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The Boy with Wings
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
- GenresRomance
258 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 20, 1915
3 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Berta Ruck
133 books16 followersAmy Roberta Ruck was born on 2 August 1878 in Murree, Punjab, India, one of eight children by Eleanor D'Arcy and Colonel Arthur Ashley Ruck, a British army officer. Her family moved to Wales, where she went to school in Bangor. On 1909, she married novelist (George) Oliver Onions (1873-1961), and they had two sons: Arthur (b. 1912) and William (b. 1913). Berta died only nine days after her 100th birthday.
From 1905, she began to contribute short stories and serials to magazines, and on 1914, her first novel "His Official Fiancée" was published. She wrote over eighty romance novels. She also wrote an autobiography and two memoir-style works.
From 1905, she began to contribute short stories and serials to magazines, and on 1914, her first novel "His Official Fiancée" was published. She wrote over eighty romance novels. She also wrote an autobiography and two memoir-style works.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 16, 2019
Berta Ruck once again manages to blow my mind. Think about this: The Boy with Wings was written in 1915. Women did not have the vote in 1915. England was only one year into WW1 and the United States would not join for another 2 years. Women's fashion looked like this:
And yet, 104 years later, the book still rings with truth as it profoundly captures feminine psychology. It puts into words feelings I, a 25 year old in 2019, feel often but do not hear expressed. I call that timeless.
This book contains multiple levels. At its most basic, it is the romance of a Welsh girl and her aviator boyfriend. At another level, it is the story of how war came to England from a woman's perspective. And finally, at an even deeper level, it is a work that provides social identity to women outside of the traditional, Victorian idea of woman as Wife and Mother. (And all while still managing to appease 1915 sensibilities.)
For these reasons alone, this book should rank as a classic work.
I'm of two minds about the heroine. On the one hand, I found her deathly dull and I think the author does too. But she stands for something important: traditional femininity. She is the Girl who meets the Boy and distracts him form his grand passions (Airplanes!) She is the noble British woman who maintains a Stiff Upper Lip and sacrifices Home and Hearth for the boys in khaki by working at factory. She looks down on men who do not enlist and Do Their Part.
And yet, while she represents what you would expect from the literature of a country at war, the author gently mocks her throughout. Other characters often hide smiles when she talks about being a "soldier's wife" or gently protest her extreme sayings. The heroine's boss - a working woman! - almost tells her that mothers who raised their sons and sent them to war break their hearts as much as girls who send their husbands, but then gently decides not to. Gwenna is not a pitiful heroine, nor one to be mocked, but she is still slightly silly.
However, the author does not just do this with Gwenna's attitude towards patriotism or war. She meets her man, falls in love, and vows to make him her own. In all this she follows a fairly standard path of "love." But while she takes it all as matter of course, the author and other (female) characters often find it amusing or ironic. (But always, always subtly.) I loved this scene from Gwenna's wedding day as she talks with her best girl chum, Leslie:
"'Oh, Leslie! I should want to bring you all the good luck in the world,' cried the younger girl, earnestly, over her shoulder as they went out. 'If I were given three wishes now for a wedding-present, one of them would be that you would some day be as happy as me!'
'My dear lamb!' said Leslie lightly, running down-stairs after her, 'How do you know I'm not quite as happy in another - in my own way?'
Gwenna shook the curly head under the orange-blossom wreath and the misty veil. It seemed to her that there was only The One Way in which a woman could be happy."
Leslie was my favorite character. I thin she is the one the author does the most with. The reader often gets flashes of her thoughts and feelings. She prattles nonsensically and always does the opposite of what she says, but what she says shows a great deal of sense. She isn't beholden to men. She dates around. She is the 'bad influence' friend...but also one who is never gently mocked or undermined by the author. Leslie may roll her eyes at her young friend's belief in the infallibility of a certain young man, but she recognizes such a starry-eyed attitude isn't for her. It is from Leslie we get wonderful scenes like:
"But, even as she smiled, she felt that pang which is supposed to be known only to the man who sees his chosen pal prepare to be 'married and done for.'"
But the author doesn't end there. She goes on for several more paragraphs as Leslie recognizes her friendship with Gwenna will never be the same. A Man will always stand between them. And years later when their friendship returns to a similar level, the conversation will center around children and 'matronly things.' Not bad, but forever changed and different. In short, she excellently sums up what it feels like when close girlfriends get married!
Berta Ruck gets women. And she writes about them in a way that captures what it feels to be a woman. Her male characters play a role...and yet, I can't help feeling she laughs at all of them. The airplane obsessed hero sort of stumbles into his affection for Gwenna. Other males - especially those courting Leslie - come across somewhat silly. They are boys. War may turn them into men, but for the most part, they dart in and out of the story without leaving as much of a mark as the females. Remarkable at any age...but for 1915?!
If you followed my "currently reading" commentary, you know I did not love every aspect of the book. Although I love the way Berta Ruck uses Gwenna to communicate the "traditional" ideas and then circumvents them in her light, mocking way, I would not say I loved this storyline. I found it hard to get through at times because I cared so little for the main couple. But at the same time, I think this book shines regardless of the storyline. It shines because it tells about how shock can seem like courage. How women can view war both as a noble undertaking and as a horrible enemy. How females too can mourn a chum who gets married even while celebrating with them!
I would love to know if novels like this - novels that gave women social identity - were common. Almost every Berta Ruck novel I have read does an amazing job illustrating the two worlds women found themselves in at the turn of the century. Her heroines straddle Victorian upbringings with working girl values. They want independence, friendship, and the occasional new hat. The emphasis is not on political identity. (In fact, suffragettes tend to get a bad wrap in these books.) But the story emphasizes their social identity. These aren't wives and mothers...though they may become them one day. They are working girls from a certain background who experience life and war and romance.
There is so much more I meant to say about this book...it is not one I necessarily "liked" but I was bowled over by what elements of a classic work I found in it. This story is worth reading - and studying - both for the role it plays historically and for the way it reveals human nature and thought. I really think it has been ignored too long.
And yet, 104 years later, the book still rings with truth as it profoundly captures feminine psychology. It puts into words feelings I, a 25 year old in 2019, feel often but do not hear expressed. I call that timeless.
This book contains multiple levels. At its most basic, it is the romance of a Welsh girl and her aviator boyfriend. At another level, it is the story of how war came to England from a woman's perspective. And finally, at an even deeper level, it is a work that provides social identity to women outside of the traditional, Victorian idea of woman as Wife and Mother. (And all while still managing to appease 1915 sensibilities.)
For these reasons alone, this book should rank as a classic work.
I'm of two minds about the heroine. On the one hand, I found her deathly dull and I think the author does too. But she stands for something important: traditional femininity. She is the Girl who meets the Boy and distracts him form his grand passions (Airplanes!) She is the noble British woman who maintains a Stiff Upper Lip and sacrifices Home and Hearth for the boys in khaki by working at factory. She looks down on men who do not enlist and Do Their Part.
And yet, while she represents what you would expect from the literature of a country at war, the author gently mocks her throughout. Other characters often hide smiles when she talks about being a "soldier's wife" or gently protest her extreme sayings. The heroine's boss - a working woman! - almost tells her that mothers who raised their sons and sent them to war break their hearts as much as girls who send their husbands, but then gently decides not to. Gwenna is not a pitiful heroine, nor one to be mocked, but she is still slightly silly.
However, the author does not just do this with Gwenna's attitude towards patriotism or war. She meets her man, falls in love, and vows to make him her own. In all this she follows a fairly standard path of "love." But while she takes it all as matter of course, the author and other (female) characters often find it amusing or ironic. (But always, always subtly.) I loved this scene from Gwenna's wedding day as she talks with her best girl chum, Leslie:
"'Oh, Leslie! I should want to bring you all the good luck in the world,' cried the younger girl, earnestly, over her shoulder as they went out. 'If I were given three wishes now for a wedding-present, one of them would be that you would some day be as happy as me!'
'My dear lamb!' said Leslie lightly, running down-stairs after her, 'How do you know I'm not quite as happy in another - in my own way?'
Gwenna shook the curly head under the orange-blossom wreath and the misty veil. It seemed to her that there was only The One Way in which a woman could be happy."
Leslie was my favorite character. I thin she is the one the author does the most with. The reader often gets flashes of her thoughts and feelings. She prattles nonsensically and always does the opposite of what she says, but what she says shows a great deal of sense. She isn't beholden to men. She dates around. She is the 'bad influence' friend...but also one who is never gently mocked or undermined by the author. Leslie may roll her eyes at her young friend's belief in the infallibility of a certain young man, but she recognizes such a starry-eyed attitude isn't for her. It is from Leslie we get wonderful scenes like:
"But, even as she smiled, she felt that pang which is supposed to be known only to the man who sees his chosen pal prepare to be 'married and done for.'"
But the author doesn't end there. She goes on for several more paragraphs as Leslie recognizes her friendship with Gwenna will never be the same. A Man will always stand between them. And years later when their friendship returns to a similar level, the conversation will center around children and 'matronly things.' Not bad, but forever changed and different. In short, she excellently sums up what it feels like when close girlfriends get married!
Berta Ruck gets women. And she writes about them in a way that captures what it feels to be a woman. Her male characters play a role...and yet, I can't help feeling she laughs at all of them. The airplane obsessed hero sort of stumbles into his affection for Gwenna. Other males - especially those courting Leslie - come across somewhat silly. They are boys. War may turn them into men, but for the most part, they dart in and out of the story without leaving as much of a mark as the females. Remarkable at any age...but for 1915?!
If you followed my "currently reading" commentary, you know I did not love every aspect of the book. Although I love the way Berta Ruck uses Gwenna to communicate the "traditional" ideas and then circumvents them in her light, mocking way, I would not say I loved this storyline. I found it hard to get through at times because I cared so little for the main couple. But at the same time, I think this book shines regardless of the storyline. It shines because it tells about how shock can seem like courage. How women can view war both as a noble undertaking and as a horrible enemy. How females too can mourn a chum who gets married even while celebrating with them!
I would love to know if novels like this - novels that gave women social identity - were common. Almost every Berta Ruck novel I have read does an amazing job illustrating the two worlds women found themselves in at the turn of the century. Her heroines straddle Victorian upbringings with working girl values. They want independence, friendship, and the occasional new hat. The emphasis is not on political identity. (In fact, suffragettes tend to get a bad wrap in these books.) But the story emphasizes their social identity. These aren't wives and mothers...though they may become them one day. They are working girls from a certain background who experience life and war and romance.
There is so much more I meant to say about this book...it is not one I necessarily "liked" but I was bowled over by what elements of a classic work I found in it. This story is worth reading - and studying - both for the role it plays historically and for the way it reveals human nature and thought. I really think it has been ignored too long.
June 13, 2022
It's been a while since I found a book that made me think "Yes! That is what being a young women feels like!" This book sprinkled so many little details and emotions of the early 20s of life, while also poking some gentle fun at the naivete of it all. It also encompasses the feeling of growing a bit older and wiser and leaving some of those feelings behind (but still retaining that affection for that stage of life). I think the end might undo some of that feeling, seeming to romanticize the idea of young love more than the rest of the book... but that is something I need to dwell on a bit.
My mind is still all a jumble on finishing this book. So read Amy's review, which says a lot of what I feel a whole lot better.
My mind is still all a jumble on finishing this book. So read Amy's review, which says a lot of what I feel a whole lot better.
June 5, 2013
I only took off one star because the ending was a little sad....ok really sad. But that's ok because it was well written in my opinion.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews