end well. It seems the Donovans never forget which side they are on despite the Brodricks trying to end the feud. Johnnie eventually dies of an alcohol overdose...
It's his brother Henry that becomes the head of the family. Nothing like Johnnie he is profoundly in love with his wife and cares for his children and his business. One can say that if his father's marriage made him a worse person, Henry's marriage made him a better one. When his wife dies giving birth to their fourth child he is unable to cope with the reality of his life without her. His second marriage ruins his relationship with his children, with his friends and leaves only a shrewd and cold businessman.
His son Hal, enjoyed a close relationship with his mother and ends feeling rejected by his father. He knows his father thinks of him as a failure and the insecurity that comes out of that never lets him pursue his dream of painting and eventually sees him as a clerk in his own family's company. And once again it is a Donovan that leads to his death, still has a young man. He has time to see the mine come to an end though; other markets and raw materials make it unprofitable and after being sold the mine at Hungry Hill is finally closed.
We next see Hal's son, who was two when his father died, go back to the family home as an adult. He happens to find himself drinking with the wrong company in a period of civil war and the Donovan curse that started this story is finally fulfilled and his home his destroyed. Would the Brodrick family fate have been different had Copper John asked the Hill for permission before opening the mine?
I loved du Maurier's writing and I suppose that is what made the difference in a story where there are so few nice characters and quite a number of them are nasty villains. The richest the Brodrick men become the weaker and tortured they seem to become too. But she made me interested and engaged in what happened to them and I could easily have kept on reading for another generation or two.
***
Well... it did! An interesting, but, also a tragic and depressing story. The story of the Brodrick family and their life in Ireland from 1820 to 1920. The story opens with the patriarch John Brodrick, called Copper John. However we immediately know that the family has been in Ireland for a few generations and that one of the Brodrick man ended up being killed by a member of the Donovan family and the feud is still very much open. In fact one could say that the story begins with a Donovan cursing Copper John and all his children.
I tell you your mine will be in ruins and your home destroyed and your children forgotten ...but this hill will be standing still to confound you.
Copper John is a man of progress. He lives in Clonmere with his five children and has decided he will open a mine on Hungry Hill. Although the land belongs to his partner it is Copper John who runs the mine and makes it a success. Hungry Hill ends up being their fortune.
However the Brodricks are never well accepted by the locals. Something neither Copper John nor Henry, his oldest son, are very worried about but that his second son, John. soon realises and feels uncomfortable with. Trouble with the miners leads Henry to fall ill and eventually die. John becomes his father heir but he is only interested in his dogs. Even after he marries and has children his interest is only in what gives him pleasure and he leaves all boring and tiresome decisions to his carefree and temperamental wife Fanny Rosa. It is an interesting thing that John seems like a sympathetic character in the beginning. He understands the way the locals think and anticipates the troubles his father is going to have. But he becomes more and more of a dreamer and his marriage makes him even more selfish and detached from the reality he finds tiresome.
John also dies young. He tries to end the feud with the Donovans and catches diphtheria. His children are still young and are left in the care of their mother. It is his oldest son, Johnnie, who eventually succeeds Copper John. The mines are still making them rich and Johnnie, a bit the image of his own mother, thinks only of his own pleasure. He lacks any self-control, which brings him very little friends and it is only when he falls in love with his brother Henry's fiancée that he realises he leads an empty life. He makes friends with the Donovans and once again that association does not end well. It seems the Donovans never forget which side they are on despite the Brodricks trying to end the feud. Johnnie eventually dies of an alcohol overdose...
It's his brother Henry that becomes the head of the family. Nothing like Johnnie he is profoundly in love with his wife and cares for his children and his business. One can say that if his father's marriage made him a worse person, Henry's marriage made him a better one. When his wife dies giving birth to their fourth child he is unable to cope with the reality of his life without her. His second marriage ruins his relationship with his children, with his friends and leaves only a shrewd and cold businessman.
His son Hal, enjoyed a close relationship with his mother and ends feeling rejected by his father. He knows his father thinks of him as a failure and the insecurity that comes out of that never lets him pursue his dream of painting and eventually sees him as a clerk in his own family's company. And once again it is a Donovan that leads to his death, still has a young man. He has time to see the mine come to an end though; other markets and raw materials make it unprofitable and after being sold the mine at Hungry Hill is finally closed.
We next see Hal's son, who was two when his father died, go back to the family home as an adult. He happens to find himself drinking with the wrong company in a period of civil war and the Donovan curse that started this story is finally fulfilled and his home his destroyed. Would the Brodrick family fate have been different had Copper John asked the Hill for permission before opening the mine?
I loved du Maurier's writing and I suppose that is what made the difference in a story where there are so few nice characters and quite a number of them are nasty villains. The richest the Brodrick men become the weaker and tortured they seem to become too. But she made me interested and engaged in what happened to them and I could easily have kept on reading for another generation or two.
***
July 7, 2018
fena degil okunur, zamanin cok gerisinde kalmis bazi eski romanlar ki biz bunlara dogal olarak klasikler diyoruz her zaman okunuyor ve her zaman bir baska tad veriyor insana. Yazari sevdigim icin bu eserinide merak ettim ama bana o kadarfazla bir sey vermedi. maden isletmeciligi, kapitalizmin anayapisina sadik patronlar ve onun ailesi yozlasmis bir duzen. bir cok generasyon atlayan bir roman torunun torunu hikayesine almis. Bu zamanin yazarlarindan Somerset'in verdigi duygu zenginligini ne yazikki bu defa burda yazarimiz Daphne du Maurier verememis.
July 17, 2022
If you read my comments as I read this book you might be surprised I gave it 4 stars - but the ending was so relevant to today & to what Australia is transferring into that I thought DdM merited more credit for her insight. This is apparently based upon the saga of an Irish dynasty who tried vainly to change the “indigenous Irish” - civilization is not for them - not for the Cambodians & soon not for us among so many others of the west …. So the clock slowly turns bringing these inevitable changes.
November 28, 2014
An engrossing family saga which I couldn't put down.
As with Daphne another excellent read.
It was very interesting to see the characters down through the years.
Daphne is such a brilliant writer.
I still have a few more of hers to read.
Highly recommended.
As with Daphne another excellent read.
It was very interesting to see the characters down through the years.
Daphne is such a brilliant writer.
I still have a few more of hers to read.
Highly recommended.
September 25, 2023
Written between Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel, this is the story of a copper mining family in Ireland, spanning several generations, from the 1820s to the 1920s. The people of the town resent the Brodricks for building their family estate, Clonmere, and starting the mine on what they consider ancestral land, and once a member of the Donovan family curses them, you're left to wonder if it's the curse that does them in, or just their pride, stubbornness, the occasional lack of self esteem, or penchant for drink.
I've read a lot of middling reviews of this book, here and elsewhere, but I really enjoyed it, particularly the way du Maurier captures that crippling self doubt that can twist into lashing out in a man (incels of the 19th century!). People expecting nothing but romantic suspense from this author need to read more.
I've read a lot of middling reviews of this book, here and elsewhere, but I really enjoyed it, particularly the way du Maurier captures that crippling self doubt that can twist into lashing out in a man (incels of the 19th century!). People expecting nothing but romantic suspense from this author need to read more.
August 22, 2011
Relentlessly downbeat, woodenly written.
November 3, 2021
I didn’t know too much about this book before I started reading it, only that it was about a family, a curse and Ireland and I have to say, I was disappointed.
Du Mauriers writing was very clunky in this one, though it did get better during the course of this book, it always felt like it was dragging along.
The Gothic elements were mostly missing from the whole book. There was a curse, but it’s only mentioned in the beginning, but after that we just follow a family who rivals with another family and nothing that happens really feels like a curse, just bad luck, and foul play.
In my head, I’m always comparing this book to Rebecca as it’s only my second book read by du Maurier and both books are nothing alike. I missed so much I loved about Rebecca, but I will continue with her books to see if I like the others or if Rebecca just stands out.
Du Mauriers writing was very clunky in this one, though it did get better during the course of this book, it always felt like it was dragging along.
The Gothic elements were mostly missing from the whole book. There was a curse, but it’s only mentioned in the beginning, but after that we just follow a family who rivals with another family and nothing that happens really feels like a curse, just bad luck, and foul play.
In my head, I’m always comparing this book to Rebecca as it’s only my second book read by du Maurier and both books are nothing alike. I missed so much I loved about Rebecca, but I will continue with her books to see if I like the others or if Rebecca just stands out.
November 7, 2022
The trouble is that goodness dies, and lies buried in the earth. Cleverness passes on and becomes degenerate.
Historical fiction at its best. Intertwined with Daphne du Maurier's observations of human nature. A family saga that reminded me about precious House Series by Norah Loft
The people don’t want to be understood, it would spoil their sense of injustice. They revel in their wrongs.
What can I add? Must read for fans of historical fiction and/or family sagas and/or du Maurier. Although there was less du Maurier as you may know from My Cousin Rachel or I'll Never Be Young Again.
He wanted to lose the memory of that world; they wished to hold it.
Nonetheless, as you can see from my quotes - du Maurier it was. And I love her message:
What was John-Henry [like we all are] but the outcome of the years?
May 17, 2019
A dark family saga full of doom but beautifully written by the talented du Maurier.
Here is a link to my review: http://perfectretort.blogspot.com/201...
Here is a link to my review: http://perfectretort.blogspot.com/201...
June 21, 2019
"Le Mont-Brulé" raconte l'histoire de la famille Brodrick qui, peu après la fin des guerres napoléoniennes fonde une mine de cuivre dans le conté de Cork en Irlande et l'opère pendant soixante ans. Le récit ressemble à celui de la famille Puxley, fréquentée par l'auteure, qui a opéré la mine Allihies en conté Cork au dix-neuvièmement siècle. Malgré ses bons points, le roman est dans l'ensemble très inégal.
Il y a des lacunes dans le traitement de l'histoire Irlande qui dérangent beaucoup. Par exemple, le taux de mortalité au Cork a été de 30% pendant la grande famine (1845-1852), mais Du Maurier ne la mentionne pas. Elle est également totalement silencieuse sur le mouvement nationaliste et la guerre de l'indépendance irlandaise (1919-1921) arrive deus ex machina pour résoudre le conflit dramatique principal à la fin du roman.
Il y a, par contre, d'autres aspect de l'histoire de l'Irlande où Du Maurier est très fort. Sa description du contentieux entre les mineurs que l'on fait venir de Cornouailles pour exploiter le gisement de cuivre du Mont-Brulé et les membres de la communauté irlandaise de Cork est excellent. Également, ses commentaires sur le conflit entre la culture catholique des ouvriers Irlandais et la culture protestante, non-conformiste des propriétaires sont excellents. En gros, Du Maurier décrit très bien l'antagonisme entre prolétaire et capitaliste dans une situation où il n'y a pas de syndicat. Le point de vue est bien entendu celui du capitaliste.
La dimension historique du "Mont-Brulé" est bonne sans être brillante. Malheureuse, le saga familiale est ratée. Le fondateur du dynastie Copper John et sa bru Fanny Rosa suscitent de l'intérêt chez le lecteur, mais les autres personnages, (qui sont d'ailleurs trop nombreux), sont tous plutôt ennuyants. Dans l'absence d'un véritable bras-de-fer entre syndicat et capitaliste, Du Maurier nous donne une vendetta très personnelle entre une famille des prolétaires les, Donovans, let les riches propriétaires, les Brodricks. Malheureusement, cette querelle est assommant. Les Donovans semblent exister uniquement pour détester les Brodricks. Leurs seules qualités sont la jalousie et la rancune.
Il y a des lacunes dans le traitement de l'histoire Irlande qui dérangent beaucoup. Par exemple, le taux de mortalité au Cork a été de 30% pendant la grande famine (1845-1852), mais Du Maurier ne la mentionne pas. Elle est également totalement silencieuse sur le mouvement nationaliste et la guerre de l'indépendance irlandaise (1919-1921) arrive deus ex machina pour résoudre le conflit dramatique principal à la fin du roman.
Il y a, par contre, d'autres aspect de l'histoire de l'Irlande où Du Maurier est très fort. Sa description du contentieux entre les mineurs que l'on fait venir de Cornouailles pour exploiter le gisement de cuivre du Mont-Brulé et les membres de la communauté irlandaise de Cork est excellent. Également, ses commentaires sur le conflit entre la culture catholique des ouvriers Irlandais et la culture protestante, non-conformiste des propriétaires sont excellents. En gros, Du Maurier décrit très bien l'antagonisme entre prolétaire et capitaliste dans une situation où il n'y a pas de syndicat. Le point de vue est bien entendu celui du capitaliste.
La dimension historique du "Mont-Brulé" est bonne sans être brillante. Malheureuse, le saga familiale est ratée. Le fondateur du dynastie Copper John et sa bru Fanny Rosa suscitent de l'intérêt chez le lecteur, mais les autres personnages, (qui sont d'ailleurs trop nombreux), sont tous plutôt ennuyants. Dans l'absence d'un véritable bras-de-fer entre syndicat et capitaliste, Du Maurier nous donne une vendetta très personnelle entre une famille des prolétaires les, Donovans, let les riches propriétaires, les Brodricks. Malheureusement, cette querelle est assommant. Les Donovans semblent exister uniquement pour détester les Brodricks. Leurs seules qualités sont la jalousie et la rancune.
November 5, 2024
Not at all what I expected. It was good but it was also a bit tedious at times. Du Maurier’s book, Rebecca, is one of my all time favorite books so I think I was hoping the book would be similar.
Lately, I have been trying to read some books from my physical TBR shelf and this one was one that I was given from my grandparents’ shelf which is cool because the story is about a family and five of its generations. I ended up liking this book, but it took a long time to really feel immersed in the story. I gave it 4⭐️ but it’s more like 3.5⭐️ rounded up. 😉
Lately, I have been trying to read some books from my physical TBR shelf and this one was one that I was given from my grandparents’ shelf which is cool because the story is about a family and five of its generations. I ended up liking this book, but it took a long time to really feel immersed in the story. I gave it 4⭐️ but it’s more like 3.5⭐️ rounded up. 😉
December 8, 2023
I liked this one more than The Loving Spirit, Julius, and I’ll Never Be Young Again. It had the generational structure of The Loving Spirit. It’s more of a standard historical fiction book with less of the adventure or gothic aspects of my favorites so far - Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, and Frenchman’s Creek. But classic Daphne elements show themselves by the end, and left me with a desire to go back and read the beginning, like I did with Rebecca. I think it’s worth a read for other Daphne Du Maurier enthusiasts.
July 24, 2024
This book felt like a trilogy of novels packed into one. The family saga, spanning four generations, charts the life of the Brodericks through various mishaps and romances. It was the romance aspects of this that I liked the most, particularly in Greyhound John's section (part two). The novel covers 100 years of family life, so some characters from part one of the novel are still mentioned even at the end, which I liked because we came to know those characters so well it would have been a shame not to have them mentioned again.
The parallels between lifetimes and the generations of the family were intelligent and intriguing, giving the reader a lot of satisfaction.
"You've wanted to kiss me for a long time, have you not?"
"For nearly ten months," he told her, "I have thought of nothing else."
--
"Tell me," he said, "do you ever think of anything else in life but your greyhounds?"
And supposing, thought the son, that I told him the truth, supposing that I made a confession of all the thoughts that fill my waking hours: how I hate the mines for the ugliness they have brought upon Doonhaven, because they stand for progress and prosperity, and how I cannot walk about the estate while he still lives and owns it, because I take no interest in a thing that I do not possess, and which is not mine alone, and how I am at present ill-tempered, ill-mannered, and more than a little drunk because my mind and my body have need of Fanny-Rosa, the daughter of a man he despises, and the only thing that concerns me at this moment is whether she will belong to me or not, and, if she should, whether she also belonged to my brother who is dead; supposing I make confession of all these things, what would he do but stare at me aghast and bid me leave the room, and possible the house also? It was better to keep silence.
"Occasionally, sir," he said, "I think of the killings in the creek and the hares on Hungry Hill, but mostly I concern myself with my greyhounds."
--
However, I am left with a few questions, of which there are hints towards answers throughout the novel - but never a clear answer.
POTENTIAL SPOILERS BELOW.
[] It is my personal belief that Fanny-Rosa and Henry did have a romantic relationship, albeit one that did not end well. This is hinted at in the novel.
[] Similarly, I do believe Katherine felt something for Johnnie, but would of course never say it.
The parallels between lifetimes and the generations of the family were intelligent and intriguing, giving the reader a lot of satisfaction.
"You've wanted to kiss me for a long time, have you not?"
"For nearly ten months," he told her, "I have thought of nothing else."
--
"Tell me," he said, "do you ever think of anything else in life but your greyhounds?"
And supposing, thought the son, that I told him the truth, supposing that I made a confession of all the thoughts that fill my waking hours: how I hate the mines for the ugliness they have brought upon Doonhaven, because they stand for progress and prosperity, and how I cannot walk about the estate while he still lives and owns it, because I take no interest in a thing that I do not possess, and which is not mine alone, and how I am at present ill-tempered, ill-mannered, and more than a little drunk because my mind and my body have need of Fanny-Rosa, the daughter of a man he despises, and the only thing that concerns me at this moment is whether she will belong to me or not, and, if she should, whether she also belonged to my brother who is dead; supposing I make confession of all these things, what would he do but stare at me aghast and bid me leave the room, and possible the house also? It was better to keep silence.
"Occasionally, sir," he said, "I think of the killings in the creek and the hares on Hungry Hill, but mostly I concern myself with my greyhounds."
--
However, I am left with a few questions, of which there are hints towards answers throughout the novel - but never a clear answer.
POTENTIAL SPOILERS BELOW.
[] It is my personal belief that Fanny-Rosa and Henry did have a romantic relationship, albeit one that did not end well. This is hinted at in the novel.
[] Similarly, I do believe Katherine felt something for Johnnie, but would of course never say it.
March 29, 2021
I can't remember the last time I read a family saga, yet I know I must have read one at some point. At any rate, I don't have that much experience with them, and so perhaps I am not the best judge of Hungry Hill .
However, I have read almost all of Du Maurier's works by now, and so I can judge it as a Du Maurier novel. I am surprised that Hungry Hill isn't more well known. It is definitely one of her better novels. Perhaps it is, as Nina Auerbach says in the introduction, because the beginning does not grip readers as strongly as some of Du Maurier's other works do. The spell Hungry Hill works is a slow, subtle one, making it worth the work of reading it (it's over 500 pages, and it was not always easy to say goodbye to a character and go on to the next one, even though I understand that is how family sagas work). There's something very bittersweet, almost painful, about following a family as they rise when you know that, by the end of the book, they shall be worse off than they started.
However, I have read almost all of Du Maurier's works by now, and so I can judge it as a Du Maurier novel. I am surprised that Hungry Hill isn't more well known. It is definitely one of her better novels. Perhaps it is, as Nina Auerbach says in the introduction, because the beginning does not grip readers as strongly as some of Du Maurier's other works do. The spell Hungry Hill works is a slow, subtle one, making it worth the work of reading it (it's over 500 pages, and it was not always easy to say goodbye to a character and go on to the next one, even though I understand that is how family sagas work). There's something very bittersweet, almost painful, about following a family as they rise when you know that, by the end of the book, they shall be worse off than they started.
March 5, 2021
I admit I am biased. I read this book for genealogical reasons. The book is based on the family history of du Maurier’s lover, Christopher Puxley,Which had owned a copper and tin mine in Allihies, Ireland. Some of my ancestors worked in the mine and therefore I read the book out of curiosity, since I had enjoyed reading several du Maurier books in the past. This is just plain bad. First, all the Irish Catholics are subhuman. There is not one Who is a decent human being. The protestant Brodricks-the fictional stand-ins for the Puxleys— are trying to bring “progress“ to Ireland. They are not entirely good either, but are at least portrayed as human beings. Only a couple of the characters are described in any depth.
The reviewers hated this book and I think they were right. Puxley’s mother hated it too.
The reviewers hated this book and I think they were right. Puxley’s mother hated it too.
October 30, 2025
Slow to get going but beautifully and intuitively written, it is the story of two families embroiled in a feud over land, which spans more than five generations. It is set in southern Ireland and centres on a Coppermine dug deep into the bowels of Hungry Hill. The final scene brings an uneasy closure, although not before much tragedy. Heart-wrenching in parts. Glad I stuck with it!
May 24, 2017
An engaging and often moving family saga.
June 8, 2024
I know you can do better Daphne ...
June 18, 2022
Absolutely astonishing Daphne, I must say I was sure I will like this novel, but I did not expect such a thing! Marvelous work with characters, with the plot, with the flow of thoughts and impressions. It is one of the best family sagas I have read (a genre I adore). Such profundity and insight, such understanding of what lays beneath a person's self. This is characteristic for Daphne, but still, here it is enormously brilliant, much more than in "Rebecca", for example. And the ways she speaks about nature...
I love this lady, she is so gifted, and also so physically beautiful. Equally delicate both in appearance, and in her way of writing. Oh, such a gem for humanity!
I love this lady, she is so gifted, and also so physically beautiful. Equally delicate both in appearance, and in her way of writing. Oh, such a gem for humanity!
June 1, 2020
I kept hoping things would improve for this family. Not my favorite of this author’s but I did enjoy it
February 22, 2024
I just love Daphne du Maurier. Fabulously gothic multigenerational story of human nature at its best and worst.
December 10, 2017
I've read a few other books by du Maurier and always enjoyed them, most recently Jamaica Inn. Hungry Hill is one of several du Maurier novels that I bought awhile ago at a thrift store. It is basically an historical novel telling the story of several generations of the Brodrick family in Ireland from 1820 to 1920. When I first started reading this, I was not sure if I would finish it but the more I read, the more I was engrossed by the story. It starts out with the story of Copper John Brodrick who starts a copper mine on Hungry Hill outside of the Brodrick estate at Castle Clonmere. Brodrick opens the mine in hopes of making life better for his family and the people of the town but it is frowned upon by most of the community of Doonhaven and especially by the family that formerly owned the land, the Donovans. Old man Donovan tells Copper John that "your mine will be in ruins and your home destroyed and your children forgotten ...but this hill will be standing still to confound you." So the Donovan curse passes through the generations of Brodricks with tragedy awaiting most of the successors to the copper fortune.
From Wikipedia:
Hungry Hill is a novel by prolific British author Daphne du Maurier, published in 1943. It was her seventh novel. There have been 33 editions of the book printed.
This family saga is based on the history of the Irish ancestors of Daphne du Maurier’s friend Christopher Puxley. The family resembles the Puxleys who owned mines in Allihies, a parish in County Cork.
The story spans the century from 1820 to 1920 following five male characters from a family of Anglo-Irish landowners, the Brodricks, who live in a castle called Clonmere. It is divided into five sub-books and an epilogue. Each section covers part of the life of an heir. The sections include: Book One: Copper John, 1820 - 1828; Book Two: Greyhound John, 1828 - 1837; Book Three: "Wild Johnnie," 1837 - 1858; Book Four: Henry, 1858 - 1874; Book Five: Hal, 1874 - 1895; Epilogue: The Inheritance, 1920;
The title sometimes is thought to refer to Hungry Hill which is the highest peak in the Caha Mountains in County Cork, and du Maurier's description of the Hungry Hill is similar to the physical aspects of that place. Rather than simply referring to the hill, however, the title alludes to the curse put on the family by Morty Donovan, arch enemy of patriarch Copper John Brodrick, at the start of the novel, and the fact that the mines seem to "swallow up" the lives of the Brodrick family through five generations, by early death, dissipation and unhappiness.
Many of the place names in the novel are imaginary, and the location is never directly stated to be Ireland, although it can be inferred from several references to "crossing the water" to reach to London, Hal's embarkation from Liverpool en route to Canada, and, in the Epilogue, the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921). However, the description of the Brodricks' mansion reportedly was based on the Puxleys' mansion in Carmarthenshire, South Wales.
Overall, this book really had a feeling of melancholia throughout with pending doom coming to the family. I didn't enjoy this as much as some other du Maurier's I have read like House on the Strand but I would still recommend it and I'll definitely be reading more of her novels.
From Wikipedia:
Hungry Hill is a novel by prolific British author Daphne du Maurier, published in 1943. It was her seventh novel. There have been 33 editions of the book printed.
This family saga is based on the history of the Irish ancestors of Daphne du Maurier’s friend Christopher Puxley. The family resembles the Puxleys who owned mines in Allihies, a parish in County Cork.
The story spans the century from 1820 to 1920 following five male characters from a family of Anglo-Irish landowners, the Brodricks, who live in a castle called Clonmere. It is divided into five sub-books and an epilogue. Each section covers part of the life of an heir. The sections include: Book One: Copper John, 1820 - 1828; Book Two: Greyhound John, 1828 - 1837; Book Three: "Wild Johnnie," 1837 - 1858; Book Four: Henry, 1858 - 1874; Book Five: Hal, 1874 - 1895; Epilogue: The Inheritance, 1920;
The title sometimes is thought to refer to Hungry Hill which is the highest peak in the Caha Mountains in County Cork, and du Maurier's description of the Hungry Hill is similar to the physical aspects of that place. Rather than simply referring to the hill, however, the title alludes to the curse put on the family by Morty Donovan, arch enemy of patriarch Copper John Brodrick, at the start of the novel, and the fact that the mines seem to "swallow up" the lives of the Brodrick family through five generations, by early death, dissipation and unhappiness.
Many of the place names in the novel are imaginary, and the location is never directly stated to be Ireland, although it can be inferred from several references to "crossing the water" to reach to London, Hal's embarkation from Liverpool en route to Canada, and, in the Epilogue, the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921). However, the description of the Brodricks' mansion reportedly was based on the Puxleys' mansion in Carmarthenshire, South Wales.
Overall, this book really had a feeling of melancholia throughout with pending doom coming to the family. I didn't enjoy this as much as some other du Maurier's I have read like House on the Strand but I would still recommend it and I'll definitely be reading more of her novels.
February 16, 2020
Love love love
The writing and the story line seemed at times uneven. That is, I mean, every now and again it was riveting and so unputdownable where as at other times it seemed it dragged and was lackluster. My rating in my head went from 4 to 3 to 5 and the ending itself kind of ruined it, not really, but it just wasn't as great as the whole story deserved.
Very sad and melancholy, totally my scene.
The thing it lacked was more about the mines, I was disappointed that the mines played such a small part, I had just read Zola's Germinal which was all about the mines so in comparison Hungry Hill paled.
But I loved most characters and getting into the family saga was wonderful.
The writing and the story line seemed at times uneven. That is, I mean, every now and again it was riveting and so unputdownable where as at other times it seemed it dragged and was lackluster. My rating in my head went from 4 to 3 to 5 and the ending itself kind of ruined it, not really, but it just wasn't as great as the whole story deserved.
Very sad and melancholy, totally my scene.
The thing it lacked was more about the mines, I was disappointed that the mines played such a small part, I had just read Zola's Germinal which was all about the mines so in comparison Hungry Hill paled.
But I loved most characters and getting into the family saga was wonderful.
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