Hardacre

Hardacre #1

by C.L. Skelton

1976, hardcover edition, Dial Press, NY. 406 pages. Family saga, ranging in time from the 1880's and the years following World War II. The author was an actor, a director of motion pictures, a part of the active Flying Service throughout the entire second World War, and--to top things off--was a monk.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Drama, Audiobook, British Literature

406 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

(1919 - 1979), C.L. (Clement Lister) Skelton's varied career included stage and film acting, war service in the RAF, seven years as a lay brother with a religious order, hunting the Loch Ness monster and selling insurance and brushes door-to-door in the Scottish Highlands.

Reviews

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

First published in 1977, this family saga is a treasure and reminds me of many other great works in this genre. Very enjoyable and heartwarming read. Sam and Mary and their family members are great, memorable characters, and the author brings their human struggles beautifully to life. Highly recommended.

[Anna]

DNF. I'm giving up at 17%. Where to start on why I can't read any more? I know that dialect changes with time and location, but having characters say thee, thou, tha', thy, thine, yon and dost in every single sodding sentence is beyond irritating.

And as for the characters themselves, there's no warmth, no depth, no soul. Their impossibly silky smooth rags to riches story was almost over at the point of me giving up; where were their struggles, their emotions? Where was the build up, the parts where we're rooting for them, the parts where we care? Where was any bloody interest?

Bland, two dimensional, tedious crap. Sent back to Kindle for a refund.

[Peggyzbooksnmusic · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was originally published in the late 1970's. The beginning of this novel really pulled me into the story and 2 main characters set during Victorian England. Sam Hardacre is a hard working fish gutter. He marries Mary, a poor street urchin, and they begin their new life with little prospects. But Sam is able to see that he can make a better life for them by setting up small shops. This leads to their "rags to riches" story. I felt the author developed Sam and Mary's personalities and fleshed them out to be characters that the reader can become emotionally attached to. Unfortunately, the last 50% of the novel was a letdown. By the end of the novel it was 1950 and I felt that the author skipped fleshing out all of the additional characters and tried to cram to much history into 500 pages. There is a sequel, Hardacre's Luck, which I'm reading next. Hoping for better character development!

[Kira · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, this book felt more like a family biography than a novel. The story simply glides along through almost a century, avoiding conflict at every turn. It became increasingly frustrating, and the characters felt increasingly 2D. These people are living through the greatest events of the early 20th century, and yet the story felt . . . Dull. I just wish that the author had taken more time to develop the characters rather than dwell on the process of coaling a ship or flying a plane. So many of the characters had so much potential but it floundered in the face of a largely uncompelling narrative. It really is a shame, because there were so many opportunities to introduce the conflict this book so needed, whether on a personal level or a greater social/economic/political level. But instead, the story just bobs along like a duck on a pond, all the action happening out of the reader's view. Disappointing.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was OK. The Hardacre family goes from very poor to wealthy very quickly and Sam just keeps making money. It was a little hard to take. The characters were a little one-dimensional too. Not a waste of time, but don't think I will bother with the next edition.

[CLM · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gripping family saga that begins in 1885 Yorkshire. My review:

https://perfectretort.blogspot.com/20...

[Christine Cazeneuve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful Story

You will get swept up in this story of the Hardacre family. From their humble beginnings to the failures and rewards as they rise up in the world. Admirably developed characters, sweeping landscapes and historically accurate events woven in make this a most enjoyable read. The Yorkshire accent of the Hardacre patriarch and matriarch are a bit difficult to decipher but it only enhances the veracity of this book. This book is book one of a series.

[Lenka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Začátek mě nadchnul, čtivě napsaná sága o rodině, která se z chudoby vyšvihne nahoru. Od půlky jsem byla víc a víc zklamaná, knize se přihodí to, co mnohým podobným. Strašně zrychlí. Jednotlivé příběhy se šidí, nové postavy se neprokleslují, čas skáče rychle dopředu. Je to dost škoda. Na druhou stranu by z toho šel udělat skvělý seriál.

[Deborah Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the historical context. Lovely characters and whilst the storyline was safe and a bit predictable it was enjoyable.

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a hard book to rate.

I love long-winded family sagas and this story starts in the 1880s and ends after WW2.
I hate overlong war dramas and descriptions about war, and this novel gave a good sense of both WW (plus the Boer War) without dwelling too much over either.

But then again, it never dwelled much over anything.

As other reviewers have pointed out, the first part of the novel draws you in and really makes you care for and admire Sam and Mary and their lucky business acumen. You wish for them to succeed and they do. Time and again. With no itch whatsoever. I actually enjoyed every bit of good fortune that came their way, because they are lovely characters and you can’t help but wish them well, but I also came to see it as a little implausible that they’d become so wealthy so quickly, without a single day of bad luck or a single bad business decision.
Once the family started expanding, though, my grip on the characters relented. I still loved Sam and Mary and the three wars, one single non-war related tragedy, plus the 1929 economic crisis helped even out the family’s luck. But as the cast grew I felt like much less time was spent in building each character and, as a result, I cared much less about them. The twins were the only interesting ones, but that’s probably because they reminded me of the Fred and George Weasley.

The writing style is episodic and often a few years have passed between one paragraph and the next. It doesn’t take long for each individual episode, crisis or piece of news to get resolved, then it’s on to the next episode, or character, or phase of life. New characters are introduced only as fleeting business partners or if they’re meant to join the family. There’s no romantic tension to speak of: with only one exception, as soon as a member of the family interacts with someone of the opposite gender you know that’s the person they’re going to marry. Also, they all get along jolly well except one set of in-laws, Joe, and Helen.
Actually, let’s talk about Joe and Helen. What was their story arc? I was really confused about them. In the first part of the novel, it was sometimes mentioned that Joe and Sam didn’t often see eye-to-eye. In the second part, Joe’s grown, him and Sam fight, he leaves for the States and comes back a rich man and married to Helen, a woman who used to whore herself out and whom he meets on the ship to New York. We witness their first and second encounter, they seem to hit it off rather well, then we learn they’ve married and had two children offscreen. Next thing we know, Joe comes and goes a few times with hardly any meaningful interaction other than building planes, and Helen exists just to be snobbish and insufferable to everyone in the family, including her own children. Why? She was nothing before Joe picked her up, and Sam and Mary were probably above her in class standing even back when he was a guttie. Why would the author bother to make their meeting on the boat at all meaningful if Helen then had to be such a minor annoyance throughout the whole novel, with no explanation as to her characterization? It seems as if these two characters exist only to create three more characters and to help the plot along with some insubstantial family drama.

I’ll read the second novel, nonetheless. I actually appreciated the author’s style more than not and I’m curious to see if any of the surviving characters will become sufficiently fleshed out as to not make me mourn for Sam and Mary. Also, (other)Sam and Terry’s final reveal came very much out of left field, so I’d like to see how that plays out as well.

[TashNz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Updated Review: Love this epic sweeping adventure. I first read it as a teenager and then purchased it a few moons later for my kindle because it is very cheap on Kindle. I still have my original paperback. It was my holiday book of choice when I recently went to Australia.

Sam and Mary are husband and wife, Sam is a hardworking fish guttie at the fish markets in England. Dirt poor. Due to his entreprenural skills they slowly move from rags to riches. Hardacre tells the story of Sam, Mary, their kids and their kids kids in three "book" chapters. Starting from the 1800s and moving into the 1900s up until the end of the second world war and touching on the 1950s.

Loved it and look forward to reading the 2nd book that's been published.

___

Read this when I was a teenager (many many moons ago) and it's stayed on my bookshelf since because it always reminds me of my once, long ago, love for family generations novels. I am delighted to learn on Goodreads there are more books.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book! It’s a bit predictable & not very original but it’s written well & is pleasing in it’s twists & turns. The story of one man who starts with absolutely nothing & builds an empire, finding love along the way. The main protagonist, Sam Hardacre, is a determined hardworking & principled individual who you can’t help but admire. It reminded me if The Forsyth Saga!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great family saga, very Catherine Cookson-esque. I loved following the lives of the Hardacre family - I was disappointed that it didn't continue until the present day until I saw it was published in 1975! Delighted to see that the sequel is coming to the kindle next week.

[Lesyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This family !!!

You have got to just love this family. It truly is a rags to riches story. Mary is a blast, Joe, Sam and Harry are well developed characters. Now that's enough from me, you have to read it in order to enjoy it.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A family saga of rags to riches

A wonderful story about a family pulling themselves up from poverty to a gentrified life. Spanning two world wars and the sorrows they wrought, the story is warm with old fashioned values and a myriad of unique family members.

[Helene Gallaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this about a million years ago and loved it. Wonder if it would seem as good today?

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Im sorry to say I gave up. The story was tedious.
It started off well with Sam & Mary & their two boys struggling with the little they had but Sam's rise to a vast fortune in a matter of pages was unrealistic. Buying business after business without any storyline.
There was no defined protagonist.
Mary was far too polite in her new mansion and provided no strength of character considering her background and she had no real role to play.
The boys went to private school and we had some random section on their first day. Next pages they were on the verge of leaving
A Countess appeared from nowhere with plans to get the family on the social calender & Sam played along. His character would have had no interest but would have contacts through business dealings anyway.
Mary was on the sidelines, playing host but again no conflicts appeared in preparation or the event.
I gave up when one of the sons went to Oxford and we had descriptions of student rooms. My interest in anything the family did after that, waned.
Not a family saga. No depth, no real characters, no drama, no actual anything.

[Adri Dosi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tahle kniha není zrovna věc, kterou byste přečetli během jednoho dne. Určitě s ní i dost lidí praští, protože na ni nebude mít dostatek trpělivosti. Je to inu sága a je proto taková pomalejší, vrstevnatá a poměrně náročná. Ne, že by byla nějak komplikovaně napsaná, ale je to prostě příběh jedné stovky let zhruba a spousty lidí. Jednotlivé příběhy přichází a vytváří jeden krásný celek s hloubkou. Kniha vyšla poprvé v roce 1976 a je to znát, že jde o knihu, která vznikla v jiné době. Má zcela odlišný styl obálky od původní, ale je to hodně pěkná obálka, výstižnější.
Příběh je o rodině. O touze mít se dobře. O touze mít domov. A poznání v čem to všechno spočívá. Že to je v něčem jiném, než by se zdálo. Je to pěkný příběh, kdy se člověk může ze dna dostat na vrchol a pak zase pěkně dolů. Je to o životě, který je i o bolesti a ztrátách.
Kniha má ohromnou přidanou hodnotu. Jen ji tedy musíte najít.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It could be five stars but I hate it when books make me cry. When people seem real, then die, even of old age...it's too sad. I started this as an audio book with Justine Eyre reading. I've never heard a more talented reader/actor. At a certain point I had to switch to reading myself so that I could control my emotions. I will probably read this one more than once which should qualify it for a five but it will probably make me cry again. I can't forgive that.
This is a rags to riches story involving the Hardacre family headed by Sam, a fish gutter. One day he cuts his thumb and has to take a day off. That is when an idea comes to him. This is about the twists and turns of life involving the different personalities that make up a family. It made me feel too much. :(

[Cheryl Schlesinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mini series kind of book

I enjoyed this book like I would enjoy a family saga mini series. Easy read, although long (500 plus pages) that begins in the1880’s through the Industrial Revolution, 3 wars (the Boars War, WWI, WWII), and the impact to the Hardacre Family as Sam, the patriarch, brings his poverty stricken family into unimaginable wealth. My one dislike was the author wrote extremely descriptive passages in areas that I did not think impacted the story and yet in the parts where tragedy or sorrow occur he touches on what happens without developing the characters and reactions. This is a two book series. I liked it well enough to try book two.

[Florence Buchholz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was retrieved from a library book sale. The price was one dollar. What a buried treasure! Hardacre is the saga of a Yorkshire family who rose from working class subsistence to fabulous wealth. They never did learn the rules of upper class etiquette. Mary and Sam viewed the servants as friends. They sometimes invited the butler to sit for a cup of tea. Sam was generous to a fault. Three wars took their toll on the family. Tragedies were endured. Babies were born into what became a dynasty. Eventually times changed and even wealthy landowners saw their way of life disappearing. It's a lovely, nostalgic, old-fashioned tale.

[Valerie Sheffield]

I enjoyed every minute reading this book. It really is a saga of rags to riches. I had watched the serial on C5 which, in my opinion, did not do justice to the novel. We start with Sam, who is a guttie on the docks of Hull who meets and marries his lovely Mary. Sam is ambitious but not in a nasty way, He and Mary work hard to achieve their success. The storyline follows their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren through two world wars through births and deaths. I was sad to reach what I thought was the end but delighted to see there is another series starting in the 1950’s and I can’t wait to start reading it.

[Cheryl-Smith Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am giving this book a solid 5 stars because it was engaging, exciting and authentic. I must admit I am slightly biased because I know of the author and went to high school with the girl who became his wife. CL Skelton had a rich and varied life and although I never met him personally, his wife’s stories about him reflect the warmth and directness he gave to his characters.
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and if you have a love for these exciting stories, I highly recommend HARDACRE. I fully intend to read the sequel, HARDACRE LUCK so I can continue to revel the story of this remarkable family.

[Smeakin2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok. I quite liked the beginning but it felt like the plot line for two books edited into one. There was quite a decent amount of detail about Sam and Mary but post that, you didn’t get to know any of the new characters. They felt quite one dimensional, and you didn’t really understand their motivations or what drove them. It skipped too quickly through people’s lives - born, quick story from youth, meet partner in unusual tale, have children, begin again with children.

If the characterisation had been improved I think this would’ve been quite a good book

[Kim Humphrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

The first part of this book was so attention grabbing. The characters were really fleshed out and I came to really care about them and what happened to them. From gutting fish on the quay to a fabulous mansion called Hardacres. The story is worth reading for Sam and Mary's story alone. But as the story ages and the family grows, I felt less connected to the characters and had trouble keeping up with who was who. That kept it from being 5 stars for me. It is well worth reading as a family saga.

[michele thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Moving Saga

I really liked the book and found it touching and moving. The author drew you in and made you part of the Hardacre family. The principal characters were over all real and developed. Mary was the least affected by all the wealth and managed to still appreciate aspects of their former life. In her own way she was a reminder of what really mattered.

My only difficulty was in keeping the many characters straight which is hard to do in a multi-generational story.

[Corrina Howland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decided to read this book before watching the television series
Throughly enjoyed this rags to riches story as it went through time.
I feel there was a lot packed in to the story that could’ve been broken down in to a couple of books and could’ve went in to more detail in some parts.
However the story was easy to follow with likeable characters
Looking forward to reading the next book Hardacres Luck

[Gill Appleyard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not my normal reading genre but I’d seen the series so decided to give the books a try. I’m so pleased I did.
Other than some names and the general settings being the same, they bare little resemblance to the tv series but that didn’t matter as the books were so much better, as is often the case.
The characters were much more developed and you got to know theme over the two books.
I’d definitely read more by this author.

[Patrick Barry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Randomly came across the TV series on the UK's Channel 5 that I enjoyed so I had a look at the novel. It turned out the TV show roughly covered the first quarter of the novel and the characters were very different.

If the novel had focused on the first two generations it would have been better but covering 65 years in 570ish pages meant many time jumps and not really getting to know/care about characters in the later stages of the novel.

[Shelly Boltz-Zito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Heart wrenching, gut wrenching, tears come thru, what a wonderful story. I loved it!! Everyone should read this book. From the trials of Sam and Mary Hardacre thru their family saga, ups and downs. There are parts that bring smiles and there are times I cried with shock. What a great book!