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The Hidden River
This is a story of one family in France after the war, but it is also a story of universal significance. The young Englishman, Adam Hartley, goes back to visit the scene of a war-time friendship with the local Resistance leader. On his way a conversation overheard in an inn arouses him to a shocked realisation that peace has not brought, and cannot bring, the peace of forgetfulness to France. Enmities, bitterness, and vengeance are the aftermath of the Occupation.
"Is it better to cover things up, to stifle suspicion, to rebuild life on foundations which may be rotten? Or is it better to establish the truth, whatever the consequences, to inflict just retribution on those who have done evil, and to avenge the dead? This is the profound problem which Miss Storm Jameson explores through the personalities of this group of fully realised characters. The story, exciting in itself, is told with swift economy. It is very carefully wrought; the best constructed, I think, of all the author’s work."
Veronica Wedgwood in the Broadsheet
Margaret Storm Jameson was an English journalist and author, known for her novels and reviews. Jameson was born in Whitby, Yorkshire, she briefly attended school at the Scarborough Municipal, before studying at the University of Leeds, where there is now a halls of residence named after her. Some of her greatest works include Journey from the North, Company Parade and Cloudless May .
"Is it better to cover things up, to stifle suspicion, to rebuild life on foundations which may be rotten? Or is it better to establish the truth, whatever the consequences, to inflict just retribution on those who have done evil, and to avenge the dead? This is the profound problem which Miss Storm Jameson explores through the personalities of this group of fully realised characters. The story, exciting in itself, is told with swift economy. It is very carefully wrought; the best constructed, I think, of all the author’s work."
Veronica Wedgwood in the Broadsheet
Margaret Storm Jameson was an English journalist and author, known for her novels and reviews. Jameson was born in Whitby, Yorkshire, she briefly attended school at the Scarborough Municipal, before studying at the University of Leeds, where there is now a halls of residence named after her. Some of her greatest works include Journey from the North, Company Parade and Cloudless May .
- GenresFiction
202 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1955
4 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Storm Jameson
79 books23 followersMargaret Storm Jameson was an English writer, known for her 45 novels, and criticism.
Jameson studied at the University of Leeds, later moving to London, where in 1914 she earned an MA from King's College London. She was a teacher before becoming a full-time writer. She married writer Guy Chapman, but continued to publish as Storm Jameson.
From 1939, Jameson was a prominent president of the British branch of the International PEN association, and active in helping refugee writers. She wrote three volumes of autobiography.
A well-received biography, by Jennifer Birkett, Professor of French Studies at Birmingham University, was published by the Oxford University Press in March 2009.
Jameson studied at the University of Leeds, later moving to London, where in 1914 she earned an MA from King's College London. She was a teacher before becoming a full-time writer. She married writer Guy Chapman, but continued to publish as Storm Jameson.
From 1939, Jameson was a prominent president of the British branch of the International PEN association, and active in helping refugee writers. She wrote three volumes of autobiography.
A well-received biography, by Jennifer Birkett, Professor of French Studies at Birmingham University, was published by the Oxford University Press in March 2009.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 3, 2021
KIRKUS REVIEW:
The sheer delight of a tightly knitted plot, interplay of characters on incident, completely realized background, and skilled craftsmanship of style is experienced in Storm Jameson's writing perhaps as much as in any other novelist today. There are some who feel that the very perfection dates her. For this reader it affords relief from the slipshod work too often encountered. The Hidden River lives up to her best -- while adding a story that draws its suspense by use of the pressure of what is past on what is present. The setting is an elegant manor house above the Loire, where the Monerie family holds tight the hates and fears left over from the war. Cousin Marie, presiding genius- and at times evil genius- of the house, cannot forgive the betrayal and death of her son in the French resistance. Her elder nephew, Jean, has tried to put it behind him, but the visit of the Englishman, with whom he had worked, brings it all to the fore. Francois, younger brother of Jean, demands of life only forgiveness and forgetfulness -- and buries his bitter share of responsibility in his cousin's death. Elizabeth, betrothed of Jean, unready for marriage, rediscovers in Hartley's visit an unrealized and all-dominating passion. And Uncle Daniel's return- from years of imprisonment as a collaborator, serves as catalyst to bring the buried secrets to light again. It is a tensely told story in which each participant furthers the inevitable march of fate. Good reading.
The sheer delight of a tightly knitted plot, interplay of characters on incident, completely realized background, and skilled craftsmanship of style is experienced in Storm Jameson's writing perhaps as much as in any other novelist today. There are some who feel that the very perfection dates her. For this reader it affords relief from the slipshod work too often encountered. The Hidden River lives up to her best -- while adding a story that draws its suspense by use of the pressure of what is past on what is present. The setting is an elegant manor house above the Loire, where the Monerie family holds tight the hates and fears left over from the war. Cousin Marie, presiding genius- and at times evil genius- of the house, cannot forgive the betrayal and death of her son in the French resistance. Her elder nephew, Jean, has tried to put it behind him, but the visit of the Englishman, with whom he had worked, brings it all to the fore. Francois, younger brother of Jean, demands of life only forgiveness and forgetfulness -- and buries his bitter share of responsibility in his cousin's death. Elizabeth, betrothed of Jean, unready for marriage, rediscovers in Hartley's visit an unrealized and all-dominating passion. And Uncle Daniel's return- from years of imprisonment as a collaborator, serves as catalyst to bring the buried secrets to light again. It is a tensely told story in which each participant furthers the inevitable march of fate. Good reading.
March 10, 2019
In this novel Storm Jameson again confronts the problem of evil and the terrible crimes of which people are capable. Several years after the Second World War, Jean Monnerie and his family receive a visitor to their chateau: Adam Hartley, an Englishman who worked with Jean in the Resistance. Jean's cousin, Robert, whose mother still lives in the house as housekeeper, was also involved in Resistance work. Robert was captured, tortured and killed by the Nazis. Someone betrayed him - and it becomes clear that one of the people in the house betrayed him. The novel is a tense, gripping portrayal of treachery and collaboration. The war casts a long shadow, and one great tragedy is yet to be enacted... A magnificent book.
July 5, 2022
1951 Six years after WWII has ended. An Englishman (Adam Hartley) visits a French country house to see his Resistance comrade (Jean Monnerie). A mostly philosophical look at actions during the war and after.
March 15, 2024
I read any Jameson books I can find. She writes significant stories in beautiful prose and deserves to be reprinted. This book confronts the moral dilemma which faces all nations defeated and occupied by an evil regime. Comply with the rules and preserve your life or fight against it.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews