What do you think?
Rate this book
British Library Publishing The Spring Begins.
A book about present-day English country life with no mention of the dole, decaying county families or general economic ferment is a rarity. Katherine Dunning's novel proves that it can be an interesting story as well, and a relief from problem literature of the depression.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1934
12 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 23, 2025
What is so interesting about this novel is that it is written from the point of view of three servants. Lottie, a young nurse-maid, Maggie, a scullery maid in the same household, and lastly Hessie, governess to the children at the vicerage near the big house. The girls/women are fully realised characters in their own right, and the families that they work for are just background characters.
There is very little in the way of plot, instead we are inside the heads of these people as they try to navigate their way in the world with their hopes and fears, trying to overcome the constraints that have been put upon them due to their lowly positions. Particularly Hessie; you can almost smell her desperation.
An engaging read for those looking for characterisation over plot. It's so good that this has been rescued from obscurity.
There is very little in the way of plot, instead we are inside the heads of these people as they try to navigate their way in the world with their hopes and fears, trying to overcome the constraints that have been put upon them due to their lowly positions. Particularly Hessie; you can almost smell her desperation.
An engaging read for those looking for characterisation over plot. It's so good that this has been rescued from obscurity.
August 20, 2025
I learned of this book via Simon Thomas at Stuck in a Book. https://www.stuckinabook.com/the-spri...
It was very difficult to find, but I managed to snap up a copy from Powell's. Thomas recommended it for the British Library Women Writers series, which reprints neglected writers, and they did print it, so now it's easy to find, at least in the UK.
This book kept me up until 4 am to see it through to the conclusion. Here is a snippet from Thomas's review that sums it up well:
I’ve spent a long time telling you about the main characters, because there isn’t really a lot of plot. The Spring Begins is really a portrait of these three lives – what drives them, what holds them back; what they understand and don’t yet understand. It is rare for novels of this period to consider the lower-classes in any depth, yet in this novel it is the upper-classes who pass by in the background. Dunning treats all three women as deeply realised people, worthy of novelistic respect even if they don’t get it from everyone around them.
I loved that the wealthy families in the story are entirely incidental.
It was very difficult to find, but I managed to snap up a copy from Powell's. Thomas recommended it for the British Library Women Writers series, which reprints neglected writers, and they did print it, so now it's easy to find, at least in the UK.
This book kept me up until 4 am to see it through to the conclusion. Here is a snippet from Thomas's review that sums it up well:
I’ve spent a long time telling you about the main characters, because there isn’t really a lot of plot. The Spring Begins is really a portrait of these three lives – what drives them, what holds them back; what they understand and don’t yet understand. It is rare for novels of this period to consider the lower-classes in any depth, yet in this novel it is the upper-classes who pass by in the background. Dunning treats all three women as deeply realised people, worthy of novelistic respect even if they don’t get it from everyone around them.
I loved that the wealthy families in the story are entirely incidental.
June 23, 2025
Summer destination reading begins. Despite the title this 1930s novel takes place during the course of a hot summer in a coastal town in England. It tells the story of three unmarried women, all domestic servants and their desires for love and marriage. An utterly wonderful read from the British Library Women’s Writers Series.
June 27, 2025
A new author to me and an interesting tale centred around 4 young women. I found this novel compelling and well writted. It was a page turner in as much as I was on tender hooks through most of it. I was waiting for something dreadfull to befall Lottie, but I was not prepared for the twist at the end. A great recommendation from my book group.
July 6, 2025
Excellent!
maybe
January 1, 2024https://furrowedmiddlebrow.blogspot.c...
FM rec: "This extraordinary novel, undoubtedly influenced by Woolf if a bit less radically experimental, takes place in and around the home of the well-to-do Kellaways, a family perhaps not unlike Woolf's Ramsays from To the Lighthouse. But here, by wonderful contrast with Woolf, the Kellaways themselves remain firmly in the background, rather ethereal supporting characters in the small dramas of which the lead actors are two of the Kellaway's young servants and a young neighbor, a classic impoverished gentlewoman, working as governess for the local vicar.
"But while The Spring Begins evokes To the Lighthouse, it goes well beyond Woolf's areas of expertise in its focus on servant girls and their burgeoning sexuality—neither topics dear Virginia would have been able to address so vividly and convincingly as Katherine Dunning does here. Perhaps you might say this is To the Lighthouse crossed with Picnic at Hanging Rock, though that hardly sufficiently describes its seductive charms."
FM rec: "This extraordinary novel, undoubtedly influenced by Woolf if a bit less radically experimental, takes place in and around the home of the well-to-do Kellaways, a family perhaps not unlike Woolf's Ramsays from To the Lighthouse. But here, by wonderful contrast with Woolf, the Kellaways themselves remain firmly in the background, rather ethereal supporting characters in the small dramas of which the lead actors are two of the Kellaway's young servants and a young neighbor, a classic impoverished gentlewoman, working as governess for the local vicar.
"But while The Spring Begins evokes To the Lighthouse, it goes well beyond Woolf's areas of expertise in its focus on servant girls and their burgeoning sexuality—neither topics dear Virginia would have been able to address so vividly and convincingly as Katherine Dunning does here. Perhaps you might say this is To the Lighthouse crossed with Picnic at Hanging Rock, though that hardly sufficiently describes its seductive charms."
September 21, 2025
Born in Ireland in 1900, Katherine Dunning lived much of her adult life in England, where she published five novels and many short stories. First released in 1934, The Spring Begins is an evocative portrayal of the lives of three very different young women, all of whom work in service in the 1930s. Dunning writes beautifully and insightfully about each character’s situation, her hopes and ambitions, her constraints and fears. The novel is set during a time when social class and societal expectations placed certain restraints on young women, forcing them to exist within the boundaries allotted to them. Nevertheless, Dunning brings a rare sensitivity to these characters, who are so often the supporting players in fiction from this period. Their inner lives are richly imagined, alive to the complexities of the mysterious, evolving world surrounding them, complete with all the unwritten rules society dictates. Moreover, each woman is at a crucial stage in her personal development, where a significant life choice could shape her destiny for better or worse.
All three live and work within close proximity to each other; however, their lives rarely overlap, largely because each woman’s role is strictly controlled, often allowing little time for interaction between classes and/or domains.
Firstly, there is Lottie, the young, sweet, innocent nursemaid to the Kellaways’ lively young daughters, Isobel and Anne. Raised in an orphanage with no family of her own, Lottie is inexperienced in the wider world, placing her at the mercy of Nurse’s vehement warnings about the horrors of men. Nurse, a bitter, resentful bully, delights in bossing Lottie around, filling her head with frightful stories of the wickedness lying in wait. Consequently, Lottie shrinks away from any encounters with men, especially those involving a sexual charge or undercurrent, however subtle.
Nevertheless, Dunning reveals Lottie to be a sensitive young woman, vividly alive to the kindness of humanity and the wonders of the natural world. As the novel unfolds, Lottie experiences an awakening of sorts under the guidance of George, a kind, tender, loving young man who also works on the Kellaways’ estate. George makes Lottie more aware of her own body, her burgeoning sexuality, without ever taking advantage of it. She feels safe with him, secure in the promise of his unwavering love.
The pool was no longer a blurred radiance before her, her body within the light touch of George’s arm was intensely aware of everything about her. She had yielded instantly and unconsciously to his touch, and he had drawn her closely to him.
For a moment he held her like that. They could hear the sea below them, faint but clear. The dark light around them had a sudden strange brilliant clarity, and there was a fragrance of crushed grass and wet earth and the seaweed that the receding tide was uncovering. (p. 93–94)
While Lottie seeks protection from the terrible ravages of men, Hessie Price – a plain-looking day governess at the nearby rectory – is desperate for a different kind of security, something only a suitable husband can provide. With her intense obsession over respectability, Hessie sees marriage as her only gateway to status, financial security and a respectable position in society. In many respects, she is a victim of circumstance, hemmed in by the narrow boundaries of her class, firmly on the periphery of life. In short, her existence is ‘a grey borderland of gentility and excessive modesty’.
Unable to marry above her station, and unwilling to bow below it, Hessie must find a suitable match from her own social stratum – not an easy task given the limited options available to the surfeit of single women in the interwar years. In the meantime, she lives with her mother and younger sister, Hilda, trying to survive in a household where money is tight.
To read the rest of my review, please visit:
https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025...
All three live and work within close proximity to each other; however, their lives rarely overlap, largely because each woman’s role is strictly controlled, often allowing little time for interaction between classes and/or domains.
Firstly, there is Lottie, the young, sweet, innocent nursemaid to the Kellaways’ lively young daughters, Isobel and Anne. Raised in an orphanage with no family of her own, Lottie is inexperienced in the wider world, placing her at the mercy of Nurse’s vehement warnings about the horrors of men. Nurse, a bitter, resentful bully, delights in bossing Lottie around, filling her head with frightful stories of the wickedness lying in wait. Consequently, Lottie shrinks away from any encounters with men, especially those involving a sexual charge or undercurrent, however subtle.
Nevertheless, Dunning reveals Lottie to be a sensitive young woman, vividly alive to the kindness of humanity and the wonders of the natural world. As the novel unfolds, Lottie experiences an awakening of sorts under the guidance of George, a kind, tender, loving young man who also works on the Kellaways’ estate. George makes Lottie more aware of her own body, her burgeoning sexuality, without ever taking advantage of it. She feels safe with him, secure in the promise of his unwavering love.
The pool was no longer a blurred radiance before her, her body within the light touch of George’s arm was intensely aware of everything about her. She had yielded instantly and unconsciously to his touch, and he had drawn her closely to him.
For a moment he held her like that. They could hear the sea below them, faint but clear. The dark light around them had a sudden strange brilliant clarity, and there was a fragrance of crushed grass and wet earth and the seaweed that the receding tide was uncovering. (p. 93–94)
While Lottie seeks protection from the terrible ravages of men, Hessie Price – a plain-looking day governess at the nearby rectory – is desperate for a different kind of security, something only a suitable husband can provide. With her intense obsession over respectability, Hessie sees marriage as her only gateway to status, financial security and a respectable position in society. In many respects, she is a victim of circumstance, hemmed in by the narrow boundaries of her class, firmly on the periphery of life. In short, her existence is ‘a grey borderland of gentility and excessive modesty’.
Unable to marry above her station, and unwilling to bow below it, Hessie must find a suitable match from her own social stratum – not an easy task given the limited options available to the surfeit of single women in the interwar years. In the meantime, she lives with her mother and younger sister, Hilda, trying to survive in a household where money is tight.
To read the rest of my review, please visit:
https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025...
September 25, 2025
It seems like I have a never-ending complaint about the books that I read…this book was too long for the point it was trying to make. I got the point….and it was depressing. And that’s OK…I’m not complaining that it was depressing….it was just too long. The time period was sometime during the 1930s in between World Wars I and II in England and when some rich people still had country homes…like Downton Abbey. And so this novel was about three women who were of the lower class, two of whom worked for rich people. One worked as a nursery maid (Lottie), and one worked as a scullery maid (Maggie). The third women, Hessie, worked as a governess for two children whose father was a rector of the parish…. Hessie’s story- her lot in life was quite sad --she was unmarried at the age of 36 in an England when there were far more women than men – in 1931 there were 1.7 million more women than men in the UK. So a lot of women ended up as unmarried, ‘spinsters’ was the term. Hessie definitely didn’t want to be a spinster with her rather glum impoverished life…plus her younger sister by 4 years was going to get married any day now. Hessie at times was bitter, sad, depressed, or manic (she invented a fantasy that a curate she was acquainted with had the hots for her and he definitely did not)… Lottie reported to a superior called Nurse who was a grade A bitch and monster (at least in my eyes),and terrified the poor girl by telling her that most men had violent sexual tendencies, and she should not have absolutely anything to do with them EVER. And because Lottie had been an orphan and was poorly raised in an orphanage minus any maternal or paternal love, attention, or education, she believed what Nurse told her.
Reviews (they all loved it...I think in the Goodreads rating system they gave this book 5 stars):
• https://www.stuckinabook.com/the-spri... (it’s interesting…. this reviewer urged the publishing house, The British Library, that they should re-publish this because he thought it was so good and that it was so hard to find because it was long out of print….and darned if he didn’t succeed! My copy was a re-issue by the British Library’s Women Writers series!
• https://furrowedmiddlebrow.blogspot.c...
• https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025...
Reviews (they all loved it...I think in the Goodreads rating system they gave this book 5 stars):
• https://www.stuckinabook.com/the-spri... (it’s interesting…. this reviewer urged the publishing house, The British Library, that they should re-publish this because he thought it was so good and that it was so hard to find because it was long out of print….and darned if he didn’t succeed! My copy was a re-issue by the British Library’s Women Writers series!
• https://furrowedmiddlebrow.blogspot.c...
• https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025...
May 18, 2025
Absolutely ADORED this one, newly republished by British Library Publishing in their Women Writers series. First published in 1934, it’s the story of three women — a young nurse-maid, a scullery maid, and a governess — who are connected to the wealthy Kellaway family. I loved the upstairs/downstairs feel (with an emphasis on downstairs: how refreshing to see servants’ lives depicted with such respectful attention) and adored the primary setting, a beautiful house and garden on the coast. It reminded me of Dorothy Whipple, which is high praise indeed. (Oh, and for all the terrible stuff going on these days, this novel reminds me that I’m VERY glad to be a woman in 2025, not in 1934.) Highly recommended for those who love character-driven plots, domestic novels, and the loveliness of a seaside garden with hints of menace.
November 2, 2025
Once in a while one should be made aware again how the lives of women were 100 years ago and how things have changed and how things have stayed the same. The portryal of these rich inner lives of the three women characters and the detailed depiction of nature is impressive. One can almost smell the flowers, hear the ocean and feel the waves lapping at one's feet.
April 23, 2025
easy little read, reminded me of down town abby, in the way the household ran, and the servants that played a part and the non romance/quiet romance between the hired help. new look on the old days and what should still be manners and such
September 25, 2025
3.7/8 stars—Is that reasonable, mathematically? Anyway, pretty good read except some parts were irritatingly long-winded and flowery. However, any book that can make me cry AND catalyze a mini existential crisis is pretty good to me.
It might not be a fit for you if you don’t like reading about women in crisis, or if reading beautiful descriptions of trees, flowers, the sky, the shifting color of water under the sun and a time of day’s quality of light, etc. generally annoy you.
Whatever you decide on, happy reading!
It might not be a fit for you if you don’t like reading about women in crisis, or if reading beautiful descriptions of trees, flowers, the sky, the shifting color of water under the sun and a time of day’s quality of light, etc. generally annoy you.
Whatever you decide on, happy reading!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews