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Wax Fruit
The Wax Fruit Trilogy
The Wax Fruit Trilogy brings together Guy McCrone’s three classic novels, Antimacassar City, The Philistines, and The Puritans, which chronicle the life and times of the Moorhouse family as they rise from the obscurity of an Ayrshire farm to a position of great prosperity in Victorian Glasgow. The first part of the trilogy introduces the Moorhouse family – Arthur, the successful business man and first of the family to move to Glasgow; David, the dashing and impulsive socialite; Bel, driven by ruthless social ambition; and Phoebe, the half-sister from the Highlands who grows up to be a great beauty. The second and third volumes follow the changing fortunes of the family, as their lives are touched by triumph and tragedy – in Glasgow at the height of the Victorian era, and in Vienna, glittering capital of the Hapsburg Empire.
728 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1947
52 people are currently reading
157 people want to read
About the author
Guy McCrone
21 books4 followersGuy Fulton McCrone was born in 1898 in Birkenhead, of Scottish parents.
He was educated at Glasgow and then Cambridge University and after his studies he appears to have gone to Vienna to study singing. He eventually returned to Glasgow where he was very much involved in the musical and theatrical life of the city. He became the first managing director of the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre, which was founded in 1943, and his play Alex Goes to Amulree was first performed at the Rutherglen Repertory Theatre in May 1944.
His 1947 novel Red Plush was a Book of the Month Club selection in New York and his Wax Fruit trilogy, the English title of Red Plush, is probably his best known work. His writings were often inspired by his interest in music and the theatre and they all had a Glasgowesque feel to them. The Glasgow Herald wrote of him "McCrone recaptures the atmosphere of the period most effectively."
He moved to the Lake District in 1968 and died there in 1977.
I tracked down an interview he gave in middle age and it went as follows:-
"I was born in Birkenhead, England, in 1898, of Scottish parents. A temporary job had taken my father there, and the household went with him. But I spent my early childhood running in the woods and farmlands of central Ayrshire. I describe this pleasant countryside in my books. It is the Burns country. Our nearest village was Mauchline, where Robert Burns first took up house with his wife, Jean Armour. The poet's haunts are well known to me and his Aryshire Scots is very familiar in my ears.
"I have no illustrious ancestors. But one of my family interests me. He was my grandfather's cousin, a certain John Macrone (writing the name thus) who went to London, established himself at 3, St James Square, became a publisher, encouraged the young Charles Dickens to collect his first newspaper pen sketches, and published them under the Macrone imprint as 'Sketches by Boz'. [Bettie, I knew I recognised the name from somewhere and when I remembered, that is what made me trace some more.]
"I went to school in Glasgow, passing the entrance examination for Cambridge, England, in the middle of World War I. But being ineligible for the army, I went to scrub floors and sell cigarettes in soldiers' YMCA in Normandy and Paris. When the war was ended, I duly went up to the university, where I took a degree in economics as it was intended I should be a business man.
"I began writing after I married in 1931. I had the good fortune to have the script of my first novel read by Michael Sadleir [another of my favourites], himself a distinguished biographer, novelist and publisher. He invited me to London, then tore my work to pieces, neither showing mercy nor predicting a future for it. It was a shattering experience; but I pulled myself together, came home to Glasgow, rewrote my book and sent it back to him. He replied almost at once that he congratulated me on being able to take instruction, that he was pleased with what I had done and would like to publish. It was on Sadleir's suggestion that I wrote a trilogy, 'Red Plush', which was chosen as Book-of-the-Month in New York for December 1947.
"People have asked me why I continue to write almost exclusively about my own kind of people, my own city of Glasgow and the countryside in which I was reared [shades of John Buchan]. Here is my reason. I had not gone far with the study of the novel before I saw that a novelist, especially if he has a recording talent and not a talent for fantasy, writes best about the place that has been his home; that is, the home of his childhood and adolescence. I found endless examples of this among other writers. I believe in travel and wide horizons, of course. But in the end these mostly serve only to pur the novelist's home background into the right proportion for him. And it is there, I firmly believe, that his creative talent can be used with the greatest forc
He was educated at Glasgow and then Cambridge University and after his studies he appears to have gone to Vienna to study singing. He eventually returned to Glasgow where he was very much involved in the musical and theatrical life of the city. He became the first managing director of the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre, which was founded in 1943, and his play Alex Goes to Amulree was first performed at the Rutherglen Repertory Theatre in May 1944.
His 1947 novel Red Plush was a Book of the Month Club selection in New York and his Wax Fruit trilogy, the English title of Red Plush, is probably his best known work. His writings were often inspired by his interest in music and the theatre and they all had a Glasgowesque feel to them. The Glasgow Herald wrote of him "McCrone recaptures the atmosphere of the period most effectively."
He moved to the Lake District in 1968 and died there in 1977.
I tracked down an interview he gave in middle age and it went as follows:-
"I was born in Birkenhead, England, in 1898, of Scottish parents. A temporary job had taken my father there, and the household went with him. But I spent my early childhood running in the woods and farmlands of central Ayrshire. I describe this pleasant countryside in my books. It is the Burns country. Our nearest village was Mauchline, where Robert Burns first took up house with his wife, Jean Armour. The poet's haunts are well known to me and his Aryshire Scots is very familiar in my ears.
"I have no illustrious ancestors. But one of my family interests me. He was my grandfather's cousin, a certain John Macrone (writing the name thus) who went to London, established himself at 3, St James Square, became a publisher, encouraged the young Charles Dickens to collect his first newspaper pen sketches, and published them under the Macrone imprint as 'Sketches by Boz'. [Bettie, I knew I recognised the name from somewhere and when I remembered, that is what made me trace some more.]
"I went to school in Glasgow, passing the entrance examination for Cambridge, England, in the middle of World War I. But being ineligible for the army, I went to scrub floors and sell cigarettes in soldiers' YMCA in Normandy and Paris. When the war was ended, I duly went up to the university, where I took a degree in economics as it was intended I should be a business man.
"I began writing after I married in 1931. I had the good fortune to have the script of my first novel read by Michael Sadleir [another of my favourites], himself a distinguished biographer, novelist and publisher. He invited me to London, then tore my work to pieces, neither showing mercy nor predicting a future for it. It was a shattering experience; but I pulled myself together, came home to Glasgow, rewrote my book and sent it back to him. He replied almost at once that he congratulated me on being able to take instruction, that he was pleased with what I had done and would like to publish. It was on Sadleir's suggestion that I wrote a trilogy, 'Red Plush', which was chosen as Book-of-the-Month in New York for December 1947.
"People have asked me why I continue to write almost exclusively about my own kind of people, my own city of Glasgow and the countryside in which I was reared [shades of John Buchan]. Here is my reason. I had not gone far with the study of the novel before I saw that a novelist, especially if he has a recording talent and not a talent for fantasy, writes best about the place that has been his home; that is, the home of his childhood and adolescence. I found endless examples of this among other writers. I believe in travel and wide horizons, of course. But in the end these mostly serve only to pur the novelist's home background into the right proportion for him. And it is there, I firmly believe, that his creative talent can be used with the greatest forc
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 15, 2024
I liked it a lot. Didn’t *love* it. It was written in 1947 and a few people here in Glasgow are looking to turn this into a Scottish version of Bridgerton which I can see happening.
June 17, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy, a family saga set in Scotland. It reminded me of the Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy, but this time set in the late nineteenth century in Glasgow and Ayrshire. Guy McCrone draws the various characters of the Moorhouse family and those who have associations with them by marriage, clearly and gives one a good idea of what life in the more affluent classes must have been like during that period. He also contrasts this class with the difficult conditions of the poor, many who have moved from the Highlands to work for a pittance in Glasgow and live in dire conditions, hardly able to feed themselves adequately. I can certainly recommend this trilogy and am sorry that Guy McCrone did not write many other novels.
May 6, 2018
It's lovely to get totally hijacked by a book once in a while. This made up the numbers in a charity shop insane '5 for £1' bonanza, and neither the name, cover nor blurb particularly inspired me greatly. But it was lovely; elegantly but simply written, with warmth and affection for the characters. And knowing the geography of the setting was thrilling: a number of those Victorian Glasgow buildings still exist today, albeit fewer and fewer as the years go on.
March 2, 2020
Chose this when I was in Glasgow and certainly the city background was interesting. The family saga got better with each book in the trilogy. I liked the middle book best but the third one was probably the best - just sad.
August 20, 2021
I read only the first in the trilogy.
Interesting in a historical sense, seeing Glasgow develop into the heart of industrial Victorian times. Really fascinating to see the way the city was evolving, the richer moving away from the Merchant City and heading west, and to compare then with the city now, in my head.
However, as a story I felt this had really dated. I felt as if I was reading Mrs Dalloway set in Glasgow in places, and it would have worked better for me if the author had explored Belle's character even more in this way. As it was, he gave us enough to find her irritating and complacent, for us to know there was probably more behind the facade, but he didn't actually let us see it. The style was very simple narrative, which made it an easy read, if not particularly engaging.
I will go back to the other two at some point.
Interesting in a historical sense, seeing Glasgow develop into the heart of industrial Victorian times. Really fascinating to see the way the city was evolving, the richer moving away from the Merchant City and heading west, and to compare then with the city now, in my head.
However, as a story I felt this had really dated. I felt as if I was reading Mrs Dalloway set in Glasgow in places, and it would have worked better for me if the author had explored Belle's character even more in this way. As it was, he gave us enough to find her irritating and complacent, for us to know there was probably more behind the facade, but he didn't actually let us see it. The style was very simple narrative, which made it an easy read, if not particularly engaging.
I will go back to the other two at some point.
January 7, 2025
Written in the 1940s and set in the 1870s this is an entertaining family saga. With its easy to read prose, and occasional delicious turn of phrase, it successfully evokes a sense of time and place, weaving its narrative around actual historical events in a fully convincing and unforced way. What marks it out as special is its Glasgow and West of Scotland setting. As to why it's called ‘Wax Fruit’....
January 21, 2019
I couldn't finish it but someone I gave it to loved it. It moved too slow for me but that may be my taste.
January 22, 2022
A brilliant read.
Loved this book. I enjoyed,the history, the familiarity of Glasgow and enjoyed getting to know the families,. A really great read.
Loved this book. I enjoyed,the history, the familiarity of Glasgow and enjoyed getting to know the families,. A really great read.
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November 28, 2024Absolutely loved this trilogy. Hard to believe it was written so long ago! Enjoyed the great descriptions of living in that time and the contrast between Glasgow and Vienna. I was sad to finish it!
February 19, 2025
Transported to another time and place
Wonderful story - sad it’s finished
Such an easy read
Transported to another era
Loved it and recommend highly if you enjoy period drama
Wonderful story - sad it’s finished
Such an easy read
Transported to another era
Loved it and recommend highly if you enjoy period drama
April 14, 2025
Really enjoyed this family saga. It highlighted the poverty and wealth of Glasgow that as a Glaswegian I can say has been forgotten about. Good read.
May 21, 2025
Well written and researched. Locations, events, and social constraints felt real. Looking forward to the sequels.
July 5, 2014
This a trilogy, I loved the first two but I found the third in series not as enjoyable. A good read though, I live in a Glasgow so loved reading about all the old areas and how they used to be.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews