The Warning Bell

by Lynne Reid Banks

Maggie Robertson, reckless and ruthless in her desire to escape the stifling atmosphere of her puritanical home in Scotland, fights her way into the world of the theater

344 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1986

About the author

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

Reviews

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another solid piece of storytelling from Lynne Reid Banks, who can always be relied upon to create memorable plots and characters. This time we meet young Maggie Robertson who is determined to become an actress at whatever the cost. Leaving her repressive home in 1950s Scotland she follows her dream and we accompany her through her often tumultuous life. As Maggie copes with the demands of marriage, motherhood and career, we get a nice slice of social history as well as an entertaining and compelling tale of one woman’s fight for independence and a fulfilling life.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving, realistic account of a woman's life and the decisions she makes that often result in her undoing. An overlooked work by Lynne Reid Banks; any fan of the Jane Graham trilogy should read this, as it is in many ways its opposite, though only in theme, not in quality.

[Pat]

She is one author we can all agree on. Well written, lots of twists and turns, interesting plot, hard to put down. Don't forget to read the prologue again when you have finished

[Firdaus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgally for sending this novel to me to review

In the prologue, we learn that Maggie Robertson has been married three times and is now a widow. She was an actress and has made a comeback in a play after several years. A host of characters are mentioned which arouse our curiosity. Specially the name of Tanya, who has not come for the play, who has had no contact with Maggie during the last several because Maggie has “bought her marriage with Tanya’s friendship”

Whereas Maggie’s mother hopes that there would be warning bells sounding at dangerous corners, Maggie realises that there have been such warning bells throughout her life but she has chosen to ignore them.

The first warning bell rings when Maggie deceives her father saying that she is studying domestic science but instead joins the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art with the assistance of Fiona Dalzell, her English teacher. She is desperate to escape an oppressive father and a domineering elder brother both of whom have very strict and dogmatic views on how her life should be lived. Inspired by Fiona Dalzell, she accompanies her to see a musical Oklahoma which transforms her life. It convinces her that she should be in the stage. The father never forgives her when he learns that his hard-earned money has been misused. He disowns Maggie and takes revenge on the teacher and gets her fired.

Maggie once again refuses to acknowledge the warning bell, when she hears a cry for help from Fiona Dalzell who has been so kind and helpful and who is jobless. Though Maggie has initial success on the stage, her golden hour soon runs out and she is jobless. Ignoring a warning bell, she had a liaison with a man she does not particularly love, gets pregnant and, once again forsaking the warning bell abandons the stage and follows him to Africa.
She finds it impossible to love her son and ignores the warning bell by handing him over to Tolly, an Ibo nurse maid, and as a consequence he transfers his affections to this devoted servant who loves and rears him. When her marriage ends in divorce and she returns with her son to Edinburgh, she once again refuses to hear the warning bell and abandons her son to her mother and chooses to live in London and pursue a career in television news. As a result, the son grows more and more distant from her. However, the most despicable act, is her selfish treatment of her best friend, Tanya, who has been a constant companion over the years.

The novel lacks the energy and the brilliance of The L-Shaped Room but is a good read and Banks presents a sympathetic portrait of a rather unlikeable heroine.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a free copy of Lynne Reid Banks' The Warning Bell from Netgalley in exchange for a review.
The Warning Bell was published originally in 1984, but has recently been reissued by Sapere Books. I requested the opportunity to read and review it because in the early 1970s I read and very much enjoyed Lynne Reid Banks' L Shape Room trilogy, and her novel on the Brontes, Dark Quartet.

Sapere describes the novel as follows: At each turning-point in her life, Maggie heard the warning bells chime…Scotland, 1950s. Depressed by her rural upbringing, Maggie Robertson dreams of leading the glamorous life of an actress in London. However, her father expects her to stay at home and learn to take care of the family. When Maggie secretly gets a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, everything changes. And with each step towards adulthood, the warning bell of her conscience chimes. Are friends and family worth sacrificing for her freedom? Will her own son become disposable on the road to success? Maggie must decide how far she is willing to go to achieve her dreams.

Maggie sounded as if she would be a woman at the edge of the feminist movement, breaking down barriers and facing up to the dilemmas women still face when they feel pressured to make sacrifices for their career. Sadly this is not the case. Maggie is vain and unlikeable. She may have been a good protagonist in a novel set in the 1930s, but TWB is set in the 1950s and 1960s. In fact the whole novel felt as if it had been written in the 1930s. It has a quaint, but annoying tone and Maggie is a very unlikeable protagonist. I kept hoping that she would redeem herself or even do something interesting, but she doesn't.

[Liz Dakota · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not gripping

I chose this book because I love The Indian in the Cupboard. I should never have spoiled that wonderful imaginative magical unforgettable story by reading this. There is no point here, no magic, a waste of time, just like Maggie's life.

[Patricia Cochrane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice read

[Alessandra Cahill · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting account of a woman's life in the 60s, with lots of twists and turns, but I found the main character's constant lamenting of her own shortcomings and mistakes quite tiresome.

[Alex Ankarr · Rating 4 out of 5]

not as good as some of her other works, but still interesting.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

"At each point in her life she heard the warning bells
of her conscience"...so said the back cover blurb in my
Penguin copy. It goes on to give a very melodramatic
synopsis, probably to get people to buy the book - maybe
that's why I bought it, I can't remember. But I do know
it is a really solid story of an ambitious woman who longs
to be an actress. I loved the comment from "The Observer"
- "this novel grips like superglue"!! but weirdly, looking
around for more background information there doesn't seem
to be anything about it on the writer's own web page - it
is like it has vanished from her list of credits!!!
Maggie is a complete narcissist and once away from home on
a RADA scholarship, largely due to the help of her younger
brother Stip and her encouraging teacher, she forgets she
ever promised them even a thank you. Stip has to shelve his
plans to be a writer (which are abandonded) after the upheavel
Maggie's defection causes and then goes into the stifling
family business and her teacher is sacked because of complaints
by Maggie's father.
It seems a thinly disguised story of the author's own life with
realistic portrayals of the downside of an actor's life, the
often long lay offs, going wherever a job takes you even to
wet, windy Devon where Maggie has a miserable time acting in
uninspired plays to often only a handful of elderly citizens.
And of course after conniving and wrangling the money for acting
school she ends up in a "shot gun marriage" where she languishes
in South Africa for a number of years until big lumbering
husband Bruce takes off with the town flirt!!
At the heart of the book (like some of her others) is Maggie's
tense relationship with her son, Matt and as with the book's
title the warning bell sounds when she sends him back home
to Scotland with his beloved Tolly while she convinces herself
she has to pursue a career for Matt's sake. Nowadays women can
have it all but back in the 1960s Maggie had to choose one or
the other - and she chose to make her mark as one of the first
women reporters on TV.
There is a subplot involving her good friend Tanya who wants a
career in the theatre at any price and claws herself back from
being "black listed" to having a fulfilling acting career. And
this is where I felt the book really fell down, during the last
30 pages when Banks, trying to justify Maggie's treachery has
Tanya pull a "mad" scene. It really didn't make much sense, even
though there was a very subtle reference that her overwhelming
love for Joel was more than he could handle. Still when Tanya
makes her confession all that is missing is the maniacal laugh,
sprouting horns and for her to hop on her broomstick!! Tanya
hadn't appeared like that throughout the book - just a very
highly strung person, a born actress.