Tenthragon

by Constance Savery

Tenthragon, Constance Savery's first novel, is unusual in that the central character is a boy of seven, yet the psychology and treatment put the book completely in the adult class. It is unusual, moreover, in that Miss Savery possesses an uncanny knowledge of a child's ways and his reaction to adult cruelty and stupidity. Patric Tenthragon, comes to Thragoness, a house of hate, where lives his two cousins, one of whom is an austere bachelor, and the other a hunchback.
Paddy falls prey to all sorts of imaginary horrors, and is unable to lead a normal boy's life to the dismay and bewilderment of his stern relative. Paddy has the most exciting and terrifying adventures. In the end he comes to know the secret of the gloomy old house, and is freed from its dread.

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1929

About the author

Born in 1897, in All Saints' Vicarage in Froxfield, Wiltshire, Constance Winifred Savery was the daughter of the Rev. John Manly Savery, and his wife, Constance Eleanor Harbord Savery. The family moved to Birmingham when she was nine years old, and Savery was educated there, at King Edward VI High School for Girls. She went on to Somerville College, Oxford, where she studied English, and was in the first cohort of woman students to be granted degrees, in 1920. She earned a Post-Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education from Birmingham University, and M.A. from Oxford in 1927, and taught briefly (and unhappily), before her mother's death necessitated a return to her father's household in Middleton-cum-Fordley, Suffolk, where she helped him with the parish work.

Savery never returned to teaching, earning her living from then on by writing. She published close to fifty books, and numerous short stories and articles, all informed by her deep Christian (Anglican) faith. She died in 1999.

Reviews

[Mary Herceg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished Constance Savery's Tenthragon today. It's everything I wanted in a book by my favorite classic author.

It has so many elements that are familiar to me from her other books, yet they are mixed together in a different way. Reading a Constance Savery book feels like returning to a comforting home. Her books and her style suit me and my taste like no other. This book, more than any that I've read, had elements of each of the many Savery books I've read during the last two decades, yet it was unique.

Tenthragon is for adults rather than children, unlike most of the author's books, so it deals with deeper and darker topics. (Her upper middle grade books are deep as well.) I suppose I can see why it is marketed as psychological horror, though I don't think it's severe enough to be marked as being of the horror genre. The horror comes from simple humanity.

I loved the boy protagonist, Paddy, so much. He was so good and sweet but had realistic struggles. I sympathized with him when he was caught in a terrible situation with no way out for many months. The child's point of view was such an interesting way of telling the story.

And the other central characters were fascinating. One of the main characters reminded me of Dym from Enemy Brothers (my favorite Savery book), if Dym had been raised differently. I have often wondered who Constance Savery knew in her childhood that influenced her to write certain kinds of young men in her books, usually a beloved cousin or brother, sometimes good and sometimes witty and wicked.

The setting was so interesting...the house of dark corridors and forbidden doors, surrounded by a silent, sunny garden straight out of a fairy tale.

The atmosphere of magic, fairy tales, and legends was so interesting...haunting and beautiful and spellbinding. The book was always grounded in reality, but the main character's imagination and education led him to spin tales for himself. There are many metaphors and similes comparing situations and characters to fairy tales, including one particularly apt reference to "Beauty and the Beast."

The mystery and intrigue had me riveted throughout the book. Around the one-third mark, there were some particularly interesting developments, though I didn't fully understand them at first. I didn't want to put the book down. I kept reading to find out the answers and secrets that were slowly revealed, putting together the boggling puzzle of names and events and people and experiences that were hidden and hinted.

I was caught in the grip of the emotion during so many parts. There were many points when I wanted to cry and when my eyes were wet. At one point, after the worst of the conflict was over and peace had come, I finally put the book down and sobbed. I think it was partly from relief and mostly because the difficult things all of the characters had experienced reminded me of the most painful parts of my childhood.

There was one character I both hated and loved for most of the book. Their behavior shocked and outraged me sometimes, but I wanted the best for them, and I was waiting for the journey of healing and resolution that I knew would come. I know Constance Savery and her style of writing, and I know that forgiveness wins out in all her books, even in the most awful of situations. This was no exception. Though there were dark elements in this book, it was still hopeful.

I think the only thing I wished to change was the very end. It ended so abruptly, with such interesting, excellent writing choices. But I would have preferred it if Paddy could somehow have gone on living with the same guardian as before. I hope he and the other main characters find happiness after the end of the book. I care about them so much.

Tenthragon is now in the public domain, since it was published in 1925, but I was able to get a library copy from OCLC.

I highly recommend Tenthragon to fans of Constance Savery or 20th century classic fiction. I'm so glad I read it. It was a dream come true for me after a lifetime of loving Savery's books.

Content Warning: This book is a realistic portrayal of abuse and the cycle of abuse. However, it also portrays healing from abuse.

[Tiuri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tenthragon is exquisitely thought out, eerie, and complex. All this you can sense from the first chapter, and you are inexorably drawn in as the plot grows deeper and deeper. The narrative is extremely potent, it ignites your imagination and rather drags you along, half unwilling in expectant horror, and half enthralled in a thrill of suspense.
This is what literature is. What it used to be.
Engrossing, emotional, tantalizing. Filled with heroes, villains, and a mix of both. Innocent children, mysterious pasts. Grim and soft. The book leaves you tied up with nerves and yet with a sentimental tear in your eye. I will never forget Brendon or Paddy. But most of all, the vision of poor twisted, conflicted Hugh Tenthragon will stay with me.
This is not the kind of story you forget.