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My Husband Simon
My Husband Simon tells the story of the married life of Nevis Falconer, a young woman novelist, and Simon Quinn. Temperamentally unsuited, they are only kept together by a mutual physical attraction, in spite of innumerable quarrels. They live this superficial existence for three years, until one day Nevis meets Marcus Chard, her American publisher, who has just arrived in London. Soon friendship develops into love. Inevitably the problem faces her. Wife or mistress? Nevis finds herself caught in a whirl of circumstances over which she has no control. Published in 1931 in the immediate aftermath of D H Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover controversy, Mollie Panter-Downes's book explores the different echelons of the increasingly self-conscious middle class and the ways in which the tensions and nuances of vocabulary, dress, occupation, politics, taste and, ultimately, the literary world contribute to the incompatibility of a marriage.
214 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1931
12 people are currently reading
304 people want to read
About the author
Mollie Panter-Downes
20 books55 followersMary Patricia "Mollie" Panter-Downes was a novelist and newspaper columnist for The New Yorker. Aged sixteen, she wrote The Shoreless Sea which became a bestseller; eight editions were published in 1923 and 1924, and the book was serialised in The Daily Mirror. Her second novel The Chase was published in 1925.
After her marriage to Aubrey Robinson in 1927, the couple moved to Surrey, and in 1938 Panter-Downes began writing for the New Yorker, first a series of short stories, and from September 1939, a column entitled Letter from London, which she wrote until 1984. The collected columns were later published as Letters from England (1940) and London War Notes (1972).
After visiting Ootacamund, in India, she wrote about the town, known to all as Ooty, in her New Yorker columns. This material was later published as Ooty preserved.
Mollie Panter-Downes died in Compton, Surrey, aged 90.
Selected works:
- The Shoreless Sea (1923)
- The Chase (1925)
- My Husband Simon (1931)
- One Fine Day (1947)
- Minnie's Room (Short stories collected between 1947–1965) Republished by Persephone Books in 2002.
- Good Evening, Mrs Craven (short stories collected between 1938–1944) Republished by Persephone Books in 1999.
- Ooty preserved: a Victorian hill station (1967).
After her marriage to Aubrey Robinson in 1927, the couple moved to Surrey, and in 1938 Panter-Downes began writing for the New Yorker, first a series of short stories, and from September 1939, a column entitled Letter from London, which she wrote until 1984. The collected columns were later published as Letters from England (1940) and London War Notes (1972).
After visiting Ootacamund, in India, she wrote about the town, known to all as Ooty, in her New Yorker columns. This material was later published as Ooty preserved.
Mollie Panter-Downes died in Compton, Surrey, aged 90.
Selected works:
- The Shoreless Sea (1923)
- The Chase (1925)
- My Husband Simon (1931)
- One Fine Day (1947)
- Minnie's Room (Short stories collected between 1947–1965) Republished by Persephone Books in 2002.
- Good Evening, Mrs Craven (short stories collected between 1938–1944) Republished by Persephone Books in 1999.
- Ooty preserved: a Victorian hill station (1967).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
September 14, 2020
3.5 rounded up. One Fine Day is a much better book.
"I talked happily of Shelley and Simon did not listen, while Simon talked happily of stag-hunting
and I did not listen. This is the only sensible way of conducting a conversation."
Nevis, and author, meets Simon at a weekend party and the two are instantly attracted to each other. Shortly after the meeting they get married and set up home together, however, other than their attraction for each other, they have very little in common. Simon proudly asserts that he is practically illiterate, he is a man of business. Nevis views his family largely with contempt, and they don't understand why she wants to write instead of producing children. None the less, they seem quite content with each other until Nevis meets her American agent. He understands her, and now she is faced with a choice, wife or mistress.
The story is told in the first person, which doesn't always work for me, but here seems to add a poignancy to it.
"I talked happily of Shelley and Simon did not listen, while Simon talked happily of stag-hunting
and I did not listen. This is the only sensible way of conducting a conversation."
Nevis, and author, meets Simon at a weekend party and the two are instantly attracted to each other. Shortly after the meeting they get married and set up home together, however, other than their attraction for each other, they have very little in common. Simon proudly asserts that he is practically illiterate, he is a man of business. Nevis views his family largely with contempt, and they don't understand why she wants to write instead of producing children. None the less, they seem quite content with each other until Nevis meets her American agent. He understands her, and now she is faced with a choice, wife or mistress.
The story is told in the first person, which doesn't always work for me, but here seems to add a poignancy to it.
November 6, 2023
I've been an avid reader of the British Library Crime Classics so when I saw that they also have a series of women writers, I decided to choose one to read. The authors are, not surprisingly, new to me so that makes for a good outset.
This story was well done in many respects. Nevis is a young woman who, while married is not interested in being a wife in the ways her times dictate. She's not interested in being a mother at all. Clearly, this perspective was not a favoured one in this book's day and I enjoyed reading it. She and her husband married on physical attraction and sexual chemistry. To say their marriage is not wholly satisfying for either of them, would be an understatement. She's an author and he proudly doesn't read. They're from different social classes and it shows. Still, they have a relationship that has its rhythm and rhyme. At least until, Nevis' publisher, Marcus Chard, arrives on the scene and they have a meeting of the minds. It's known throughout the story that Nevis and Marcus will of course have an affair and her telling of this story is basically all that leads up to her pivotal decision in leaving Simon for New York (and Marcus). The interactions between all three were interesting and while the attraction is clear, the interactions between Nevis and Marcus are very low-key.
This was worth the read. Nevis was spoilt and selfish (so was Simon) but I could see her perspective and she also had wit. The perspectives of all three main characters were well done. There was plenty of social commentary expressed with varying views on family, children, social expectations and more. That was likely my favourite aspect as it was vivid and gave a very good sense of a time and place.
There's mention of several books Nevis reads along the way. One was a book of propaganda from the Nazi era. She mentions having read it for a second time. I was never clear on if she read it because, as a writer, she reads widely or if it was a thing she'd endorsed (knowing how Golden Age lit can be, I wouldn't have been surprised). The book never explains, where it does other references, so it's even more of a random one off.
I'd recommend this and will likely read others in this series. I read this through Kindle Unlimited and there are many others from this ongoing series available.
This story was well done in many respects. Nevis is a young woman who, while married is not interested in being a wife in the ways her times dictate. She's not interested in being a mother at all. Clearly, this perspective was not a favoured one in this book's day and I enjoyed reading it. She and her husband married on physical attraction and sexual chemistry. To say their marriage is not wholly satisfying for either of them, would be an understatement. She's an author and he proudly doesn't read. They're from different social classes and it shows. Still, they have a relationship that has its rhythm and rhyme. At least until, Nevis' publisher, Marcus Chard, arrives on the scene and they have a meeting of the minds. It's known throughout the story that Nevis and Marcus will of course have an affair and her telling of this story is basically all that leads up to her pivotal decision in leaving Simon for New York (and Marcus). The interactions between all three were interesting and while the attraction is clear, the interactions between Nevis and Marcus are very low-key.
This was worth the read. Nevis was spoilt and selfish (so was Simon) but I could see her perspective and she also had wit. The perspectives of all three main characters were well done. There was plenty of social commentary expressed with varying views on family, children, social expectations and more. That was likely my favourite aspect as it was vivid and gave a very good sense of a time and place.
There's mention of several books Nevis reads along the way. One was a book of propaganda from the Nazi era. She mentions having read it for a second time. I was never clear on if she read it because, as a writer, she reads widely or if it was a thing she'd endorsed (knowing how Golden Age lit can be, I wouldn't have been surprised). The book never explains, where it does other references, so it's even more of a random one off.
I'd recommend this and will likely read others in this series. I read this through Kindle Unlimited and there are many others from this ongoing series available.
September 6, 2022
Novel was published in 1931, when Panter-Downes was 25 or 26. The novel was OK...I have read three other works of hers and liked them more, and liked them a lot [One Fine Day (1947); Minnie’s Room (short stories collected between 1947–1965 and republished in 2002 by Persephone Books); Goodnight, Mrs. Craven (short stories collected between 1938–1944 and republished in 1999 by Persephone Books)].
This novel was set in England, London actually and surrounding environs, in the early to mid-1930s, between the world wars. It’s about a young woman Nevis Falconer and a slightly older man, Simon Quinn. They fell in love when she was 21 and he was 27. It was love at first sight and was primarily physical. She was an author and wrote for a living and he was not interested in reading books. They got married and when they were having sex, and that appeared to be often, they got along. And they fought a lot (verbally).... but then made up a lot and had sex.
She appears to have writer’s block as the story starts. She has a couple of novels under her belt and is having trouble with her newest work. Along comes an American publisher, Marcus Chard, who she perceives es as vaguely attractive. To say much more would be to give too much away. I’ll end with what a blurb in the original edition of the book when it first was published by the Literary Press in 1931 — it was a paragraph called The Story that faced the title page of the book:
• ‘My Husband Simon’ tells the story of the married life of Nevis Falconer, a young woman novelist, and Simon Quinn. Temperamentally unsuited, only a mutual physical attraction, sufficiently strong in itself, keeps them together in spite of innumerable quarrels. They love this superficial existence for three years, until one day Nevis meets Marcus Chard, her American publisher, who has just arrived in London. Soon friendship develops into Love. Inevitably the problem faces her. Wife or mistress? Nevis finds herself caught in a whirl of circumstances over which she has no control.
One other thing: I was surprised about some of what was written. Just two examples...here she talks about a woman dying in childbirth of septic poisoning:
• Mrs. Quinn took me upstairs to see the new baby. It lay in a frilled cot, an ugly little human larva, opening and shutting its mouth as though in protest. That speck had murdered Gwen as effectively as a firing-squad.
In another part Nevis is telling her husband she has to put something on...(I forget what part of her clothing)...and he says something like “Why? You’re going to take all your clothes off anyway.” I think he was at the time lying in bed naked. There was a frankness to the book about sex I found surprising, I guess given the time it was written (1931). But it fit in with the novel was not gratuitous.
This is a re-issue from the British Library Women Writer Series. It has preface written by one person and an Afterword written by another person, so that was nice. They were able to supply additional information about the novel and the author.
Reviews:
• https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2...
• https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2020...
• https://www.stuckinabook.com/my-husba...
• https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2020/...
This novel was set in England, London actually and surrounding environs, in the early to mid-1930s, between the world wars. It’s about a young woman Nevis Falconer and a slightly older man, Simon Quinn. They fell in love when she was 21 and he was 27. It was love at first sight and was primarily physical. She was an author and wrote for a living and he was not interested in reading books. They got married and when they were having sex, and that appeared to be often, they got along. And they fought a lot (verbally).... but then made up a lot and had sex.
She appears to have writer’s block as the story starts. She has a couple of novels under her belt and is having trouble with her newest work. Along comes an American publisher, Marcus Chard, who she perceives es as vaguely attractive. To say much more would be to give too much away. I’ll end with what a blurb in the original edition of the book when it first was published by the Literary Press in 1931 — it was a paragraph called The Story that faced the title page of the book:
• ‘My Husband Simon’ tells the story of the married life of Nevis Falconer, a young woman novelist, and Simon Quinn. Temperamentally unsuited, only a mutual physical attraction, sufficiently strong in itself, keeps them together in spite of innumerable quarrels. They love this superficial existence for three years, until one day Nevis meets Marcus Chard, her American publisher, who has just arrived in London. Soon friendship develops into Love. Inevitably the problem faces her. Wife or mistress? Nevis finds herself caught in a whirl of circumstances over which she has no control.
One other thing: I was surprised about some of what was written. Just two examples...here she talks about a woman dying in childbirth of septic poisoning:
• Mrs. Quinn took me upstairs to see the new baby. It lay in a frilled cot, an ugly little human larva, opening and shutting its mouth as though in protest. That speck had murdered Gwen as effectively as a firing-squad.
In another part Nevis is telling her husband she has to put something on...(I forget what part of her clothing)...and he says something like “Why? You’re going to take all your clothes off anyway.” I think he was at the time lying in bed naked. There was a frankness to the book about sex I found surprising, I guess given the time it was written (1931). But it fit in with the novel was not gratuitous.
This is a re-issue from the British Library Women Writer Series. It has preface written by one person and an Afterword written by another person, so that was nice. They were able to supply additional information about the novel and the author.
Reviews:
• https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2...
• https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2020...
• https://www.stuckinabook.com/my-husba...
• https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2020/...
July 3, 2022
MP-D is like a comfortable pair of slippers. Cosy and reassuring. I know that picking up anything she writes means I will enjoy myself, and ‘My Husband Simon’ was no exception. I love her acerbic wit, her gentle prodding and mickey-taking of old fashioned values and morals as her main character undoubtedly strives on light years ahead of the rest to forge a name for self that consists of more than just marriage and children. Her characters demand careers and independence and excitement, and usually find a husband or lover a bit of a nuisance in their life, however much they may love them.
She is a wonderful writer, and an author that I connect with and relate to. I wish she had written more.
She is a wonderful writer, and an author that I connect with and relate to. I wish she had written more.
June 16, 2020
A few years ago, I read and loved One Fine Day (1947), a beautifully-written novel about class, social change and the need to find new ways to live in the years following WW2. The novel was by Mollie Panter-Downes, an English writer who also acted as The New Yorker’s England correspondent/columnist for the duration of the war. Much of her early work has been out of print for several years; but in March, just as the lockdown was kicking in, The British Library reissued one of the early novels, My Husband Simon (1931), as part of their new Women Writers series. It’s an excellent book, one that brilliantly captures the tension arising from a writer’s desire to pursue her craft during the early years of marriage.
The novel’s narrator is Nevis Falconer, a promising young author with a successful debut novel to her name. One weekend, while visiting friends in Burnham Beeches, Nevis meets Simon Quinn, an attractive, forceful young man who works in the city. Their attraction to one another is powerful, immediate and largely emotional. Right from the very start, Nevis knows that this will be more than just a casual meeting at a party. Simon has the potential to disrupt her life, forcing her to compromise on the one she has mapped out for herself – that of a writer with a promising career to look forward to. Nevertheless, the passion she feels for him proves hard to resist…
I wanted to get away from this cool stranger who was threatening the neat little plan of my life. That was quite clear from the beginning. I knew that if I married Simon I should have to fight hard for my work and my individuality. His personality was so strong that it might swamp me. Already I knew that he was obstinate and ruthless; that he liked very few of the things that I liked, and was ignorant as a savage about everything that I had been taught to respect. The thought of our life together appalled and fascinated me. (p. 11)
The couple’s courtship is equally swift and passionate. Having stopped off at a pub on the drive back to London, Simon and Nevis spend the night together, vowing to get married in spite of their obvious differences.
To read the rest of my review, please visit:
https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2020...
The novel’s narrator is Nevis Falconer, a promising young author with a successful debut novel to her name. One weekend, while visiting friends in Burnham Beeches, Nevis meets Simon Quinn, an attractive, forceful young man who works in the city. Their attraction to one another is powerful, immediate and largely emotional. Right from the very start, Nevis knows that this will be more than just a casual meeting at a party. Simon has the potential to disrupt her life, forcing her to compromise on the one she has mapped out for herself – that of a writer with a promising career to look forward to. Nevertheless, the passion she feels for him proves hard to resist…
I wanted to get away from this cool stranger who was threatening the neat little plan of my life. That was quite clear from the beginning. I knew that if I married Simon I should have to fight hard for my work and my individuality. His personality was so strong that it might swamp me. Already I knew that he was obstinate and ruthless; that he liked very few of the things that I liked, and was ignorant as a savage about everything that I had been taught to respect. The thought of our life together appalled and fascinated me. (p. 11)
The couple’s courtship is equally swift and passionate. Having stopped off at a pub on the drive back to London, Simon and Nevis spend the night together, vowing to get married in spite of their obvious differences.
To read the rest of my review, please visit:
https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2020...
July 5, 2025
In some ways this is similar to One Year’s Time (also a BLWW title) in that it’s about a couple who aren’t really suited for each other, but are attracted to each other. Then another man comes into the picture and our main character is interested. This was so much better though. I liked Nevis a lot and I get the appeal of Simon. They just are very different people. Unfortunately they married quick, so things are a bit harder. I liked Nevis’s struggles writing her book, they felt very real. All the side characters are really interesting. The descriptions of the country side are beautiful. I’m glad I read this. I have One Fine Day, but haven’t read it yet. I hear it’s Panter-Downes’ best, so I’m looking forward to reading that much more now that I know I like her writing even when she’s not her best.
August 17, 2020
A friend recommended Mollie Panter-Downes, she wrote before, during and after WWII. This book, My Husband Simon, was published in 1931 and I loved it! Nevis Falconer is a writer who has had great success with her first novel, published when she was 17, and is currently writing her second book. She is invited to a country house, where she meets Simon, and a magnetic spark shoots between them. They spend the night in a country inn, having mad sex, (very modern for the thirties) and subsequently get married. However, three years later her American publisher, Marcus Chard comes to Britain and falls for her. Will she leave Simon for him? That would be a spoiler! This novel looks aft the different mores, the middle classes and the literary world at that time - I will definitely look out for more by this author.
April 30, 2022
This inwardly passionate novel swept me along from the first page to the last. I just had to know what was going to happen to Nevis and Simon. Although most of the actual action of the story takes place in Nevis' head - what she is thinking or feeling about her relationship or the world around her - it's still such a strong and deeply felt narrative, like a great ocean wave swiftly carrying you to another land.
Raw, sensitive and also completely believable. I almost felt like this was an autobiography of a part of the author's life instead of a simple story. It left me feeling slightly upset in some way, but also with a reminder to be true to myself. Being a very sensitive person, I usually don't choose books that affect me so deeply because I get overwhelmed so easily. But, this book was worth reading and I think it will stick with me for a while.
Raw, sensitive and also completely believable. I almost felt like this was an autobiography of a part of the author's life instead of a simple story. It left me feeling slightly upset in some way, but also with a reminder to be true to myself. Being a very sensitive person, I usually don't choose books that affect me so deeply because I get overwhelmed so easily. But, this book was worth reading and I think it will stick with me for a while.
December 17, 2020
I love the British Library Women Writer Series. I was introduced to them by their consultant Simon Thomas, who I have the pleasure of following in instagram. This is such a matured book and felt like ahead of its time. The theme and anguish felt by the protagonist, a budding authoress, felt so relatable and modern. It is surprising it was written in the early part of 20th century. I highly recommend this book and others in the series.
October 20, 2021
In America this was originally published as Nothing in Common but Sex. While not an appealing title, it is apt. This book is a good case study for what happens when one jumps into a marriage based solely on physical attraction/lust. While there is a lot of feeling and passion is that enough to sustain a relationship long term?
November 17, 2021
Nothing really happens in this rather dated book. It is not really about Simon - more about the story teller and her relationship with her husband. She is rather shallow, silly and over privileged -and she knows it.
June 1, 2020
Not in the same league as One Fine Day.
April 25, 2024
I enjoyed the tone and language of this novel, which I can usually count on with women writing in midcentury Britain, but found the first person narration a little grating, especially as the protagonist, Nevis Falconer, a natural but creatively-stifled writer in an unsatisfying marriage, sloggs through bouts of melancholy and purposelessness (also perhaps a theme of the midcentury novel). The narrative felt quite claustrophobic, probably purposely since you are only ever in Nevis' head, and as the reader you alternately empathize with her and roll your eyes at her upper middle class difficulties and condescension of others, particularly her in-laws and husband, Simon, who self-describes as barely literate and makes it a point to remain clueless about the literary world Nevis inhabits and her writing career. He remains a main character throughout, and their relationship illustrates, among other things, evergreen distinctions between social classes in post-war Britain. I was struck by the ways that neither Nevis nor her husband, Simon, were willing to learn from and be taught by those who do not possess the same kind of intelligence they judge worthwhile or necessary, and how this contributed to the disintegration of their relationship. I will always enjoy a nuanced story about a marriage, and this one checked that box.
January 3, 2023
The edition I read was published as part of The British Library Women Writers Series. This is "a curated collection of novels by female authors who enjoyed broad appeal in their day. In a century during which the role of women in society changed radically, their fictional heroines highlight women's experience of life inside and outside the home through the decades in these rich, insightful and evocative stories."
Series consultant Simon Thomas created the middlebrow blog Stuck in a Book in 2007. He is also the co-host of the popular podcast Tea or Books?
Series consultant Simon Thomas created the middlebrow blog Stuck in a Book in 2007. He is also the co-host of the popular podcast Tea or Books?
August 12, 2022
✨spoilers below! ✨
This sad little book is about what can happen when you marry based solely on physical attraction. Nevis marries Simon, shortly after meeting him at a friend’s house due to their intense physical attraction but soon becomes stifled by the marriage and the societal expectations of being a wife when she wants to be free to pursue her writing career. Nevis soon finds herself unable to write to the standard she knows she is capable of. She is also frustrated by Simon’s lack of literary and cultural knowledge and appreciation.
Four years into her marriage, Nevis meets Marcus Chard, her agent, with whom she has much more in common and who is a person who will support and nurture her writing career. The book ends with Nevis leaving Simon for a stay in New York with Marcus, knowing their marriage is probably at an end and that she will inevitably have an affair with Marcus.
The last parting of Simon and Nevis is heart-breaking and also the tragic story of Simon’s sister-in-law, Gwen, who, is a model wife and huge contrast with Nevis.
There is so much sadness and poignancy in this book but also a lot of wit - usually at the expense of the lower classes and Simon’s family. I will definitely be reading more of Mollie Panter-Downes’ work as she is an excellent writer but hope some of her novels and stories have happier endings. What would you recommend next if you have read more of her work?
This sad little book is about what can happen when you marry based solely on physical attraction. Nevis marries Simon, shortly after meeting him at a friend’s house due to their intense physical attraction but soon becomes stifled by the marriage and the societal expectations of being a wife when she wants to be free to pursue her writing career. Nevis soon finds herself unable to write to the standard she knows she is capable of. She is also frustrated by Simon’s lack of literary and cultural knowledge and appreciation.
Four years into her marriage, Nevis meets Marcus Chard, her agent, with whom she has much more in common and who is a person who will support and nurture her writing career. The book ends with Nevis leaving Simon for a stay in New York with Marcus, knowing their marriage is probably at an end and that she will inevitably have an affair with Marcus.
The last parting of Simon and Nevis is heart-breaking and also the tragic story of Simon’s sister-in-law, Gwen, who, is a model wife and huge contrast with Nevis.
There is so much sadness and poignancy in this book but also a lot of wit - usually at the expense of the lower classes and Simon’s family. I will definitely be reading more of Mollie Panter-Downes’ work as she is an excellent writer but hope some of her novels and stories have happier endings. What would you recommend next if you have read more of her work?
August 5, 2022
Wonderful insight into daily life of well to do women in the 1930s. The struggle of a young writer who doesn't conform to society's standards. Inside look into marriage and the discrepancy between her creative desires and her husband's expectations.
September 16, 2021
A dreary and depressing book about writer's block being brought on by marriage. I can't help feeling it might have been partly autobiographical. There are chapters of wanting to stay in the marriage and further chapters about the desperate need to get out. Endless chapters.
Nevis and Simon get married because of falling in lust. Mistakenly thinking it's love, they marry only to discover that apart from sex they have zilch in common.
I am so relieved that 90 years on one no longer has to marry in order to fuck. Thank goodness. The only chapter that really came alive was at the end when Nevis knew she was going to have to leave this man she loved but whom she knew to be absolutely the wrong guy to live with.
It felt truly painful....but I was so relieved she was finally taking some action because hopefully it would raise her out of her depression. Which would raise me out of mine!
Nevis and Simon get married because of falling in lust. Mistakenly thinking it's love, they marry only to discover that apart from sex they have zilch in common.
I am so relieved that 90 years on one no longer has to marry in order to fuck. Thank goodness. The only chapter that really came alive was at the end when Nevis knew she was going to have to leave this man she loved but whom she knew to be absolutely the wrong guy to live with.
It felt truly painful....but I was so relieved she was finally taking some action because hopefully it would raise her out of her depression. Which would raise me out of mine!
July 19, 2022
A lightness of touch that makes a book in which nothing really happens completely compelling
May 16, 2020
3.5 stars
Want to read
May 22, 2020I learned of this book here: https://fromfirstpagetolast.wordpress...
December 14, 2020
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2020...
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2020...
March 2, 2021
Only got to page 69 but really not feeling it. Neither the writing, charecters or plot are drawing me in. May pick it up again sometime but probably not since I have so much other stuff to read.
January 21, 2021
This is the story of a marriage, of a woman regarding her partner with brutal honesty, and of an acknowledgement of genuinely confused feelings. Mollie Panter-Downes’ 1931 novel, now republished in the stylish British Library Woman Writers series, is a moving account of a young writer’s life in London. It speaks movingly of the joys to be found in London life, the evenings of bohemian existence, the streets, the journeys and the people that she meets. Nevis Falconer, the narrator, also writes of the frustrations of daily life, the annoyances of her days ordering meals and dealing with the blocks to writing. She loves her husband Simon Quinn, in many ways, realising that he is essentially different from the other men in their circle, though this is not always a good thing.Nevis is appalled by his family, especially his mother, whose social ambitions and attempts to run the lives of everyone are always apparent. This is a deeply personal narrative in which a flawed character tells her story, highlighting particular points, accepting the arguments and the misunderstandings. It is honest in that it accepts that her writing is not easy, that her first book was good but her second novel was not, and that she may no longer be a “promising” young writer. This is the story of a relationship of imperfect people, of settings beautifully described, of insightful portraits of people around her. I found it an engaging and very different read, a picture of the time but with timeless observations on people. I was very pleased to have the opportunity to read and review this book.
The book begins with Mollie contemplating whether she should have married Simon so quickly after meeting him. While she knows it has affected her writing and “Freedom and work are the only important things”, she also knows that the setting of a scorching hot weekend in the country was so special that she would fall in love with him. She admits that he is remarkably handsome, different and memorable. Coming from a relatively wealthy background, she is comfortable in most settings, and describes the flat in which they live accurately as being at a changing end of the street. Nevis acknowledges that Simon would like to live in the countryside, but she prefers a London flat, together with tricky servants and other distractions of city life. Simon works all day in an office, she finds that writing in the flat is difficult. In the evening they meet people, and while the parties and the bars may be entertaining, she finds meeting with Simon’s friends uncomfortable. Worse still are the meals with his parents, although she gets on well with her father -in- law, her mother-in-law is demanding and exacting. “Sunday was the day of the week when we were happiest and when I seemed to see Simon with the greatest distinctness”. They visit the country, they ride horses, and acknowledge that when no other people are around they get on so much better. Their somewhat erratic relationship is challenged when an American publisher arrives on the scene, and Nevis is compelled to reevaluate everything. Marcus Chard offers an alternative viewpoint, and Nevis has to focus on what, and who, is important to her.
This is a gentle read in many ways, but represents intense thought on the part of the writer. This edition contains a timeline of the 1930s, and a biography of Panter - Downes which points out her wartime writing for the New Yorker. The Preface points out that in making Nevis a writer, she was including something of an autobiographical element. The Afterword highlights the literary context of this book, and some of the references it contains.This is a very readable book of its time, and I recommend it.
The book begins with Mollie contemplating whether she should have married Simon so quickly after meeting him. While she knows it has affected her writing and “Freedom and work are the only important things”, she also knows that the setting of a scorching hot weekend in the country was so special that she would fall in love with him. She admits that he is remarkably handsome, different and memorable. Coming from a relatively wealthy background, she is comfortable in most settings, and describes the flat in which they live accurately as being at a changing end of the street. Nevis acknowledges that Simon would like to live in the countryside, but she prefers a London flat, together with tricky servants and other distractions of city life. Simon works all day in an office, she finds that writing in the flat is difficult. In the evening they meet people, and while the parties and the bars may be entertaining, she finds meeting with Simon’s friends uncomfortable. Worse still are the meals with his parents, although she gets on well with her father -in- law, her mother-in-law is demanding and exacting. “Sunday was the day of the week when we were happiest and when I seemed to see Simon with the greatest distinctness”. They visit the country, they ride horses, and acknowledge that when no other people are around they get on so much better. Their somewhat erratic relationship is challenged when an American publisher arrives on the scene, and Nevis is compelled to reevaluate everything. Marcus Chard offers an alternative viewpoint, and Nevis has to focus on what, and who, is important to her.
This is a gentle read in many ways, but represents intense thought on the part of the writer. This edition contains a timeline of the 1930s, and a biography of Panter - Downes which points out her wartime writing for the New Yorker. The Preface points out that in making Nevis a writer, she was including something of an autobiographical element. The Afterword highlights the literary context of this book, and some of the references it contains.This is a very readable book of its time, and I recommend it.
August 26, 2021
I’m still confused because I loved Simon and the introspective analysis of his character but I intensely disliked Nevis, the narrator, who, as such, is the voice through which we learn about Simon. I also realise that Simon cannot stand alone as a character because he works in comparison and contrast with the protagonist, his wife Nevis. Every other page there would be a sentence that made me roll my eyes: Nevis looking down at lower classes and comparing them to animals, Nevis considering other women as stupid and dull; Nevis saying that she’s intellectually superior to mostly everyone around her because as a writer she can really “feel” and so on and so forth. Part of it was clearly there for the reader to criticise the character and see her as arrogant and snobbish, part of it...not so sure what the intention was. All of this made her quite insufferable.
Simon is just as obnoxious but he never comes across as annoyingly superior, which, to me, made all the difference. The contradictions defining the relationship between the two protagonists are nuanced, feel very real and are a treat to read. Their apparent unsuitability is at the end a question of social class: she is upper middle class, he is lower middle class and the difference between the two is an insurmountable obstacle (Simon Thomas, who curated this edition, writes an illuminating Afterword). I underlined so many passages in the novel describing Simon, his magnetism, his arrogance, his beauty, his selfishness and ignorance, his love for the countryside, his lack of what Nevis calls “an intellectual life”.
This novel is also very much about the role of women in society. Nevis is a writer and when she marries Simon and into his family, her independence is slowly but surely taken away from her and she feels that her husband, who represents the traditional family values of the time (woman at home, not working, taking care of the children) will crash her, her personality, her opinions, her creative life until she is nothing but a shadow. So she has an option out, she needs to make a choice. And let me just say, I shed a tear at the end, and that happens exactly never with books. I don’t know how I feel about this novel, if Nevis had been one of the characters you “love to hate”, I would have known. Simon remains one of the literary crushes of the year.
Simon is just as obnoxious but he never comes across as annoyingly superior, which, to me, made all the difference. The contradictions defining the relationship between the two protagonists are nuanced, feel very real and are a treat to read. Their apparent unsuitability is at the end a question of social class: she is upper middle class, he is lower middle class and the difference between the two is an insurmountable obstacle (Simon Thomas, who curated this edition, writes an illuminating Afterword). I underlined so many passages in the novel describing Simon, his magnetism, his arrogance, his beauty, his selfishness and ignorance, his love for the countryside, his lack of what Nevis calls “an intellectual life”.
This novel is also very much about the role of women in society. Nevis is a writer and when she marries Simon and into his family, her independence is slowly but surely taken away from her and she feels that her husband, who represents the traditional family values of the time (woman at home, not working, taking care of the children) will crash her, her personality, her opinions, her creative life until she is nothing but a shadow. So she has an option out, she needs to make a choice. And let me just say, I shed a tear at the end, and that happens exactly never with books. I don’t know how I feel about this novel, if Nevis had been one of the characters you “love to hate”, I would have known. Simon remains one of the literary crushes of the year.
May 28, 2024
Sadly I did not enjoy Mollie Pater-Downes dissatisfied snobbish self-absorbed little wife girl loved but misunderstood by husband and courted but unbwenost to her also loved by rugged older American publisher yada yada yada act which is a pity as it did promise at the start. The description of Slough as a place was perhaps the best in this soon to be forgotten novel of female author dissatisfaction. Some lovely touches of setting, time and place but one is too old and has encountered the theme too many times and one has passed the age of the 24 yrs old character. Too obviously immature, petulant and certain of ourselves and our opinions as our twenty year old selves tend to be. Despite the earlier obligations such as kids and marriage and in laws of 1930s England, a young (wo)man is still a young (wo)man. A 2.5 for the irritating immaturity pronounced with such certitude and lack of a backing of a dramatic narrative plot. (bit like my reviews)
March 9, 2023
I initially struggled with the protagonist views. She was understandably happy to be a writer, and cautious of getting married because she inherently knew she would have to give up certain aspects of her independence.
Lost me on page 54 when she comments on reading for the second time a piece of Nazi propaganda created as an attempt to promote Anti-Semitic hate. I could care less about this character, this book, or this author. Won’t be reading anything else by her. Full stop.
Lost me on page 54 when she comments on reading for the second time a piece of Nazi propaganda created as an attempt to promote Anti-Semitic hate. I could care less about this character, this book, or this author. Won’t be reading anything else by her. Full stop.
December 26, 2024
Written beautifully in the 1930s style of literature. Nothing really happens but it was still very engaging and is more of an emotional journey than a book with a big plot. Just generally enjoyed reading it- was easy to read. By the end, you have much insight into Simon and Nevis’ relationship and you begin to feel their feelings too. The ending is foreshadowed well, but the captivating writing still brings you emotion as you reach the last pages of the book.
February 13, 2025
Such a well written story with such an unlikable main character, I got thoroughly fed up with her judgements of everyone else's pathetic, sad lives when she was so oblivious to her own failings.
I came away thinking she would end in fifteen years time contemplating her third divorce and lamenting the one that got away...her husband Simon.
I came away thinking she would end in fifteen years time contemplating her third divorce and lamenting the one that got away...her husband Simon.
October 2, 2023
Three stars is perhaps slightly generous for this rather shallow book about a fissiparous and shallow couple. Both are self-possessed, both are unlikeable and neither of them prepared to work at their relationship. It is hard to regard any of the characters as anything other than caricatures.
March 19, 2023
Nice easy Sunday read. Ending too abrupt though. 3.5stars
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