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La sonrisa olvidada
El joven y orondo profesor de griego Selwyn Potter se encuentra en la isla de Thasos a un antiguo catedrático, el pomposo, egocéntrico, asocial y maleducado Percival Challoner, que finge no conocerlo. Se dirige a la misteriosa isla de Keritha, alejada de cualquier ruta turística y donde los forasteros no son bienvenidos, para tomar posesión de la herencia de unos tíos suyos que, de manera muy molesta, resultaban ser más jóvenes que él –Challoner odia esa clase de extravagancias-. Su conocimiento del griego clásico es tan grande como su ignorancia del moderno, por lo que Potter se ofrece a continuar viaje con él haciendo labores de traductor. Así ambos se embarcan en un minúsculo bote cargado de varias cajas de Coca-Cola y una cabra con destino a Keritha.
292 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
About the author
Margaret Kennedy
54 books89 followersMargaret Kennedy was an English novelist and playwright.
She attended Cheltenham Ladies' College, where she began writing, and then went up to Somerville College, Oxford in 1915 to read history. Her first publication was a history book, A Century of Revolution (1922). Margaret Kennedy was married to the barrister David Davies. They had a son and two daughters, one of whom was the novelist Julia Birley. The novelist Serena Mackesy is her grand-daughter.
She attended Cheltenham Ladies' College, where she began writing, and then went up to Somerville College, Oxford in 1915 to read history. Her first publication was a history book, A Century of Revolution (1922). Margaret Kennedy was married to the barrister David Davies. They had a son and two daughters, one of whom was the novelist Julia Birley. The novelist Serena Mackesy is her grand-daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 4, 2020
We have been having some long overdue building and decorating work done, and one of the consequence of that has been that I have had to pack a good number of my books away. While I was going through the difficult process of deciding which books I could part with for a few months, a book by Margaret Kennedy caught my eye, and I realised that I hadn’t read any of her work for a very long time.
That had been deliberate, because I only have two novels left and I hate the idea of running out, but once the idea of reading them had lodged in my head I couldn’t shake it our again; and the idea of visiting a Greek island while the weather raged outside was simply irresistible.
The Forgotten Smile is Margaret Kennedy’s penultimate novel, and it is mainly set on the island of Keritha, Like many of her novels, it tells the separate stories of a number of characters whose paths cross and it moves backwards and forwards in time.
Doctor Challoner is an elderly academic, and he is in Greece and on his way to Keritha to collect an inheritance from his aunt and uncle. His grand-father’s second wife had been Greek, she and her two children had never really felt at home in England, and so when her husband died she took her children home. Freddie and Edith had lived there for all of their lives, happily and rather unconventionally. Though Doctor Challoner had no feelings about them and no interest in their home or their island, he was set on recovering certain family heirlooms.
While he is on his way, he encounters Selwyn Potter, a former student, who was academically brilliant, good-natured, but socially awkward. Doctor Challoner wasn’t overly pleased to see him, he didn’t think to ask what he was doing there or why he had become a school-teacher, but as he could not speak modern Greek he took him along to act as his interpreter.
The sky was dazzling and the sea was a very dark blue shot through with streaks of green and bronze like a peacock’s tail. The distant islands, scattered about the horizon, were pale lilac and pink in the triumphant light.
When the two men reached their destination, Selwyn was surprised to be greeted by Kate Benson, whose children he had known at school and who he had always considered to be the best of mothers. She remembered him somewhat less fondly, as the clumsy young man who had broken her coffee table, but each would both discover that the other had an unexpected journey to reach that particular point in the world and in their life.
The two histories that unravel are both expected and unexpected.
Kate felt disregarded by her husband and underappreciated by her children. It might be true that she had not handled their transition from children to adults with lives and relationships of their own as well as she might, but even if that as the case they had judged he harshly and thoughtlessly. That was why she decided to do something that she had always wanted to do – she went on a cruise. It as not a great success but it took her to Keritha. She went for a walk while the rest of her fellow travellers sat on the beach, she met some old school-friends – Freddie and Edith Challoner; they invited her to stay – and she did. A visit home showed her that her absence had consequences that she had not foreseen, and that maybe that was no longer her place in the world.
Selwyn had thought that he had found his place in the world. He had never thought that he would but he did, and then he lost almost everything through no fault of his own.
He had been, she perceived, too happy for safety.No refuge was left to him in a world which had completely disintegrated.
These two stories of separation and loss, rediscovery and recovery, are set against a very different story.
Keritha was a tiny island, away from the tourist routes and largely untouched by the modern world. The old ways still prevailed, it was pagan and it was primitive, and that gave it its own particular magic. Alfred and Edith appreciated that, Kate and Selwyn appreciated that, but Doctor Challoner would have none of it; because though he loved the classics he had no interest in anything at all beyond his chosen sphere. He considered the island backward and the islanders barbarous; he just wanted to collect his inheritance and leave, but on Keritha – and particularly for the heir of the man who had been dubbed ‘Lord Freddie’ the world just didn’t work like that!
In the early stages of the book my overriding thought was that I was reading another very good Margaret Kennedy novel. Her writing was elegant and evocative, she was clear-sighted, she was psychologically acute, and she made these characters and their worlds – both Keritha and England – live and breathe.
I was particularly taken with the two leads, Selwyn and Kate. I knew these people, not well because Margaret Kennedy is an author who shows rather than introduces her characters. I understood them and I empathised with them.
There is a little comedy here, among the more serious and complicated emotions, and though it isn’t something I usually associate with her work I have to say that she handled it very well.
As I turned more pages I my thinking shifted, because I was so very impressed by one thing : how cleverly she was gradually revealing different aspects of her characters and their lives. I didn’t think about how she might end this story, but when I reached the end I thought that it was exactly right. It was a final chapter for this book but not a final chapter in the lives that were illuminated in its pages, and I appreciated it was left open with just a little suggestion of what might happen next.
‘The Forgotten Smile’ is both recognisably Margaret Kennedy and distinctive in her body of work; and thought I cannot say that it is her very best work I can say that there are things her that she did as well – and maybe even better – than she had before.
That had been deliberate, because I only have two novels left and I hate the idea of running out, but once the idea of reading them had lodged in my head I couldn’t shake it our again; and the idea of visiting a Greek island while the weather raged outside was simply irresistible.
The Forgotten Smile is Margaret Kennedy’s penultimate novel, and it is mainly set on the island of Keritha, Like many of her novels, it tells the separate stories of a number of characters whose paths cross and it moves backwards and forwards in time.
Doctor Challoner is an elderly academic, and he is in Greece and on his way to Keritha to collect an inheritance from his aunt and uncle. His grand-father’s second wife had been Greek, she and her two children had never really felt at home in England, and so when her husband died she took her children home. Freddie and Edith had lived there for all of their lives, happily and rather unconventionally. Though Doctor Challoner had no feelings about them and no interest in their home or their island, he was set on recovering certain family heirlooms.
While he is on his way, he encounters Selwyn Potter, a former student, who was academically brilliant, good-natured, but socially awkward. Doctor Challoner wasn’t overly pleased to see him, he didn’t think to ask what he was doing there or why he had become a school-teacher, but as he could not speak modern Greek he took him along to act as his interpreter.
The sky was dazzling and the sea was a very dark blue shot through with streaks of green and bronze like a peacock’s tail. The distant islands, scattered about the horizon, were pale lilac and pink in the triumphant light.
When the two men reached their destination, Selwyn was surprised to be greeted by Kate Benson, whose children he had known at school and who he had always considered to be the best of mothers. She remembered him somewhat less fondly, as the clumsy young man who had broken her coffee table, but each would both discover that the other had an unexpected journey to reach that particular point in the world and in their life.
The two histories that unravel are both expected and unexpected.
Kate felt disregarded by her husband and underappreciated by her children. It might be true that she had not handled their transition from children to adults with lives and relationships of their own as well as she might, but even if that as the case they had judged he harshly and thoughtlessly. That was why she decided to do something that she had always wanted to do – she went on a cruise. It as not a great success but it took her to Keritha. She went for a walk while the rest of her fellow travellers sat on the beach, she met some old school-friends – Freddie and Edith Challoner; they invited her to stay – and she did. A visit home showed her that her absence had consequences that she had not foreseen, and that maybe that was no longer her place in the world.
Selwyn had thought that he had found his place in the world. He had never thought that he would but he did, and then he lost almost everything through no fault of his own.
He had been, she perceived, too happy for safety.No refuge was left to him in a world which had completely disintegrated.
These two stories of separation and loss, rediscovery and recovery, are set against a very different story.
Keritha was a tiny island, away from the tourist routes and largely untouched by the modern world. The old ways still prevailed, it was pagan and it was primitive, and that gave it its own particular magic. Alfred and Edith appreciated that, Kate and Selwyn appreciated that, but Doctor Challoner would have none of it; because though he loved the classics he had no interest in anything at all beyond his chosen sphere. He considered the island backward and the islanders barbarous; he just wanted to collect his inheritance and leave, but on Keritha – and particularly for the heir of the man who had been dubbed ‘Lord Freddie’ the world just didn’t work like that!
In the early stages of the book my overriding thought was that I was reading another very good Margaret Kennedy novel. Her writing was elegant and evocative, she was clear-sighted, she was psychologically acute, and she made these characters and their worlds – both Keritha and England – live and breathe.
I was particularly taken with the two leads, Selwyn and Kate. I knew these people, not well because Margaret Kennedy is an author who shows rather than introduces her characters. I understood them and I empathised with them.
There is a little comedy here, among the more serious and complicated emotions, and though it isn’t something I usually associate with her work I have to say that she handled it very well.
As I turned more pages I my thinking shifted, because I was so very impressed by one thing : how cleverly she was gradually revealing different aspects of her characters and their lives. I didn’t think about how she might end this story, but when I reached the end I thought that it was exactly right. It was a final chapter for this book but not a final chapter in the lives that were illuminated in its pages, and I appreciated it was left open with just a little suggestion of what might happen next.
‘The Forgotten Smile’ is both recognisably Margaret Kennedy and distinctive in her body of work; and thought I cannot say that it is her very best work I can say that there are things her that she did as well – and maybe even better – than she had before.
January 3, 2021
I don't know why it took me so long to read another book of hers having already really liked The Constant Nymph.
It opens with Dr Challoner, a pompous Greek scholar who needs to get to a small, remote Greek island called Keritha to claim an inheritance. He bumps into Selwyn, an ex pupil of his. At first he tried to get rid of him but realising that Selwyn can speak the language, he accepts his offer to accompany him as a translator. On the way to the island, he's worrying that the English woman he heard had be living there, or the servants, will have made off with the family jewels, and about how difficult it'll be to strip the worthless house of it's furniture to sell off.
On arrival, they meet Kate Benson, the English woman who has been staying with the Challoners for the past two years. Selwyn recognises her as the mother of his school friends whose house he stayed at years ago, he's idealised her for years since as the perfect mother; she remembers him as the clumsy oaf who broke her table. Kate had left England a couple of years ago having got tired of being taken for granted by her family who don't seem to notice or know her as a person.
The story time-lines jump around as the characters backgrounds are explained and unually, each one is as interesting as the last, until eventually they all come together on the island. The Island almost seems to be a character in itself, and a pretty unfriendly one at that, unless it likes you. Island life is pretty simple and the story seems to be questioning what is civilisation, amongst other things.
I certainly don't plan on leaving years between my next book by her.
It opens with Dr Challoner, a pompous Greek scholar who needs to get to a small, remote Greek island called Keritha to claim an inheritance. He bumps into Selwyn, an ex pupil of his. At first he tried to get rid of him but realising that Selwyn can speak the language, he accepts his offer to accompany him as a translator. On the way to the island, he's worrying that the English woman he heard had be living there, or the servants, will have made off with the family jewels, and about how difficult it'll be to strip the worthless house of it's furniture to sell off.
On arrival, they meet Kate Benson, the English woman who has been staying with the Challoners for the past two years. Selwyn recognises her as the mother of his school friends whose house he stayed at years ago, he's idealised her for years since as the perfect mother; she remembers him as the clumsy oaf who broke her table. Kate had left England a couple of years ago having got tired of being taken for granted by her family who don't seem to notice or know her as a person.
The story time-lines jump around as the characters backgrounds are explained and unually, each one is as interesting as the last, until eventually they all come together on the island. The Island almost seems to be a character in itself, and a pretty unfriendly one at that, unless it likes you. Island life is pretty simple and the story seems to be questioning what is civilisation, amongst other things.
I certainly don't plan on leaving years between my next book by her.
November 25, 2017
The Forgotten Smile is a later Margaret Kennedy novel – one offering the reader a wonderful escape to another world. The majority of the novel takes place on Keritha, a tiny Greek Island, largely forgotten by the rest of the world. A place of Pagan mysticism and legend, where the cruise ships don’t stop and aren’t really welcome. It’s a place out of step with the modern world and is perfect for an escape.
The title of the novel is explained thus:
“I believe that is why our ancestors, who never supposed themselves destined for felicity, have left so many memorials, in this part of the world, to human happiness and to the spectacle of men rejoicing. In the earliest sculpture they are smiling. It is this forgotten smile, sometimes called ‘mysterious’, which I have sometimes seen on Keritha. We have preserved it because, in the eyes of the world, for many centuries, there has been nothing of note to be sought on our island.”
The novel opens with an unexpected meeting between pompous Ancient Greek scholar Dr. Percival Challoner – and Selwyn Potter – one of his former students – on the Greek island of Thasos. Selwyn (by far my favourite character) is a man who is only dimly aware of his own inability to fit in, his waist line is too thick, his hair is too curly. At first, to Selwyn’s confusion, Dr Challoner doesn’t seem to remember his former student – this is a man who is pretty disparaging of everything. However, the two are destined to be thrown together, and Dr Challoner forced to remember Selwyn Potter, as he finds he needs his help. Dr Challoner has no interest in any field of study other than his own, to the extent that he can’t even speak modern Greek – just the ancient. Wanting to travel to the mysterious Keritha, where he has a legacy waiting for him in the form of a house which belonged to an uncle and aunt (whom he resented simply for their being younger than he – Dr Challoner dislikes such unconventional oddities) – he enlists Selwyn’s help as translator. The pair find themselves on a small boat for the trip to Keritha – which they share with crates of Coca-Cola and a goat.
Full review: https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2017/...
The title of the novel is explained thus:
“I believe that is why our ancestors, who never supposed themselves destined for felicity, have left so many memorials, in this part of the world, to human happiness and to the spectacle of men rejoicing. In the earliest sculpture they are smiling. It is this forgotten smile, sometimes called ‘mysterious’, which I have sometimes seen on Keritha. We have preserved it because, in the eyes of the world, for many centuries, there has been nothing of note to be sought on our island.”
The novel opens with an unexpected meeting between pompous Ancient Greek scholar Dr. Percival Challoner – and Selwyn Potter – one of his former students – on the Greek island of Thasos. Selwyn (by far my favourite character) is a man who is only dimly aware of his own inability to fit in, his waist line is too thick, his hair is too curly. At first, to Selwyn’s confusion, Dr Challoner doesn’t seem to remember his former student – this is a man who is pretty disparaging of everything. However, the two are destined to be thrown together, and Dr Challoner forced to remember Selwyn Potter, as he finds he needs his help. Dr Challoner has no interest in any field of study other than his own, to the extent that he can’t even speak modern Greek – just the ancient. Wanting to travel to the mysterious Keritha, where he has a legacy waiting for him in the form of a house which belonged to an uncle and aunt (whom he resented simply for their being younger than he – Dr Challoner dislikes such unconventional oddities) – he enlists Selwyn’s help as translator. The pair find themselves on a small boat for the trip to Keritha – which they share with crates of Coca-Cola and a goat.
Full review: https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2017/...
July 13, 2016
3,5 stars. My review: https://theblankgarden.wordpress.com/...
June 25, 2025
This is my second book by this author and I will definitely be reading more. I have such a fondness for The Feast. I think she fills my comfort read niche.
April 16, 2021
Una delicia. Leer este libro fue como un bálsamo en mis días.
Transcurre en una alejada isla griega, Keritha. Allí viaja el profesor Challoner para hacerse cargo de una herencia, en la isla se encuentra con Potter, un antiguo alumno, y con Kate, que llegó hace años hasta allí en un desastre de crucero.
Entre el pasado y el presente vamos conociendo la historia de cada uno de sus británicos protagonistas. Ni la realidad de cada uno ni el secreto de la isla se ve a simple vista, nada es lo que parece de primeras.
La novela posee un profundo mensaje sobre la felicidad, el lugar de pertenencia de cada cuál y el papel del destino.
Hablando del personaje de Kate, ella venía de una tribu matriarcal en la que apenas se prestaba atención a los maridos, que se limitaban a ganar dinero, engendrar hijos y hacer lo que se les decía. Fue un poco desviacionista, su familia se quejaba de que nunca se había comportado como las demás. Cuando se casó no permitió que los defectos de su marido se convirtieran en burla y discusión tribales. Vivió a su manera la parte de la vida que quiso, después nada ni nadie salió como debía salir y … esta es la historia.
💜 Sobre la autora: Margaret Kennedy (1896-1967) es la primera de una saga de escritoras inglesas (su hija Julia Birley y su nieta Serena Mackesy). En su tiempo fue una referencia para la literatura inglesa, colaborando también en guiones de versiones de teatro y cine de sus libros. 💜
"Insistían en ser felices porque era su naturaleza, no su destino, lo que los regía”.
“Ahora, como entonces, había salido y entrado en sí mismo como un suspiro. Los árboles, el sol, el mar y el barranco lo habían mirado, lo habían convertido en un blanco de vida, antes de que los muros de su prisión volvieran a cerrarse, dejándolo con los ojos y los oídos más agudos para interpretarlos como pudiera”.
Transcurre en una alejada isla griega, Keritha. Allí viaja el profesor Challoner para hacerse cargo de una herencia, en la isla se encuentra con Potter, un antiguo alumno, y con Kate, que llegó hace años hasta allí en un desastre de crucero.
Entre el pasado y el presente vamos conociendo la historia de cada uno de sus británicos protagonistas. Ni la realidad de cada uno ni el secreto de la isla se ve a simple vista, nada es lo que parece de primeras.
La novela posee un profundo mensaje sobre la felicidad, el lugar de pertenencia de cada cuál y el papel del destino.
Hablando del personaje de Kate, ella venía de una tribu matriarcal en la que apenas se prestaba atención a los maridos, que se limitaban a ganar dinero, engendrar hijos y hacer lo que se les decía. Fue un poco desviacionista, su familia se quejaba de que nunca se había comportado como las demás. Cuando se casó no permitió que los defectos de su marido se convirtieran en burla y discusión tribales. Vivió a su manera la parte de la vida que quiso, después nada ni nadie salió como debía salir y … esta es la historia.
💜 Sobre la autora: Margaret Kennedy (1896-1967) es la primera de una saga de escritoras inglesas (su hija Julia Birley y su nieta Serena Mackesy). En su tiempo fue una referencia para la literatura inglesa, colaborando también en guiones de versiones de teatro y cine de sus libros. 💜
"Insistían en ser felices porque era su naturaleza, no su destino, lo que los regía”.
“Ahora, como entonces, había salido y entrado en sí mismo como un suspiro. Los árboles, el sol, el mar y el barranco lo habían mirado, lo habían convertido en un blanco de vida, antes de que los muros de su prisión volvieran a cerrarse, dejándolo con los ojos y los oídos más agudos para interpretarlos como pudiera”.
December 17, 2022
Si consiguiéramos resucitar a Elisabeth Taylor (la escritora, no la actriz) y la convenciésemos para escribir una versión de "Mi familia y otros animales" desde el punto de vista de la madre de los Durrell, quizás obtendríamos algo parecido a "La sonrisa olvidada" (pero un poco más satisfactorio).
October 14, 2021
The Forgotten Smile, Margaret Kennedy's final novel, was published in 1961. As many of her stories tend to, The Forgotten Smile deals with separation. The protagonist of the piece, Kate, is 'bored with being overlooked by her grown-up children', and decides to go on an Aegean cruise. Kate subsequently finds herself on a secluded Greek island named Keritha, which seems to have been 'all but forgotten' by the rest of the world. One gets an idea as to what Keritha is like before the protagonists have even stepped foot upon the island: on the boat going over, for example, 'the cargo included several crates of Coca-Cola and a tempestuous billy goat'.
On Keritha, she encounters both old friends and strangers. Selwyn Potter, already known to Kate's childhood friends - who call Keritha their homeland - has the biggest effect upon her life. Selwyn is intelligent with regard to languages and history, and we learn about his character immediately: 'He had but a hazy notion of his own effect upon others. That his waistline was abnormal he knew because he found it difficult, in England, to buy trousers off the peg. He also knew that his hair was stiff and curly since hats had a way of balancing off it as though recoiling from a nest of springs'. Selwyn is the most vivid character in the book, and it does feel as though Kate pales in comparison with him at times. Partially, her character may have been hindered with regard to her entrance into the novel; whilst she is, in effect, the book's central protagonist, we meet other characters first, and see her only in relation to them.
The real strength in the book lies in Kennedy's descriptions, particularly those which relate to the natural world. She sets the scene marvellously throughout by weaving together sentences such as this: 'The sky was dazzling and the sea was a very dark blue shot through with streaks of green and bronze like a peacock's tail. The distant islands, scattered about the horizon, were pale lilac and pink in the triumphant light'.
Whilst the story in The Forgotten Smile is interesting, there was sadly nothing about it which caused it to be an overly memorable novel for me. There is a definite sense of detachment created between reader and characters, and whilst the writing style is nice on the whole, it does not work well enough to pull the book to a higher, less predictable level.
On Keritha, she encounters both old friends and strangers. Selwyn Potter, already known to Kate's childhood friends - who call Keritha their homeland - has the biggest effect upon her life. Selwyn is intelligent with regard to languages and history, and we learn about his character immediately: 'He had but a hazy notion of his own effect upon others. That his waistline was abnormal he knew because he found it difficult, in England, to buy trousers off the peg. He also knew that his hair was stiff and curly since hats had a way of balancing off it as though recoiling from a nest of springs'. Selwyn is the most vivid character in the book, and it does feel as though Kate pales in comparison with him at times. Partially, her character may have been hindered with regard to her entrance into the novel; whilst she is, in effect, the book's central protagonist, we meet other characters first, and see her only in relation to them.
The real strength in the book lies in Kennedy's descriptions, particularly those which relate to the natural world. She sets the scene marvellously throughout by weaving together sentences such as this: 'The sky was dazzling and the sea was a very dark blue shot through with streaks of green and bronze like a peacock's tail. The distant islands, scattered about the horizon, were pale lilac and pink in the triumphant light'.
Whilst the story in The Forgotten Smile is interesting, there was sadly nothing about it which caused it to be an overly memorable novel for me. There is a definite sense of detachment created between reader and characters, and whilst the writing style is nice on the whole, it does not work well enough to pull the book to a higher, less predictable level.
September 3, 2026
She came from a matriarchal tribe. She was one of five daughters of Old Mrs. Mortimer, who had dominated West Kensington from 1885, when she came here as a bride, till 1947 when she dropped down dead in the middle of a successful altercation with the dustman . And Old Mrs. Mortimer hd been one of seven daughters born to Old Mrs. Naylor who had dominated East Anglia from 1854 to 1910. In this century-old clan of sisters, mothers, aunts and cousins, little attention was paid to husbands, who earned money, begot children, and did as they were told. Kate alone had been something of a deviationist. She had never, complained the Naylors and the Mortimers, managed to behave quite like everyone else.”Deviationist” - I love that. Kate’s “deviations” included making friends with people outside the family and respecting their opinions, not complaining or gossiping about her husband, and being the “least intolerable” of the Mortimers. When the last of her adult children left home, she had travelled to Greece, to an isolated island called Kythira to visit two childhood friends, returned later during their final illnesses, and is living there still when the story begins. The plot revolves around two men arriving on the island - the overly literate and underly perceptive Dr. Challoner, and clumsy social misfit Selwyn. The characters are irritatingly real, and the plot's just this side of believable, but the book is set (and was published) in 1960 and who knows what women were looking for in chick lit at the time. It’s very much a Margaret Kennedy book - women finding their place in the wider world, and men locating their brains - and apart from some strange and uncomfortable (to me) rural Greek religious rejoicing and mourning rituals, I pretty much loved the whole thing. Kate finds meaning in her life, Dr. Challoner beings developing a conscience, and we learn Selwyn’s story and learn to forgive his inability to fit in. Not exactly your average HEA but an acknowledgement that life’s not perfect but we can do our best and appreciate “workable” rather than “happy.” Kate figures out that you can love someone without liking them, which is (or should be) the basis for every reasonable religion. 4 stars
January 22, 2026
Although The Forgotten Smile (1961) was Margaret Kennedy’s last novel (Not in the Calendar was published posthumously) this was my first experience of her writing and as such I confess to being a little disappointed. The novel is broken into six parts and opens with the cantankerous Dr Challoner, who chances to meet a former student, Selwyn Potter, outside the Museum of Antiquities on the Greek island of Thasos.
It transpires that Dr Challoner is the beneficiary of a house and its contents on the much smaller island of Keritha, to which Potter escorts him after adopting the role of translator and arranger of transportation. It is there that they meet Kate Benson, a middle-aged woman who originally embarked on an Aegean cruise, only to discover her former childhood friends and neighbours, Freddie and Edith (now both deceased), living on Keritha, and with whom she stayed for many months after disembarking from the ‘unlucky’, poorly-operated cruise.
The opening of the novel, for my part, was something I endured rather than enjoyed, and I wondered why Kennedy didn’t commence with the introduction of Kate back in England - criticised and under appreciated by her grownup children and overlooked by her husband Douglas - which was far more entertaining. We will Kate onto the cruise; offering her the chance to reclaim her independence, while her absence is destined to make her family realise just how much she does for them uncomplainingly. The island of Keritha, a place time forgot, transforms Kate’s outlook on life, with a small population united in ancient customs and content to live a simpler, hand-to-mouth existence.
There ends up being much to like about the competently written The Forgotten Smile, not least the relationship between Kate and the widowed Selwyn; but it’s one of those pleasant, yet ultimately unmemorable, novels in the vein of Elizabeth Taylor and Barbara Pym which I enjoy reading for a few days as light relief, but never think any more about once I finish the book and tuck it away on the shelf. A great novel this is not, but if you’re looking for a reasonably charming work with well-drawn characters it will fit the bill.
It transpires that Dr Challoner is the beneficiary of a house and its contents on the much smaller island of Keritha, to which Potter escorts him after adopting the role of translator and arranger of transportation. It is there that they meet Kate Benson, a middle-aged woman who originally embarked on an Aegean cruise, only to discover her former childhood friends and neighbours, Freddie and Edith (now both deceased), living on Keritha, and with whom she stayed for many months after disembarking from the ‘unlucky’, poorly-operated cruise.
The opening of the novel, for my part, was something I endured rather than enjoyed, and I wondered why Kennedy didn’t commence with the introduction of Kate back in England - criticised and under appreciated by her grownup children and overlooked by her husband Douglas - which was far more entertaining. We will Kate onto the cruise; offering her the chance to reclaim her independence, while her absence is destined to make her family realise just how much she does for them uncomplainingly. The island of Keritha, a place time forgot, transforms Kate’s outlook on life, with a small population united in ancient customs and content to live a simpler, hand-to-mouth existence.
There ends up being much to like about the competently written The Forgotten Smile, not least the relationship between Kate and the widowed Selwyn; but it’s one of those pleasant, yet ultimately unmemorable, novels in the vein of Elizabeth Taylor and Barbara Pym which I enjoy reading for a few days as light relief, but never think any more about once I finish the book and tuck it away on the shelf. A great novel this is not, but if you’re looking for a reasonably charming work with well-drawn characters it will fit the bill.
May 23, 2021
4.5*
An elegant and subtle, yet powerful, novel, the literary equivalent of 'still waters run deep'. My first Margaret Kennedy, and it won't be my last. She's got such a smooth way with words, no wonder this is one of the most beautifully told tales I've read in a while. She so artfully weaves together past and present, characters' backstories with their paths crossing, it's all seamless. There is an undefined but intoxicating sense of strangeness hovering over the entire story, characters and locale, one I can only think of as 'sunnily eerie'. Can't fathom why this book is not more widely known or talked about.
"One must not quarrel with other people for behaving very naturally, although one might never with a clear conscience behave very naturally oneself."
"He looked round him with the pleased curiosity which was his unconscious defence against the inclement solitude of his life."
"People who share a bad time, she reflected, have a way of drifting apart when the bad time is over. There is no estrangement, no loss of regard; some instinct bids them take up separate paths."
An elegant and subtle, yet powerful, novel, the literary equivalent of 'still waters run deep'. My first Margaret Kennedy, and it won't be my last. She's got such a smooth way with words, no wonder this is one of the most beautifully told tales I've read in a while. She so artfully weaves together past and present, characters' backstories with their paths crossing, it's all seamless. There is an undefined but intoxicating sense of strangeness hovering over the entire story, characters and locale, one I can only think of as 'sunnily eerie'. Can't fathom why this book is not more widely known or talked about.
"One must not quarrel with other people for behaving very naturally, although one might never with a clear conscience behave very naturally oneself."
"He looked round him with the pleased curiosity which was his unconscious defence against the inclement solitude of his life."
"People who share a bad time, she reflected, have a way of drifting apart when the bad time is over. There is no estrangement, no loss of regard; some instinct bids them take up separate paths."
March 26, 2026
Kate is bored of being overlooked by her grown-up children and then decides to escape onto an Aegean cruise. She ends up on a mysterious Greek island called Keritha which has now been forgotten by the modern world. On the island of Keritha, Kate encounters old childhood friends named the Challoners who have returned to the island that they were born and claiming their own heritage. When another stray who turns out to be the unattractive and foolish Selwyn Potter, Kate becomes irritated. By being under the spell of the strange and beautiful island finds the visitors themselves and each other casted in a new light.
April 7, 2022
A wonderful moment in time where we forgot about being self-conscious and just enjoyed our privilege.
If you want to immerse yourself in a snapshot of a changing world, where people began to idolise nostalgia for a 'forgotten' place which preserved some untouched culture, then this book is a must.
If you want to immerse yourself in a snapshot of a changing world, where people began to idolise nostalgia for a 'forgotten' place which preserved some untouched culture, then this book is a must.
December 4, 2021
3.5 stars
June 14, 2025
this one fell a little flat for me. It was decent but not much happened
June 24, 2025
another entertaining cast of characters from Kennedy. I was lucky enough to thrift this and it was such a gem. the perfect book for the beginning of summer.
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