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Midsummer Madness
The vicious crosscurrents of life at Hawk's Head threatened to trap her in their evil web.
- GenresGothic
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1950
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November 26, 2024
suspenseful and tightly written account of a headstrong governess sent into a snake pit. although the unknown author Langdon Dodge does give the sprawling oceanside mansion Hawk's Head some atmosphere, the novel's focus is more on the overripe emotional landscape of this eccentric hothouse. the small clan within is flush with grudges, disdain, despair, and the feeling that life is a series of trials that can never be overcome. the author paints this place with vivid colors while giving scenes a weird air of offness, as if something abnormal is happening, but it is hard to specifically say what is wrong. everyone is speaking in a code that our heroine can't understand. perhaps the creepiest of the cast is the self-loathing grandmother, eerily content to be manipulated by those who mean her nothing good, so nihilistic and done with life that she passively encourages the villain's murderous schemes to do away with her young grandson. rarely have I so longed for the death of a senior!
the villain herself is the book's most impressive creation: aptly named Zilla, this head servant is the true queen of the castle. Zilla is an earthy, voluptuous, rather sympathetic peasant, given to maudlin smiles, teary eyes, and too-loud laughter. she is, as our unlikeable hero deems her, rather common. she's also full of a greed for life and a secret hate for the class system that one can't help but admire. in another book, she'd be the downtrodden, self-aware heroine who has lifted herself up by her bootstraps. but here she's a conniving monster, eager to claim the life of the family's heir - a precocious lad with a heart problem. the moments when she cheerfully encourages her own kid to bully the boy into despair were disturbing. even more so was a scene on a rollercoaster where she holds the struggling, weeping lad in place as they go on ride after ride in the hopes that the child will keel over from fright, as she laughs uproariously all the while. fortunately for the boy, there's an easily irritated and rather bitchy new governess on the scene who has just about had her fill of all of this murderous nonsense.
the villain herself is the book's most impressive creation: aptly named Zilla, this head servant is the true queen of the castle. Zilla is an earthy, voluptuous, rather sympathetic peasant, given to maudlin smiles, teary eyes, and too-loud laughter. she is, as our unlikeable hero deems her, rather common. she's also full of a greed for life and a secret hate for the class system that one can't help but admire. in another book, she'd be the downtrodden, self-aware heroine who has lifted herself up by her bootstraps. but here she's a conniving monster, eager to claim the life of the family's heir - a precocious lad with a heart problem. the moments when she cheerfully encourages her own kid to bully the boy into despair were disturbing. even more so was a scene on a rollercoaster where she holds the struggling, weeping lad in place as they go on ride after ride in the hopes that the child will keel over from fright, as she laughs uproariously all the while. fortunately for the boy, there's an easily irritated and rather bitchy new governess on the scene who has just about had her fill of all of this murderous nonsense.
Displaying 1 of 1 review