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Remember, Remember!: The Selected Stories
Irreverent and entertaining, these gems promise to be just what their author hoped—"easy to pick up and more tantalizing for one's bedside than a novel." The passions and convictions that drove Winifred Holtby come to life in Remember, Remember!, which brings together for the first time stories from the collections Truth is Not Sober and The Pavements of Anderby, as well as a selection of previously unpublished tales. Many are autobiographical and feature the beloved Yorkshire farming community of her childhood.
322 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1999
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About the author
Winifred Holtby
55 books77 followersWinifred Holtby was a committed socialist and feminist who wrote the classic South Riding as a warm yet sharp social critique of the well-to-do farming community she was born into.
She was a good friend of Vera Brittain, possibly portraying her as Delia in The Crowded Street.
She died at the age of 37.
She was a good friend of Vera Brittain, possibly portraying her as Delia in The Crowded Street.
She died at the age of 37.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 13, 2013
This collection of Winifred Holtby stories were published by Virago in 1999, but the stories themselves all date from the 1920’s and1930’s, and come from her two previously published collections of short stories; entitled ‘Truth is not Sober’ and ‘Pavements at Anderby’ and include five previously unpublished stories. There are forty stories in this collection although the volume only runs to just a little over 300 pages, which testifies to how short some of the stories are.
Organised into six sections, entitled Autobiographical, Domestic, Fantasy, Women’s lives, Abroad and Uncollected and Unpublished Stories – these stories cover a variety of themes. Holtby was a famous Yorkshire woman, and brought the region to life in her novels. However she was first known as a story writer and journalist. During the First World War, Winifred Holtby worked in France with a W.A.A.C unit, where she apparently worked on her stories by candlelight in the midst of the busy comings and goings around her. Some of the stories have a slightly didactic tone, and almost journalistic style, others are purely narrative, yet many of the stories do carry a fairly clear message or moral. Often satirical and sometimes a little cynical Holtby’s stories are quite a mixed bag. The section I liked the best was that entitled Women’s Lives and the one I liked the least ‘Fantasy’ – some of which I found to be simply peculiar. Holtby used her experiences in France, her travels abroad and the Yorkshire farming community where she grew up as inspiration. There is a sharpness about these stories that I found a little surprising – although I don’t know why – she was after all the writer of the wonderful South Riding – which is pretty sharply observed.
It is pretty hard – maybe impossible to review an entire collection of stories – I’ve found that before. Instead I will give just a flavour. In a story from the first section ‘The Second Alibi’ a young unattractive, friendless girl stuns the local community by providing an alibi for a local young swain, claiming she was with him when the crime was committed. While one unforgettable story from the domestic selection of stories – ‘Why Herbert Killed his mother’ concerns a baby pampered and preened over by his mother, who wins a newspaper contest and becomes the darling of the country.
“That was only the beginning; Baby Britain had still to face Baby France, Baby Spain, Baby Italy, and Baby America. Signor Mussolini sent a special message to Baby Italy, which the other national competitors thought unfair. The Free State insisted upon sending twins, which were disqualified. The French President cabled inviting the entire contest to be removed to Paris, and the Germans declared that the girl known as Baby Poland, having been born in the Polish Corridor, was really an East Prussian and should be registered as such.
But it did not matter. These international complications made no difference to Herbert. Triumphantly he overcame all his competitors, and was crowned as World Baby on the eve of his first birthday.”
In the section of Women’s Lives stories ‘Such a wonderful Evening’ a couple of servant girls go out for the evening to a concert and encounter a man suffering from shell shock in the audience. While: ‘Nurse to the Archbishop’ tells the story of an ageing Nurse, attending a service where an Archbishop, who the Nurse tended years earlier is about to preach.
Although the ‘Fantasy’ section was undoubtedly my least favourite, one story in that section ‘Little Man Lost’ was particularly gripping, and memorable, brilliantly sharp – it tells the story of a wealthy man, used to luxury and getting what he wants, he ruthlessly has tossed aside his most recent lover. However as he travels aboard a train across Europe, he discovers how he can’t always control everything with money.
In these stories Winifred Holtby, among other things, satirises celebrity, ageism, anthropology and various sections of society, her observations are surprisingly modern. I am delighted I found this book at Birmingham Library, and although on or two stories are really rather odd, overall I enjoyed reading them.
Organised into six sections, entitled Autobiographical, Domestic, Fantasy, Women’s lives, Abroad and Uncollected and Unpublished Stories – these stories cover a variety of themes. Holtby was a famous Yorkshire woman, and brought the region to life in her novels. However she was first known as a story writer and journalist. During the First World War, Winifred Holtby worked in France with a W.A.A.C unit, where she apparently worked on her stories by candlelight in the midst of the busy comings and goings around her. Some of the stories have a slightly didactic tone, and almost journalistic style, others are purely narrative, yet many of the stories do carry a fairly clear message or moral. Often satirical and sometimes a little cynical Holtby’s stories are quite a mixed bag. The section I liked the best was that entitled Women’s Lives and the one I liked the least ‘Fantasy’ – some of which I found to be simply peculiar. Holtby used her experiences in France, her travels abroad and the Yorkshire farming community where she grew up as inspiration. There is a sharpness about these stories that I found a little surprising – although I don’t know why – she was after all the writer of the wonderful South Riding – which is pretty sharply observed.
It is pretty hard – maybe impossible to review an entire collection of stories – I’ve found that before. Instead I will give just a flavour. In a story from the first section ‘The Second Alibi’ a young unattractive, friendless girl stuns the local community by providing an alibi for a local young swain, claiming she was with him when the crime was committed. While one unforgettable story from the domestic selection of stories – ‘Why Herbert Killed his mother’ concerns a baby pampered and preened over by his mother, who wins a newspaper contest and becomes the darling of the country.
“That was only the beginning; Baby Britain had still to face Baby France, Baby Spain, Baby Italy, and Baby America. Signor Mussolini sent a special message to Baby Italy, which the other national competitors thought unfair. The Free State insisted upon sending twins, which were disqualified. The French President cabled inviting the entire contest to be removed to Paris, and the Germans declared that the girl known as Baby Poland, having been born in the Polish Corridor, was really an East Prussian and should be registered as such.
But it did not matter. These international complications made no difference to Herbert. Triumphantly he overcame all his competitors, and was crowned as World Baby on the eve of his first birthday.”
In the section of Women’s Lives stories ‘Such a wonderful Evening’ a couple of servant girls go out for the evening to a concert and encounter a man suffering from shell shock in the audience. While: ‘Nurse to the Archbishop’ tells the story of an ageing Nurse, attending a service where an Archbishop, who the Nurse tended years earlier is about to preach.
Although the ‘Fantasy’ section was undoubtedly my least favourite, one story in that section ‘Little Man Lost’ was particularly gripping, and memorable, brilliantly sharp – it tells the story of a wealthy man, used to luxury and getting what he wants, he ruthlessly has tossed aside his most recent lover. However as he travels aboard a train across Europe, he discovers how he can’t always control everything with money.
In these stories Winifred Holtby, among other things, satirises celebrity, ageism, anthropology and various sections of society, her observations are surprisingly modern. I am delighted I found this book at Birmingham Library, and although on or two stories are really rather odd, overall I enjoyed reading them.
June 10, 2022
mixed set of short stories for me but enough gems to be worth it,
see some of the author's political and social background and thought
and echoes of novel South Riding
see some of the author's political and social background and thought
and echoes of novel South Riding
February 1, 2023
Very entertaining selection of short stories split into themed sections; several I found to be slightly odd but there are some absolute gems and it was a good read overall.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews