What do you think?
Rate this book
Rhododendron Pie
It was indeed very difficult for the Laventie children not to be a little priggish.
As lively and entertaining as The Nutmeg Tree is this story of Ann Laventies who refuses to live up to her family's elegance and snobbery. Her father is an exquisite dilettante; her brother, Dick, a competent artist and polished adventurer with the ladies; her sister, Elizabeth, the writer of fine essays. But Ann is disappointed in the "rhododendron pies" that are served on her birthday, dishes which are filled with flowers to gladden the eye instead of fruit to be eaten. And she also happens to fall in love with a solid bank clerk from a neighboring town.
The rebellion and excited antics which Ann's suitor arouses in the Laventies' precious existence marks the high point in this gaily amusing novel of English life in town and country - a tale which pointedly contrasts the aesthetic and practical viewpoints.
Rhododenron Pie, one of Margery Sharp's rarest and most sought-after novels, was her debut, reportedly written in one month while Sharp worked as a typist and shared a flat in Paddington with two other girls. But it already shows all the charm, humour, and sophistication that characterizes Sharp's beloved later work. First published in 1930, it has, inexplicably, never been reprinted. Until now. This new edition features an introduction by twentieth-century women's historian Elizabeth Crawford.
As lively and entertaining as The Nutmeg Tree is this story of Ann Laventies who refuses to live up to her family's elegance and snobbery. Her father is an exquisite dilettante; her brother, Dick, a competent artist and polished adventurer with the ladies; her sister, Elizabeth, the writer of fine essays. But Ann is disappointed in the "rhododendron pies" that are served on her birthday, dishes which are filled with flowers to gladden the eye instead of fruit to be eaten. And she also happens to fall in love with a solid bank clerk from a neighboring town.
The rebellion and excited antics which Ann's suitor arouses in the Laventies' precious existence marks the high point in this gaily amusing novel of English life in town and country - a tale which pointedly contrasts the aesthetic and practical viewpoints.
Rhododenron Pie, one of Margery Sharp's rarest and most sought-after novels, was her debut, reportedly written in one month while Sharp worked as a typist and shared a flat in Paddington with two other girls. But it already shows all the charm, humour, and sophistication that characterizes Sharp's beloved later work. First published in 1930, it has, inexplicably, never been reprinted. Until now. This new edition features an introduction by twentieth-century women's historian Elizabeth Crawford.
225 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1930
94 people are currently reading
706 people want to read
About the author
Margery Sharp
80 books183 followersMargery Sharp was born Clara Margery Melita Sharp in Salisbury. She spent part of her childhood in Malta.
Sharp wrote 26 novels, 14 children's stories, 4 plays, 2 mysteries and many short stories. She is best known for her series of children's books about a little white mouse named Miss Bianca and her companion, Bernard. Two Disney films have been made based on them, called The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under.
In 1938, she married Major Geoffrey Castle, an aeronautical engineer.
Sharp wrote 26 novels, 14 children's stories, 4 plays, 2 mysteries and many short stories. She is best known for her series of children's books about a little white mouse named Miss Bianca and her companion, Bernard. Two Disney films have been made based on them, called The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under.
In 1938, she married Major Geoffrey Castle, an aeronautical engineer.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
May 14, 2021
This 1930 British novel is a witty and often very insightful story, somewhat a coming-of-age novel about a young woman, Ann Laventie. Ann is from an intellectual, snobbish and rather pretentious family, just wealthy enough to consider themselves above all of their neighbors in Sussex. Ann is the youngest and doesn't quite fit the family mold. She's more down to earth and caring about others' feelings than her siblings and father (her mother is an invalid and pretty much a non-entity; until the very end you have very few clues as to what's going on in her head).
The question is whether she'll break the mold completely or be fully absorbed into the family's social sphere and way of life.
The rhododendron pie of the title is a great symbol: Ann's family’s tradition is to have a birthday pie filled with fresh flowers instead of fruit. Beautiful but inedible. Everyone loves it except poor Ann, who's just dying for a good old apple pie.
There is a little romance here, but it's a minor element. Mostly it's about social standing and the way people view and treat each other. That may sound simple, but Margery Sharp had a gift with words that made this a joy to read even when events were rather slow-moving and (seemingly, at least) mundane. It's very self-assured for a first novel, and well worth reading if you enjoy this type of historical, personality-driven novel, especially for the $2.99 Kindle price.
May 2021 group read with the Retro Reads group.
The question is whether she'll break the mold completely or be fully absorbed into the family's social sphere and way of life.
The rhododendron pie of the title is a great symbol: Ann's family’s tradition is to have a birthday pie filled with fresh flowers instead of fruit. Beautiful but inedible. Everyone loves it except poor Ann, who's just dying for a good old apple pie.
There is a little romance here, but it's a minor element. Mostly it's about social standing and the way people view and treat each other. That may sound simple, but Margery Sharp had a gift with words that made this a joy to read even when events were rather slow-moving and (seemingly, at least) mundane. It's very self-assured for a first novel, and well worth reading if you enjoy this type of historical, personality-driven novel, especially for the $2.99 Kindle price.
May 2021 group read with the Retro Reads group.
May 24, 2021
Firstly, thanks to my very good Goodreads friend, Abigail, for sending me a copy of this book. I enjoyed it very much!
Abigail is a retired proofreader, & all the typos & missed punctuation obviously drove her bonkers as she has put little proofreaders marks right through the book! 😊 Was the original this poorly edited or have the mistakes crept in on this edition? I guess I'll never know!
Still need to give Dean Street Press big ups for rescuing this gem from obscurity - it was Ms Sharp's first book and hadn't been republished since 1930!
The father of the Laventie children had passed on to his two elder children both his artistic inclinations & his really odious air of self satisfaction. (although Elizabeth is nothing like as bad as her male relatives) He hasn't noticed that his daughter Ann is more, well... ordinary & aspires to quite a different life. When it looks like Father, Dear, Father will try to thwart this, help comes from a surprising source!
Sharp out Thirkells (
) throughout this book. She is far more perceptive, far more witty & Sharp only falters with a slightly clumsy ending - total forgivable in a first novel when the writer was only 24!
I will definitely search for more of her adult books - although some of the old hardbacks (including this one!) are an absolutely eye watering price!
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...
Abigail is a retired proofreader, & all the typos & missed punctuation obviously drove her bonkers as she has put little proofreaders marks right through the book! 😊 Was the original this poorly edited or have the mistakes crept in on this edition? I guess I'll never know!
Still need to give Dean Street Press big ups for rescuing this gem from obscurity - it was Ms Sharp's first book and hadn't been republished since 1930!
The father of the Laventie children had passed on to his two elder children both his artistic inclinations & his really odious air of self satisfaction. (although Elizabeth is nothing like as bad as her male relatives) He hasn't noticed that his daughter Ann is more, well... ordinary & aspires to quite a different life. When it looks like Father, Dear, Father will try to thwart this, help comes from a surprising source!
Sharp out Thirkells (
) throughout this book. She is far more perceptive, far more witty & Sharp only falters with a slightly clumsy ending - total forgivable in a first novel when the writer was only 24!I will definitely search for more of her adult books - although some of the old hardbacks (including this one!) are an absolutely eye watering price!
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...
December 5, 2019
This is the desperately rare, long out of print, first Margery Sharp novel. It is the book that I described as ‘the book that I had thought would always be just out of reach’and I know that I was wonderfully lucky to spot and secure a copy that was not quite so expensive as some of the copies you might see online.
I have to tell you that it is a joy to read, and that it so very deserving of being sent back out into the world again, to delight another generation of readers.
It tells the story of Ann Laventie, the youngest of three children of a family of aesthetes and snobs. Ann is a little different from the rest of her family, because though she loves them dearly and shares their love of art and beauty she is not a snob, and she has a strong practical streak and a lively curiosity about the world.
That is beautifully illuminated by the much-loved family tradition of floral pies. It began when six years-old Elizabeth Laventie, Ann’s elder sister, wept over the cherry pie that she had requested for her birthday.
It transpired that she had expected the pie to contain not cherries, but heliotropes. However the confusion has arisen in her infant mine it was now firmly rooted. The fact that flowers were inedible did not concern her; Elizabeth was determined that her birthday pie should contain them or nothing, It was at such a moment that Mr. Laventie’s quality showed itself. With instant resource he swiftly removed the crust, disposed of the cherries in a convenient parterre, and crammed the dish with a mass of sweet-smelling heliotrope. His daughter was bidden try again, and this time true delight lay under the pie crust.
Ann saw the beauty of her own birthday pie, a rhododendron pie, but she knew that something was missing.
Every year she had hoped against hope, and every year the lovely inedible petals have cheated her. For she has a fundamental, instinctive conviction that they are out of place, Flowers are beautiful in gardens … and in houses, of course … but in a pie you want fruit. Apples. Hot and fragrant and faintly pink, with lots of juice … and cloves. She wished there had been apples in her pie.
When Elizabeth grew up she became a writer, when brother Dick grew up he became a sculptor, but Ann couldn’t identify a particular talent of her own or a career that she could pursue. She did have a talent for friendship, she was as at home with the down-to-earth Gayford family who lived next door as she was with her siblings’ bohemian circle of friends, and she had a suitor who she knew her parents would love as a son-in-law and another one she knew they would not understand at all.
Margery Sharp tells Ann’s story with warmth, wit and wisdom; and that story is both of its age and written to resonate long into the future. In time, Ann finds that she has a good idea what she wants, but she knows that she cannot please all of the people she loves, and that maybe there is no path through life open to her that will give her everything she would like.
‘What I want,’ continued Ann recklessly, ‘is a nice wedding in the village church, with a white frock and orange blossom and lots of flowers and ‘The Voice that Breathed’ and two bridesmaids in cyclamen pink and rose petals afterwards and a reception in the drawing-room with a string quartet playing selections from Gilbert and Sullivan. In June. And a honeymoon in the Italian Lakes.
‘Where does Gilbert come in?’
‘He doesn’t. And I want to live in a house, not a flat, even if it’s only a little one in a suburb where there’s no-one amusing, with a back garden to dig in. And have bird pattern chintzes in the drawing-room and cold supper on Sundays because the maid’s out. I shall probably,’ finished Ann defiantly, ‘take a stall at the church bazaar.’
I just had to love Ann, I felt such empathy and understanding, and I would have loved to be her friend. Not that she lacked for friends, and her story had a wonderful and diverse cast, with every character perfectly realised. They lived and breathed; I believe that they had many more tales that could have been told and perspectives that could have been used; and I could easily believe that some of the bohemian Londoners were around for the London scenes in 'The Flowering Thorn' and that the last of the 'Four Gardens' might be nearby.
It was lovely to spot themes and ideas that would echo through Margery Sharp’s novels. Many of those novels are more accomplished than this one, but ‘Rhododendron Pie’ is a particularly accomplished first novel. There could have been a little more subtlety, a little more sophistication in the way that Ann determined her future ; but this book is beautifully constructed, the quality of the writing and the use of language is sublime, and that carries the day.
What I think really makes this story sing, what makes it distinctive in the company of Margery Sharp’s other books, is the depth of feeling in its telling; and I have to think that it must have been particularly close to her heart.
The final scene is a master-stroke; and the book as a whole is a delight.
I have to tell you that it is a joy to read, and that it so very deserving of being sent back out into the world again, to delight another generation of readers.
It tells the story of Ann Laventie, the youngest of three children of a family of aesthetes and snobs. Ann is a little different from the rest of her family, because though she loves them dearly and shares their love of art and beauty she is not a snob, and she has a strong practical streak and a lively curiosity about the world.
That is beautifully illuminated by the much-loved family tradition of floral pies. It began when six years-old Elizabeth Laventie, Ann’s elder sister, wept over the cherry pie that she had requested for her birthday.
It transpired that she had expected the pie to contain not cherries, but heliotropes. However the confusion has arisen in her infant mine it was now firmly rooted. The fact that flowers were inedible did not concern her; Elizabeth was determined that her birthday pie should contain them or nothing, It was at such a moment that Mr. Laventie’s quality showed itself. With instant resource he swiftly removed the crust, disposed of the cherries in a convenient parterre, and crammed the dish with a mass of sweet-smelling heliotrope. His daughter was bidden try again, and this time true delight lay under the pie crust.
Ann saw the beauty of her own birthday pie, a rhododendron pie, but she knew that something was missing.
Every year she had hoped against hope, and every year the lovely inedible petals have cheated her. For she has a fundamental, instinctive conviction that they are out of place, Flowers are beautiful in gardens … and in houses, of course … but in a pie you want fruit. Apples. Hot and fragrant and faintly pink, with lots of juice … and cloves. She wished there had been apples in her pie.
When Elizabeth grew up she became a writer, when brother Dick grew up he became a sculptor, but Ann couldn’t identify a particular talent of her own or a career that she could pursue. She did have a talent for friendship, she was as at home with the down-to-earth Gayford family who lived next door as she was with her siblings’ bohemian circle of friends, and she had a suitor who she knew her parents would love as a son-in-law and another one she knew they would not understand at all.
Margery Sharp tells Ann’s story with warmth, wit and wisdom; and that story is both of its age and written to resonate long into the future. In time, Ann finds that she has a good idea what she wants, but she knows that she cannot please all of the people she loves, and that maybe there is no path through life open to her that will give her everything she would like.
‘What I want,’ continued Ann recklessly, ‘is a nice wedding in the village church, with a white frock and orange blossom and lots of flowers and ‘The Voice that Breathed’ and two bridesmaids in cyclamen pink and rose petals afterwards and a reception in the drawing-room with a string quartet playing selections from Gilbert and Sullivan. In June. And a honeymoon in the Italian Lakes.
‘Where does Gilbert come in?’
‘He doesn’t. And I want to live in a house, not a flat, even if it’s only a little one in a suburb where there’s no-one amusing, with a back garden to dig in. And have bird pattern chintzes in the drawing-room and cold supper on Sundays because the maid’s out. I shall probably,’ finished Ann defiantly, ‘take a stall at the church bazaar.’
I just had to love Ann, I felt such empathy and understanding, and I would have loved to be her friend. Not that she lacked for friends, and her story had a wonderful and diverse cast, with every character perfectly realised. They lived and breathed; I believe that they had many more tales that could have been told and perspectives that could have been used; and I could easily believe that some of the bohemian Londoners were around for the London scenes in 'The Flowering Thorn' and that the last of the 'Four Gardens' might be nearby.
It was lovely to spot themes and ideas that would echo through Margery Sharp’s novels. Many of those novels are more accomplished than this one, but ‘Rhododendron Pie’ is a particularly accomplished first novel. There could have been a little more subtlety, a little more sophistication in the way that Ann determined her future ; but this book is beautifully constructed, the quality of the writing and the use of language is sublime, and that carries the day.
What I think really makes this story sing, what makes it distinctive in the company of Margery Sharp’s other books, is the depth of feeling in its telling; and I have to think that it must have been particularly close to her heart.
The final scene is a master-stroke; and the book as a whole is a delight.
December 24, 2025
Several people on Goodreads have told me over the years I should read Margery Sharp’s adult novels, and to those insightful individuals I say, “Bless your stars and garters!” I have a new favorite between-the-wars writer.
Rhododendron Pie was her first novel, written in 1930 when she was only twenty-five, but it carries the assurance of an author of forty. Right away I cleaved to her tone and syntax, which have an elegant indirection without falling into wordiness. Many the author has been compared to Jane Austen and for me, most of them fall short; but Sharp has that rare gift of a skewering insight that makes you catch your breath or laugh out loud. I’ll indulge in just one example: “Ann thought she had never seen a person do nothing so elegantly, nor one whose personality depended so uniquely on the passive quality of repose. It was like having a new cat in the house.”
The Ann in question is our heroine, Ann Laventie, the youngest child of a family of aesthetes living exquisitely in Sussex. A kind of precious intellectual refinement, spiced with elaborate sight gags, seems to be the predominant family character. Ann always feels inadequate when compared to her father and siblings—less gorgeous, less clever, less insightful. She idolizes them; but a tiny, secret corner of her wishes for something different. The titular rhododendron pie is a telling early example. Her elder sister had once as a child been disappointed on her birthday because she had expected, instead of a mere cherry pie for her birthday, a pie filled with flowers. From that day forward, all the children’s birthdays were celebrated with pies full of flowers, Ann’s pies being packed with rhododendron blooms. But Ann in her secret heart would prefer an ordinary apple pie, nicely spiced with clove.
The author guilefully draws us into the Laventies’ world, leading us to accept its ways just as a child would before gradually revealing its flaws. We take the journey alongside Ann as she learns to be her own person and choose the life she wants, not the life expected of her. I loved her and rooted for her and was entirely satisfied with the outcome. This was Angela Thirkell only smarter and more artful. It is a book I will treasure.
Rhododendron Pie has recently been re-released in a Dean Street Press Furrowed Middlebrow edition (love the name of the imprint), and while I am grateful for its availability I wish the production were of higher quality, especially the proofreading.
Rhododendron Pie was her first novel, written in 1930 when she was only twenty-five, but it carries the assurance of an author of forty. Right away I cleaved to her tone and syntax, which have an elegant indirection without falling into wordiness. Many the author has been compared to Jane Austen and for me, most of them fall short; but Sharp has that rare gift of a skewering insight that makes you catch your breath or laugh out loud. I’ll indulge in just one example: “Ann thought she had never seen a person do nothing so elegantly, nor one whose personality depended so uniquely on the passive quality of repose. It was like having a new cat in the house.”
The Ann in question is our heroine, Ann Laventie, the youngest child of a family of aesthetes living exquisitely in Sussex. A kind of precious intellectual refinement, spiced with elaborate sight gags, seems to be the predominant family character. Ann always feels inadequate when compared to her father and siblings—less gorgeous, less clever, less insightful. She idolizes them; but a tiny, secret corner of her wishes for something different. The titular rhododendron pie is a telling early example. Her elder sister had once as a child been disappointed on her birthday because she had expected, instead of a mere cherry pie for her birthday, a pie filled with flowers. From that day forward, all the children’s birthdays were celebrated with pies full of flowers, Ann’s pies being packed with rhododendron blooms. But Ann in her secret heart would prefer an ordinary apple pie, nicely spiced with clove.
The author guilefully draws us into the Laventies’ world, leading us to accept its ways just as a child would before gradually revealing its flaws. We take the journey alongside Ann as she learns to be her own person and choose the life she wants, not the life expected of her. I loved her and rooted for her and was entirely satisfied with the outcome. This was Angela Thirkell only smarter and more artful. It is a book I will treasure.
Rhododendron Pie has recently been re-released in a Dean Street Press Furrowed Middlebrow edition (love the name of the imprint), and while I am grateful for its availability I wish the production were of higher quality, especially the proofreading.
March 23, 2021
3.5
This is Margery Sharp's debut novel, which is now readily available at a sensible price thanks to Furrowed Middlebrow. There had been quite a lot of excitement about this release, so I was keen to start it. The subject matter is one that usually appeals to me, that of a bohemian family, set in the 20th century. Like Guard Your Daughters or The Fountain Overflows. I didn't like this one as much as those, the character didn't come to life for me in the same way. I think also, that a lot of the excitement came from people who were already fans of her writing and looking forward to finally getting to read this novel, which until now had been extremely rare. It probably wasn't the best novel for me to start with. I am going to be exploring more of her work and an confident that I will find some gems in amongst them.
This is Margery Sharp's debut novel, which is now readily available at a sensible price thanks to Furrowed Middlebrow. There had been quite a lot of excitement about this release, so I was keen to start it. The subject matter is one that usually appeals to me, that of a bohemian family, set in the 20th century. Like Guard Your Daughters or The Fountain Overflows. I didn't like this one as much as those, the character didn't come to life for me in the same way. I think also, that a lot of the excitement came from people who were already fans of her writing and looking forward to finally getting to read this novel, which until now had been extremely rare. It probably wasn't the best novel for me to start with. I am going to be exploring more of her work and an confident that I will find some gems in amongst them.
August 13, 2021
This book is right up my alley. Delightful with great characterisation, gentle irony, no forced drama and insight into human nature.
Will definitely check out other books by Margery Sharp.
More detailed review to come.
Will definitely check out other books by Margery Sharp.
More detailed review to come.
March 14, 2023
The title could be the determining factor as to whether or not you should read this book, so listen up...
Rhododendron pie is a tradition in the quirky Laventies family. Instead of the usual celebratory fruit pie for birthdays, the Laventieses choose to enjoy a pie made of flowers. Which you cannot eat. You just look at it. Youngest child Ann secretly does not want a pie made of flowers. She wants something she can eat.
Ann's family steps to the beat of a different drummer. Her brother is an artist. Her sister is a writer. Her dad is described as a dilettante.
But Ann? She feels like she's in the wrong family. And is it really so wrong to just want what everybody else wants? Especially if that's what you really want?
A complete delight. Oozing with charm.
Rhododendron pie is a tradition in the quirky Laventies family. Instead of the usual celebratory fruit pie for birthdays, the Laventieses choose to enjoy a pie made of flowers. Which you cannot eat. You just look at it. Youngest child Ann secretly does not want a pie made of flowers. She wants something she can eat.
Ann's family steps to the beat of a different drummer. Her brother is an artist. Her sister is a writer. Her dad is described as a dilettante.
But Ann? She feels like she's in the wrong family. And is it really so wrong to just want what everybody else wants? Especially if that's what you really want?
A complete delight. Oozing with charm.
March 6, 2021
I didn’t love this as much as I’d hoped. It seemed a roller coaster ride for me, a dull beginning picked up a bit, dull again, seeming to pull through in the end but then the last line through me for a loop, and I felt let down.
July 31, 2018
This is the fifth (fourth?) of Margery Sharp's adult novels that I've read and one of the hardest to get a hold of. It's been out of print for years, and copies are dishearteningly expensive online. Fortunately, the LA library has system has not one but three (three!) in circulation. Getting a library card with them was the best thing I did this year.
I have loved each of her books, but this is my favorite so far. It's hard to believe it's the first book Margery Sharp wrote. Already she writes in that distinctive voice. The style is so easy to read and shifts from profundity to silliness so smoothly. Several pages made me laugh out loud. The end made me cry.
This is the story of Ann Laventies, the youngest child of a moneyed, upper-class family that is hyper-intellectual. They're the kind of family who has a lot to recommend them - and they really, really know it. The "fantasy" of the family is alive and well, even into the children's adulthoods. Far past the time you usually realize your family is crazy, as every family is.
The book opens with a prologue wherein Ann is only ten, but by Chapter 1 she is now 20 and still totally enraptured with her family and the atmosphere of their home at Whitenights. The Laventies are very much set apart from the village where they lived, but occasionally Ann is pulled into the general mix by her friends, the Gayfords - their son, the sturdy John, in particular.
At home Ann is the observer of the group. She doesn't quite share her family's razor sharp intellect (although she's quite smart on her own!), so she serves to prop them up. To listen and affirm. They and their guests like the audience.
Clearly we are not meant to be on the Laventies' side - they seem more than a little ridiculous, even through Ann's eyes - but Sharp takes it a step further and drops uncommented hints here and there as to the real darkness that hides in the family. Ann's mother was the victim of a riding accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down, and is perpetually outside the mix. The father has some hand in either the accident or her unhappiness, but disappears months a year to mingle in Paris. It is insinuated both drink. Ann sees none of this.
The plot starts when a handsome screenwriter comes to join the Laventies, and the family quickly takes to him. He has designs on the pretty, dreamy Ann, and urges the family to join him in London. He eventually confesses his feelings to her but with refreshingly untraditional yet still honorable aims. The Laventies as a whole don't really hold with marriage or taking men's last names. Ann understands and respects this view, but comes to realize she does want something conventional for herself. The whole thing is conducted with so much understanding and empathy that's it's really marvelously, shockingly progressive.
When Ann does find the man she wants to marry, he is disappointing to her family. But he isn't a stick-in-the-mud rustic. He has a backbone and is pretty sharp himself. He challenges Ann and the assumptions she makes about him based on how his values differ with her family. It's really wonderful.
The end almost comes to disaster until a surprising character steps up and makes things right.
I can't seem to capture here how beautiful the writing is without sharing chunks and chunks of the book. I wish this book were reprinted so I could buy a cheap copy and mark it all up. Alas, I don't think the library would love me doing that to their lovely old copy.
Ann settled down on the grass again with her chin on her fists and one shoe waving in the air. She wasn't reading really, only pretending to, so that the others wouldn't talk to her. It was too nice in the garden to talk. How queer to think she was lying on the surface of the world...an enormous warm green ball spinning slowly through space somewhere, under a lime tree like a sliver of grass, a minute pink dot. (34-5)
This book reminded me a little of E. Nesbit's The Lark but with a touch of the darkness of Marghanita Laski's The Village. I really, really loved it and wish it were widely available for people to enjoy.
I have loved each of her books, but this is my favorite so far. It's hard to believe it's the first book Margery Sharp wrote. Already she writes in that distinctive voice. The style is so easy to read and shifts from profundity to silliness so smoothly. Several pages made me laugh out loud. The end made me cry.
This is the story of Ann Laventies, the youngest child of a moneyed, upper-class family that is hyper-intellectual. They're the kind of family who has a lot to recommend them - and they really, really know it. The "fantasy" of the family is alive and well, even into the children's adulthoods. Far past the time you usually realize your family is crazy, as every family is.
The book opens with a prologue wherein Ann is only ten, but by Chapter 1 she is now 20 and still totally enraptured with her family and the atmosphere of their home at Whitenights. The Laventies are very much set apart from the village where they lived, but occasionally Ann is pulled into the general mix by her friends, the Gayfords - their son, the sturdy John, in particular.
At home Ann is the observer of the group. She doesn't quite share her family's razor sharp intellect (although she's quite smart on her own!), so she serves to prop them up. To listen and affirm. They and their guests like the audience.
Clearly we are not meant to be on the Laventies' side - they seem more than a little ridiculous, even through Ann's eyes - but Sharp takes it a step further and drops uncommented hints here and there as to the real darkness that hides in the family. Ann's mother was the victim of a riding accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down, and is perpetually outside the mix. The father has some hand in either the accident or her unhappiness, but disappears months a year to mingle in Paris. It is insinuated both drink. Ann sees none of this.
The plot starts when a handsome screenwriter comes to join the Laventies, and the family quickly takes to him. He has designs on the pretty, dreamy Ann, and urges the family to join him in London. He eventually confesses his feelings to her but with refreshingly untraditional yet still honorable aims. The Laventies as a whole don't really hold with marriage or taking men's last names. Ann understands and respects this view, but comes to realize she does want something conventional for herself. The whole thing is conducted with so much understanding and empathy that's it's really marvelously, shockingly progressive.
When Ann does find the man she wants to marry, he is disappointing to her family. But he isn't a stick-in-the-mud rustic. He has a backbone and is pretty sharp himself. He challenges Ann and the assumptions she makes about him based on how his values differ with her family. It's really wonderful.
The end almost comes to disaster until a surprising character steps up and makes things right.
I can't seem to capture here how beautiful the writing is without sharing chunks and chunks of the book. I wish this book were reprinted so I could buy a cheap copy and mark it all up. Alas, I don't think the library would love me doing that to their lovely old copy.
Ann settled down on the grass again with her chin on her fists and one shoe waving in the air. She wasn't reading really, only pretending to, so that the others wouldn't talk to her. It was too nice in the garden to talk. How queer to think she was lying on the surface of the world...an enormous warm green ball spinning slowly through space somewhere, under a lime tree like a sliver of grass, a minute pink dot. (34-5)
This book reminded me a little of E. Nesbit's The Lark but with a touch of the darkness of Marghanita Laski's The Village. I really, really loved it and wish it were widely available for people to enjoy.
March 25, 2021
Flowers are beautiful in gardens...and in houses, of course... but in a pie you want fruit. Apples. Hot and fragrant and faintly pink, with lots of juice...and cloves. She wished there had been apples in her pie.
Margery Sharp's debut novel started off as a difficult one for me to get into. Her style had such a flourish and seemed to be trying so very hard at an elegant acerbic wit. But the more I learned of the Laventie family... it seemed as though her writing was taking a page out of their personalities. We meet a family so self assured in their superiority over the rest of poor drudges going through life not understanding its artistic complexities, they are an isolated oddity. Though people come and go through Whitesnights, none of these individuals leave a lasting impression or usually gain the approval of the family to take breakfast with them under the garden limes. And as the novel unfolds and relaxes into itself, so does the writing style. I felt it changed right along with the narrator Ann's character evolution. Sharp has a lovely way of describing scenery too. I enjoyed those parts immensely. She captures the possibilities of a summer afternoon outdoors so brilliantly.
Ann Laventie freely acknowledges she isn't as clever or intelligent as her siblings and father. They patronizingly acknowledge in return that she collects people and is too kind to them. Yet, one afternoon, Ann stumbles upon their neighbor, John Gayford and everything changes. She goes to tea with him and begins to change in her self assessment. The rest of the novel follows with Ann going to London to visit her sculptor brother and writer sister. And it becomes a novel of self discovery for Ann. One that changes her and forces her to embrace who she is. And to come to terms with that. And that she will be all right not fitting in with her family. It is a reckoning for her and for her family.
I greatly enjoyed this novel. The ending surprised me but the more I pondered on it, I think it was fitting for the theme of the novel. If you've read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the ending.
Margery Sharp's debut novel started off as a difficult one for me to get into. Her style had such a flourish and seemed to be trying so very hard at an elegant acerbic wit. But the more I learned of the Laventie family... it seemed as though her writing was taking a page out of their personalities. We meet a family so self assured in their superiority over the rest of poor drudges going through life not understanding its artistic complexities, they are an isolated oddity. Though people come and go through Whitesnights, none of these individuals leave a lasting impression or usually gain the approval of the family to take breakfast with them under the garden limes. And as the novel unfolds and relaxes into itself, so does the writing style. I felt it changed right along with the narrator Ann's character evolution. Sharp has a lovely way of describing scenery too. I enjoyed those parts immensely. She captures the possibilities of a summer afternoon outdoors so brilliantly.
Ann Laventie freely acknowledges she isn't as clever or intelligent as her siblings and father. They patronizingly acknowledge in return that she collects people and is too kind to them. Yet, one afternoon, Ann stumbles upon their neighbor, John Gayford and everything changes. She goes to tea with him and begins to change in her self assessment. The rest of the novel follows with Ann going to London to visit her sculptor brother and writer sister. And it becomes a novel of self discovery for Ann. One that changes her and forces her to embrace who she is. And to come to terms with that. And that she will be all right not fitting in with her family. It is a reckoning for her and for her family.
I greatly enjoyed this novel. The ending surprised me but the more I pondered on it, I think it was fitting for the theme of the novel. If you've read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the ending.
April 26, 2021
3.5-4 stars - GR very annoyingly ate my review- posted yesterday, trying to clean up THREE editions showing as having been read. I deleted two, one of them with review attached!
Oh well. Story of affected, snobbish Essex family, youngest daughter feels unworthy of her sophisticated siblings, a lazy, selfish sculptor brother (his work didn’t appear very good, from Ann’s inner monologue when touring his studio), and an elder sister who wrote serious essays (and did not appear to have an ounce of humor). The whole family take themselves very seriously- and Ann strives to fit in, but just wants to be normal. She accepts a proposal from a normal neighbor from a large, happy family. Hilarity- well really, just mean girl nastiness toward the hapless, sincere suitor, ensues. All is resolved in a wonderful scene, but it seemed to end quickly; I’d like to know what happened to the brother and sister.
I enjoyed it, but would like to read more of Sharp’s work, preferably with more average characters- the Laventie family were so self-centered and ridiculously highbrow, I really couldn’t sympathize or get into them as characters.
Oh well. Story of affected, snobbish Essex family, youngest daughter feels unworthy of her sophisticated siblings, a lazy, selfish sculptor brother (his work didn’t appear very good, from Ann’s inner monologue when touring his studio), and an elder sister who wrote serious essays (and did not appear to have an ounce of humor). The whole family take themselves very seriously- and Ann strives to fit in, but just wants to be normal. She accepts a proposal from a normal neighbor from a large, happy family. Hilarity- well really, just mean girl nastiness toward the hapless, sincere suitor, ensues. All is resolved in a wonderful scene, but it seemed to end quickly; I’d like to know what happened to the brother and sister.
I enjoyed it, but would like to read more of Sharp’s work, preferably with more average characters- the Laventie family were so self-centered and ridiculously highbrow, I really couldn’t sympathize or get into them as characters.
September 28, 2023
As it happens, back to back first novels. Sharp’s career intent is already present: a combination of unsentimental female experience combined with often hilarious comedic effect and her trademark delight in language including, most importantly, the vernacular of when she writes. It’s an interesting way of understanding how words go in and out of fashion to the extent of extinction.
In this tale, Ann is the youngest of a family who are awfully clever and look down upon all around them, but never without their own notion of how amusingly they do so. Ann probably doesn’t know that she knows this is wrong and that the good guys aren’t her nearest and dearest. But by the end of the book she does. She sticks up for what she wants, and for the ordinary decency of her partner-to-be-in-life against the best efforts of her ghastly father. Her mother, who throughout the novel holds her tongue, lashes out once it becomes imperative to do so. It turns out she can put her ghastly husband in his place – she just prefers to ignore him when at all possible.
For a short sample from the book, go here:
https://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpre...
In this tale, Ann is the youngest of a family who are awfully clever and look down upon all around them, but never without their own notion of how amusingly they do so. Ann probably doesn’t know that she knows this is wrong and that the good guys aren’t her nearest and dearest. But by the end of the book she does. She sticks up for what she wants, and for the ordinary decency of her partner-to-be-in-life against the best efforts of her ghastly father. Her mother, who throughout the novel holds her tongue, lashes out once it becomes imperative to do so. It turns out she can put her ghastly husband in his place – she just prefers to ignore him when at all possible.
For a short sample from the book, go here:
https://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpre...
July 4, 2021
I enjoyed this book tremendously. It is light and fluffy on the surface, but filled with wit and humour and insightful comments on human nature. The story concerns the youngest daughter of a wealthy, educated and eccentric family. As much as she tries, she just can't adapt herself to thinking and behaving in accordance with the way her family functions. (The title refers to the fact that for her birthday, she is served pie filled with rhododendron blossoms, when what she really wants is plain old apple pie). It's a universal theme, the struggle of the individual to overcome her background and find her own path. This was Margery Sharp's first novel, in which her talent was first unveiled to the world.
February 10, 2021
I’m disappointed with the first Margery Sharp. I was neither entertained nor awestruck. It’s a simple polite novel. Several characters are not fully realized and unessential, and I found their cameo appearances confusing. The only real substance comes in the form of a speech given by Mrs. Laventie towards the end, but that is the only time I felt the author had a sense of control about what she intended to present.
May 23, 2021
I loved Miss Bianca and Bernard in The Rescuers, but never realised that the author also wrote for adults. This was her first book and it is a gem. The Laventie family is different from the neighbours - more intellectual and artistic according to their own views. Ann has always accepted this as the truth, but then she visits her sister in London and her perception of herself and the family changes. Well-written and a lovely read.
January 24, 2021
About mid-book I was concerned I was not going to end up liking Margery Sharp's first novel, though I've been charmed and enthusiastic about her others I've read. Her dialogue at times can be somewhat cryptic and a bit acerbic and I was finding it steep going reading the conversations of the rest of Ann Laventie's family. Not that they were horrible people, simply that they were horribly snobbish and conceited and spending time with even fictional characters of their ilk wore on me. But no fear. It turned out I loved the story. There's a surprising scene in Chapter 7.... no, I won't spoil it but I will say it had me wanting to cheer.
Another wonderful book by Sharp, one that greatly deserved a re-release from Dean Street Press & Furrowed Middlebrow.
5 stars
Another wonderful book by Sharp, one that greatly deserved a re-release from Dean Street Press & Furrowed Middlebrow.
5 stars
April 15, 2023
There was no doubt that the Laventies occupied a peculiar position in that pleasant countryside: deep-rooted in Sussex history, they had nevertheless a fantastic strain in their blood which served to alienate that almost entirely from their worthy neighbors
Rhododendron Pie is the story of the black sheep of the family, who just wants to live an honest, simple life, instead of aspiring to the pretensions of her family. Ann Laventies, the youngest of the family, goes on a journey of self discovery in this book.
What I like about Sharp's writing is that I can't predict where she's going to go with it. She has a curious mixture of plot and characterizations. I appreciate the writing in this book. A twenty-first century reader who is not born in Britain may have a difficult time understanding the references that were particular to this particular time period and place.
Rhododendron Pie is the story of the black sheep of the family, who just wants to live an honest, simple life, instead of aspiring to the pretensions of her family. Ann Laventies, the youngest of the family, goes on a journey of self discovery in this book.
What I like about Sharp's writing is that I can't predict where she's going to go with it. She has a curious mixture of plot and characterizations. I appreciate the writing in this book. A twenty-first century reader who is not born in Britain may have a difficult time understanding the references that were particular to this particular time period and place.
December 11, 2020
How absolutely lovely that Dean Street Press is releasing these novels by British authors that have gone out of print. (And how nice of them to send me the ARC for this one.) You can read my review on my blog here. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2020/12/1...
February 5, 2023
This is her first book. Her others are much better.
September 18, 2023
Una tarta de rododendros fue el debut literario de Margery Sharp. Publicada en 1930, y escrita a modo de crítica social, nos traslada a la campiña de Sussex para presentarnos a la familia Laventie. Los integrantes de esta familia son extremadamente snobs, y se dedican a la escritura, la escultura y filosofar sobre el sentido de la vida. Sin embargo, Ann, la pequeña de los Laventie, no baila al son de su familia. Ann disfruta de las cosas sencillas de la vida, de tumbarse al sol, de acudir a las fiestas del pueblo y de pasar tardes junto a sus vecinos.
Acompañamos a Ann en un momento trascendental en su vida en el que empieza a distanciarse de los deseos y opiniones de su familia, para encontrar su propia voz y su propio camino.
Una lectura que me ha resultado muy acogedora, agradable y que me ha arrancado una sonrisa en muchas ocasiones. Un retrato de clases sociales y de cómo vemos a los demás y cómo los demás nos ven a nosotros. Un libro que se mueve lento, que se detiene en lo cotidiano para enfatizar el mensaje que quiere darnos. Que no hace falta ser extraordinario en todo, si no que muchas veces, lo extraordinario está en los pequeños detalles.
Con una prosa sutil y delicada y con un título excepcionalmente bien escogido, ha sido una de las delicias de este verano.
Acompañamos a Ann en un momento trascendental en su vida en el que empieza a distanciarse de los deseos y opiniones de su familia, para encontrar su propia voz y su propio camino.
Una lectura que me ha resultado muy acogedora, agradable y que me ha arrancado una sonrisa en muchas ocasiones. Un retrato de clases sociales y de cómo vemos a los demás y cómo los demás nos ven a nosotros. Un libro que se mueve lento, que se detiene en lo cotidiano para enfatizar el mensaje que quiere darnos. Que no hace falta ser extraordinario en todo, si no que muchas veces, lo extraordinario está en los pequeños detalles.
Con una prosa sutil y delicada y con un título excepcionalmente bien escogido, ha sido una de las delicias de este verano.
January 30, 2021
This was so fun! I imagine C.S. Lewis liking it because it pokes fun at those Intellectuals who like art, etc. just for the sake of being snobbish and highbrow. The Gayfords sound like such a fun family, and I love Ann’s slow blossoming of self knowledge. (Also the unexpected White Knight at the end.) This makes the fifth Margery Sharp I’ve read and so far, there hasn’t been a dud.
May 17, 2021
I liked this but didn’t really connect with it...although I definitely know a family or two like the Laventies and find that whole attitude exhausting. It was fun reading a first edition of the book published in 1930.
May 11, 2023
Una delicia los libros de esta autora, muy divertida su crítica al snobismo de la buena sociedad inglesa, con una familia de intelectuales diletantes y un personaje central, Anne, toda sensatez y cariño.
August 12, 2024
Me lo esperaba más entretenido... No fue una buena elección como lectura amena veraniega. Pero habrá que seguir dándole una oportunidad a la autora.
"Así como la forma de una sombra es más importante que su textura, es más importante que la vida de un hombre sea estética y estimulante para el espectador que cómoda para sí mismo."
"Así como la forma de una sombra es más importante que su textura, es más importante que la vida de un hombre sea estética y estimulante para el espectador que cómoda para sí mismo."
January 9, 2021
Finally! I finally get to read Margery's first novel. Quite a joy. I was a bit surprised by the ending and am still pondering the meaning. 🤔
April 7, 2023
Published(my edition, anyway) in 1930, this book is like a slice of the past, freezing in time the antiquated traditions, positions, and opinions of that time. I wasn't quite sure what to make of the tone, mirroring Ann's muddled thoughts about her own position, until that delicious little paragraph at the end of the second to last chapter that finally exposed the whole thing as a comedy of almost Austenien genius.
John's page of monologue about New Zealand, adventure, and bank clerks lay heavier on the heart that it was originally meant to, I suppose. Because, you see, we know something that Sharp didn't in 1930---that things were happening in Germany that would soon overshadow the world.
I gather that, somewhere, there is an edition that has removed the offending line that was included in mine. Or so I would hope because I was definitely not expecting it here and the people that read it, and, by so liking it, encouraged me to read it, are usually really good at catching those things. But, for that reason, I'm not that keen on the story. It tainted the rest of it.
It does beg the question though: Even if the line had been eliminated in the version that I had, should it matter? Because the spot existed in the shirt and was snipped out, is the shirt forever ruined, or has it been saved? Opinions on the former are welcome.
John's page of monologue about New Zealand, adventure, and bank clerks lay heavier on the heart that it was originally meant to, I suppose. Because, you see, we know something that Sharp didn't in 1930---that things were happening in Germany that would soon overshadow the world.
I gather that, somewhere, there is an edition that has removed the offending line that was included in mine. Or so I would hope because I was definitely not expecting it here and the people that read it, and, by so liking it, encouraged me to read it, are usually really good at catching those things. But, for that reason, I'm not that keen on the story. It tainted the rest of it.
It does beg the question though: Even if the line had been eliminated in the version that I had, should it matter? Because the spot existed in the shirt and was snipped out, is the shirt forever ruined, or has it been saved? Opinions on the former are welcome.
September 1, 2023
I am completely flabbergasted that 1. This is Margery Sharps first book and 2. She wrote it in A MONTH. ONE MONTH! Any fan of Dodie Smiths “I Capture the Castle” will adore Rhododendron Pie, it’s just as full of quirky characters in a beautiful setting.
Synopsis: Ann Laventie is the youngest child of two siblings, her older sister Elizabeth is a writer and her brother Dick is an artist. Her father is just rich enough to idle his time away by being an unemployed intellectual who still makes time to educate his children. Educated the way he feels they should be. You learn right away, in the first few pages, the meaning of the title. To put it simply, Elizabeth and Dick are Rhododendron Pie while sweet, kind Ann is plain old apple pie. The trouble is Ann loves her family immensely, and she wants to still be part of them while also being her own person. She also loves artists and intellects and can certainly hold her own with them and her family. However, an indecent proposal from one of her families new acquaintances sends her running to childhood friend John Gayford. He is “dull”, kind, a fantastic brother in a huge family, and full of love for Ann. But, will Ann choose heart over head? Will she lose her family or her love? Can she be true to herself and finally stand on her own? Read this incredibly heartwarming, full of quirks and charm story to find out!
Synopsis: Ann Laventie is the youngest child of two siblings, her older sister Elizabeth is a writer and her brother Dick is an artist. Her father is just rich enough to idle his time away by being an unemployed intellectual who still makes time to educate his children. Educated the way he feels they should be. You learn right away, in the first few pages, the meaning of the title. To put it simply, Elizabeth and Dick are Rhododendron Pie while sweet, kind Ann is plain old apple pie. The trouble is Ann loves her family immensely, and she wants to still be part of them while also being her own person. She also loves artists and intellects and can certainly hold her own with them and her family. However, an indecent proposal from one of her families new acquaintances sends her running to childhood friend John Gayford. He is “dull”, kind, a fantastic brother in a huge family, and full of love for Ann. But, will Ann choose heart over head? Will she lose her family or her love? Can she be true to herself and finally stand on her own? Read this incredibly heartwarming, full of quirks and charm story to find out!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2024
Insípido como comer una tarta de rododendros😐🎂🌺
Bueno, esta lectura ha sido Aburridaaaa!!!!😪
Es la primera novela de la autora, pero aun así...me sentía como si me hubieran secuestrado para pasar el tiempo con una familia pija, creída y aburrida. Viviendo el día a día, con una narrativa llena de detalles intrascendentes, con una protagonista plana (pobre Ann ella intenta ser más interesante que su familia) y con diálogos para poner los ojos en blanco. 🙄
Ya no podía más, iba por la mitad del libro esperando que pasara algo, lo que fuera!!
Entiendo el significado bonito de verdad "la sociedad, una chica diferente, rebeldía ante los estereotipos, elegir la felicidad en vez del estatus, soportar a tu familia repelente"; lo que no puedo entender es 260 páginas para decir esto de la forma más floja posible.
Fin. 🥲
Pd. Que alguien me de un trozo de tarta con fruta por favor, con fruuutaaaa. 🍰🍓
Bueno, esta lectura ha sido Aburridaaaa!!!!😪
Es la primera novela de la autora, pero aun así...me sentía como si me hubieran secuestrado para pasar el tiempo con una familia pija, creída y aburrida. Viviendo el día a día, con una narrativa llena de detalles intrascendentes, con una protagonista plana (pobre Ann ella intenta ser más interesante que su familia) y con diálogos para poner los ojos en blanco. 🙄
Ya no podía más, iba por la mitad del libro esperando que pasara algo, lo que fuera!!
Entiendo el significado bonito de verdad "la sociedad, una chica diferente, rebeldía ante los estereotipos, elegir la felicidad en vez del estatus, soportar a tu familia repelente"; lo que no puedo entender es 260 páginas para decir esto de la forma más floja posible.
Fin. 🥲
Pd. Que alguien me de un trozo de tarta con fruta por favor, con fruuutaaaa. 🍰🍓
November 2, 2018
This wobbled a little between 3 and 4 stars for me -- I felt like the portrait of the aesthetes was a little overdone, and Ann's development into herself was not as clear of an arc as I would have liked. But it was still a very engaging, enjoyable read, and I appreciated greatly that Sharp ends the book As always, Sharp is generous to her characters and while her heroines tend to land firmly on a particular side of things, it is clear that Sharp recognises that one person's solution is not for everyone. I wish someone would reprint this one!
September 28, 2022
I will not be finishing this . It’s not great and I am not impressed with it even though it was written when the author was only 24.
The plot is thin , confusing and the characters weak . They are indistinguishable from each other in their dullness.
I never read romances ( which category under which I presume it should be filed ) so maybe that accounts for my intolerant review .
The plot is thin , confusing and the characters weak . They are indistinguishable from each other in their dullness.
I never read romances ( which category under which I presume it should be filed ) so maybe that accounts for my intolerant review .
Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews