Facial Justice

by L.P. Hartley

'The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy...'Jael 97's good looks have been deemed a cause of discontent among other women, and she finds herself reporting to the Ministry of Facial Justice, where her face will be reconstructed to become 'beta' (second-grade). For she lives in a post-apocalyptic world, where society is based on a collective sense of guilt, where all citizens are labelled 'delinquents' and obliged to wear sackcloth and ashes. Individuality and privilege, which might arouse envy, are stamped out.But Jael refuses to fit in. Forced to become 'beta', and thus exempt from envy, her self-respect and rebellious spirit cannot be suppressed so easily. Slowly, she begins the struggle to reassert the rights of the individual.L. P. Hartley's dystopian classic is a darkly entertaining vision of human weakness, envy and governmental interference taken to their most chilling extremes.

Genres: Fiction, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Classics, 20th Century, Novels, Fantasy

ebook

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Leslie Poles Hartley (1895-1972) was born in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, and educated at Harrow and Balliol College, Oxford. For more than thirty years from 1923 he was an indefatigable fiction reviewer for periodicals including the Spectator and Saturday Review. His first book, Night Fears (1924) was a collection of short stories; but it was not until the publication of Eustace and Hilda (1947), which won the James Tait Black prize, that Hartley gained widespread recognition as an author. His other novels include The Go-Between (1953), which was adapted into an internationally-successful film starring Julie Christie and Alan Bates, and The Hireling (1957), the film version of which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Reviews

[Aaron Haspel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the most forthright examination of envy, referred to in the book as Bad E or Bad Egg (Equality is Good E), in all of English literature. It takes place in a future inspired, if that is the word, by the positive mania for equality of Britain's Labor Government in the 1950s. Envy, in Hartley's dystopia, is managed not by punishing the envious, but by eliminating anything that might cause envy. It is his profound insight to make causing envy, not envy itself, the crime.

The novel's title refers to the Facial Equalization Center, where women usually volunteer, but are sometimes sent, to be outfitted with identical, inexpressive Beta faces, neither too pretty nor too plain. (Men -- and this is another great insight of Hartley's -- are allowed to keep their own.) The Dictator is known only by voice, addresses his subjects as "patients and delinquents," and keeps order by means of a caste of Inspectors, to whom the laws do not seem to apply.

The plot concerns the efforts of one woman, Jael 97, to overthrow the regime. There is enough of it to carry the book along, but its exceptional merit consists in the social commentary, perhaps even more pertinent today than in 1960, when the book was published.

[J O'Toole · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a New Year treat I spent yesterday evening and NYE evening reading again. It is still frighteningly prevalent, and I hope, as the novel ends, the West becomes a more logical and less emotionally pathetic place.

It's a real shame Hartley is dead, I would have loved to be able to tell him just how important this book has become in my life.

Cheers all to a happy new reading year!
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I am obsessed with this book. I think L.P. Hartley might well have been a secret genius. I'm reading it again.
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Second reading and it's crept into my brain.
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(After 1 day of mulling I've decided I actually liked it enough to give it a 4. Might just be the sentimental side of me, but it was rather touching.)
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Sounds a bit like it could be a really dodgy porno but it's well tame.

I will be mulling for a while and might even re-read it, so I'm leaving out a full review, but I did quite enjoy the weirdness, and also the atmosphere that dystopian novels in the early 21st century seem to share. Presently though, by God Michael in it (when he rarely appeared) was hot. Jael was actually a well-rounded character, I liked her. The full on Social Justice in this kind of represents the crap that's going on at the moment, so it felt pretty damn relevant. However, it took the apocalypse and a drastically reduced population for them to succumb to moronity. XD

Ely Cathedral, however, in full and real life certainly gives the immense urge to do an epic dance like the guys in this book did, because it's effing stunning.

It's worth a go - I came across it (and a pile of other dystopias) from Penguin's "The Happy Reader", the recent "We" edition.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently bought a copy of this off a Cambridge street vendor, and only partially because the title sounds a bit skeezy.

The story is about Jael 97, a woman whose alpha-ranked looks have caused enough envy among her peers to make her consider having an artificial beta face fitted. Her post World War III society is governed by a mysterious dictator, whose seemingly arbitrary commands seem intended to keep everyone equal in mediocrity. When one of the dictator's decisions affects Jael in an unexpected way, Jael's vague dissatisfaction with the state becomes a quest to subvert it.

This is the kind of book that you read more for the ideas behind it than the story. The plot is sometimes light on detail, and I wish it had been fleshed out a bit more. We do get a good amount of information on the society. It was an interesting read, and a fairly quick one. Some of the book's points were made in overly repetitive ways, and some aspects seemed superficial.

I would suggest against reading the description on the back cover or the introduction, because they contain at least one detail that happens late enough in the story that I'd consider it a spoiler. I changed the Goodreads description to leave that part out.

[Vivienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in the 1950s and set in a dystopian future, this was an interesting read, a world apart from L P Hartley's more famous work, The Go Between. I particularly enjoyed the location (Cambridge and the Fens) and the development of the main character, Jael, as she grows in confidence and takes matters into her own hands. Hartley deals with several issues that still apply to our 21st-century world, not least of which: egalitarianism leading to the dumbing-down of culture, the power of fashion and the control of women by men. This is a great book for book clubs - it will definitely stimulate discussion! I recommend reading the Penguin Modern Classics edition for the introduction which provides fascinating insights into the author (what a ghastly man!) and the novel.

[Melanie Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This dystopian novel by L.P. Hartley is surprising and maintains relevance for today's world - for instance, the growth of social media has led to some people aiming at the same particular look. My favourite section of the story was the trip to Ely; this was a highlight and had a suggestion of pagan responses to the surviving Christian symbol. I felt that the story and characters needed filling out, (though the character of Jael is feisty), but on the whole I was intrigued.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an odd book for L.P. Hartley, whose typical fare is social drama set in the early 20th century— think a story about a young woman having an affair with a local farmer when she's supposed to be marrying a viscount. But here we have Facial Justice, a 1984-esque dystopian science fiction novel about a post-World War III society ruled by a mysterious dictator. In this world, equality has become the supreme commandment, and women who are either too attractive or not attractive enough are coerced into having cosmetic surgery to make themselves more average. The story revolves around Jael 97, a young woman who resists the procedure, setting her on the path to a larger rebellion.

Hartley does well in exploring the dynamics of a society that is not only fixated on equality, but also safety and decorum. For example, while motor vehicles are generally prohibited, the government runs occasional bus tours of the countryside as way to placate older members of the population who still remember and love driving. When the trips become too popular, it is announced that one out of every six vehicles will encounter a potentially serious accident—and that only increases demand.

Dress is also highly regulated, and a punishment for wrongdoers is "Permanent Sackcloth." Jael contemplates its horrors:

What prospect! Sackcloth, that dreary uniform! Day after day, every day! When worn as a punishment, sackcloth had to be worn plain: you weren't allowed to embroider it. Jael couldn't think of herself apart from the clothes she wore; her vision of herself was sartorial: she never thought of herself as naked, much less a formless entity. Without an individual appearance, and an appearance meant a vesture, she did not exist for herself. Clad in Permanent Sackcloth, she could not exist for herself either.

I think Hartley's vision is psychologically sound. Without individuality, without agency, risk and reward, life quickly becomes meaningless. However, he's not unaware of the trade-offs. Freedom also means the freedom to compete, to fail, or to commit acts of violence. As Jael's rebellion begins to become successful, these elements start to creep back into the society with disastrous results. The ending of the book what not what I expected, but I think it is an honest one that acknowledges the difficulties and dangers of governing a society.

[Maria White · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another take on a dystopian post-apocalyptic novel reminiscent of H.G. Wells, Aldous Huxley and George Orwell. There are some thought provoking ideas here about a society where individuality is seen as the major evil and is to be eradicated. The novel creates a scary two-dimensional world, a lunatic asylum on a grand scale where all inhabitants are addressed as patients and delinquents and where plastic surgery is used indiscriminately 'to betafy' the majority of women. It is unsettling and frightening to see how the notions of equality and justice get twisted and corroded into a monstrous charade in society which always holds the best interests of its citizens at heart.

[Richard Grebenc · Rating 3 out of 5]

A semi-interesting, but plodding, and sometimes confusing, dystopian novel about conformity imposed upon society by a mysterious "dictator" after the near extinction of the human race after World War III. Making it into a short story would have been sufficient and would have made it more interesting and palatable by getting rid of the dross. It actually picks up a bit in the second half of the book and a surprise ending makes it somewhat gratifying.

As a side note, although it was published sixty years ago, it is an interesting commentary on today's so-called "snowflake" culture, with its "safe spaces" and "everyone is a winner" mentality.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This work has been viewed as being a part of three deviating genres: a spoof, a representational fable, or simply an attempt at constructing a science fiction.

The narrative moves around an England, recuperating from the desecration of a third World War. Nuclear bombs have been dropped, and survivors are returning from caves and hideaways to reconstruct a brand new and rehabilitated societal array.

In this proverbial Elysium, resentment is the assailed and importunate peccadillo, Equality the principal asset here. In this society, the advantaged caste is comprised by people termed as ‘Alphas’. Those who have been unsuccessful in reaching up to the Alpha stage, become ‘Betas’. When it comes to women, this would as a rule entail ‘plastic surgery’, conducted under the aegis of the Ministry of Facial Justice.

The newly created society, nonetheless, suffers from a sense of culpability and every one of its members is named after a homicide convict. The female protagonist, for example, is named Jael 97, like an offender.

It is a squeaky-clean and more or less a sinless civilization. All antagonism is proscribed. Economic equality is matched by equality in beauty.

A girl who considers herself "facially under-privileged" can get a facelift to attain to the usual custom of beauty (which is neither hideous nor attractive).

Jael 97 has more than her evenhanded split of good looks. She must; consequently be levelled down to the standard. She is, however, an unconventional girl. Her banner of revolt is based on her wish to look like herself.

At the first sight of the western tower of the beautiful Ely Cathedral she is filled with ecstatic joy and revolts against the regime.

The ludicrousness of a totalitarian regime has been revealed in this book.

A mixed bag and surreal kind of plot!!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published as drab postwar Britain was about to burst forth into the swinging 60’s, Hartley’s curious dystopian satire takes aim at egalitarian schemes with a jaunty surrealism that calls to mind the buoyant absurdities of the TV series 'The Prisoner,' or the film 'Zardoz.' The subterranean survivors of WWIII emerge to reshape England’s blighted wastes into a correspondingly flattened nanny state, a gently sedated and infantilized populace termed ‘patients and delinquents’ by the disembodied voice of an all-powerful ‘Darling Dictator,’ whose whimsical edicts and alliterative buzzwords keep everyone on their toes. To discourage envy - or ‘Bad E’ - women deemed noticeably attractive or ugly voluntarily have their faces surgically deadened into an acceptably bland compromise. (Men’s faces are their own; the patriarchy is alive and well.) At the last moment, pretty young Jael 97 decides to save her face, and this gentle subversion of her otherwise sackcloth existence leads to others, culminating in an uprising – or downdragging – destined to roil the painstaking placidity of her ‘relaxed and invalidish Civilization.’ Equal parts George Orwell and Lewis Carroll, Hartley’s fanciful futurism reflects its author’s aristocratic anxieties, a witty, entertaining and oddly affecting science fiction outlier.

[J O'Toole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time there is something new.

Not to be taken at face value...hehe... XD

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was Anthony Burgess, writing in his 1984 overview volume "99 Novels: The Best in English Since 1939," who first made me aware of L.P. Hartley's truly remarkable creation "Facial Justice." In his essay in that volume, Burgess tells us that Hartley's novel is "a brilliant projection of tendencies already apparent in the post-war British welfare state." It is one of the very few sci-fi novels that the "Clockwork Orange" author chose to spotlight in his book, and despite his rather stodgy pronouncements and pedantic manner, I made a mental note to seek out that Hartley novel one day. And, as it turns out, I am so glad I did. An impressive blending of dystopian, postapocalyptic and feminist genres, the book is surely one that will appeal to fans of any one of those three categories.

"Facial Justice" was initially released by the British publisher Hamish Hamilton as a hardcover in 1960. A year later, in the U.S., Doubleday would come out with its own hardback version featuring some beautiful cover art by one Vera Bock. Over the decades, six more editions would be forthcoming, including one in 1965 from the Italian publisher Aldo Martello under the title "Giustizia Facciale." And happily for readers today, there is the copy that I was fortunate enough to acquire...the 2022 incarnation from the fine folks at Valancourt Books.

Now, before I begin singing this novel's praises, a quick word on the author himself. Leslie Poles Hartley was born in Cambridgeshire in 1895, and today is best remembered as the author of some two dozen novels and short-story collections. Two of his earliest releases, "Night Fears" (1924) and "The Killing Bottle" (1932), were apparently comprised of chilling/spooky tales, but the author is supposedly best known for his Eustace and Hilda trilogy (1944's "The Shrimp and the Anemone," 1946's "The Sixth Heaven," and 1947's "Eustace and Hilda"), as well as his 1953 novel "The Go-Between." Hartley passed away in 1972 at the age of 76.

As to "Facial Justice" itself, the book is indeed set in a postapocalyptic age, after WW3 has wiped out 9/10 of the human race and leveled almost everything during a nuclear holocaust. After decades of living underground in cavern systems, one group resists the authorities that be and sets up a colony aboveground, led by a never-seen Dictator. Hartley's tale commences 15 years following this Exodus to the surface. It is a bleak, flattened landscape in Cambridge, this area where the book is set; one in which practically every structure from the olden days has been obliterated. To maintain order, the well-meaning yet invisible Dictator has laid down a strict set of rules, in the hopes of establishing equality (Good E) amongst the people, and eliminating envy (Bad E); also referred to as Good Egg and Bad Egg. As part of the overall plan, the donning of sackcloth has been encouraged, all the citizens are compelled to adopt the names of famous historic murderers or murderesses, cars (responsible for so much death and mayhem in olden times) have been outlawed, the ingestion of daily sedatives is required, and the tuning in to the Dictator's frequent radio chats is practically mandatory. Angelic Inspectors police the streets to enforce discipline and impose small fines on any slackers. And, perhaps most drastic of all, there is the matter of facial equality, to prevent Bad E. Thus, any woman with an Alpha face (read: pretty, attractive, beautiful) is strongly encouraged to undergo surgery to bring her features down to a Beta level, a synthetic skin overlay being applied in a process known as Betafication. Homely Gamma women, on the other hand, can upgrade their physiognomy to the Beta level, resulting in a society in which no female might experience Bad E based on looks. (Men, significantly, are exempt from this ruling, the Dictator suspecting that males do not become jealous or envious over other men’s appearance.)

Against this backdrop the reader encounters Jael 97, an Alpha female, age 19, whose time for Betafication (as opposed to "beatification"!) is at hand. Jael lives with her older brother Joab, a statistician for whom she works as a secretary. But as the obedient Jael begins to enter the Equalization (Faces) Center on page 1 of Hartley's book, she encounters her friend Judith, a former Gamma who had been Betafied. Judith convinces Jael not to go through with the procedure, resulting in a serious reproof from Joab as well as the inevitable disapproving stares from the town's citizens. To further declare her independence, Jael takes a very-much-frowned-upon bus excursion to look at one of the last edifices standing, the Ely Cathedral, where she further tempts fate by relishing the prospect of height (all buildings in the new, leveled Cambridge are a mere couple of stories tall). A bus accident during the return trip lands Jael in the hospital, after having been rescued from the scene by a handsome, kindly Inspector who had earlier taken a liking to her Alpha face. But while lying unconscious in hospital, a fast one is pulled, and Jael ultimately discovers that, very much against her will, she has been given a permanent Beta face! Thus, having lost her precious individuality, along with the handsome Inspector's love, Jael, her hated new face covered by a veil, sets herself on a course of vengeance, vowing to not only kill the Dictator, but to also bring down the society as it currently stands....

Now, if this setup of a government bureaucracy compelling young women to alter their appearance strikes you as seeming familiar, it might be because you've read Charles Beaumont's 1952 short story "The Beautiful People," which was later filmed as the 1/24/64 "Twilight Zone" episode entitled "Number Twelve Looks Just Like You." But in Beaumont's story, 18-year-old Mary Cuberle is forced by the powers that be to undergo the change; Jael only experiences some societal disapproval after refusing to be voluntarily Betafied...before her sneaky hospital doctor takes matters into his own hands, that is. And Mary's society forces these facial and bodily changes for purely aesthetic reasons, whereas the Dictator in Jael's reality is endeavoring to eliminate envy and hard feelings. And, of course, Hartley's novel permits a much more in-depth look at the society in question than Beaumont's short story.

Jael, it must be said, is a splendid character who undergoes numerous changes during the course of Hartley's novel. At first content with her lot, she gradually becomes defiant, outraged, lovesick (after having lost her Inspector), cunning, desperate and ultimately noble. Her intelligence, not apparent at first, becomes increasingly pronounced as we witness her schemes for causing the Dictator's downfall, all of them brilliantly subtle. Her Beta face will perhaps cause some readers to be reminded of Edith Scob's masked mug in the great-great French horror film "Eyes Without a Face" (1959), although the features of the Scob character were completely immobile, unlike Jael's waterproof and slightly moveable ones. And Hartley also gives us an interesting bunch of well-drawn secondary characters, most especially Joab and Judith.

Any number of well-handled sequences are to be had in Hartley's book. My favorites: Jael and her fellow tourists, overcome by the prospect of height at the Ely Cathedral, break into spontaneous song and dance around it; Jael, half swooning after that bus accident, seems to fly through the clouds (possibly because she is flying through the clouds) with her rescuer, the Inspector; Jael experiencing both shock and dismay when she first sees her new face; and finally, the ultimate confrontation between Jael and the Dictator (and I'll admit that the Dictator's actual identity did come as a stunning surprise to me!). As I just inferred, Hartley manages a most impressive bit of world building here, too. The half dozen rules that I mentioned earlier are just the iceberg tip of what the author ultimately gives us. It is a very credible society that Hartley depicts, and he fleshes out his conceit with a wealth of imaginative touches. Thus, we are told that the weather in this post-nuclear Cambridge is like an eternal March, and that the sun never manages to peek out from the perpetual cloud cover. Flowers are practically extinct, and the real live cineraria that the Inspector gives to Jael to place next to her hospital bed (as opposed to the other patients' plastic flowers) becomes the poor woman's most prized possession. The maximum speed for the six existent buses, we learn, is 7½ miles per hour (kind of like NYC's Van Wyck Expressway on a good day!), and practically all buildings have rounded edges, due to the Dictator's (unexplained) "aversion to angles and straight lines." The Dictator's lengthy radio talks are unfailingly fascinating, and the slogans that are promulgated by the government are seemingly endless ("Beta is best," "Nature is nasty," "Alpha is antisocial," and on and on). Yes, it is a fully realized society, and Hartley's story is at once finely written, impressively intelligent, totally unpredictable, and really quite mysterious.

I have very few complaints to levy against the author's very fine work here, other than him referring to Jael's brother as "Joab 98" on page 12 of this Valancourt edition, and then as "Joab 32" on page 32. Something of a major oopsie, that! Also, I would have liked to have found out more concerning certain tantalizing aspects that we learn about only fleetingly. To wit, what is going on with the society that remained underground? Who was the mysterious child who had led the Exodus to the surface 15 years earlier? And most crucially, what might happen following this book's very surprising denouement? It is an ending that practically cries out for a sequel, as Hartley apparently had no problem providing in that Eustace and Hilda trilogy and would go on to do in his novels "The Brickfield" (1964) and its sequel "The Betrayal" (1966). Still, "Facial Justice" does manage to stand on its own, and makes for a very worthy addition to the dystopian, postapocalyptic and feminist catalogs. I would love to read some more of Hartley's work now, especially those two early collections of horror, which were cobbled together by Arkham House in 1948 to create the volume entitled "The Travelling Grave and Other Stories." Fortunately, that book is also available today from Valancourt, and I hope to be experiencing it soon....

(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at https://fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most ideal destination for all fans of dystopian and postapocalyptic fare....)

[Marina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dopo la Terza Guerra Mondiale (una guerra, ovviamente, atomica), l’intera popolazione mondiale è ridotta a 20 milioni di persone, che sono costrette a vivere sottoterra a causa dell’aria contaminata dalle radiazioni. A un certo punto, nella vecchia Inghilterra, alcuni si ribellano e decidono di tornare a vivere in superficie.

Qui sono guidati e governati da un Diletto Dittatore (o anche Benigno e così via) che si manifesta solo ed esclusivamente con la voce, una "voce d’oro". Nessuno sa chi sia, nessuno l’ha mai visto, comunica con i suoi sudditi solo attraverso la radio.

Il Dittatore vuole il bene dei suoi sudditi, e questo bene, a suo parere, viene esplicitato nell’Identità, ovvero nella condizione di uguaglianza assoluta fra tutti. Il Dittatore lotta contro l’Invidia, e cerca di estirparla a tutti i costi.

La cosa più importante è proprio questa: si deve combattere l’Invidia con tutti i mezzi, perciò tutti devono essere uguali, identici, tutti ugualmente piccoli, nessuno deve guardare in alto, ma neppure in basso.

Questo Dittatore si rivela piuttosto misogino, in quanto crede che l’Invidia sia soprattutto prerogativa delle donne. Gli uomini, di conseguenza, sono molto più liberi, mentre le donne sono divise in tre categorie: le Alpha (le belle), le Beta (le insignificanti, medie, "normali") e le Gamma (le brutte). Non è un obbligo, ma è altamente auspicabile che le donne Alpha e Gamma prendano l’iniziativa di sottoporsi a un intervento di chirurgia plastica al volto: tutte dovrebbero essere Beta, tutte uguali, tutte insignificanti, carine ma senza alcunché di particolare, in modo da non suscitare invidia né ribrezzo. A questo scopo possono scegliere fra vari modelli di facce Beta, tutti sostanzialmente uguali, e subiscono un vero e proprio trapianto facciale.

La protagonista è una donna (Alpha) che rifiuta il trapianto.

L’idea è molto buona, ma ci sono due problemi fondamentali.

Il primo è la traduzione, che risale al 1965. Benché sia stata rivista da Serena Sinibaldi, è vecchia e si sente. Chi mai direbbe al giorno d’oggi "la fanciulla", "codesto" o "la medesima"? Per non parlare di "ella disse", "ella fece".

Il secondo problema è più grave. È un romanzo confusionario, che a tratti si contraddice anche su particolari banali. L’impressione che dà è quella di un lavoro taglia-e-cuci. Come se fosse stato scritto "a rate" e poi ricucito insieme soltanto in un secondo momento.

Per godersi questo libro è dunque necessario scindere i due piani e cercare di godersi la storia, che è avvincente e interessante e fa riflettere, ma non è facile.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Time has not served this novel well. It is more of an essay on the period it was written than a true post-apocalptic novel, and it reads poorly. Interesting insights are built up and then flounder, or are put aside for no particular reason. The disjointed plot is bogged down by statements and questions which advance nothing other than speculation. Jael - the main character - undergoes a curious personal ignominy which never really feels relevant to the (faceless) multitudes. In fact, poor characterisation sinks this novel. We simply do not care.

[George Siehl · Rating 2 out of 5]

This dystopian novel is set in a post-nuclear third world war in Cambridge, England. Survivors had lived underground in caves for many years before a large group ascended and found the outside world livable, but barely. "Living so long below ground, and on exiguous though sustaining fare, had not improved the looks of the population; they were as a whole thin and scrawny...Indeed, it has been said by social historians that the prejudice against good looks which is to some extent the subject of my story dated from that day."

The aboveground population was grouped into three classes: Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, with some further internal subdivisions. The book's protagonist Jael 97, is an Alpha-, or Failed Alpha. The Beta class was prevalent, and for females usually carried with it the requirement for facial surgery to achieve one of the standard facial appearances. Equality, "Good E," was the byword for the community in all things so as to avoid Envy, "Bad E."

Jael 97 is an attractive young woman who is encouraged by her brother to undergo the standardizing surgery so as not to cause Envy among other women. She resists, and finds herself
moving to other preferences and behaviors that are not standard. She develops a personality.

The society is run by an unseen Dictator who communicates only by radio to all the citizens. He issues behavioral and philosophical edicts. The countryside is boringly the same, the result of the
nuclear devastation. There is no greenery or scenery except the remnant of a cathedral tower at Ely. The dictator has allowed for six motor vehicles to conduct tours open to the people. Otherwise, no private vehicles are allowed so as to avoid accidents or unruly behavior as had been the case before the war. (There is an overall abhorrence of violent behavior.) Jael 97 opts for the novelty of the outing and at Ely is overcome by the novelty of the remaining tower: no buildings higher than two levels are permitted in town. She leads the other passengers in a wild dance around the tower, although many had been urging to turn back as the tower came in sight. An accident ensues on the ride back. The Dictator had announced that one of the six vehicles would have an accident every day. This attempt to discourage the tours actually increased ridership.

The accident greatly changes Jael 97's life. She becomes active in an effort to overturn the Dictator.
At this point the story develops some plot and action, an adjustment from the prior ongoing stream of narrative prose.

I learned of the book in Dorian Lynskey's The Ministry of Truth, his biography of Orwell's 1984.
There he listed several other dystopian novel from among the many that followed Orwell's book. This book was among those he listed. I found it noteworthy because its writer, L. P. Hartley is the author on one of my favorite literary quotes: "The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there." That seemed evocative, and now, as an emigrant from the past, I can attest to its accuracy. Given that respect for the author, I'm sorry to only bestow two stars to Facial Justice.
It is an interesting idea, perhaps even timely with our current concerns with equality, but the pace and heavy use of narrative over action lessens the book's appeal.

[Ralph Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

With technology becoming increasingly more advanced from one thing to another, we live in a world where almost everyone has social media accounts. Back then, especially young women, will experience envy towards the young women they see on television or fashion magazines; as if there’s only one kind of beauty standard supposed to exist. Now, Instagram is the platform where you can easily see not only physical attractiveness but one’s whole lifestyle. So, where am I going with this?

Facial Justice by L. P. Hartley is about a post-apocalyptic world caused by nuclear war. The devastation made the survivors to live underground and lead under harsh dictatorship. Over time, a significant amount of people were motivated to get out and form a civilization of their own above ground. This new society is based on the collective sense of guilt on what happened with the war.

The above ground is also under a dictatorship, but not one of the people ever seen the supreme leader. The Dictator announces their laws through speakers around the small city. Anyone that breaks the rules--even a minor one--will get caught to be punished or altered. Yes, altered. The Dictator made a decree where everyone must wear a sackcloth so one will not be envious of the other’s appearances. That’s only clothing, so what about faces? The Dictator appoints Inspectors to monitor the society, and one of them took a woman named Jael 97 to the Equalization (Faces) Centre to make a beta-fit of a new face for her. This is because she is “facially over-privileged” and made the other women distraught by it. Instead of going through the facial altercation, she decided to rebel against the current regime because everything is ridiculous--and this proves something, at least.

See, in an alternate universe, anyone who reads this book would think, “Wow, everyone is equal. If you’re born over-privileged or under-privileged, you can get altered to match a balanced physical appearance so everyone will be happy with no jealousy”. It’s not easy as that. If you read carefully, ironically, Jael became the new Dictator for the above ground society, and she is the “facially over-privileged” woman at the beginning of the story. Relating to current society, those who have the same attributes as Jael will get--what kids these days say, ‘pretty privilege’. Even without academic achievements, one can achieve more success than the other because one is attractive. Female empowerment or not, we cannot deny the existence of pretty privilege.

This book touches a lot of themes that are still relevant in this day, even though it is fictional. Dystopian novels are written so the readers can either avoid, or be prepared to what’s going to come if they keep doing what they are doing, whether it is good or bad.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Gave this book a go as I do love a good dystopian. One thing I will say about it is that L.P Hartley's writing is both eloquent and effective. This book definitely has the perfect balance of description and plot for me personally.

The book is a dystopian where the third world war has left only 20 million people on the planet. These people lived underground for many years and were ruled by a cruel regime, which used threats and torture to maintain order. But this doesn't last long, and the establishment is soon brought down by an anarchist who brings the people up to live on the surface. This person then becomes the 'darling dictator' (as they like to be known) and rules the land by means of a telecom system.

I will say, the world that Hartley has built is rather ridiculous. This 'darling dictator' (or should it be Darling Dictator) is a fan of alliteration and enforces such punishments as having to perform a dance after saying a forbidden word. This almost feels as though Hartley is making fun of dystopians. Unlike a lot of dystopian novels, this dictatorship in this one is not one of violence or particularly harsh threats. The dictator actually comes across as rather weak, and when we find out at the end of the book who (and what) the dictator actually is, it certainly does bring up questions on Hartley's opinions on the particular type of person the dictator is (trying not to spoil things too much here).

There is some slight romance in this book, which is very brief and not at all necessary. This is one of the many things which Hartley stretched out a little too much.

Overall, the idea of the book was good but the execution and attention to detail was not. If you like dystopians I would recommend you give this book a go. If not, it might be one to miss.

[Two Envelopes And A Phone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure how to process that ending - what message can I take from the final revelations.

But overall, this is a fascinating and thought-provoking dystopian novel, set after World War III. An unseen Dictator runs a strange New Estate, consisting of those who have dared to crawl out of the Underground and restart civilization on the surface. That’s great - I’m not sure I’d want tunnel life for ever and ever - but this is one weird, nightmarish society. Women have it the worst; the push to rebuild with everyone Equal, has become a plan to make everyone the same…starting with the way women look. An average look - the Beta look - has been decided upon, and so “Gamma”-rated ladies must get better faces, while Alphas are to be made plainer. There’s to be one basic look.

At the start of the story, Jael 97 meets her friend Judith outside the Facial Justice centre, and Judith talks Jael into not going through with the face change, but keeping her beautiful face the way it is. Gamma Judith goes in…while Jael does indeed walk away. This sets in motion a sequence of events, culminating in Jael 97 doing things significantly more rebellious, and dangerous, than just converting to an “every-face”. Later on, after her whole life has been turned upside-down and given a shakedown, Jael is contemplating finding and killing the Dictator, while also effecting serious change in this horrid, misogynistic society.

The world-building goes beyond just the stuff to do with “all faces the same for women” scenario; the drive is for TOTAL sameness - and thus Equality - among all citizens. And anything that could create Envy is out. No competition, no status symbols like a better car or a bigger home…in fact, no tall buildings that might make a person want to rise, aspire to something. But, as I hinted, the biggest hypocrisy inherent in the system is that somehow the women, in this huge drive to be Equal, seem to be subjected to worse things in the name of all this Equality than the men. The Old Boys’ Club, alive and well and taking care of themselves even after World War III…

Can Jael 97 ultimately keep her face? And more - can her disillusionment and newfound courage make her a truly effective “one Woman against the Empire”? The Dictator, faced with a wily rebel working from the shadows, stays shadowy too, and works to nullify the rebel.

The finale works for me as it stands, but I do look at it as a destination somewhat outclassed by the compelling, disturbing journey. And yes, of course this “far-fetched”, supremely messed-up future dystopia reminds, at times, of sharp shards of today.

[S.P. Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Every valley must be exalted, every mountain and hill brought low.”

I’m surprised that this novel isn’t better known. It was written in 1960, by L.P.Hartley, better known for “The Go-Between” and tells of a dystopian future, where the New State - under a seemingly benevolent Dictator - decrees that Equality is Bad E, and should be enforced, and that Envy is Bad E, and should be discouraged or punished. The “Patients and Delinquents” of the New State don sackcloth and ashes, and are named after murderers from history. It is vital that no one individual should aspire to be better than another in any way.

The story follows Jael, a young woman who has the misfortune to be born facially privileged. Her subversive tendencies and her fight to keep her individuality begin outside the Misitry for Facial Justice, where she is persuaded by a friend not to have the “betafication” operation that will render her beauty merely average. We then follow her rebellion against the system, whose theme song, quoted above, celebrates the levelling of everything to the mediocre.

Like “Brave New World” and “1984” before it, “Facial Justice” is prescient in some respects. Here a few quotes that rang true for me regarding some aspects of current society:

“With public and official opinion the irrational had more weight (and was treated with more respect) than the rational.”

“Diversity of ideas is dangerous. At worst, it leads to murder or to war.”

“They want to standardise the language ... so that no-one shall be better at writing than anyone else.”

“Facial Justice” is well worth reading, as much for the future world the author imagines as for the story itself.

[Flora · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

When I first found the book on the bookshelf, it didn't look appealing. Boy was I wrong. Hartley spun the story beautifully, with his beautiful, clear usage of the English language. It's not much a romance novel, but more about the society the story was set in. I have always enjoyed descriptive and detailed paragraphs. This book was the epitome of it. Despite not having much plot, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story that circled around Jael's character development, changes in mindset as she transited from a conformist to a rebel. Like in the New State, you're expected to use instinct rather than intellectual which was what Jael disliked.

The story was not much abt what types of rebellion Jael staged, but more of the concept of the society she was trying to alter and improve. Even though the society was flawed where citizens complied to the Dictator unquestioningly, it wasn't very constrained. They could still do what they want, for example falling in love, conspiring behind closed doors, having sex etc. So not altogether a very dystopian society but I still rather enjoy the words in the book albeit lengthy.

On a side note, I realised sedatives were always used to calm crowds and suppressed chaos in a dystopian society. It's always abt the lack of freedom of expressions that cause discord smh.

[Deb Lancaster · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

I love a bit of post WW2 sci fi that is a thinly disguised critique/satire of the political situation. in the foreword there was some interesting stuff about how the post war generation just assumed that WW3 was up next. That is a really interesting perspective for me.

Imagine living through WW1 and WW2 and then the atom bomb chugs along and it looks like any second WW3 will kick off. The 20th century was a mess. The century that killed our species.

This does read as an almost too pleased with itself satire of Orwell's stuff, maybe it is and maybe it isn't. Lots of it isn't fully formed - so there's a fair amount of back story about the atom bombs that annihilated the planet leaving isolated communities to form new societies largely under ground. When above ground becomes more habitable there are various revolutions/mass slayings while the people demand to go up top.

And then we reach the main crux of the story that places the blame for all society's ills on envy, in one form or another. Actually could have done without the Inspectors/Michael storyline but then I guess there would be no ironic ending without him.

A mixed bag but enjoyable and fascinating to me because of the commentary on the mood of the nation in the 1950s.

[Natasha Mairs (Serenity You) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this one up for my January book club read.

Never heard of this book or the author before, but really liked the sound of the synopsis.

This is about a way of living after world war three and is run by a dictator, who thinks everyone should be treated equally. So everyone must have the same as everyone else, to not cause
jealousy. And this also means looking the same too. so women have operations on their faces to make them look the same or beta.

I liked how this book explored how people can be envious of what others have and what needs to be done to make everyone feel equal.

There were parts of this book that I found a bit confusing but overall I really enjoyed it.
4.5 stars for me

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting dystopian novel that focuses more on community dynamics than specifics of an oppressive government. I found myself enjoying it until the final few chapters, where it seemed to suddenly die out in a predictable and disappointing manner disregarding any prior characterisation, as if the author had suddenly decided he had had enough. I wouldn't be surprised to discover it was written on a tight deadline. Nonetheless, there are worthwhile examinations of equality and envy to be found within.

[Des Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about the woman Jael, a remarkable book I’ve completed reading today. A rarely read SF novel by the great fictioneer L.P. Hartley (who wrote ‘The Go Between’ and some wonderful short stories and much else of value). It tells of a lowest common denominator civilisation escaping from the post holocaust-underworld to live on the surface. Yes, on the surface.

The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of its observations at the time of the review.

[Peter Monaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a strange novel. It is essentially a science fiction piece that tells the story of a post apocalyptic time when there was an unknown power who ruled the land and demanded that there be some kind of facial justice where anyone who was attractive (an alpha) was made to be less attractive (a beta). It follows the main character's journey through this process and her eventual rebellion along with other individual who are her friends and lovers. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this book was when it was written, 1960. Make of it's message what you will.

[WaterstonesBirmingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting dystopian novel based around an idea of everybody being equal, nobody looking above their station and attempting to eradicate envy or "Bad E".

Parts of the eradication is by formalising standards of peoples faces, mainly women and follows the main character through this world.

At times brutal and incredibly well written, the world is claustrophobic and creepy. Certainly one for fans of dystopian fiction.

Grace

[Jonathan Norton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very odd take on politics and religion, with unclear resolution. At times it seems like a satire of egalitarianism, at other times playing with the relationship between God and free will. Maybe we are to read a christian message in it, or maybe not. Nice to see discussions of "privilege" and female erasure appearing in nascent form. If you like this you might like "The Illuminatrix" by Thackray Seymour, but I make no promises on that.

[Matthew Kershaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

A laboured critique of the welfare state. At one point a mob forms to destroy perfectly adequate housing because its slightly less nice than other houses, making the occupants homeless (the state has driven it into people that envy must be eradicated through equality). You see, this is the logical conclusion of trying to address economic inequality, apparently.

[Bridget · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm generally very into anything Valancourt republishes because they are aces at finding forgotten gems but this book didn't connect for me. It was an interesting conceit but the writing lagged in a lot of places where it felt like Hartley was using the narrative voice to just push through a half-baked rebuttal of Brave New World.

[Carlos CRT · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really glad I read this version of the dystopia. The concepts were some great some ok some bad (?) The character is sometimes very undefined which makes sense in this case so its fine.
Wish it had gone deeper into the consequences of Good Egg, Bad Egg and specially beauty in relation to both.