Milton Place

by Elisabeth de Waal

Anita, who has lived in Austria through the Second World War, comes to live in a large English country house in the early 1950s. She forms a close bond with its elderly owner, Mr Barlow, and another with his grandson Tony. But what does the future hold for any of them, for the house, and for England itself?

Genres: Fiction, Classics

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Elisabeth de Waal was born in Vienna in 1899, the eldest child of Viktor von Ephrussi, of the banking family, and Baroness Emmy Schey von Koromla. She was educated at home and at a leading boys' school, studied philosophy, law and economics at the University of Vienna, and when only 19 gave a paper at the first of Ludwig von Mises's legendary Private Seminars on economics. She completed her doctorate in 1923 and also wrote poems (exchanging letters about poetry with Rilke). She was a Rockefeller Foundation fellow at Columbia. In 1928 she married Hendrik de Waal, a Dutchman; they had two sons, Viktor and Constant (later Henry), lived first in Paris and then in Switzerland, and in 1939 settled in Tunbridge Wells, England. She wrote five unpublished novels, two in German and three in English, including 'The Exiles Return' which was published posthumously. She died in 1991.

Her grandson Edmund de Waal is also an author.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautifully written story was unbelievably turned down by three publishers in the 1960s. Elisabeth de Waal wrote five novels in her lifetime and this is the second to be published by Persephone Books ( first being The Exiles Return ).
Mr Barlow, widowed and in old age, is cared for by his two faithful servants, in his big country mansion called Milton Place.
Several years before the First World War he visited Vienna and fell deeply in love with a Viennese woman called Mariella but could do nothing as he was engaged already. Once a forthcoming marriage had been publicly announced in those days, one did not jilt a girl when things had gone as far as this and was unthinkable as a divorce, so Mr Barlow enters an unhappy marriage.
Sitting alone everyday with only his memories for company and the occasional visit from his daughters Emily and Cecilia, he is surprised one day when a letter arrives bearing a stamp from Vienna ...
Milton Place is a story about love, betrayal and the survival of the English country house.

[Veronique · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The only way to get to know a stretch of country intimately was to walk in it.[…] But walking was living with a place and making friends with it, it needed time and patience and the measured rhythm of your own pace to put you in touch with the things that are near, while the distant prospects shift very slowly and you take them in from imperceptibly changing angles.”

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first dived in this novel, but Elisabeth de Waal’s writing style charmed me. It was very approachable and evocative. Two disparate but kindred souls, Mr Barlow and Anita, meet and find solace in each other through their love of Milton Place. The house, and grounds, is an integral part of the piece, and very much a character in its own. In a way, this reminded me of the healing power of Italy in the The Enchanted April.

The author took the story to a place I wasn’t expecting but dealt with it in a very thoughtful manner. Her characterisation of the rest of the cast was expertly done, making you like some, and frankly hate the pettiness of others. Each is dealing, or indeed not dealing, with their feelings and expectations of what life is. Sounds heavy but it isn’t. De Waal has a light touch, which did surprise me too.

“One cannot do arithmetics with pain - neither add nor multiply nor divide it. It is always one and indivisible, and everyone carries the whole of it.”

It is flabbergasting to think this story could have never been published had Persephone not done the honours.

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

Persephone Books rarely disappoint, and they don't here. This is a rarity for them, being a book published from a manuscript rather than being 'Re-published by them.

[We Are All Mad Here · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I sold my parents' house I felt like I was eliminating a member of the family. The house had never done or said anything particularly interesting, I'm guessing most haven't. Somehow they become characters in our lives anyway. The quiet one who sits back and listens and accepts things as they are.

Milton Place (the house, or rather estate) was as much a character in this book as any I've read. It is a story of decline and revival, of the house for sure, but also of the main characters. Like Dorothy Whipple, Elisabeth de Waal knew exactly how to create real people, and make us care enough about them to really really want to see them win.

I loved reading this. It would have easily rated five stars, but - the ending. I did not love it.

It is book #131 published by Persephone, and the 12th I've read.

[Sofia Ashford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely story of how people can provide experiences and peace for those they spend their time with. It's not a love story between two people, but more an exploration of each individuals love for life at their different stages of life.

If you're looking for an introspective, pure and enchanting novel, it's a great read. The Persephone Books edition is published as a high-quality edition that enhances the experience, too, if you're looking for a place to pick it up.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

After WWII, Mr Barlow can only afford to keep a small portion of his old country house open, but he continues to cherish his home, especially the beautiful gardens. When a visit from the daughter of an old flame brings both the house and Mr Barlow back to life, his daughters decide steps must be taken, especially when Mr Barlow’s only grandson gets involved too. I enjoyed the rich journey of this story, reading about Milton Place, Mr Barlow, Anita, and Tony, and I would have loved to take a stroll through the gardens or sit in the sunshine in the hidden courtyard. 3.5 stars

[lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

"There were not so very many of these afternoons, for Tony’s holidays were drawing to a close, but as they followed each other, day by day, in an unbroken spell of sunny weather, they seemed to form one long, continuous and luminous avenue of pale green leaves and glancing golden light, leading always, at the end, to the grey big house with the great dark cedar by its side, and Mr Barlow’s welcoming smile within."

This is unfortunately the first Persephone book I have ever given less than four stars. As much as I enjoyed Elisabeth de Waal's gloriously lulling writing and the English countryside setting, I found I was simply not enjoying the story or the characters as much as I would have hoped.

I found the pacing to be quite unbalanced, as the exposition seemed to drag on forever before the plot finally decided to go somewhere. However, once Emily's big scheme had been established and a lot of the tension became clear, my interest finally picked up and carried me the rest of the way through.

My main issue, though, was with the characters, which is unfortunate, as this is a very character-driven novel. I simply didn't like any of them.

Emily and Cecilia, and their husbands, are naturally meant to be rather unlikeable, so that wasn't surprising. But this created a division amongst the cast that seemed to insist that the reader take the side of Tony, Anita, and Mr Barlow, none of whom I really liked, either.

For all his alleged stubbornness and setness in his ways, I found that Mr Barlow actually bended quite easily to the whims of the younger women in his life, from Anita deep cleaning his house to Emily throwing parties in his garden. From scene to scene, he seemed so varied to me — it was almost like de Waal couldn't decide between the two stereotypes of an old man, weak or stubborn, and simply went back and forth between them.

Anita I resisted as a character primarily because the narration seemed to assume that she was just so naturally charming and so pleasant and sweet that you as the reader would of course simply adore her as the residents of Milton Place did. I, in fact, was more on the side of Mr Barlow's daughters in agreeing that she did take advantage of both him and Tony, and really for her own selfish satisfaction. I was thoroughly icked by that passage where she is so determined to make Cecilia comfortable and do her favors, not because she's a guest or Mr Barlow's daughter or even because she feels guilty for sleeping with Cecilia's teenage son, but because her own kindness makes her feel superior in her own right.

And let's do talk about Anita sleeping with Tony, because that disgusted me most of all. After spending so much of the early part of the book mourning her son, who would have been not much older than Tony, she all of a sudden goes and sleeps with Tony himself? I was appalled. Perhaps I'm being a bit prudish, but I simply could not get past that, and lost any sympathy I might have originally had for Anita as a result.

Again, the atmosphere and the writing here were lovely, but I really didn't like any of the characters, and, even as someone who usually enjoys books like this where not much happens, I found the plot rather weak. Nevertheless, this is still a Persephone book, so it still has my utmost respect. I would still at some point like to read The Exiles Return and give Elisabeth de Waal, Persephone darling that she is, another try.

[Jill N · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I were to analyze this book as a work of modern-day fiction, it wouldn't seem fair, because the author wrote this while she was alive and her son had it published after her death. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys the singing of beautiful text in a literary sense. The story was a bit dull by today's standards and behaviour of the characters was relentlessly polite. If there were dramas, they were not catastrophes. People just getting on with their lives in unusual circumstances in an English manor house.
I loved letting the text fall about me, and soak it all up. But it put me to sleep in places.
I thought how excited the author would be to see that her work was in print and that her son was responsible for this reveal.

[Donald Whiteway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anytime there is a Persephone title to read, it is a good day/week! Milton Place does not disappoint. Elisabeth de Waal submitted this work to three publishers and never saw it accepted. Persephone to the rescue! This marvelous story of an aging gentleman and his equaling aging home reels you in right away. de Waal's marvelous descriptive sentences regarding Milton Place and its outbuildings and garden and the surrounding area are a pleasure to read. Her character development of Mr. Barlow, his grandson Tony and the visiting Anita Seiler is equally enchanting.

I highly recommend this to anyone who is an Anglophile; who enjoyed Howard's End and is a fan of Downton Abbey. You won't be sorry!

[Katharine · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a perfect book to read in the springtime.The book follows the change in season from the end of winter thought spring and summer, all sumptuously described.
First; I must say that the edition feels good to hold and read, smooth paper and gorgeous endpapers inside. It is a Persephone edition of publications ( and re-publications) of women writers whose work may have been overlooked.
Elisabeth De Waal writes about the breathtaking beauty of the English countryside as spring arrives . In February Anita Seiler writes to Mr. Barlow inquiring if he can assist her in migrating to England from Vienna. For quite a while I couldn't quite understand when this was taking place- after WWI or II because Milton Place, a large country house outside a small village seems rather timeless. Mr. Barlow a 75 year old widower lives there alone. Mrs. Seiler will arrive and Milton Place becomes the setting for a very English drama. As DeWaal , part a Viennese Jewish family who lived through the chaotic time of WWII she is a keen observer of English life- using Mr. Barlow and his 2 daughters as the potential " evil stepsisters" from Cinderellas( here you may substitute the daughters of King Lear).
Anita and Mr Barlow are sympathetic, the daughters not so much. But mid way ( no spoiler) she makes a decision that I did not quite see coming or totally like.
DeWaal's observations about 20th century English life, the class system, values and lifestyles is perceptive as an outsider view though she spent many years living there. Regrettably, at times the characters lean towards types rather than breathing humans and the plot becomes somewhat predictable.
I say this, while at the same time I enjoyed every moment of reading it.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is hard to believe that this wonderful novel was turned down by three publishers in the 1960s and left unpublished until now. Persephone Books recently published it from the original typescript. I'm so glad they did. I love books about old country houses and their occupants. The house, Milton Place becomes a central character itself. Life changes for the elderly owner, Mr Barlow when a young woman from Austria, Anita, writes to him asking to come and stay and to find her a job. Mr Barlow was once infatuated with her mother, but they both went on to marry different people. Anita has had a difficult war and suffered heartbreak so Milton Place becomes the ideal place for her to recover. She has a wonderful relationship with Mr Barlow and proves to be a charming companion, but when his grandson, Tony comes to stay, this changes. Anita and Tony embark on a love affair of which Mr Barlow is unaware. It isn't until Tony's mother, Cecily comes to stay that their secret is revealed. Mr Barlow's other married daughter has disapproved of Anita from the start and has for some time been eager for her father to move out of Milton Place and sign it over to a home for unmarried mothers. Elisabeth De Waal writes beautifully and her descriptions of the house and gardens is sublime. The novel is set in the 1950s when many English country houses were being demolished because of crippling death duties and the huge cost of maintaining them.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another of the persephone catalogue which has brought to publication brilliant novels which otherwise would have been lost. Both the foreword and afterword explain some of the history of both author and book and that both of Elisabeth de Waal's work could have been lost which would have been such a shame as this is a gentle story of thwarted love and opportunity. The foreword also references king Lear and the family dynamics do reference that most famous of daughters frustrated by a father's sudden obsession.
In the novel we meet Mr Barlow, retired engineer, who in the opening chapter receives a letter from Anita, an Austrian widow who in post war vienna asks him if he can support her relocation. Bizarrely the only connection is nearly 50 yrs earlier mr Barlow had briefly met Anita's mother and experienced a fleeting feeling that she is the unrequited love of his life.
When Anita arrives she entrances mr Barlow, his grandson Tony, and staff alike, but mr Barlow's daughters are suspicious of Anita.
This is a wonderfully crafted story with beautiful descriptions of the English countryside which so captures Anita but ultimately no one comes out of it satisfied and this is truly a story of lost hopes and dreams.
Further such a fascinating history behind both the life and story.

[Russell James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in the late 1960s and rejected by publishers! (Well, it was a strange decade.) Now brought out by Persphone in their characteristic elegant format. Shortly after WW2 old Mr Barlow is contacted by the Austrian daughter of a woman he was fond of years ago and with whom he had long lost contact. In war-wrecked Vienna she has lost everything and, having often heard her dead mother talk of him, she now asks for his help. She comes to his large but crumbling manor for refuge - much to the annoyance of his bustling daughter, who wants him out of the house and into somewhere 'more appropriate'. A great deal comes from this simple set-up and the ensuing events are beautifully told.

[Clare Paterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this to pieces. It’s a beautiful book and I got really upset in the middle when it was clear what was going to happen and I wanted to stop it.
A terrific discovery. And she wrote another novel...

[Jude Hayland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this novel - and cannot believe that it took 50 years before it found a publisher. It is beautifully written and evokes a post war early 1950s England so effectively. If you enjoy traditionally written, sensitive and thoughtful novels with convincing characters this is for you!

[Liz Goodacre · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful read. An English country house story with a conscience. Brilliant characterisation, and something about the construction of the story, not the plot, made it a page turner. Thank goodness Persephone rediscovered this previously unpublished gem.

[Parsley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ergh. I started off really liking this but couldn't bear it after a while, especially one of the relationships. And all this raving by Persephone about it being so beautifully written.. It was clunky and derivative.

[Judith Bowen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average fairly predictable

[Toast · Rating 3 out of 5]

See Discussion pages of PB Group on this site

[Kimba · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do so love a book in which a house (and its garden) is a central character.

[Molly Furnival · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit baggy.

[Kristin Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

So beautifully written.

[Roos · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little bit Mansfield Park, a little bit King Lear.

[Chrystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book, but not a great one either. I was never bored, but it failed to move me. She describes the country estate very well, but none of the characters are more than two-dimensional.

[Sue Schraer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb and not widely enough-known novel. Astute and insightful observation using an Austen- like small canvas of 20th century English Country house life. Vivid and profound.

[Gill Wesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice easy read, remains of the day style, about 3 generations living together at Milton Place

[Emma Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real page turner with its interesting storyline and written in a way which transports the reader into Milton Place itself, the English landscape and society during the period set which was shortly after the war during the 1950's.

Amongst the backdrop of an engaging plot is a strong theme of position and presence. Position, in regards to the grand English country house, those who live in it and their responsibility, obligations and moral values. Presence, in regards to the importance of capturing "the joy of the moment" before its too late and moving on into the future.

This is a multilayered, insightful and delightful read, cleverly compiled by Elizabeth de Waal, it's hard to believe this book wasn't going to be published at all! Once I started this book, I couldn't stop reading it.

[Melanie Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elisabeth de Waal wrote this novel in the 1960's. When she was turned down by three publishers, she decided it wasn't worth pursuing. Persephone Books discovered the manuscript a few years ago and decided it was about time this novel was published. The setting takes place in the early 1950's in a traditional English manor, Milton Place. The house itself becomes a character and we witness again the struggle for the survival of the English country house in the post World War 2 era. Mr. Barlow, the gentleman of the house, was my favorite character and I was charmed by his sweet and gentle spirit. The author has spun a tale of intrigue, forbidden love and the longing to find peace and contentment in a sometimes dark and lonely world.