Mr Skeffington

by Elizabeth von Arnim

Beauty; beauty. What was the good of beauty, once it was over? It left nothing behind it but acid regrets, and no heart at all to start fresh.' Approaching the watershed of her fiftieth birthday, Fanny, having long ago divorced Mr Skeffington and dismissed him from her thoughts for many years, is surprised to find herself thinking of him often. While attempting to understand this invasion, she meets, through a series of coincidences and deliberate actions, all those other men whose hearts she broke. But their lives have irrevocably changed and Fanny is no longer the exquisite beauty with whom they were all once enchanted. If she is to survive, Fanny discovers, she must confront a greatly altered perception of her self. With the delicate piquancy for which she is renowned, Elizabeth von Arnim here reveals the complexities involved in the process of ageing and in re-evaluating self-worth.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, British Literature, 20th Century, Novels, Historical Fiction, Historical

236 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1940

About the author

Elizabeth von Arnim, born Mary Annette Beauchamp, was an English novelist. Born in Australia, she married a German aristocrat, and her earliest works are set in Germany. Her first marriage made her Countess von Arnim-Schlagenthin and her second Elizabeth Russell, Countess Russell. After her first husband's death, she had a three-year affair with the writer H.G. Wells, then later married Earl Russell, elder brother of the Nobel prize-winner and philosopher Bertrand Russell. She was a cousin of the New Zealand-born writer Katherine Mansfield. Though known in early life as May, her first book introduced her to readers as Elizabeth, which she eventually became to friends and finally to family. Her writings are ascribed to Elizabeth von Arnim. She used the pseudonym Alice Cholmondeley for only one novel, Christine, published in 1917.

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fanny Skeffington is turning fifty. She has been a great beauty; divorced from her husband, she has had many suitors. But she has just recovered from a serious illness to discover that age has caught up to her and she is not longer beautiful by any stretch. With a life based on looks, Fanny begins to examine her past and the men who have pursued her, and, in the vein of a modern day movie, she begins to see them one by one to see what has become of them. Of course, her lovers have grown old as well.

What could be sillier in other people’s eyes than a woman kicking up a fuss because she, too, in her turn, had grown old and her beauty was gone? Yet what could be more tragic for the woman who, having been used all her life to being beautiful, found that without her looks she had nothing left to fall back upon?

But there is a delightful bit of humor scattered among Fanny’s almost pathetic attempt to discover if her life has had or might possibly still have any meaning. Elizabeth von Arnim put me in mind of Oscar Wilde, with her humor laid like a mosaic over the very serious issue of aging. There is one section in which there is a very comical misunderstanding between Fanny and an ex-lover’s sister, which left me completely in stitches. My husband was shooting me some strange looks, as I was laughing over it while the news was playing--and we all know there is nothing to laugh about on the news these days.

Published only one year before her death, I imagine the 74 year old von Arnim was struggling herself with the advent of age and the changes it brought.

So that, though she might be eighty-three in the years of her body, she was nothing like so much in those of her mind; and after all, it was minds--wasn’t it?--which kept bodies alive.

What of all the years one must live when youth and beauty have passed? After all, a woman of fifty might have almost that many years still ahead. As her cousin says in a rather ungallant attempt to comfort her, “No, my sweet, but you are going to be half a hundred, aren’t you.”

But in an empty present, how difficult to be grateful for even the fullest, most delightful past. It was like, when you were hungry, trying to get satisfaction out of all your past good dinners.

Circumstances for woman have certainly changed since this book was published, but the overall need of a person to have purpose and meaning in every stage of life has not. I am finding that Elizabeth von Arnim is a writer well worth rescuing from the obscurity of the past. I have now read two of her books and I am anxious to read more.

[JimZ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure what to make of this novel. This was the 14th work of fiction I have read of Elizabeth with 7 more to go along with an autobiography of sorts (All the Dogs of My Life (autobiography, 1936). This was the last novel that she wrote, and it was published when she was 73 years old, and ~1 year before her death. It, like her other novels, has the author’s name as simply “Elizabeth”.

It is about a woman, Fanny Skeffington, approaching her 50th birthday. She was exceedingly attractive when younger and after she divorced her husband — after she discovered he cheated on her for the 7th time (she forgave him the first 6 times) — she started having relationships of her own. I wouldn’t call them affairs since she was divorced and as far as I can tell none of the men she was seeing were married at the time. She got bored with each and every man she was with and dumped them and then moved on to the next lover. Some of her lovers were younger than she. She is going through a midlife crisis and is concerned by the degree to which she is physically attractive anymore and for one reason or another seeks out her former paramours. That’s about all I will divulge. One more thing — she starts seeing Mr. Skeffington, or tells some people she sees him, much to their consternation because he is not physically there. Is she hallucinating? After all, she started seeing him after she nearly died from diphtheria, and when the book opens she is pretty much recovered from it except most of her hair has fallen out.

The more I read Elizabeth von Arnim the more I am reminded of Elizabeth Taylor, the UK novelist. They have the same sense of humor in a number of their stories…in which the characters are thinking things to themselves which we are privy to (their thoughts), but not the other people they are with. I have one more book of Taylor’s to go (The Wedding Group)…I liked her a lot for the most part except as I approach the end of reading her, that style of thinking things to oneself, which is intended to be humorous for the reader, was getting a little old. And I hate to say it, but it is getting a bit old for me too with Elizabeth von Arnim. Still, having said that, in my notes were the comments “funny” and “lol”. So…

One more thing…this is not the first time I have run across racial/ethnic/anti-Semitic slurs in her novels. The context of these slurs or who commits them or thinks them are people who she paints or characterizes as bona fide a+sholes…so Elizabeth, I do not think, is herself being a bigot. And she is not writing for me in the 21st century. She is writing to a UK and US audience at the beginning of WW II certainly when racism/anti-Semitism was not a rarity either in the UK or in the US. So, I think by her introducing this sort of bigotry in her book in the context of characters who are real jerks in all other aspects of themselves, that she may be making a social statement against such prejudices. I just am not sure. Since I have liked Elizabeth’s writing a great deal, I must admit I am more likely to give her the benefit of the doubt. I should also add, in closing my ruminations, that such slurs are not prevalent in this book….it was just jarring coming across them. 😐

Note:
• This book was made into a movie with Bette Davis playing Fanny Skeffington.

Reviews:
• From a blog site: https://www.literaryladiesguide.com/b...
• https://www.stuckinabook.com/mr-skeff...
• a very good review from a blog site but essentially gives everything away but the kitchen sink regarding the plot of the novel: https://kaggsysbookishramblings.wordp...

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr Skeffington was Elizabeth von Arnim’s last published novel, written when in her 70s it certainly shows a certain preoccupation with ageing – (as did her 1925 novel Love). Elizabeth von Arnim’s adorable irony is present from the first page, her voice is instantly recognisable. I quickly settled into this occasionally poignant story of Fanny Skeffington’s self-evaluation, as she approaches her fiftieth birthday. (Spoiler, a certain book blogger not a million miles away will herself be approaching that birthday in thirteen months’ time – so, despite still having this year’s birthday to get out of the way first, I entirely sympathised). Although, I must say I do take great exception to the idea of fifty being as ancient as it is regarded by everyone in this novel.

Lady Frances Skeffington managed to rid herself of a husband with a roving eye, finding it hard to forgive dalliances with seven successive typists. Fanny seems to rather congratulate herself for this, there is little in the way of regret. Attempting to help her dear, adored brother; Trippington, Fanny married a wealthy Jewish businessman, and converted her religion in order to do so – she has never bothered to change it back. There are one or two slightly iffy remarks about Job Skeffington’s Jewishness – but nothing like as bad as I have read elsewhere – and it seem to highlight the attitudes of the times rather than the author’s – at least that’s how I saw it. The wealthy Mr Skeffington, made a very generous settlement upon Fanny when they divorced twenty-two years earlier, and Fanny has lived a very nice life ever since. A large London house, fully staffed, a country cottage, a fabulous social life, and many adoring lovers. Fanny was always a beauty, she knew she was beautiful, and enjoyed it.

Full review: https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2017/...

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems every authoress, at some point her career, has to have a go at The Beautiful, Vapid Woman. Jane Austen did it. George Eliot did it. Charlotte Bronte. Anne Bronte. Rebecca West. And so on. It's understandable, male authors idealizing youth and beauty as they do. It's only fair to present the other side. These depictions are sometimes sympathetic, sometimes scathing. Sometimes TBVW is only there to offset the more sensible and bookish protagonist. The moral is always the same.

Elizabeth von Arnim takes up with an aging coquette, long after men have ceased to romanticize her. It's a cautionary tale and true enough. It speaks to the fears and resentments that so many of us carry, at least to some extent. In fact, it's probably more true now than it ever was before! The pressure to look 20, to live like a 20 year old, to think like a 20 year old is immense. The flapper, it seems, has triumphed over the venerable suffragette.

Or is this merely a passing phase in feminism? I mean, most everyone begins with lipstick, impertinence, staying out late...before we assert our independence in more meaningful ways, right? Perhaps the Paris Hiltons of the world are good for feminism! Perhaps Paris Hilton is good for feminism. Perhaps Paris Hilton is good...for feminism? --Nope! No matter how many times I say it, it still sounds weird...

No, I suppose it's just human nature to prolong adolescence for as long as possible. It's only human to utilize privilege...until you find that privilege gone. We can't blame Fanny for her choices, for utilizing the one advantage a woman (in her day as well as in ours) is afforded. The truth is, we'd all do the same...if we could. That's the real message of this book: We're only human...so what are we to do? Why cut each other down like this? Why undermine each other? Life is hard enough.

This novel stands in very sad contrast to Elizabeth von Arnim's earlier works. What was once cautious optimism tempered by wry humor is now outright cynicism. The darling buds of April have faded, as buds are wont to do.

This is a perfectly fine addition to the BVW genre. (No, I'm not creating a shelf!) But I've read so many variations of this narrative, so many cautionary tales, I've lost interest in them. I want to spend time with protagonists that I truly love. I want to spend time with my Elizabeth, the still hopeful Elizabeth who dwells in fresh, sunlit gardens. That's where I met her and, for me, that's where she'll stay.

[Mighty Aphrodite · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tutto si può accettare da una donna che sta per compiere cinquant’anni tranne che si giudichi ancora giovane e bella, ancora in grado di affascinare e sedurre. Almeno questo sembra turbare gli uomini che hanno popolato l’esistenza di Fanny Skeffington e che ora osservano i tentativi della donna di preservare la propria bellezza con sgomento e pietà.

Per la prima volta nella sua vita, Fanny attraversa una crisi esistenziale profonda. Dopo una lunga e dolorosa malattia, che l’ha lasciata molto dimagrita e sfibrata, la donna si rende conto che si sta avvicinando il suo cinquantesimo compleanno e che, tutti i trucchi che aveva sempre adottato per esaltare la sua già naturale bellezza, ora non sembrano far altro che accentuare gli improvvisi difetti del suo viso, le sue rughe, le guance scarne, le pesanti borse sotto gli occhi.

Com’è possibile invecchiare da un giorno all’altro senza che il tempo ti dia modo di accorgertene? Dopo una vita passata a nutrirsi dell’affetto e della passione dei suoi spasimanti, adesso Fanny è sola, in una casa fin troppo grande e vuota. A tenerle compagnia è rimasto solo lo spettro – fluttuante e silenzioso – del suo ex marito, Job Skeffington, che compare improvvisamente davanti agli occhi di Fanny ogni volta che la sua mente distratta ripensa a lui e al loro matrimonio, finito dopo cinque anni di continui tradimenti dell’uomo.

Sciogliere quell’unione aveva rappresentato per Fanny una liberazione, l’inizio di una nuova vita, fatta di ricevimenti, divertimenti, amori e infantile felicità. Ma ora che il suo mondo non sembra più quello che è sempre stato, ora che tutti la guardano con compassione e non sanno dire altro che “Povera Fanny”, la donna inizia a interrogarsi sulle sue scelte di vita, a cercare risposte e consigli dai suoi vecchi amori, anch’essi piegati nel corpo e nella mente dal tempo trascorso, ma pronti a giudicare i resti della vanità di Fanny e la sua apparente superficialità.

Continua a leggere qui: https://parlaredilibri.wordpress.com/...

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to read this after seeing the movie of the same name, starring Bette Davis and Claude Rains. The book is very different from the film, partly because it is very English, and also because, despite its title, it focuses entirely on Mrs Skeffington, an ageing beauty looking back at her succession of lovers, and struggling to decide what to do with the rest of her life. In the film the husband is a major character too. I enjoyed it mainly because of von Arnim's beautifully readable and witty writing style, which has left me wanting to read more by her.

[Mela · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the beginning, I had difficulties keeping my interest. But at some point, I got gripped and stayed so, and the ending was surprising.

It was a study of a beautiful (and spoilt) woman's aging. The thread wasn't new, I had read a few other novels on such topics. Elizabeth von Arnim created a believable character. There was not much plot, but Fanny's journey through a "middle-age crisis" was fascinating to watch.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like English writers and their particular brand of clever humor and wit, Elizabeth von Arnim is just great. She also wrote Enchanted April which is one of my all time favorite novels AND movie.

This book is about a 50 year old woman, Fanny, sometime in the 1920s I'm guessing, who has been blessed with money, great beauty and charm. She divorced her husband (shocking at that time) for his many dalliances and proceeded to have any number of love struck admirers and lovers over the years. But she is just recovering from a serious illness which has made her look very much her age.

Von Arnim relates, with great humor and sensitivity, Fanny's growing realization that she is far from looking as young on the outside as she feels on the inside. Besides coming to terms with herTh loss of beauty, her ex-husband, Mr. Skeffington, is weirdly haunting her thoughts and imagination.

If you're in midlife, you can certainly relate to some of Fanny's experiences. Even if you're looking for one of those delicious, charming but with some substance, English novels to curl up with, this would fit the bill!

[Cphe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took a while to warm to this novel. The main character Fanny Skeffington irritated this reader no end, the shallowness and vanity I thought was unappealing. It was almost a DNF but I'm glad I stuck with it because the ending was emotive and strangely satisfying.

[Nancy · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Mr. Skeffington" was a classic movie of Bette Davis's, so I should have known better than to read the novel it was (loosely) based on. But I did, and in a way I'm glad I did. This novel should be required reading for any woman under forty who has ever uttered the words, "I am not a feminist."

"Mr. Skeffington" is the polar opposite of feminism. It was written in 1939, and its portrayal of the role of women in that time period is nothing short of horrifying, thought it is intended to be charmingly piquant and witty. The story (told with an archness that rapidly set my teeth on edge) is that of Lady Frances Skeffington, a former society belle who divorced her husband twenty years ago and has led a delightful life since then, rejecting suitors right and left (Skeffington left her quite wealthy). Now she is recovering from a bout of diphtheria, her beauty has faded, and ("OF COURSE," implies the narrator) none of her former lovers wants to be caught dead in her company. She is an embarrassment, and much of the novel concerns her gradual recognition of the utter demise of her beauty, and by extension, of her power and value in society. She is old, wrinkled, frail; her hair is falling out. What use is she?

Guess how old she is? NOT YET FIFTY. Yeah, that's right. So think about that, all you sisters who blanch with horror at the idea that Rush Limbaugh might call you a "feminazi." There are lots of worse things that can happen to you, and one of them is to be a woman in a society that judges women only by their appearance. It wasn't that long ago.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Skeffington (1944)

imdb blurb - Popular and beautiful Fanny Trellis is forced into a loveless marriage with an older man, Jewish banker Job Skeffington, in order to save her beloved brother Trippy from an embezzlement charge and predictable complications result.

Bette Davis ... Fanny Trellis
Claude Rains ... Job Skeffington
Walter Abel ... George Trellis
George Coulouris ... Doctor Byles
Richard Waring ... Trippy Trellis

Trippy Trellis - what a name.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

... and a great movie, starring Bette Davies!

[Lora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely delightful.
The book started out right in the main conflict and I was a bit startled: where is this going?
It developed its points and became entirely predictable- no, almost entirely so. There were still some great surprises along the way.
It wrapped up as expected, and yet so well done it was just such a fun read.
There is one character whose attitude is so repulsive that von Arnim had to display his repugnant behavior so as to illuminate him as a threat. She was not explicit the way they would be nowadays. She wrote in carefully constructed phrasing that left no doubt in the reader's mind. I give her acclaim just for that alone.
Fantastic read. Utterly fantastic.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always loved the movie and was excited to find a 1940 edition of the novll through my local library. The book is so much better! I'm still pondering why Job haunted Fanny. Was it her guilt? Her fear of being alone and becoming irrelevant? Perhaps there was a deeper connection with Job that bound them together since he was her only husband? One thing that has not changed for women: we still put too much emphasis on youth and outward appearances!

[Lila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting plot that would make a great movie. I'm not going to give any spoilers here. Elizabeth is due for a rediscovery.

[Christine Sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because I LOVE The Enchanted April (the book and the movie), I decided to read Mr. Skeffington, also made into a movie (which I haven't seen yet). It is a little gem of a story, very British upper crust, precious and often quite funny, with a surprising O. Henry-esque ending. The main character is Fanny, Lady Skeffington, who is pampered, wealthy and most of all, beautiful. Just shy of fifty, her beauty, and her happiness, is fading, leaving her in doubt as to what to do with the rest of her life. Read the book and find out!

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Von Arnim’s book is as engaging as always. Mrs. Skeffington takes a trip down memory lane, visiting old lovers. At first she seems to be a rather amiable idiot, but soon we see that she has a good deal of emotional intelligence. Other characters don’t see that, and underestimate her considerably.
A full star off for the ending. I hated that. Otherwise this would be a four-star book.

[icaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

La Arnim non mi ha mai convinto fino in fondo ma, questa volta, ci riesce. Delicato, brillante, umoristico (echi trollopiani nell'episodio del pastore), morale, leggero. Una riflessione sul tempo che passa, sulla futilità dei nostri comportamenti sulle malinconie dell'età che avanza

[Gareth Evans · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clever, well thought out novel, but strangely difficult to like. Much easier to admire its construction than enjoy the experience of reading.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took a while to get into this, but eventually I grew to like it. Apart from the very end it was hardly at all how I remember the Bette Davis/Claude Raines film being. Will be revisiting that soon though.

[Gayle Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the movie that is based on this book, so I had to read it. It's quite different in some ways, but the movie did take some scenes almost word-for-word from the book. It seems misogynistic and even racist at times, but I'm not sure if that was the author's comment on attitudes of the time, or that she was just a product of her time. Overall, I loved it. Quoting from the book, here's the whole idea in a nutshell:
"What could be sillier in other people's eyes than a woman kicking up a fuss because she too, in her turn, had grown old, and her beauty was gone? Yet what could be more tragic for the woman, who, having been used all her life to being beautiful, found that without her looks she had nothing to fall back upon? 'That's what is wrong,' she thought. 'There ought to be something to fall back upon. Somebody ought to have told me about this in time.'"

[Barbara VA · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story by a wonderful author! Fanny is going to be 50! So old to a woman known for only her charm and beauty. She has a long lost divorced husband Job, disposed of for his string of daliences with secretaries, how could he prefer them to her? But it is now 25 years later and Fanny has just come out of a devastating illness of diphtheria. Her looks are gone, her face is ravaged and her hair has fallen out. In the weeks preceding her birthday Fanny visits a variety of the men who loved her, looking for - love, adoration, companionship, Fanny is not sure, especially with Job haunting her. Literally.

[Jane Scadding · Rating 3 out of 5]

This late novel, still has the naughty humour of Elizabeth Arnim's earlier novels, but where is the kindness and generosity of spirit. Now there is quite cruel satire and cynicism. Also missing is the lyrical flow of writing, but instead, something more episodic and less organic.

This novel must have been quite daring in its time, but I missed the warmth of the more famous Enchanted April and Elizabeth and her German Garden!

[Rose Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming. When they made the movie (with Bette Davis, WONDERFUL as always) they made a lot of changes in the characters, but the basic character of Fanny Skeffington and her husband Job are pretty much the same. So I would say -- both the movie AND the book were very rewarding.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! You have to remember it was written in 1940 and things were certainly different then!
The feelings this woman has as she "ages" are still valid today, and this is one of the most humorous
and human writes I have read.

[Leila McGrath · Rating 5 out of 5]

1940. I read the English version and loved it, though it's slightly long-winded to this 21st centurian.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brava !! She nails it.

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It was she, Fanny, who was going to be the lonely one. In her life was no loving spouse to make her feel important and wonderful. On the contrary, after having been very important and very wonderful for so long to so many people she was rapidly becoming just poor Fanny. She felt it; she knew it; and it was awful”.

It is February and at Charles Street, London, Lady Frances Skeffington is approaching fifty years old with trepidation. She has been ill and it has left her rather curious about why people have started calling her “Poor Fanny”. Has she lost her looks? And why after divorcing Mr Skeffington 22 years ago, does she keep seeing him all over the house? A vision "behind the fish-dish at breakfast". She almost thinks she should have held on to him, but after seven infidelities, what was she supposed to do?

Now that she feels well again, the desire to leave London and banish Mr Skeffington increases. She decides to go to Oxford and visit her most recent admirer, an undergraduate called Dwight. But she finds him with someone else and is dismayed to find he hardly recognised her. She goes to see another admirer, Lord Conderely at his place - Upswich - near Ipswich in Suffolk! (p62) where she has invited herself for the weekend. Jim was totally devoted to her. Surely he can make her feel loved again? But what she finds is an elderly and happily married, family man. There is no room for her and she makes a hasty retreat back to London, knowing she has said goodbye to him forever. On the return journey she sees yet another love interest, Miles Hyslup, a clergyman who is preaching to a large crowd stood on a chair in the street. She goes back to his rooms and meets his sister Muriel. While there, Muriel insults Fanny believing her to be a "street-lady" that Miles is helping as part of his charitable work. She leaves disgruntled yet again, Miles being thankful to Fanny for helping him into religion, but not in love with her anymore. Now at last, she returns again to Charles Street for some time to reflect alone - only to find that the servants are having a party. She is horrified that she will have to let them all go, how can she do this on her own? She calls Sir Peregrine Lanks for help. A lawyer, Peregrine comes round to the house to help, but he is a busy man. He keeps looking at his watch. He has no time for Fanny any more, especially now that she has lost her looks and he quickly leaves and she decides not to punish the servants. It goes on... next it is the turn of Sir Edward Montmorency, KCMG, who has just returned to England. His mind is set on proposing to Fanny. He goes to see her and does indeed propose, but Fanny can see that he does not love her and she refuses and is doubly upset when she witnesses Edward winking at the butler!

Fanny is completely dejected by now and at a lunch with her well-meaning cousins, she discourteously refuses their invitation to hold a birthday party for her, deciding on the spot that she celebrate her birthday at Stokes (her house in the country) with Muriel Hyslup. At the lunch, another cousin George Pontyfridd visits, with news. He has seen Mr Skeffington who is much reduced having lost all his money from a bad investment. Fanny agrees of course, that she should give all her money back to him. But before she does it is revealed that George has brought Mr Skeffington to the house. She goes to see him, and finds that he is blind. She comforts him and is more beautiful at that moment than she has ever been.

[Flynn O'Dacre · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Life was certainly a queer business — so brief, yet such a lot of it; so substantial, yet in a few years, which behaved like minutes, all scattered and anyhow.”

Mr. Skeffington was present for maybe 4 pages. The rest of the book was about a woman’s feelings. A perfect split.

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another one I got fed up with. I just can’t seem to find the characters interesting or the stories that good either.