Hop, Step and Jump

by Winifred Watson

In the beginning, the love story of Jenny Dennet and Bert Murray ran the appointed course of all similar love stories in their neighbourhood. It differed in the end because Jenny had character as well as charm and Bert had only charm.

Jenny wants more. Much more. Born into poverty in a small industrial town in the north of England, she is determined to find a way out. After taking up with Bert, a handsome rotter – "the catch of his neighbourhood" – who works in the same factory as her, it’s not long before she gives in to his pleas to marry him. But he turns out to be a drunk and a philanderer with an occasional propensity to violence and she soon walks out on him (the ‘hop’ of the title). "You can’t leave me. Where’ll you go?" asks Bert. "I’ve got my hands an’ I’ve got my brains and I can work," Jenny replies.

Sure enough, Jenny quickly gets a job as a housemaid. She falls into an affair with her employer's son, Hugh (the "step"), but, finding herself both morally compromised and – even worse – bored, she borrows some money from him to open a bakery (the "jump"). But will running her own business be enough to fulfill her? And what about love? Hop, Step and Jump weaves together a number of fascinating themes including female desire, domestic violence, and working-class life in the 1930s.

This spirited tale of upward mobility, written in Winifred Watson’s distinctively direct style, was first published in 1939 in the same week as the outbreak of war. The Guardian described it as "unusual and entertaining" while also lamenting the difficulty of reviewing books just as war was being declared. "Subtle and romantic" was L P Hartley’s verdict in the Observer and, according to the Sketch, "Without being hard, Miss Winifred Watson is a matter-of-fact writer and endows her heroine with these qualities. She reminds one a little of Arnold Bennett." Certainly, there is an explicitness in Hop, Step and Jump that in some ways makes it more akin to the novel of realism. For example, the impoverished surroundings in which Jenny and her husband Bert have to live are described in great detail, as is the way they are virtually imprisoned because of their circumstances. The novel is brutal at times and doesn’t gloss over squalor or poverty. Yet at the same time, it is extremely entertaining and flows along like the best kind of light fiction, or what is sometimes referred to as a Mills and Boon.

So Hop, Step and Jump should be read on several levels. It is an extremely good read in the romantic novel tradition; it dissects moral values and makes the reader think hard about what is involved in Jenny’s search for freedom and love; and it is fascinating about an ordinary working class woman’s life in 1930s England. As Rowan Pelling writes in her Persephone Preface: "What elevates the story is the odyssey through Britain’s social classes, the candidness about sex, and the exploration of female self-determination. Jenny may freely acquiesce to love and erotic adventures, but she evades ownership." A seemingly light novel turns out to be curiously radical.

Genres: Romance, Fiction

261 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1939

About the author

Winifred Eileen Watson (20 October 1906 - 5 August 2002) was an English writer. She is best known for her novel, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, which was adapted into a major motion picture of the same name (released in 2008).

Bibliography:

Fell Top (1935)
Odd Shoes (1936)
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (1938)
Upyonder (1938)
Hop, Step, Jump (1939)
Leave and Bequeath (1943)

Reviews

[Tania · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jenny is a wonderful character, so full of life. She starts off in a rundown, working class district up North. She is seeing Bert, who works in the same factory as her. He's very charismatic, but she feels he's no good. Never the less, she relents and marries him after he has been pestering her to do so for a few years. It turns out she was right, and he is a wrong 'un. Eventually, she 'hops' out of the family home and goes to work in service.

The 'step' is when she ends up in London, supported by the son of the household she had worked in, and the jump is when she managed to open her own business. Will she manage to get her happy ever after?

This one is much grittier than Miss Pettigrew, and somewhat surprising as a result. The descriptions of a grim life at the beginning of the book are hard to read at times, but Jenny is determined to have a better life, and she has the grit to strive for it. It certainly isn't the frothy fairy tale that Miss Pettigrew is, but perhaps I liked it better for it.

[Mela · Rating 5 out of 5]

An original novel. Not as light and witty as Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, but unique in its own way. I couldn't tear myself away from Jenny's story and fate. Furthermore, the portrayal of the 1930s, the Depression years, from the perspective of three social classes was priceless.

Yet, the best part was the male characters. Well-described, realistic, human, and at the same time "ideal" romance heroes.

It's a shame the author didn't write more novels like this.

[Vikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collected Social Club, November 2025

A forgotten treasure from 1939. I loved this! Go Jenny! Gave me all the warm and fuzzies.

Some quotes:

Ethel: She was too careful never to be wrong ever to be blazingly in the right.

Hugh: The suspense and triumph when she set him to make and fry some pancakes and he achieved success far outdid any such sensation he had felt in years. It was the rare and fine ecstasy of creation.

Peggy: The house is old, so the wood's quite decent. Not like the rotten stuff they put in most houses nowadays.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to believe this was first published in 1939 - it has that quality of just having been written yesterday. Winifred Watson's writing has freshness, sparkle and verve, just like her working class heroine, auburn-haired Jenny, who is so lively and convincing she practically springs off the page. Though there's an underlying realism about the hard facts of life, there is also an irrepressible joy to the novel, a belief in the human spirit to squeeze the most out of unpromising surroundings and situations. Watson is decorous but grown-up about sex and sexuality, particularly male sexuality, and she's honest about romantic relationships inside and outside of marriage without being cynical. The raw materials of the novel, its basic shape and structure, may not be a million miles away from the romantic "potboilers" that Watson pokes gentle fun at, but when it comes to the quality of the writing, the keenness of the psychological insight, and the guts and grit of the heroine, this is in a class of its own. A thoroughly enjoyable read and a great palate cleanser between weightier (though not necessarily superior) works. I wanted to give it four-and-a-half stars but rounded up, partly because I think it deserves to have more people discover it.

[Louise Culmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jenny Dennet is a spirited and beautiful red haired young woman who works in a factory in a north country town. She is strongly attracted by the very glamorous, dark and handsome Bert Murray, but is wary of getting too deeply involved with him. However, eventually she succumbs and they are married. Things don’t work out too well though, and soon Jenny regrets her choice. She leaves Bert for a job in domestic service, but that is not the end of her adventures.
This is a highly enjoyable story with a splendid heroine in Jenny, a determined girl who is almost frighteningly strong minded. I followed her adventures eagerly. It would have been nice perhaps to have a bit more detail about the jobs she had - you don’t get the vivid picture of her work as you do in some other novels. Bert Murray is outrageously attractive, he put me in mind of Seth Starkadder in Cold Comfort Farm. The ending of the book was highly satisfactory and a real surprise to me, I really didn’t see it coming at all.

[Catherine Pinkett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. A sassy female protagonist who is determined to rise above her working class background. Very indicative of the times where the British class system was very rigid and people knew their place and what was expected of them,especially women. Heartwarming to see that didnt hold everyone back.

[Annette Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like a nice story, nicely written and with a lovely, warm glow then you'll love this. Set in the 1930's, Jenny hops, skips and jumps her way from one relationship to another until the inevitable happy ending.

[Clare Paterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit disappointing. Jenny is a strong character who is determined to carve out a better life in 1930s poverty and goes against social norms, but it never quite grabbed me. She was brazen but I felt the author shied away from questions of sex. So I never felt I was getting the whole story.

[Julia Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Less whimsical, romantic adventure than Watson's celebrated 'Miss Pettigrew...' but hugely enjoyable featuring a working class heroine Jenny who shines with grit, determination, sense and beauty. Her energy drives her to make something of herself and escape the mind numbing poverty and grime of her life.
This novel also has a refreshing take on sex and the balance in relationships that you don't find terribly often in books of this age.

[Suze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Persephone books… so looking forward to the launch party at the Lit & Phil

[Lin Tarrant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!

[A J HOOPER · Rating 3 out of 5]

Upwardly mobile young woman overcomes her very poor start in life to find stability. She manages this by good ideas, hard work and NOT living off any man.

[Susann · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I'm a better man than you are, and always will be." Jenny is delightful and inspiring. And I dare you not to cast a somewhat younger Hugh Bonneville as the Hugh character.

[vntgpaperdoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first read of 2026 and one of my new favorites. I absolutely love this book. 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐