The Sending

by Geoffrey Household

On the death of his father, artist and mystic Alfgif Hollaston returns to his Somerset house. There, he befriends Paddy Gadsden, a saddler and horse psychiatrist, and inherits Paddy's polecat, Meg, after Paddy's violent and inexplicable death. But innocent and playful Meg isn't quite what she seems.

Soon Alfgif's life and sanity are threatened by a relentless terror, resembling the sixth sense of an animal, which warns when danger is imminent . . .

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

185 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

British author of mostly thrillers, though among 37 books he also published children's fiction. Household's flight-and-chase novels, which show the influence of John Buchan, were often narrated in the first person by a gentleman-adventurer. Among his best-know works is' Rogue Male' (1939), a suggestive story of a hunter who becomes the hunted, in 1941 filmed by Fritz Lang as 'Man Hunt'. Household's fast-paced story foreshadowed such international bestsellers as Richard Condon's thriller 'The Manchurian Candidate' (1959), Frederick Forsyth's 'The Day of the Jackal' (1971), and Ken Follett's 'Eye of the Needle' (1978) .

In 1922 Household received his B.A. in English from Magdalen College, Oxford, and between 1922 and 1935 worked in commerce abroad, moving to the US in 1929. During World War II, Household served in the Intelligence Corps in Romania and the Middle East. After the War he lived the life of a country gentleman and wrote. In his later years, he lived in Charlton, near Banbury, Oxfordshire, and died in Wardington.

Household also published an autobiography, 'Against the Wind' (1958), and several collections of short stories, which he himself considered his best work.

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A British painter from aristocratic stock receives the bequest of a murdered acquaintance’s tamed, affectionate polecat, and shortly after this the painter finds himself the subject of a concentrated psychic attack.

With The Sending, Geoffrey Household takes the well-honed manhunt narrative he had been returning to over the course of four decades and parlays it into a remarkable supernatural variant. It’s all a bit more subdued than others of his literary suspense novels, and in fact the majority of the “action” takes place in one chapter late in the book. The themes of the hunt and survival are still present, but they point to something quite different from what they did in earlier novels. Still, Household does a curious job of depicting a plausible modern-day mysticism that walks a line between ancient pantheism and the unified field theory.

A couple of great quotes:

“Reality? We are fools to ask what is reality when all we touch and see and are is empty space and energy.”

“How often there is more beauty in living things than needed for survival! Consider the peacock’s tail and the feathers of the bird of paradise! To attract a mate and be recognized, we are told, but that could be achieved by a fraction of the display. Consider the majestic antlers of the stag! A magnificence and nothing but a handicap. The colors of the butterfly--they have a use, but not to that extent of glory. . . . They have one conceivable value and that is to the observer. What the Purpose is we cannot know, but observation must be within it.”

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talk about intense! Wow! The book cover call this "A hypnotic tale of terror, love, and the occult." While I didn't feel Alfgif's terror at his haunting in a visceral way, that terror was obvious in his reactions to it. The love, that is something a reader feels, Alf's love for both Meg (and, yes, I did have to look "polecat" up on Google to find out what sort of creature she was) and for Rita (as well as her love for him). All of this is wonderful, of course. But what made this a 5 star read for me was Household's treatment of the occult. His clear respect for, and understanding and handling of, multiple religions and traditions is truly amazing, particularly when this is read in the context of the contemporary treatment of the same in popular fiction. This is not to say that I don't inhale and love those novels, but that Household has given me an entirely new standard by which to evaluate them. This is an amazing book!

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a strange hybrid mystery novel, more John Fowles than John Buchan. It's as if the Robert Graves of The White Goddess had collaborated with Philip MacDonald, in a tale involving witchcraft, communion with spirit animals, and a murder that may have been a suicide.

[Jay Rothermel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sending a beautifully strange folk horror novel set in rural UK.

It touches on witchcraft trials, familiars, the figure of Robin, and old occult organization. The protagonist, retired from the military in India to his rural UK family home to paint watercolors, must find his place and his contribution in this dangerous and nicely complicated scenario.

[Jed Mayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than “Dance of the Dwarfs” but not surprisingly doesn’t come close to his iconic and sui generis “Rogue Male,” there is nevertheless much to enjoy in this odd first person narrative of battling warlocks.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Household's books aren't mysteries in the strict sense of the term, but they have mysterious elements. I really like his writing style.

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mildly interesting novel of witches in the 'modern' era. Very British!

[Garick Cooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth Household novel I've read (Rogue Male, Dance of the Dwarfs, The Mystery of the Spanish Cave, and The Sending). All have been solid reads. Here, Household attempts to synthesize East and West, Christian and pagan, Nature and Art. Does he succeed? In that he wrote a readable and gripping novel, yes. (I read this in a twenty-four-hour period, almost against my will, as I was in the middle of two other books at the time.) Do I buy his manifesto (if that is indeed what this is)? Not really. But I can admire the attempt.