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Mothering Sunday
Seventy-year-old widowed Anna Caldwell likes to be alone, happy to potter around her garden chatting to her friend Miss Poe. However, the bliss of Anna's peaceful lifestyle causes her five children much dismay.
Jane, the eldest and most organised, gathers her siblings together to visit Anna on Mothering Sunday. Henry the politician, Margaret the doctor and the youngest, Felicity, all agree to attend with their partners . . . but that leaves Tony, the shadow on the family's respectable past.
Carnegie Medal winning author Noel Streatfeild pieces together a startling image of the post-war British family in her novel Mothering Sunday.
Jane, the eldest and most organised, gathers her siblings together to visit Anna on Mothering Sunday. Henry the politician, Margaret the doctor and the youngest, Felicity, all agree to attend with their partners . . . but that leaves Tony, the shadow on the family's respectable past.
Carnegie Medal winning author Noel Streatfeild pieces together a startling image of the post-war British family in her novel Mothering Sunday.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1950
About the author
Noel Streatfeild
170 books629 followersMary Noel Streatfeild, known as Noel Streatfeild, was an author best known and loved for her children's books, including Ballet Shoes and Circus Shoes. She also wrote romances under the pseudonym
Susan Scarlett
.
She was born on Christmas Eve, 1895, the daughter of William Champion Streatfeild and Janet Venn and the second of six children to be born to the couple. Sister Ruth was the oldest, after Noel came Barbara, William ('Bill'), Joyce (who died of TB prior to her second birthday) and Richenda. Ruth and Noel attended Hastings and St. Leonard's Ladies' College in 1910. As an adult, she began theater work, and spent approximately 10 years in the theater.
During the Great War, in 1915 Noel worked first as a volunteer in a soldier's hospital kitchen near Eastbourne Vicarage and later produced two plays with her sister Ruth. When things took a turn for the worse on the Front in 1916 she moved to London and obtained a job making munitions in Woolwich Arsenal. At the end of the war in January 1919, Noel enrolled at the Academy of Dramatic Art (later Royal Academy) in London.
In 1930, she began writing her first adult novel, The Whicharts, published in 1931. In June 1932, she was elected to membership of PEN. Early in 1936, Mabel Carey, children's editor of J. M. Dent and Sons, asks Noel to write a children's story about the theatre, which led to Noel completing Ballet Shoes in mid-1936. In 28 September 1936, when Ballet Shoes was published, it became an immediate best seller.
According to Angela Bull, Ballet Shoes was a reworked version of The Whicharts. Elder sister Ruth Gervis illustrated the book, which was published on the 28th September, 1936. At the time, the plot and general 'attitude' of the book was highly original, and destined to provide an outline for countless other ballet books down the years until this day. The first known book to be set at a stage school, the first ballet story to be set in London, the first to feature upper middle class society, the first to show the limits of amateurism and possibly the first to show children as self-reliant, able to survive without running to grownups when things went wrong.
In 1937, Noel traveled with Bertram Mills Circus to research The Circus is Coming (also known as Circus Shoes). She won the Carnegie gold medal in February 1939 for this book. In 1940, World War II began, and Noel began war-related work from 1940-1945. During this time, she wrote four adult novels, five children's books, nine romances, and innumerable articles and short stories. On May 10th, 1941, her flat was destroyed by a bomb. Shortly after WWII is over, in 1947, Noel traveled to America to research film studios for her book The Painted Garden. In 1949, she began delivering lectures on children's books. Between 1949 and 1953, her plays, The Bell Family radio serials played on the Children's Hour and were frequently voted top play of the year.
Early in 1960s, she decided to stop writing adult novels, but did write some autobiographical novels, such as A Vicarage Family in 1963. She also had written 12 romance novels under the pen name "Susan Scarlett." Her children's books number at least 58 titles. From July to December 1979, she suffered a series of small strokes and moved into a nursing home. In 1983, she received the honor Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). On 11 September 1986, she passed away in a nursing home.
She was born on Christmas Eve, 1895, the daughter of William Champion Streatfeild and Janet Venn and the second of six children to be born to the couple. Sister Ruth was the oldest, after Noel came Barbara, William ('Bill'), Joyce (who died of TB prior to her second birthday) and Richenda. Ruth and Noel attended Hastings and St. Leonard's Ladies' College in 1910. As an adult, she began theater work, and spent approximately 10 years in the theater.
During the Great War, in 1915 Noel worked first as a volunteer in a soldier's hospital kitchen near Eastbourne Vicarage and later produced two plays with her sister Ruth. When things took a turn for the worse on the Front in 1916 she moved to London and obtained a job making munitions in Woolwich Arsenal. At the end of the war in January 1919, Noel enrolled at the Academy of Dramatic Art (later Royal Academy) in London.
In 1930, she began writing her first adult novel, The Whicharts, published in 1931. In June 1932, she was elected to membership of PEN. Early in 1936, Mabel Carey, children's editor of J. M. Dent and Sons, asks Noel to write a children's story about the theatre, which led to Noel completing Ballet Shoes in mid-1936. In 28 September 1936, when Ballet Shoes was published, it became an immediate best seller.
According to Angela Bull, Ballet Shoes was a reworked version of The Whicharts. Elder sister Ruth Gervis illustrated the book, which was published on the 28th September, 1936. At the time, the plot and general 'attitude' of the book was highly original, and destined to provide an outline for countless other ballet books down the years until this day. The first known book to be set at a stage school, the first ballet story to be set in London, the first to feature upper middle class society, the first to show the limits of amateurism and possibly the first to show children as self-reliant, able to survive without running to grownups when things went wrong.
In 1937, Noel traveled with Bertram Mills Circus to research The Circus is Coming (also known as Circus Shoes). She won the Carnegie gold medal in February 1939 for this book. In 1940, World War II began, and Noel began war-related work from 1940-1945. During this time, she wrote four adult novels, five children's books, nine romances, and innumerable articles and short stories. On May 10th, 1941, her flat was destroyed by a bomb. Shortly after WWII is over, in 1947, Noel traveled to America to research film studios for her book The Painted Garden. In 1949, she began delivering lectures on children's books. Between 1949 and 1953, her plays, The Bell Family radio serials played on the Children's Hour and were frequently voted top play of the year.
Early in 1960s, she decided to stop writing adult novels, but did write some autobiographical novels, such as A Vicarage Family in 1963. She also had written 12 romance novels under the pen name "Susan Scarlett." Her children's books number at least 58 titles. From July to December 1979, she suffered a series of small strokes and moved into a nursing home. In 1983, she received the honor Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). On 11 September 1986, she passed away in a nursing home.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 13, 2024
The third Sunday of Lent, Laetare (Rejoicing) Sunday, is known in England as Mothering Sunday. At the midpoint of the longest fast in the church year, rose-colored vestments are donned, a break from the penitential purple. Like a mother seeing when her children need encouragement to get through a hard spot, a refreshment is offered to sustain worshippers for the rest of the fast. However, in England, Mothering Sunday has become like the American Mother's Day and is instead a chance for children to offer refreshment for their mothers. (Appropriate, since motherhood can be like a perpetual Lent.) Streatfeild, the bishop's daughter, glosses the motif of Laetare Sunday on the lives of her characters in this remarkable novel: "Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her. Rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn for her."
The Caldwells are a family who keep up appearances. Though they are not close, they make a show. Everyone has a personality strong in its own way, from Anna down to her grandchildren, with her five adult children and four spouses in between. For once I found the way a midcentury British author wrote an American to be canny. Trust Streatfeild to do it! (I tell you, the daughters of Anglican clergymen write characters better than anyone.)
In many ways, Mothering Sunday felt as if it could have been written yesterday. Unlikeable characters. (Why is this a trend. I need some sympathy if characters are going to be beastly.) Family secrets. Dysfunctional families. Generational trauma. (Or, if you like, sins of the fathers visited upon the sons and all that.) Translate the setting, premise, and method of this novel from postwar England to the modern day and it would be making the celebrity book club rounds. Mothering Sunday also felt like an Elizabeth Goudge novel, with the nearly microscopic character studies, the motivations spinning behind banal conversation, and real human connection. There wasn't much spirituality, but the themes are ripe for further mental munching.
This is the first adult novel of Streatfeild's I've read, and it makes me eager for more. If I hadn't known she wrote some of my most beloved children's books, I wouldn't have known it was the same author. I look forward to reading more of her considerable oeuvre!
The Caldwells are a family who keep up appearances. Though they are not close, they make a show. Everyone has a personality strong in its own way, from Anna down to her grandchildren, with her five adult children and four spouses in between. For once I found the way a midcentury British author wrote an American to be canny. Trust Streatfeild to do it! (I tell you, the daughters of Anglican clergymen write characters better than anyone.)
In many ways, Mothering Sunday felt as if it could have been written yesterday. Unlikeable characters. (Why is this a trend. I need some sympathy if characters are going to be beastly.) Family secrets. Dysfunctional families. Generational trauma. (Or, if you like, sins of the fathers visited upon the sons and all that.) Translate the setting, premise, and method of this novel from postwar England to the modern day and it would be making the celebrity book club rounds. Mothering Sunday also felt like an Elizabeth Goudge novel, with the nearly microscopic character studies, the motivations spinning behind banal conversation, and real human connection. There wasn't much spirituality, but the themes are ripe for further mental munching.
This is the first adult novel of Streatfeild's I've read, and it makes me eager for more. If I hadn't known she wrote some of my most beloved children's books, I wouldn't have known it was the same author. I look forward to reading more of her considerable oeuvre!
October 6, 2010
The day before Mothering Sunday, Anna Caldwell is waiting in her garden for the postman to bring the usual presents from her children...but the postman passes her by. As it turns out, this is because her daughter Jane has arranged a surprise Sunday visit for Anna from all the family, who are worried about Anna's increasingly odd behavior.
Streatfeild begins the book from Anna's point of view, then progresses through various other members of her family, revealing more and more about the family's history and their relationships as she goes. This works really well; the characterization is marvelous, and I really liked the gradual revealing of secrets.
Streatfeild begins the book from Anna's point of view, then progresses through various other members of her family, revealing more and more about the family's history and their relationships as she goes. This works really well; the characterization is marvelous, and I really liked the gradual revealing of secrets.
January 13, 2022
Not Streatfeild's strongest work. Written for an adult audience but the child characters were drawn the most vividly. Not surprising considering the author.
The plot of the novel centers around the children of Anna Caldwell making a surprise visit to her home on Mothering Sunday. They have grown concerned about what they perceive as her increasingly erratic behavior and decide the best way to address their concerns is for all of them to confront her together. The first two acts, if you will, of the story was spent in the build up to the surprise family gathering and establishing all the family members characters and back stories. It was fairly plodding. But then the third act, when the family has finally arrived at their mother's home, made for splendid and enjoyable reading. All the parts and pieces laid out earlier in the book came together perfectly.
Things may have wrapped up a little too quickly and neatly but it was immensely enjoyable in the end.
The plot of the novel centers around the children of Anna Caldwell making a surprise visit to her home on Mothering Sunday. They have grown concerned about what they perceive as her increasingly erratic behavior and decide the best way to address their concerns is for all of them to confront her together. The first two acts, if you will, of the story was spent in the build up to the surprise family gathering and establishing all the family members characters and back stories. It was fairly plodding. But then the third act, when the family has finally arrived at their mother's home, made for splendid and enjoyable reading. All the parts and pieces laid out earlier in the book came together perfectly.
Things may have wrapped up a little too quickly and neatly but it was immensely enjoyable in the end.
December 11, 2008
Ah Streatfeild. This book is an excellent example of why she is best at children's fiction. While this one is intended for adults and deals with more mature issues, she still tends to concentrate on the childhoods and write in a nicely simple way, suitably tying up all the loose ends in a satisfactory way.
This book has a bit of head hopping between some of the major family members, and I understand the need for it to get us some of the backstory for each of our characters, but the heart of the story is really about the family visit and it takes a bit of time to get there. The archetypal Steatfeild characters are here, but watered down in this format. I enjoyed this book, but it is not one of her finest, and I wouldn't necessarily suggest it for any but the most devoted Streatfeild completists.
This book has a bit of head hopping between some of the major family members, and I understand the need for it to get us some of the backstory for each of our characters, but the heart of the story is really about the family visit and it takes a bit of time to get there. The archetypal Steatfeild characters are here, but watered down in this format. I enjoyed this book, but it is not one of her finest, and I wouldn't necessarily suggest it for any but the most devoted Streatfeild completists.
January 27, 2022
Anna Caldwell looks forward every year to receiving presents from her children for Mothering Sunday, a tradition they have kept up since childhood. But this year, to her disappointment, no presents arrive with the Saturday post. This is because her children have all decided that they are going to visit her, which is the last thing she wants, she has a particular reason for wanting to be left alone. The story is told from the point of view of Anna, her various children and grandchildren, and assorted other characters. I found all of them interesting, I particularly liked Anna’s next door neighbour, Mr Pickering, with his garden adorned with a fantastic collection of garden gnomes, fairies, rabbits, and other such delights - a man after my own heart. The story is quite gripping though the ending is surprisingly tame, I thought it was going to be much more dramatic.
August 12, 2024
Great cozy-adjacent read. Slightly more sad things than something firmly in the genre would have. Mostly from people looking back at their childhood and seeing the ways parents failed and siblings coped. But all good hearted people treated with sympathy and some excellent growth to the characters. Food for thought as well as comforting and entirely readable.
October 15, 2012
This book doesn't measure up to Streatfeild's books for children; though the children here are the most vivid characters, the plot is extremely slight, and the adult characters are all a bit one-dimensional. The story involves a group of grown children who are worried about their mother and her apparently sudden changes in behavior, and their solution is to descend upon her on "Mothering Sunday." There are far too many characters, and almost every one of them has a problem that needs to be solved by the end of the story. This leads to a lot of hasty story-telling and quickly wrapped-up plot threads, and the novel winds up being fairly unsatisfying. Streatfeild can be a wonderful writer, and the characters of Virginia and Peter, both children, really stand out here; she's still best at portraying kids and telling their stories.
An okay read but mostly for Streatfeild completists.
An okay read but mostly for Streatfeild completists.
October 21, 2008
I took advantage of free ILL my last few sememsters at university to read all of the Streatfeild adult novels I could find -- and this was one of the two I couldn't make myself finish. I simply couldn't find anyone to sympathise with; neither the eldery mother nor her emotionally troubled children seemed quite real to me. I don't think Streatfeild was at her best writing adult family sagas; she envisions people as interestingly emotionally damaged, but doesn't seem to have a coherent sense of how they end up that way, so it was hard to connect the flashbacks to childhood of the various characters with the adults they'd become. Maybe if I'd finished it things would have all made sense, but as it was I let it go back to the library with a sense of great relief.
December 7, 2022
This is the third book I've read with the title Mothering Sunday-all three written by British authors. This was my favorite. Copyright 1950. This is a study of a family and relationships. Just the sort of low key British fiction I enjoy. This was not available here and I ordered a copy that came from the UK. The condition of the book was in rough shape but very readable.
April 1, 2022
This is a lovely old fashioned tale. Lots of wonderful characters! I love these books with nice sweet tidy endings! I was familiar with Noel Streatfeild's children's books. This is the first time I've read one for adults. It was a real pleasure!
December 28, 2017
Unreadable to a modern reader.
April 17, 2019
3.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews