What do you think?
Rate this book
Another World: A Novel
In a lonely seaside town, a few misfits cling to one another for survival
Nine months ago, Mrs. Gandell left Yorkshire behind. She invested what little money she had in a ramshackle inn off the coast of Wales, in a forgotten resort town called Garthmeilo. At the time, it was summer, light and warm. Now it is February, and the Welsh gloom has ground Mrs. Gandell’s spirit to dust. Her only companion is Jones, a bitter handyman who delights in torturing his employer. Nothing sustains them but gin and cigarettes—and the gin is running out.
The winter has been brutal, with only one lodger to keep the Decent Hotel afloat: an enigmatic dreamer named Miss Vaughan. When the local vicar takes an interest in her, it throws their lives into chaos. Mrs. Gandell wants nothing more than to sell the inn and return to Yorkshire, but February is endless, and Garthmeilo may prove to be inescapable.
Nine months ago, Mrs. Gandell left Yorkshire behind. She invested what little money she had in a ramshackle inn off the coast of Wales, in a forgotten resort town called Garthmeilo. At the time, it was summer, light and warm. Now it is February, and the Welsh gloom has ground Mrs. Gandell’s spirit to dust. Her only companion is Jones, a bitter handyman who delights in torturing his employer. Nothing sustains them but gin and cigarettes—and the gin is running out.
The winter has been brutal, with only one lodger to keep the Decent Hotel afloat: an enigmatic dreamer named Miss Vaughan. When the local vicar takes an interest in her, it throws their lives into chaos. Mrs. Gandell wants nothing more than to sell the inn and return to Yorkshire, but February is endless, and Garthmeilo may prove to be inescapable.
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1972
3 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
James Hanley
77 books13 followersBorn in Kirkdale, Liverpool, in 1897 (not Dublin, nor 1901 as he generally implied) to a working-class family, Hanley probably left school in 1911 and worked as a clerk, before going to sea in 1915 at the age of 17 (not 13 as he again implied). Thus life at sea was a formative influence and much of his early writing is about seamen.
Then, in April 1917, Hanley jumped ship in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, and shortly thereafter joined the Canadian Army in Fredericton, NB. Hanley fought in France in the summer of 1918, but was invalided out shortly thereafter. He then went to Toronto, Canada, for two months, in the winter of 1919, to be demobbed, before returning to Liverpool on 28 March 1919. He may have taken one final voyage before working as a railway porter in Bootle. In addition to working as a railway porter, he devoted himself "to a prodiguous range of autodidactic, high cultural activities – learning the piano ...attending ... concerts ... reading voraciously and, above all, writing." It is also probable that he later worked at a number of other jobs, while writing fiction in his spare time. However, it was not until 1929 that his novel Drift was accepted, and this was published in March, 1930.
Then, in April 1917, Hanley jumped ship in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, and shortly thereafter joined the Canadian Army in Fredericton, NB. Hanley fought in France in the summer of 1918, but was invalided out shortly thereafter. He then went to Toronto, Canada, for two months, in the winter of 1919, to be demobbed, before returning to Liverpool on 28 March 1919. He may have taken one final voyage before working as a railway porter in Bootle. In addition to working as a railway porter, he devoted himself "to a prodiguous range of autodidactic, high cultural activities – learning the piano ...attending ... concerts ... reading voraciously and, above all, writing." It is also probable that he later worked at a number of other jobs, while writing fiction in his spare time. However, it was not until 1929 that his novel Drift was accepted, and this was published in March, 1930.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 3, 2021
A town in Wales at the end of a bleak winter; everyone knows too much about everyone else; a minister who is obsessed by his thoughts of a mysterious woman; a middle aged alcoholic woman and a middle aged alcoholic man brought together and held together by a failing rooming house/hotel.
It all plays out under the masterful pen of James Hanley.
It all plays out under the masterful pen of James Hanley.
Displaying 1 of 1 review