My Darling Villain

by Lynne Reid Banks

Fifteen-year-old Kate becomes aware of the class consciousness of her middle class family and friends when she falls in love with a boy from a working class family.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Romance

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Lynne Reid Banks is a British author of books for children and adults. She has written forty books, including the best-selling children's novel The Indian in the Cupboard, which has sold over 10 million copies and been made into a film.
Banks was born in London, the only child of James and Muriel Reid Banks. She was evacuated to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada during World War II but returned after the war was over. She attended St Teresa's School in Surrey. Prior to becoming a writer Banks was an actress, and also worked as a television journalist in Britain, one of the first women to do so. Her first novel, The L-Shaped Room, was published in 1960.
In 1962 Banks emigrated to Israel, where she taught for eight years on an Israeli kibbutz Yasur. In 1965 she married Chaim Stephenson, with whom she had three sons. Although the family returned to England in 1971 and Banks now lives in Dorset, the influence of her time in Israel can be seen in some of her books which are set partially or mainly on kibbutzim.

Reviews

[CLM · Rating 5 out of 5]

My sister and I loved this book about an English teen who falls for a boy who is very sexy but lower class. I met LRB once and she was very surprised to hear this was my favorite of her books as it is somewhat obscure.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as a teenager. In fact I read it often, read and re-read it, borrowing if from the local library. I recently bought it over the internet, and have just re-read it. And I still love it, although can see it a bit more critically now.

Kate is a middle class London girl, who meets working class Mark in bizarre circumstances. Kate and Mark are well matched - they enjoy political arguments, are both bright, and physically attracted to each other. But their family differences get in the way.

As a teenager, I loved the romance element of the book. It's a very good look at first love and some of the issues that brings. It's a very English book though, with it's huge emphasis on class, and I think that made it less attractive to the average reader outside Britain. Racism and sexism are easier to see, but unless you move between the social classes, "classism" is hard to define. As a child growing up in a town dominated by a port, most of the families I knew were working class and it wasn't til I was an adult that I could see the difference having middle class parents made to the choices in a child's life.

it was lovely to re-read it. kate's brother Alistair is my biggest criticism - towards the end of the story he gives advice that is probably too mature and too educated for the character he's supposed to be, but I certainly didn't pick it up at the time. I'm sure I'll reread it again in a few years. Surprisingly I'd forgotten the ending, but remembered so much of the teenage romance side lol!

[Bibliothecat · Rating 5 out of 5]

“If it's a mistake, I have to find it out for myself.”

Fifteen-year-old Kate always considered herself prejudice-free when it comes to social classes. Yet this is put to the test working-class-background Mark makes advances towards her. Kate soon realises that such a relationship would draw disapproval from both of their families as well as their social circles.

All books that I have read by Lynne Read Banks have been significantly different from each other. Every book seems to have its own style, genre and narration. My Darling Villain is so far the only one with a first-person narrative and Kate has a very believable voice that is appropriate for her age. She is both a child and a growing young lady - she is a very honest person, to others as much as to herself. It is wonderful to see how she can act out unfairly in anger but knows that she is doing it. I think, admitting being wrong and knowing that, even though we are wrong, we can't always help but be unfair, make a strong character.

I could easily warm up to Kate as many of my personal moral values align with hers. I could appreciate all her worries, frustrations and the care she felt for others. The same can be said about how she is very reluctant to break rules and tries to be completely honest to her parents - both of which can be a bad trait in certain situations, as this book also makes a point of.

But apart from Kate being a great main character, this book is fascinating in that it gives a nice insight into the class differences in England during the 70's. I wasn't aware that this is still a thing - and apparently still is today - so it was really interesting. And despite being a romance, this was such a well-rounded book touching on many other important topics. I loved Kate's family and the relationship among its members - Kate and her mother were particularly close and it was just great to see how this was included in the story.

Kate also has several friends who are all very different and add their own touch to the story, whether it's Emma who's an absolute dear of a friend, Tina who doesn't quite know her limits, or Rebecca, the fancy girl next door. This book also has a surprisingly diverse cast. That being said, it can, at times, come across as somewhat offensive. There are characters from various ethnic groups as well the mention of a homosexual character and the way Kate describes them sounds a bit stereotypical. However, I genuinely believe that there was no offence intended from either Kate or the author - I think it's just a book of its time.

However, coming to the actual romance side of things! Mark and Kate had a great chemistry, though it could also be frustrating at times. Mark doesn't have the best temper, but he continuously tries to improve and he sticks up for Kate when it's most needed. But Mark isn't the only love interest - yes, there is a love triangle. And I think it's a good thing. I see many people complain about or avoid books for the simple mention of a love triangle. These things happen in real life and My Darling Villain gives a wonderful example of a perfectly believable love triangle and why they aren't always a bad thing in a plot.

This book actually came as a big surprise and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would - it left me wishing that more people would know and read it!

[Barbora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Překvapivě mě román z 80. let uchvátil. Jo, jsem ten typ člověka, co má rád staré způsoby, řeči, módní styly atd.
Nejdříve jsem si myslela, že knížka bude pouze obyčejným příběhem zamilované dívky, ale to jsem se dost pletla. Musela jsem se vžít do tehdejší situace, co se nesmělo a teď smí, co se běžně nedělalo a teď se dělá. Zaujala mě myšlenka "společenských vrstev" ve smyslu - takhle to bylo dřív a teď je to naprosto jiné. Říkala jsem si: Co bych na Kateině místě dělala já? Tehdy? A co teď?
Knížka mě nezklamala. Četla se mi lehce, svižně a dokázala mě nejen pobavit.

[Ryara Toft · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was so great! The characters got on my nerves, and the ending was so sad (but turned out happy)! I think that this will be a favorite forever! 5 STARS!!!!!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an entertaining and insightful read into the extant class system in Britain.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely my favorite book when I was in high school!

[Alex Ankarr · Rating 5 out of 5]

A grabber (of the attention), a charmer, a lovely, lovely book.

[Woody Rivers]

I have to read an extract of this book in class, I have a dilemma in choosing what part to read to my classmates. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you very much!