Guard Your Daughters

by Diana Tutton

Guard Your Daughters by Diana Tutton is a 1953 novel about a family of five daughters living in the country – or rather four daughters since one has recently escaped by marrying and it is Morgan, Cressida, Teresa and Thisbe who are still at home with their parents. Their mother stops her daughters going to school or making friends. But because she tends to make scenes or retire to bed, her family do all they can to avoid defying or upsetting her; yet they do so in a continually light-hearted, cheerful fashion.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, 20th Century, Modern Classics, British Literature, Historical Fiction, Book Club

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

Diana Tutton was born Dinah Godfrey-Faussett-Osborne, the youngest of four daughters. She was brought up at Pipe Hill House, Lichfield, and on the family estate in Kent.

She married Captain John Tutton during the Second World War. They lived in Kenya for three years and in Malaya for two three-year stints, otherwise living in England. They had two daughters. She wrote three novels, all published during the 1950s.

Reviews

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bittersweet coming-of-age novel, Guard Your Daughters, is an outstanding study of a family, post World War two, who are stuck in the past. The daughters, there are five, in the title are lovely, kind (mostly) and well-read. The parents are fairly odd. The title is a hint to the bitter in the sweet.

Narrated by one of the middle daughters, Morgan, all the girls have fanciful, literary names. Morgan is a happy-go-lucky eighteen year old with a penchant for smoothing over the waters and trying to make everyone get along. All the girls are young adults, except for Teresa who has the only "normal" name. She is twelve. Pandora, the eldest, has strangely been allowed to leave the nest and get married. The others wonder why this is so when they are guarded so closely by both parents. Their mother is the chief gatekeeper and their father acquiesces to all her demands. All this is done in a way in which the children also are left in a state of perpetual girlhood.

They know it's not a normal way of living, but are content for the most part, until there is a tug at the string that makes it all fall apart.

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved spending time with these sisters, they were so entertaining, their characters interesting and all so different. The writing has a great sense of humour, the relationships are so well observed. The story is narrated by Morgan, and begins shortly after her sister Pandora escapes home to begin married life. Although mummy is controlling to the extreme, their family life and the relationships between the sisters are lovely, so close but not without usual sibling problems. If only mummy could get over whatever the problem was this could have been a really nice place to grow up. The first half of the book was stronger I felt, I hugely enjoyed the girls adventures but the hints towards what mummy's problem really was, made me think it was much more dramatic than it turned out to be, a genetic problem or some dark family secret rather than just mummy was an extreme worrier and used to getting her way however the rest was just so good it didn't affect my enjoyment that I found the plot a slight anticlimax.

[Tania · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming (with some rather dark undertones) novel of an interesting family.
There are 5 daughters, all very different, Thisbe is the Poet, Morgan, our narrator, a musician with quite an imagination, Cressida is the conventional one and Teresa, the youngest, is the romantic one with her head in a book. The last one, Pandora has got married and moved out. Their father is a very successful detective novelist and their mother is seen as delicate and very protective of her daughters, wanting to keep them close and keep outsiders away from them. They live an unconventional life and have very little contact with the outside world. This starts to change slowly with the arrival of a stranger in the first chapter and with a visit from Pandora. Once the family is seen through their eyes, the sisters start to realise just how odd their family really is.
Ostensibly, this is a fairly frothy comedy, but towards the end it gets somewhat darker and has a bittersweet ending. I loved reading about the family and watching them try to break out a bit, without upsetting their Mother too much. I'm sure I will revisit them many times.

[Antoinette · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting, unique dissection of a family- the Harvey’s. On the surface they are a warm, loving group. Five sisters who live for the most part in harmony. They live with their parents in the country, quite secluded from any neighbors. But why have they never gone to school? Why don’t they associate with anyone but themselves?

After the eldest, Pandora, marries and moves away and then a stranger comes into their lives, a crack develops in what seems a perfectly content group.

Our narrator is Morgan, the third oldest. Through her we get to meet and get to know all the sisters. Pandora is 22 years old and the oldest. She has married and moved away but worries about her sisters’ isolation. Thisbe is the second born- she is the poet and the best straight talker. Morgan, our narrator is third and she is the pianist. The fourth is Cressida and she loves to cook and bake and tend the garden. The youngest is Teresa, the baby at 15 years of age. She is the reader.

There is not much of a plot to this book. It is a character driven novel. The primary focus of the sisters’ lives is their mother- a mother who feels her daughters are only safe if they stay at home close to her.

A totally engaging novel! This is a reprint from Persephone books and I have never been disappointed by any of their books.

Published: 1953

[Evie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I'm very fond of my new friends, but I do get angry when they tell me how dull my life must have been before I came to London. We were queer, I suppose, and restricted, and we used to fret and grumble, but the one thing our sort of family doesn't suffer from is boredom." —Morgan

So Morgan Harvey sets about describing the idyllic life of her family of five sisters in the English countryside. Dad's an author, and Mom's a sensitive beauty who everyone handles with kid gloves. Everything seems much like it's been plucked from Pride and Prejudice, as the girls are at turns reserved, spunky, and opinionated. However, when the eldest of the Miss Harveys marries, she realizes just how odd and secluded her family really is, and attempts to stir things so that the girls (who are of marriageable age) get out to meet future husbands and make friends, like normal people do. The repercussions are both hilarious and a bit sad. Hmm.

This reminded me of so many good books I've read. I love reading about the insular lives of a household, especially sisters that are close in age. It's why I love Little Women, The Makioka Sisters, Pride and Prejudice, and I Capture the Castle. Also why I know I'll love Nancy Mitford when I finally read her! I might also add, that it's what fascinated me about The Virgin Suicides, but also left me frustrated. I feel like had Eugenides included the reader in the lives of that set of sisters, I would have been more inclined to love it.

There's one particular bathroom scene that just warmed my heart. All the sisters are reunited, including the recently married, Pandora, and as they prepare for bed, they all take turns drawing baths, brushing their teeth, combing their hair, and catching up on each other's lives in a much practiced routine. It was such a sweet scene. I was prompted to draw a bath for myself afterwards, which I haven't done in ages, as I much prefer a shower. I wish I could jump into another book in this same thread...and if it's set in the 50s, like this one was, even better! So after a little research, I was referred to The Constant Nymph, which I will definitely be purchasing.

[JimZ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I literally laughed out loud twice while reading this novel (two sittings). Tutton really reminds me of Barbara Comyns, although Comyns can be really dark with some of her books. I do not know who recommended this book to me or how I got wind of it, so I went into this book with no preconceptions whatsoever.

For most of the book I was not aware there was a serious semi-disturbing undercurrent to what was going on. The denouement revealed that there were some problems with this family. That diminished my enthusiasm for the book just a bit (4.5 stars rather than a full 5). But I must say, I loved this book! 😊 🙂 🙃 😊

This was one of those books, rare for me, in which I did not want it to end.

The family, the Harveys, consisted of:
• A mother (Grace) who seemed to be always sick (it seemed she spent a lot of time in bed)
• A father (Tom)...he was a famous novelist of murder mysteries but was a recluse. He was intensely devoted and protective of his wife.
• 4 daughters, one of which was recently married and the others were still at home. None of them had gone to any school. That did raise a red flag in my head early on....and at times it seems there was not a lot of food in the house.

Daughters were:
• Pandora, mid 20s, married
• Thisbe, 20
• Morgan, the story is told by her in the first-person
• Cressida, 18
• Teresa, the ‘Baby’ of the family

There was a really interesting Afterword to this book. It was a collection of blog remarks and book reviews, including from GoodReads (!), on this book (my edition was a re-issue by Persephone, reprinted this year). It was called ‘a Publisher’s Afterword). A number of reviewers liked the book a lot, but there were also some who did not. And that surprised me.

Note:
This is just a snippet of the writing that made me laugh. An older uncle of theirs had just died. Thisbe and Morgan go out for a walk. They didn’t like him all that much...
• “...Thisbe...confessed to a morbid curiosity that she couldn’t push aside. What did I suppose they did with a person’s false teeth? Would he be buried with them, or would they be given to the poor, or what? We both shuddered over this, and although I didn’t know the answer, Thisbe said she felt better now that she’d told me.”

I suppose reading that cold turkey it doesn’t seem all that funny. But it’s her style of writing...she makes it believable that the sisters say the things they say and think what they think and do what they do (which I found hilarious at times).

So, Persephone has this book available at their website. And I found this interesting nugget on their website for the book: 'Diana Tutton wrote a sequel in the late 1950s which, alas, was never published. It was called Unguarded Moments and its setting is London seven years after Mrs Harvey had a total breakdown and all the girls moved out: to freedom and their own lives. Morgan has married and had two children. In this novel, too, there is a dark side: one of her children disappears and is not found for a heart- stopping few hours.'

Reviews:
• https://thecaptivereader.com/2012/12/...
• This reviewer was as enraptured about this book as I was! https://www.stuckinabook.com/guard-yo...
• https://www.bookword.co.uk/guard-your... This review made these observations and I include it hear because other reviewers have also compared this book to ‘I Capture the Castel’ by Dodie Smith. “You can find many more reviews of Guard Your Daughters on book blogs. Some are enthusiastic and others critical. Many of them make comparisons with I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. I think the family is akin to the Bretton family at Quayles in The Wedding Group by Elizabeth Taylor.”
• https://leavesandpages.com/2012/12/13...
• https://jennysbooks.wordpress.com/201...
• http://frisbeewind.blogspot.com/2012/...

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I didn't entirely warm to this 1953 novel about an eccentric family of five sisters living a bizarrely secluded life in rural England, because it seemed to be too much a pale imitation of I Capture the Castle. Halfway through, though I was loving it. Towards the end, I was in a state where I was enjoying it to a degree that I kept feeling a tremendous urge to go on goodreads and read everyone else's reviews and share the happy enthusiasm, but then had to slap my own hands away from the keyboard because so often that way lie spoilers. It's fairly clear what's going to happen at the end from the first sentence, but one doesn't know how. The sisters, in their different ways, are entertaining company, and the dark undercurrent gives the book some ballast. One I'm sure I'll be reading again.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 1950's novel about four sisters ( a fifth recently escaped by marrying) who live in the country with their parents.
They believe themselves to be zany and bohemian and throughout the story there are some very funny descriptions of their life together.
Their father is a successful detective writer and their mother is more or less a recluse who forbids her daughters going to school and making new friends.
Unsuspected at first, there is darker side to this novel which brings the story together at the end.
All the sisters have quirky characters ,which i loved and will remember.
Another great book republished by Persephone Books

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Harvey sisters are unconventional, unschooled and oddly named they have been brought up at quite some distance from the rest of the world. Living with their famous detective writer father, and their fragile mother, they have been one another’s friends – with hardly any experience of people outside their family. Pandora the eldest has recently married and moved away to London – and this change seems to highlight for the sisters the peculiarity of their lives. Our narrator is Morgan, the nineteen year old middle sister, a pianist with a keen imagination. The eldest of the sisters still at home, and next in age to Pandora, is Thisbe, a beautiful and sharply tongued poet. A year younger than Morgan, is eighteen year old Cressida, sensible and domesticated, she seems most keenly aware of the oddities in the Harvey’s existence. The youngest sister is fifteen year old Teresa, romantic and dreamy she is very much the baby of the family.
Coming back to visit her family after her marriage, Pandora fears for her sisters – fears they won’t be able to marry or have lives of their own. Her removal from the family has increased her unease of the way the sisters have been brought up.
“I sighed. I knew where this was heading. Pandora had decided in her own gentle and inexorable way that poor Teresa ought to be at school. It was shame, I thought. I said: “Dearest, being married is making you very conventional. You never used to worry about our education.”
“I didn’t realise quite what anachronisms we all were. It’s so extraordinary that you all submit to this – this captivity.”
“But we’re all frightfully happy,” I said. “I can’t see that it matters. Have you talked to Thisbe like this?”
“Yes last night. She came back into my bedroom. She agrees.”
With their parents existing very much in the background, the five sisters have made their own entertainment and learnt to look after themselves and one another really very well. Their father divides his time between his writing and his wife, who he dances attendance upon constantly ensuring she is not upset. This fragile absent mother is a strange character, at first she appears merely cosseted and spoilt, her husband and daughters adoring her without question. The sisters have been sheltered from the world to a ridiculous degree, but when two seemingly eligible young men come into the sisters lives; their lack of social experience becomes obvious. However there are darker undercurrents to this unconventional household. Throughout this novel, woven into the humorous and charming story of the relationship between five sisters – there is a definite shadow. For me there was always something unexplained, remaining unspoken till the end. This element is brilliantly done, well plotted it adds something quite special to what could have been a fairly ordinary story. Yet the story is not ordinary, it’s heart-warming, funny and memorable, and the final twist utterly brilliant.
Guard Your Daughters is in many ways very like Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle – a book which I have read twice, loved, and which continues to enjoy huge popularity. Diana Tutton’s first novel was published just a few years after I Capture the Castle, and in it, she appears to refer to the earlier novel in a scene about dressing for a cocktail party at the house of the local gentry. I think that Guard your Daughters is every bit as good as I capture the Castle and it is very surprising to me that it remains out of print. It is understandable that there are comparisons made between the two novels, Guard your Daughters has a similar feel to I Capture the Castle, it is a heart-warming nostalgic type novel. It is certainly the type of novel I can imagine re-reading, wanting to meet those sisters again and again. I do think, however, that Guard your Daughters has something more serious to say than I Capture the Castle. Tutton understands her characters beautifully; the gradual unravelling of the past and the motivations and consequences of the Harvey parents is possibly what sets it apart. I am so very glad I have had a chance to read this novel, and must thank Kerry from librarything again, for sending it to me.

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading Dominika's review of this book I knew I had to try it! Guard Your Daughters has shades of Pride and Prejudice and Little Women (Tutton references both) but in a household with two involved parents, one of whom is a mystery novelist and one of whom is mentally ill. (Technically this is a spoiler, but I could tell right off the bat, and "nerves" just isn't enough of a descriptor for 21st-century eyes.)

I liked the sense of mundane life, the five sisters and their highly individual personalities, the glimpse of society by sheltered but not foolish young women, and the way Tutton wrapped things up at the end. It was rather sad for me to see how the girls mothered their own mother, yet how much power she exerted over them. Not in a domineering way, even, just being Mom means everything you say carries more weight. Yet, Tutton is a strong writer with a powerful sense of her characters' personalities and I enjoyed turning over the book in my mind between readings.

The title Guard Your Daughters reminded me of Frederick Ashton's "sunny English ballet," La Fille Mal Gardée (it can be translated as The Wayward Daughter or The Badly Guarded Girl, but the title is usually left untranslated). It has some iconic dances, including a pas de ruban and a clog dance. Ashton's version was staged in 1960, so I can imagine the freed Harvey girls enjoying a day at Covent Garden, or perhaps watching the television broadcast on Christmas in 1962.

Content warning: while I do not believe there was any intentional abuse going on in the Harvey household, the story does have the sense of walking on eggshells that might be challenging to some readers. If you grew up with a mentally ill parent or in a restrictive household, you'll either find Guard Your Daughters triggering or cathartic, probably both--the only way to find out is to read!

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

At long last I have acquired and read this! I knew I had to the moment I saw it compared to I Capture the Castle (aka my favourite book). I definitely agree with that comparison, but Guard Your Daughters has a heart and melancholy all its own. (Hidden under a layer of insouciance and humor, of course.)

The Harvey sisters instantly felt familiar. They reminded me of their various literary predecessors and actual sisters I've known, yet they were undoubtedly unique. I haven't felt so at-home reading a book in a long time. I do wish I could go back in time and give this to my teenage self. She would also love it.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! I want to mull it over before I write more though, let it soak in. Thank you to Dominika for the push to read it!

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

The five Harvey sisters (or four, now that the eldest is married) live an isolated life with their well-known writer father and their beloved sensitive mother in the English countryside. They have a lot of freedom in some ways--they can read whatever they like and discuss any topic, however 'shocking'--but they don't get to have friends or go to school or have any kind of life outside the family.

The book starts off very light and funny, with nods to 'Pride and Prejudice' and the Mitford sisters, but slowly develops into something much darker. Not just in relation to the parents--all the family members seem to have a troubled underside that comes out slowly.

For example I loved the narrator, Morgan, the middle sister, at first, but as she started to come out of that little family bubble I realised how snobbish and judgmental she was. I'm not sure if this was intended or if it's just the view from 65 years later. Either way it works as part of a story that brings out the way that we take our family dynamics for granted as children but start to question them, sometimes with a shock, as we grow up. But for this family it happens later than most.

[Dominika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd be hesitant about whom I'd recommend this to, but it was a novel that felt like it was written for me personally. I can see it not being most people's cup of tea. And yet, to keep the metaphor going, it was not only my cup of tea, it was my favorite tea blend, steeped the right amount of time, and served up at the perfect temp.

A cosy, slightly strange story that has me ruminating nonstop about parenting and what children really need to grow up as flourishing adults.

And yet again, another book for which I can picture a gorgeous film adaptation. Where's my pile of money and connections to make that happen?

[Kansas · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Tengo mucho cariño a mis nuevos amigos, pero no puedo dejar de enfadarme cuando me dicen que mi vida tenía que ser de lo más soso antes de mudarme a Londres. Supongo que éramos extravagante, y reservados, y trajinar y refunfuñar eran el pan de cada día, pero si de algo no adolece una familia como la nuestra es de aburrimiento”.

Esta novela tan desconocida de Diana Tutton se centra en torno a las hermanas Harvey, que viven aisladas en algun rincón rural inglés (que creo que no se nombra, no sé) en la década de los 50 bajo la protección de sus padres: una madre pintora y continuamente atacada por crisis nerviosas, y un padre escritor de novelas de misterio de prestigio, bastante ausente mentalmente también. Las cinco hermanas Harvey de alguna forma han tomando las riendas del hogar y aparentemente ni se cuestionan ese aislamiento en el que viven. Y digo aparentemente, porque aunque Morgan, la narradora, no parece cuestionarlo, bajo esa superficie de frescura bucólica hay una especie de bomba de relojeria a punto de explotar.

Siempre he tenido una debilidad especial por las historias donde bajo la aparente capa de divertimento, frescura y vidas perfectas, bullen túneles subterráneos que ponen en evidencia esta capa de familias felices. Nada es lo que parece y Diana Tutton bien se encarga de ir dejando pistas continuamente de ese poso de fragilidad familiar. La voz narrativa de Morgan puede que sea a priori despreocupada y superficial, pero bajo esa voz narrativa tengo que decir que durante toda la lectura tuve la impresión de que había algo sin explicar, algo que podía desencadenarse en cualquier momento, una cierta sorpresa terrorífica que nos iba a matar del susto. Creo que Diana Tutton resuelve muy bien este aspecto en la historia, porque Morgan sin darse cuenta, nos va desvelando que no todo es perfecto, que algo no cuadra y que estas niñas se encuentran demasiado solas frente a la dura realidad: lo que podía haber sido una historia agradable de cinco hermanas monas, deviene en algo más oscuro y traumático.. Viven aisladas, no conocen casi nada del exterior y puede sonar raro que no se rebelen...pero no es tan fácil rebelarse cuando se viven ciertos traumas, y cuando esos traumas crean inseguridad.

Aunque esta novela de Diana Tutton se la compara a Orgullo y Prejuicio, Mujercitas y El castillo soñado, creo que va por libre y profundiza bastante más en ciertos aspectos de lo que puede ser una familia,disfuncial en este caso. En las anteriormente citadas, la felicidad bucólica familiar acaba triunfando (aunque ya conocemos las corrientes subterraneas austenianas irónicas y agudas), sin embargo en “Protege a tus hijas” Diana Tutton habla de la desintegración de una familia paso a paso. No todo dura eternamente y aunque ciertas partes de esta familia, en este caso las hermanas Harvey, luchen con uñas y dientes para conservar el status quo y no desestabilizar a sus padres, hay algo que se va resquebrajando paso a paso. Las Harvey sobre todo parecen obsesionadas con la caza de un marido, pero ya se encarga Diana Tutton de ir dando pinceladas de lo que es en realidad esta caza del marido: una forma de escapar de las cuatro paredes, de conocer gente nueva, de salir de este aislamiento. Y es cuando llegas al final cuando te das cuenta de que es una novela mucho más seria de lo que parece a simple vista, mucho más desoladora y triste.

Tengo que decir que también me ha recordado mucho a esa obra maestra que es El libro de los niños de A.S. Byatt, no tanto en el tema sino en esa fachada de felicidad familiar bajo la que encuentras capas y capas de oscuros túneles. El libro de los niños transcurre en plena época victoriana, y esta novela de Diana Tutton aunque transcurra en la década de los 50, a veces parece también una novela victoriana. Una vez más hay que agradecer a Alba Editorial que desentierre estas joyas escondidas.

https://kansasbooks.blogspot.com/2020...

[Rosemary Atwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gentle, bittersweet and very English coming-of-age novel narrated in the slightly arch and dotty style of Nancy Mitford and Dodie Smith. A lost world. Lovely.

[Lady Drinkwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

What could be better than a book about an eccentric literary family living in a ramshackle house in the country? I loved this book but as I read it I realized that this family of girls were no Little Women.. nobody was going to help poor villagers and this "marmee" wasnt even going to invite the neighbours round for tea. This book has a bitter twist of lemon in it. The girls are snobs, but snobs in a very small society, consisting just of their own family... so they look down on almost everyone who is not exactly like them.. and consider themselves to be extraordinary.. There is an interesting scene where they are at a party and are surprised nobody is paying them any attention.. and wonder if they really are outstanding after all. Although the family did irritate me I personally think that Diane Tutton was being very clever when she wrote this book, she doesn't want us to like this family but to understand them. Guard your Daughters has the air of being a jolly romp like Capture the Castle, but actually there is a dark tinge of psychological drama in it. It is a very thought provoking read.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, the story took a hard left turn at the very end, but that didn't lessen my enjoyment of all that came before. And that ending made what had been a light read much more thought-provoking. Still mulling it over...

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This charming novel is narrated by Morgan Harvey, the middle of 5 sisters, who live an unconventional life with their novelist father and highly strung mother. At first it bears similarities to I Capture the Castle, with its quirky tone and the bohemian lifestyle of children who are alternately left to their own devices and carefully controlled. Over time, however, a darker tone makes itself felt as the girls become increasingly aware of their isolation and make feeble, but dangerous, attempts to break out of the seemingly idyllic family circle.

Diana Tutton shows great skill in the way she creates the unsettling family dynamic, and brings the reader into the thoughts of Morgan. I was by turns enchanted and deeply irritated by the girls, who are intelligent and spirited at times, with a wicked sense of humour, but also frustratingly immature. The youngest girl, Teresa, is particularly infantilised by the whole family - she is 15 but behaves as though she is about 5, and is constantly shielded from life by the others.

This is in many ways a masterclass in the idea of ‘show not tell’. The mother appears rarely and says very little, yet her influence is always present and brought to the forefront by the thoughts of Morgan and how she reports the actions of her father, mother and sisters. The tension builds slowly, interspersed with jolly episodes of family life and some amusing encounters between the girls and people in the ‘outside world’, coming to a satisfying and fitting resolution.

[Maral · Rating 3 out of 5]

#ProtegeATusHijas
#DianaTutton

Libro que desconcierta la mayor parte del tiempo porque es como estar leyendo la idílica vida de cinco hermanas con unos padres que se salen de lo normal no enviando a sus hijas a ninguna escuela, y enseñándoles ellos y entre las hermanas diversas artes. Una especie de secta familiar de la que la hija que lo narra Morgan, no es consciente de nada hasta el final. El problema es que como lectora tu si que ves todo lo que hay todo el rato asi que te pasas medio libro enfadada con la narradora por no ser capaz de ver su realidad al tiempo que tu la estas viendo. Quiero pensar que la autora lo ha hecho con ese firme propósito y lo ha conseguido.

En cuanto al lenguaje narrativo de la autora me han sorprendido varias palabras que no se me adaptan a la época en que ha sido escrita la novela y me chirriaban cada vez que las leía. Entiendo que la autora las ha utilizado como parte del lenguaje adolescente de Morgan pero Morgan no es mucho mayor cuando termina la narración y ese lenguaje es cada vez menos utilizado. Palabras como “ahuecar el ala” “repatea” “la repera” no se si de verdad son vocablos utilizados a mediados del siglo pasado, pero a mi me han sacado de la lectura varias veces.También las palabras cariño resultan soporíferas y la palabra “besito” escuchada de boca de una mujer adulta hacia su padre me ha resultado sumamente infantil. ( Parte de lo que la autora quiso hacer seguramente) Por otro lado la narración es fluida y el humor de Morgan es sencillo, facilón despreocupado, frívolo… aunque a mi me haya costado ver, como se podía tomar con humor la situación tan grave que estaban viviendo. Supongo que la autora ha querido justamente eso que el lector vea una desgracia donde el personaje ve una vida normal. A mi eso me ha resultado difícil de digerir. No me gustan los personajes ingenuos aparentemente tontos. Ha habido capítulos tremendamente aburridos como el del juego de cricket, el de la catequesis y alguno más en el que la historia gira en torno a hacer comidas poner mesas quitar mesas y recoger vajillas y cuberterías… descripciones estéticas hay hasta aburrir porque para Morgan las descripciones y la imaginación de situaciones era muy importante pero en la lectura llegan a cansar.
Supongo que muy recomendable a las personas que se han leido a “mujercitas”, o a “orgullo y prejuicio” y les ha gustado, aunque este libro al final sea algo más interesante que los dos que he mencionado.

[Sonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me ha parecido una novela excepcional.
Se parece a la sinopsis como un huevo a una castaña, por cierto, pero da exactamente lo mismo, porque es una novela realmente buena.
Siempre me han encantado las historias de personajes extraños, excéntricos, peculiares, fuera de lo común. Y aquí tenemos una familia entera de ellos.
Novela costumbrista ambientada en la Inglaterra de justo después de la II Guerra Mundial, nos narra la historia de 5 hermanas, las hermanas Harvey, su padre (un escritor famosísimo de novelas policíacas) y su peculiar madre.
Uno de los grandes aciertos de Tutton es el tono que adapta la narración: un estilo ligero (con algunos pasajes divertidos -aunque no se trata de una obra humorística-), pero que tiene muchas capas subyacentes, algunas de ellas con mucha carga de profundidad de modo que consigue, a la vez que tenerte fascinada con esa familia de bellezas, donde cada hermana es a cual más exótica, que estan acostumbradas a vivir asilvestradas, sin haber ido nunca al colegio ni al instituto, que empieces a pensar que no todo es tan idílico.
Que pasa algo raro, aunque ni ellas mismas sean conscientes, y se las vea felices... y poco a poco logra inquietarte, imbuirte en esa sutil atmósfera opresiva que, como un sónar de un submarino, está ahí, aunque no podamos percibirla a la primera, y que poco a poco se va tornando más asfixiante y se va haciendo más presente.
Otra jugada maestra es que el narrador esté en primera persona y sea una de las hermanas, que a través de pequeñas anécdotas de su día a día, nos muestra la vida de esa genial familia, y de cuya mano, iremos descubriendo lo que realmente pasa allí. De manera brillante Diana Tutton consigue que descubramos conjuntamente con Morgana, la narradora, lo que realmente está sucediendo, y juntamente con ella, vamos analizando los hechos desde otra perspectiva, y vemos cómo una situación, vista desde otra mirada, puede cambiar completamente. Y todo ello sin abandonar en ningún momento el tono ligero y optimista de esta novela.
Porque "Protege a tus hijas", pese a todo, es una novela de buen rollo.
Si a ello añadimos una caracterización de personajes magistral, donde cada hermana tiene voz propia (y los padres y restantes personajes también), y donde el costumbrismo destila cada página... era bastante obvio que iba a caer rendida a sus pies.
La única pega, y es una chorrada, está en una de las notas a pie de página del traductor, donde dice, erróneamente, que las hermnas Bennet, de "Orgullo y Prejuicio" eran cuatro. Nada más lejos de la realidad: al igual que las Harvey de esta novela, las hermanas Bennet eran cinco: Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty y Lydia. Pobre Mary... siempre se olvidan de ella.
Estoy deseando leer las otras dos novelas que escribió Diana Tutton. Con que sean la mitad de buenas que esta me van a gustar seguro. Lástima que no escribiera más.

[Caro · Rating 4 out of 5]

La sinopsis puede llevar a una confusión, decir que se puede leer como una divertida inversión moderna de Orgullo y prejuicio con un toque de Mujercitas, lo que hace pensar en una familia, la de Austen cuyo único fin es casar y bien casar a sus hijas o una familia, Mujercitas, en que la concordia, la afinidad entre todos los miembros de la familia es el eje central de la historia, es desvirtuar el contenido de esta novela.
Está enmarcada varios años despues de terminada la guerra, una familia de clase media adinerada en un medio rural, cinco hijas y unos padres que no están presentes en la formación, educación y desdeñan la vida social a la que podrían tener acceso sin problemas, el padre un escritor de novelas policiacas reconocido y leído, una madre evanescente y ausente y unas hijas que tienen sus particulares formas de pensar, actuar y desarrollarse en lo que mas les gusta, para eso no hay problema, los padres son conscientes de sus gustos y los fomentan, pero la vida social que pueden y deberían llevar teniendo en cuenta que ya están en una edad que les interesa vivir una vida distinta, salir, conocer otras personas, disfrutar de algo tan trivial como el divertirse, cambiar de entorno, eso no, no está permitido, ni siquiera el ir a un internado, colegio o instituto. Todo gira alrededor de la casa y sus habitantes.
Hasta que en un momento todo da un vuelco y la verdad sale a relucir dejando a las hijas desconcertadas y teniendo que empezar de nuevo y olvidar esos años que vivieron casi enclaustradas.
Está narrado en primera persona por una de las hijas, en ese momento la mayor de las que quedan en casa, ya que la primogénita está casada y vive en Londres. Morgan, la narradora, va relatando los años vividos en esa casa llena de incógnitas, silencios, alegrías, enfados, reencuentros y con un final muy bien llevado por la autora ya que hasta los últimos capítulos ni la narradora ni los lectores sabemos muy bien a qué se debe todo lo que ocurre.
Es una historia que tiene muchas formas de lectura, bajo toda la narración hay un debate entre si lo que hacen es lo mejor o es simplemente un egoísmo y amor mal entendido.

[Ruthiella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first heard of this book at http://stuck-in-a-book.blogspot.com/ almost 2 years ago. In his review, Simon remarked, this book is very reminiscent of I Captured the Castle with its insular, eccentric family of sheltered daughters, which made me want to read it. In fact, I think Simon’s high praise and comparison to Dodi Smith’s classic may have set off a minor internet flurry of people buying second hand copies in the UK, as the book is unfortunately out of print. It really begs to be reprinted by some specialized publisher (ooh, I just looked on goodreads and it looks as if it will be republished in July 2014 by Hesperus Press!) and then filmed as a miniseries by Julian Fellows. Many thanks to Greta for procuring me a copy! While reading, I was also reminded a bit of the Alan Bradley Flavia deLuce novels, but maybe that was mostly due to the fanciful first names given to the Harvey girls: Pandora, Thisbe, Morgan and Cressida (youngest Teresa has the conventional name as she was named by her father).

So was this book better that ICTC? In my opinion, no. But it was pretty good if you can get past everyone calling everyone “darling” and the swotting of bottoms which must have been more innocuous and prevalent in the 1950’s than today. The story is a sort of reverse of Pride and Prejudice, in that there are five daughters that the mother doesn’t want to marry off. The book in narrated by 19 year old Morgan. When the eldest daughter Pandora, who actually has married and moved to London, returns for a visit, she colludes with her sisters to circumvent their parents benign neglect so the others can get out in the world and begin their own lives. The results and reactions from their parents are mixed to say the least. However, when a serious family crisis happens, everyone must re-evaluate their future hopes and dreams

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read about this novel in advance of Persephone Press' reprinting, I was very much looking forward to reading it. Having devoured it upon its arrival on my doorstep, I must say, it lives up to its reputation. It was a delight.

On the surface, Guard Your Dughters concerns the Harvey family, and its five daughters. Brought up "eccentrically" - without a telephone, car, or refrigerator, and without attending school -in 1950s England, the Harvey girls enjoy their secluded circumstances and surroundings with an enthusiasm that borders on glee at times. Being exceedingly well- read, their banter and conversation are littered with literary references and quotations, which is especially fun for readers.
Beneath the the quips, cooking, and fresh air and exercise though, lurks an unspoken fear that affects almost every decision the young ladies make. It drives them to unusual lengths, including outright manipulation and social exclusion and avoidance, in order to keep things calm on the surface.

All told, it was a wonderful read, with flashing wit and energy. Knowing the underlying ills, it certainly calls for a second read.

[Ruth Ngobi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A charming enjoyable book set in the 1950's.
The opening paragraph of Chapter 1 says it all ".. We were queer, I suppose, and restricted, and we used to fret and grumble, but the one thing our sort of family doesn't suffer from is boredom".
If one is looking for happy escapism this book offers just that. You enjoy the day to day life of this family of 5 daughters with the most unusual names and who, to their credit, are intelligent, well read and have talents despite no schooling and integration with society. Even the mothers eccentricity which suggested dark undertones came to nought in the end - I have to say I expected the reveal of something deeper and more sinister than a mother who selfishly wanted to keep her children and family to herself and was through the years enabled through manipulation on her part to get away with it!

[Mack · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the things I love about reading, especially books written in the previous century is seeing just how much times have changed. Not a lot happens, daily business of living, the Harvey family live in self-imposed exile, leading an eccentric life, close knit and seemingly well adjusted. I enjoyed this book but I loved and hated the five daughters. The Mothers delicate condition (only one fire lit in a draughty house and it is in her room) and it seemed she got upset at any attempt at independence of the part of her daughters who had never been to school or formed friendships. It had a dark edge, lighthearted but murky. Frequent humourous situations that did make me smile.

[Melanie Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5- Guard Your Daughters was originally published in 1953. I was immediately smitten with the five sisters living in a remote cottage in rural England. Each one is unique in their own way but all share creativity and a smart wit. It's a coming of age story as the sisters begin to realize that their idyllic home has a dark underlying secret. I saw some resemblance to I Capture the Castle, which is one of my favorites. I enjoyed Tutton's novel thoroughly and I highly recommend it!

[Libby Drew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, that was tedious.

[the_wistful_reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 🌟

[Jorge Cienfuegos]

Es un 80% Mujercitas y un 20% de Siempre hemos vivido en el castillo, una mezcla que nunca creí necesitar, pero que me ha encantado. He disfrutado tanto de las partes más costumbristas y la bonita relación entre las hermanas como de los momentos que apuntan a algo oscuro y opresivo que la narradora no acaba de ver. Otra joyita rescatada por Rara avis.