Crewe Train

by Rose Macaulay

Denham Dobie has been brought up in Andorra by her father, a retired clergyman. On his death, she is snatched from this reclusive life and thrown into the social whirl of London by her sophisticated relatives. Denham, however, provides a candid response to the niceties of 'civilised' behaviour. Crewe Train is Macaulay's wittiest social satire. The reactions of Denham to the manners and modes of the highbrow circle in which she finds herself provide a devastating - and very funny - social commentary as well as a moving story.

This bitingly funny, elegantly written comedy of manners is as absorbing and entertaining today as on the book's first publication in 1926.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, British Literature, 20th Century, Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Novels

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 1926

About the author

Emilie Rose Macaulay, whom Elizabeth Bowen called "one of the few writers of whom it may be said, she adorns our century," was born at Rugby, where her father was an assistant master. Descended on both sides from a long line of clerical ancestors, she felt Anglicanism was in her blood. Much of her childhood was spent in Varazze, near Genoa, and memories of Italy fill the early novels. The family returned to England in 1894 and settled in Oxford. She read history at Somerville, and on coming down lived with her family first in Wales, then near Cambridge, where her father had been appointed a lecturer in English. There she began a writing career which was to span fifty years with the publication of her first novel, Abbots Verney, in 1906. When her sixth novel, The Lee Shore (1912), won a literary prize, a gift from her uncle allowed her to rent a tiny flat in London, and she plunged happily into London literary life.

From BookRags: http://www.bookrags.com/biography/ros...

Reviews

[Renate · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always a treat to stumble across a book by an author I've never read before, only to open it up and discover that what's inside is magic. Rose Macaulay's writing is smart, understated, and deliriously funny in a saucily deadpan sort of way - she had me at the dedication (which I'd quote here but my mom has the book because it was so fabulous I needed to share it with someone pronto.) Denham, the truculent, self-reliant, laconic lead character, has to be one of my favorite female protagonists; I can't help thinking she should be played by the British actress Miranda Hart if this were a movie. Macaulay has an eagle eye for the ridiculousness of social ritual, expertly parodying the cosmopolitan affectations of London's chattering class, and creates a cast of characters who are comic and lovable, yet unsettling at times. Though the book was written in 1926 it doesn't feel dated at all. I enjoyed it immensely, and I'm looking forward to reading Macaulay's (thirty-eight!) other novels.

[Marta Cava]

M'ha semblat absolutament meravellós que una novel·la del 1920, tingui un personatge femení tan transgressor com la té aquesta: una dona (casada, sí) però que diu obertament que no vol tenir fills i que desitja passar temps sola i lluny de la seva parella tot sovint. És que coi, tu mires qualsevol novel·la d'ara i costa molt trobar que no desitgin casar-se, tenir fills i hipoteques. I també necessitem ficcions amb dones solteres (sense que hagin de ser unes senyores rares), que no vulguin tenir fills o que no passin tota la vida amb la seva parella

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

Denham Dobie has been brought up largely in Andorra. Her indolent,anti-social, ex-clergyman father removed them there after finding too many English tourists would want to talk to him when their first retreat, Minorca became a popular travel destination. She leads a wild life among the mountains playing happily by herself. This life comes to an abrupt halt when her father does and she is whisked away to England by her aunt and cousins to be civilised.

Suddenly thrown in to the literary society of London, in the company of her family, she struggled to adapt. Seen through Denham's eyes, the world of publishing, at homes, theatres and dinner conversations are seen as shallow and pointless. This is the world that Macaulay herself would have known well and been a part of, so her skewering of it is Very funny in places. Denham is a fascinating character, and as the novel goes on, the Greshams appear more and more shallow and gossipy.

Initially, Denham tries to fit in, and understand the new rules. She marries a nice young publisher, but he can no more understand her than she can him.

Very entertaining comedy of manners.

[Mela · Rating 5 out of 5]

You had, somehow or other, to conform to a ritual, to be like the people you knew.

This was an amusing human/Western civilization (or only the literary society of London) satire (or if you like - a comedy of manners). There weren't many moments where I could burst with laughter, yet it was a smooth, well-paced study written with a witty pen.

Also, religions were nicely criticized.

Why couldn't one join a church without going into all the odd things that churches believed? It only put one off.

Somehow, Rose Macaulay was able to put into this novel a love story in a fascinating and complex way.

Blind and crying, their love groped for a door of entry, and turned away defeated.

On one hand, romance was another way to sneer at the concept of love (as many people think of it). On the other hand, it was a wise, deep example of the struggle (for love) of two different people, and how friends and family can do more damage than good. Was their HEA solid and really happy? Hard to tell, but I hope so.

Yes, there were parts, I could have easily lived without - like the whole of Denham's exploring around Cromwall's coast and caves. And, Denham irritated me often. Nonetheless, the novel was entertaining and had deeper levels. Perhaps, reading it I had "only" 4-star experience and joy, but when I think of it, how and what it told - I want to give it 4.5 stars.

[Troy Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Rose Macaulay’s early novels that makes some thoughtful observations about the role of women in the 1920s, living up to society’s expectations, and the joys of being alone.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

NB. Train nerds. No trains to Crewe appear in this novel.

[Blaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable and light until the final few chapters, when our noble savage is finally entrapped by society's demands on middle class adults and mothers. But clever all the way through and a delightful skewering of London literary society and the destructive joys of conversation and gossip.

Now if I could only recall who or what led me to add this book to my to-read pile ....

[Lila · Rating 3 out of 5]

This satire of the British publishing culture features a protagonist, Denham Dobie, who, to my mind,shows many behaviors associated with those on the autism spectrum. She is matter of fact, has limited patience with social conversations, and is more focused on measurements and maps than on novels. An odd duck, her views are ultimately much more respectful of individuals than her writing relatives, who can't stop trying to remake others' lives into novels.

[Haley Baumeister · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found her Towers of Trebizond earlier this year such an adventurous delight, peppered with subtle humor (sometimes Anglican flavored). This was in that same vein. I like her.

"The book went on... how Catholics regard the Bible, and then how the apostles regarded the New Testament. All this 'regarding' ...was it really necessary for her to inquire into?"

"Early in November, Denham was received into the Roman branch of the Catholic Church. Her instruction had been rapid and easy, for she had given no trouble and asked no questions—on the excellent grounds that were she to do so, she would have listen to the answers."

"Well... it's read by people who matter. It counts." "Who are the people who matter, Arnold?" Denham asked, curious to discover the meaning of this phrase that she had frequently heard since coming to London. Probably in Andorra, no one had mattered much except to themselves. And how did they matter? And how is one paper more important than another? And what does important mean?"

"If you had never loved you could be happy, loafing, idle, and alone, exploring new places, sufficient to yourself. Once committed to love, you couldn't... Love was the great taming emotion, perhaps the only taming emotion. It defeated all other desires in the end."

"Arnold had welcomed back his wife, but rather with gentleness than ardor. Moments of ardor had come since, but between these moments was a kind of puzzled questioning of her, of himself, their love... As the days went by his gentleness and kindness deepened, his shade of doubtful hesitation disappeared... strident to recapture the love that had so shaken them only a year ago."

"They were dead, those old ardors and raptures, and an un-exuberant ghost did duty in their stead. What did it matter? The bait had done its work. These two were safe and snug in its trap."

[Pascale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sparkling, like everything I've read by Macaulay, but not altogether successful. I'm surprised it didn't cause more of a scandal when it first came out in 1926, given that its central character, Denham, has an abortion of sorts (she self-induces a miscarriage). Denham, who is named after a Buckinghamshire village, has grown up wild in Andorra. When her father dies, she is enthusiastically adopted by her aunt Evelyn and a lively set of bright, sociable cousins: Catherine, Guy, Audrey, Humphrey and Noel. Evelyn's husband Peter runs a publishing house. However, Denham finds it hard to adapt to life in London among highbrows, and makes only fitful efforts at conforming to their code of behavior. Her pleasures remain those of a child and her literal-mindedness causes unending embarrassment. From what little I know of Macaulay, she did have a tomboyish side, but she was also very much a highbrow, a wit and an inveterate party-goer, all the things Denham has no use for. If the author meant to dramatize her inner conflicts by attributing the 2 strands of her personality to different characters, she was only partially successful. Denham often comes off more as a slob than as a free spirit, and it's hard to see what's wrong with the generous and gregarious Gresham family, until Aunt Evelyn's gossiping starts to have a truly disruptive effect on Denham's life. Maybe the problem is that unlike, say D. H. Lawrence, Macaulay is too lucid to romanticize Denham's complete lack of interest in things of the mind. Soon after her arrival in London, Denham falls in love with Peter's junior partner Arnold, and although everybody, including themselves, is aware that they are like chalk and cheese, they promptly get married. Inevitably, cracks start to appear in their relationship as soon as the honeymoon is over. Denham becomes obsessed with a ramshackle Cornish cottage complete with a smuggler's secret passage, and tries hard to convince Arnold to make it their permanent home. When it becomes clear that Arnold will not budge, Denham tries to live on her own for a while, but when she finds out that she is pregnant for the second time, she gives up the struggle and numbly accepts Arnold's compromise of a move to the London commuter belt. Since clearly Denham hasn't made her peace with the idea of becoming a housewife, hostess and mother, this ending feels brutal and chilling. Denham hasn't been tamed so much as forced into submission for lack of contraceptives. One feels sorry for Denham and Arnold but somehow the frothy satirical elements of the story don't prepare the reader for this grim, realistic conclusion. Since nobody catches a train to Crewe, I was puzzled by the title until I found the following lines printed small on the front page: "Oh, Mr. Porter, whatever shall I do?/I meant to go to Birmingham and they've sent me on to Crewe." This throws a lot of light on Macaulay's intentions and her take on life generally.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Macaulay has produced a satire on the manners and behaviour of the middle class intellectuals which is both charming and wickedly sharp. Denham is a ‘primitive’ soul, she has grown up in Andorra unfettered by the rules of society, enjoying physical pursuits and seeing life very literally. When her father dies, she is taken up by her relatives the Greshams - publisher Peter, his social butterfly wife Evelyn, and their clever and talkative children.

The clash between Denham’s social naïveté and the ‘Higher Life’ of society is brilliantly drawn. The reader roots for Denham as she rebels against the idle gossip, the constant talking about feelings, the ignorant interference in her affairs by her thoughtless relatives. Her view of happiness seems so natural and harmless, yet it constantly baffles and provokes the Greshams who cannot comprehend her inability to conform to their proper way of living.

There are many amusing moments in the book, but also a malevolent undercurrent of danger, epitomised by Evelyn Gresham whose careless mischief making is indulged and excused by her family. This was a sharply observed and entertaining novel, with much that is still relevant to todays
society.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

My introduction to Rose Macaulay was with her 1950 novel The World my Wilderness – which I absolutely loved. I was therefore delighted that Virago has seen fit to re-issue some of her novels – and while I’d always prefer a shabby old green these new editions are lovely to be going on with.

Crewe Train is a much earlier novel and yet there are several similarities to Macaulay’s later novel especially in the character of Denham Dobie. Like Macaulay’s later character Barbary Deniston, Denham has been allowed to run wild, growing up abroad in a less than conventional household. There’s an untutored, childishness about Denham as a young woman – who prefers to be alone out of doors, to not have to talk or socialise or play host in any way to relatives from England.

Denham’s father – a former Church of England vicar, had taken his daughter away, seeking a quieter life abroad, having become sick of having to ‘bury dissenters or to baptise illegitimate infants’ and wanting to be less busy and less sociable. Having found Mallorca to be too sociable they moved to Andorra – where Denham’s father re-marries in a moment of weakness providing Denham with a step-mother and half siblings who he immediately has cause to regret and she doesn’t care for at all. To the horror of Mr Dobie and Denham – visitors from England begin to arrive in Andorra – and with them come relatives of Denham’s mother. When Denham’s father dies – her beautifully groomed, still young Aunt Evelyn and her smart cousins Audrey, Guy, Noel and Humphrey contrive to spirit Denham away – to London, where they can civilise her.

Full review: https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2018/...

[Lisa Bywell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in the 1920s, Rose Macaulay obviously has some strong views on social conventions, literary society, publishing houses, Roman Catholics, marriage and how babies destroy a woman’s freedom. What a woman she was. I like this quote from one of her other books “At the worse a house unkept cannot be so distressing as a life unlived”. Well, yes.

[Catie · Rating 4 out of 5]

#VMCBookClub - April 2018

[Mrs]

The story of the trapping of a child of nature, Denham Dobie, by sex, love, marriage, social convention, domesticity, pregnancy, and gossip. Denham was brought up by her antisocial father in Mallorca and Andorra, places chosen by him for their seclusion, but when he died, family appeared to take her to England.
It is quite comical in its descriptions of Denham’s antisocial character, and her love of nature, in opposition to the social norms which everyone else lives by. I identified with Denham more than was comfortable.

[Lelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Denham, accustomed to solitary rambles in the countryside and adept in the arts of social evasion, moves to London with the Greshams, a sociable, garrulous, book-loving family of busy-minded, well-intentioned urbanites. You might expect Crewe Train to be the story of a girl who’s rough edges are softened, who’s literal-mindedness is educated into social acceptability and ultimately marriage. But Denham is stubbornly unresponsive to the social whirl and “the world’s favorite game,” talking. And she’s absolutely immune to guilt, the most effective weapon culture and families have found to get us to do what it/they want. She hews to her philosophy, “It’s such rot, doing things we don’t like doing because someone else does them.” Her stubbornness creates tension aplenty because she has indeed fallen in love and gotten married, to a man who - like most of the rest of us - enjoys talking, thinking, talking about what he’s thinking about, sharing jokes, writing, reading, talking about what he’s writing and reading. But he also loves Denham.

Macaulay is really quite artful at making us sympathize with both the literal-minded, introverted Denham (“Denham sometimes dreamed of a life in which one took practically no trouble at all. One would be alone; one would have no standards; there would be a warm climate and few clothes, and all the food off the same plate, if a plate at all.”) and the voluble Greshams (“Besides looking well, they were artistic, literary, political, musical and cultured. So, as families go, they were all right.”). And they certainly are generous to take Denham into their lives - Aunt Evelyn is no cruel Aunt Reed. The tension of the story - and I found it tense enough to skip to the end and begin reading backwards - is in Denham’s unwillingness to be absorbed into the powerful social fabric which is fueled and sustained by words, words, words and more words.

“Talking is one of the creative arts, for by it you build up things that have, until talked about, no existence, such as scandals, secrets, quarrels, literary and artistic standards, all kinds of points of view about persons and things. Let us talk, we say, meaning, let us see what we can create, or in what way we can transmute the facts that are into facts that are not yet. It is one of the magic arts.”

Of course it’s the magic art of the fiction writer, too, and MaCaulay does poke fun at the proliferation of books (Denham “said ‘Why?’ when her Uncle Peter took her to his office, and she saw rooms stacked from floor to ceiling with books.”), and at us, readers of books, and at herself, the author of 23 books.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rose Macaulay’s delightful 1926 comic novel is a gently acerbic satire on both 'a woman's role' and London's 1920s publishing milieu. It comes on like a cross between Jane Austen and Philip Barry, even down to the well-heeled, eccentric family (very Barryesque) at its center. That family is the London-based Greshams who “adopt” their unusual, antisocial relation, Denham Dobie, the novel’s unforgettable protagonist, after she is left orphaned in distant Andorra.

Regarding the novel’s seemingly inscrutable title, the English town of Crewe is not mentioned in the book, but thanks to the excellent Jane Emery introduction to the Virago edition — as with all introductions, don’t read it till you’ve finished the book — the title’s meaning is clear. Macaulay derived it, Crewe Train, from a popular ballad: "Oh, Mr. Porter, whatever shall I do? / I want to go to Birmingham, but they've sent me on to Crewe!"

Denham Dobie is just such a misdirected traveler, and her irreverent and forthright rejection of societal norms and what her world deems fit behavior for a woman — she occasionally reminded me of Shakespeare's Kate, just quieter — provides this book's amusing and poignant throughline.

Macaulay’s take on the foibles of the publishing business are fun to read and reveal an industry that has changed less over the course of the past 100 years than perhaps one might expect:

In February Arnold’s novel was published. Arnold had seen to it that it was a volume of attractive appearance, with good type, paper and margins, and an artistic paper wrapper. He also saw to it that the review copies were sent out a fortnight before publication, with notes to editors suggesting appropriate reviewers, and presentation copies to various well-known literary persons who might be so good as to speak or write of it somewhere. How far these activities on the part of publishers and authors advantage their books is an open and often canvassed question. It is alleged that there are editors who are so much exasperated by such methods that they straightway hand the book in question to their poorest reviewer, bidding him make short work of it. But on the whole it would appear that most editors and reviewers are more responsive to treatment than this, and that, in this department of life, as in others, it pays to advertise. Arnold very much hoped that in his case it would do so. As to the reading public, they would be roped in by seeing the name of the novel written up large in tube lifts.

Plus ça change...

A thoroughly enjoyable read.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, Denham Dobie is an awkward, poor relation from "down there" (one of those swarthy, southern places, in this case, Andorra) come to live with her swell relations in sparkling, early 20th century London. She doesn't seem to get it, and they her, and nary the two shall meet. The frisson between them is interesting, and told by Macaulay in a wonderfully trenchant prose. Dobie's constant questioning of the values, habits and conventions of proper society are alternately comical and tragic, and always astute. How much of Macaulay is contained in Denham Dobie, one wonders.

A coda presents a severe indictment of the gossip-mongering side of society, which seems almost personal for the author, one senses Macaulay was victimized in some way by such gossip. And/or that she felt a broad disdain for it in every way, its manner, its protaganists, its purpose(lessness?), but particularly embarrassed by its preponderance among women.

I was particularly struck by bombshell pronouncements, such as the one that equates relationships with a diminishment of freedom, since they involve compromises to one's personal nature/desires/freedoms.

But all in all, a nice presentation of a particular time, place and set (London publishing intelligentsia, somehow seemingly familiar to Macaulay), made more poignant and brought into high relief by the "alien" among them.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The beginning of the book is funny and clever — especially if one sometimes tires of sociability. I think I assumed the main character, Denham, would evolve and change, like most fish out of water books. Yet she does not change, and the book became sadder and even disturbing for me.

When I saw other reviewers noting that Denham is written like someone on the autism spectrum, my reaction made more sense to me. Here we have someone struggling mightily, torn from the only place she is happy (nature and the seaside, sans most other humans), dragged into a highly social world of London writers and publishers where no one (including her husband) seems to grasp that she can’t just “try harder” and fit in. In this context, the social satire and lightness of the rest of the novel clashes almost cruelly with Denham’s story.

An abrupt ending leaves most things unresolved, for Denham and for us.

I like Macauley’s writing and would try her again for a book less imbued with sadness.

[KayG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andorra.

Pleasant, amusing story of a little oddball character overwhelmed by her extended family. Didn’t love it, but didn’t hate it either. I chose it for its setting partially in Andorra, as I attempt to read my way around the world.

[Andrea GG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aquesta història pot semblar, si llegim sense pensar gaire més enllà, simplement la vida d’una noia de personalitat diferent de l’habitual, de la seva història d’amor amb el senyor Chapel la seva vida plegats. No obstant, la Denham representa molt més que tot això. Representa una visió crítica de les normes socials que ens veiem obligats a complir (si, en present, perquè tot i que data dels anys 20, un segle més tard seguim cometent estupideses ben semblants). Representa la valentia de ser ella mateixa, d’intentar mantenir la seva personalitat en contra de la “vida superior”, encara que aquesta l’arrossegui en molts moments. La valentia de considerar l’opció de no casar-se, de no tenir fills, de no tenir compromisos socials. Representa la bellesa d’apreciar els moments en solitud, al mar, a la muntanya, la pau de la naturalesa.

La Denham pot ser de vegades una beneita, però és l’únic personatge de la novel•la que crec que ha entès el que vol dir viure de veritat. Sense el safareig desagradable de la burgesia londinenca, allunyant-se de la ciutat quan necessita la solitud, i molts altres detalls que fan del seu personatge una dona forta amb conviccions pròpies.

I si tot això ho va escriure Macaulay, devia ser perquè ella mateixa creia fortament que les dones podien tenir aquesta independència, que les normes socials podien ser questionades i que la vida es podia (i es pot!) viure de forma diferent a la “vida superior”. Que si jo vull tenir 2 gots i 2 plats i un taburet senzill i passar-me el dia a la meva barca, per què no fer-ho?

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not at all surprised that readers of Rose Macaulay’s remarkable 1926 novel Crewe Train are divided in their opinions of the book’s heroine, Denham Dobie. I’m a fan; in fact she’s gone straight to somewhere near the top of my list of favourite literary characters. While I can see that she will be infuriating to many, I love her directness, her desire to lead the sort of life she wants to live, and her refusal to adapt her outlook on life to fit in with the chattering classes of the London literary world into which she finds herself catapulted on the death of her father, having spent a wild childhood in Mallorca and Andorra.
Macaulay’s coolly detached writing is a joy, as is her wry wit and ear for dialogue. Her portrayal of a literary scene she knew intimately is funny and pointed, but never bitter; even, you could say, underpinned by a kind of love.

[Nadav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was looking for a book about a protagonist looking to avoid conversation and human contact, and found exactly it. The protagonist is surrounded by constant chatter about nothing important (mostly the going ons in London) and we're left wishing to understand her a bit better, but the message is received without needing abundant telling: There's something beautiful about the life lived, instead of spoken.

Not a necessity but a quick read!

[George Hodson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perceptive and wise in its reflections on life and love, compelling in its characters, and crammed full of hot takes like "When a dull story and an interesting story conflict, the dull one has no chance." There's nothing remotely dull about this story.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This biting satire was published in 1926 but is just as relevant and clever in 2023. ‘Denham’s’ disdain for the modern custom of social chit chat and spiteful gossip could be my own for the inanity of social media. I loved her.

[Veronica · Rating 2 out of 5]

It began well and might have earned an extra star in the end, except for the sin of being at least two-thirds of the time boring as well as repetitive, cynical and depressing. Made it through but would not read again.

[Lídia]

m’ha agradat molt! quina protagonista més curiosa… a vegades el seu caràcter exaspera una mica, però la veritat és que està molt ben escrit i és francament divertit. té moments hilarants, ngl

[Julia Baer · Rating 3 out of 5]

World Reading Challenge - Andorra

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting read, the heroine Denham would almost certainly be diagnosed as being on the spectrum if she was a contemporary character. In this story her difficulty in socialising, engaging in non-functional conversation and her literal attitude to life is explained by her unusual isolated upbringing in remote Andorra. The ending is even more horrific than that of Waugh's 'Handful of Dust'.

[Susan Kavanagh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kudos to Virago Modern Classics for keeping the work of this prolific, excellent writer available. I was introduced to Macaulay's work a few years ago when I studied The World My Wilderness for an Osher Lifetime Learning Course. We had a lot of trouble obtaining secondhand copies of that wonderful book. So I was delighted to see that VMC recently reissued three of her well regarded novels. Macaulay uses an evenhanded approach in satirizing 1926 London society in Crewe Train. She creates an interesting character whose indolent father allowed her to remain a wild child even into adulthood. When Denham moves to London to live with her sophisticated aunt's family, she is not at all interested in following societal norms but cannot avoid falling in love.