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Alice
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
252 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1950
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About the author
Elizabeth Eliot
14 books7 followersElizabeth Eliot was the author of fiction, mainly romantic mysteries, that were most popular in the 1950's. Elizabeth Eliot was the pen name for Lady Germaine Elizabeth Olive Eliot.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 26, 2021
I had never heard of Elizabeth Eliot before until I came across her novels on Amazon. Middlebrow Publishing has just recently released 4 of her books on Kindle and this book was calling me, not because I knew what it was about but because it was written in 1949 (one thing I look out for is older books) and the title just kept calling me. I went into this blind and came out throughly happy in my find of an author and book new to me.
*A little bit about Elizabeth Eliot before I go into my review of "Alice" which the introduction of this book gives the reader an idea about the author. Alice's mother was American but had been living in England since she was 4 & her father was English and after his brothers death inherited a title.
"This ‘high aristocracy’ was, indeed, the world into which, on 13 April 1911, Germaine Elizabeth Olive Eliot was born, her birth registered only as ‘Female Eliot’. "
*In "Alice", the girls attend a kind of a farce "finishing school".
"While it is on record that her brothers were sent to Eton, we know nothing of Elizabeth’s education. Was she taught at home by a governess; or did she attend a London day school, or an establishment such as ‘Groom Place’, where we first meet the two young women in Alice,"
"The fact that the young women in her novels invariably received an education inferior to their brothers may indicate that Elizabeth did indeed feel that she had not been ‘properly educated’. Whatever the reality, a review of the US edition of Alice revealed that Elizabeth ‘Like many authors, has been writing since she was 10’."
*Interesting tidbit.
"Elizabeth’s mother, certainly, had had a governess, 70-year-old Miss Dinah Thoreau, who took rat poison in December 1934 and killed herself in her room in Paddington. "
*Quite apparent in "Alice"
"Whatever their real-life relationship it is fair to say that in Elizabeth Eliot’s novels mothers tend to be seen in a somewhat negative light, while fathers are noticeable by their absence."
*The estates mentioned
"Port Eliot, an ancient house, shaped and reshaped over the centuries, is so extensive that, its guidebook confesses, not once in living memory has the roof been completely watertight. If not so ancient, similarly large houses, often in the west-country and sometimes decaying, certainly play their part in Elizabeth Eliot’s novels."
*In "Alice"
"When Margaret, the narrator of Alice, visits ‘Platon’, Alice’s Devonshire family home, she sat in ‘one of the drawing rooms. There was no fire, it was bitterly cold, and everything in the room, including the chairs and sofa on which we sat, was covered with dust sheets.’"
*Coming out in society,
"Naturally Elizabeth Eliot’s position in society meant that in due course she ‘did the Season’ as a debutante, her presence recorded at hunt and charity balls and even in a photograph on the front of Tatler. In Alice, Margaret admits that ‘The basic idea was rational enough. When a girl reached marriageable age, she was introduced by her parents into adult society, where it was hoped she would meet her future husband."
*Interesting about Elizabeth during WW 2-
"On the outbreak of war in 1939 Lady Elizabeth James, now living alone in a flat in St John’s Wood, was registered as an ambulance driver with the London County Council. However, nothing is known of her life during and immediately after the war until the publication of Alice in 1949."
When "Alice" came out " Sunday Times" compared Elizabeth Eliot to Nancy Mitford and Elizabeth von Arnim. Not having read Mitford yet, I can not comment on that but having read Arnim, which she is one of my favorites, I can see it for these reasons. The humor is there but it is not all humor, it is a dry sense looking at society and commenting. It is funny that the main character's name is Skeffington. Humor is there and laced throughout "Alice" but this is not a funny book or even light hearted. "Alice" is serious fiction that brings its reader to wonder what is this book all about, and it finally becomes clear but not until the very end do you know the "fate" of all. When the story was being played out from the very beginning, I was wondering about why certain things were mentioned and everything out together had its reason. When the "finishing school" scenes are just important as when the girls are older and their relationship continues. Her humor also is a little like Stella Gibbons.
I also thought of Edith Wharton too because of society and the person's role is here but in "Alice" times have changed more so then Wharton's times. "Alice" is 1930's England and occupation are starting to be looked on different than the earlier times where money was given without labor to family members. The times are changing, women are working but yet still many of the old values are held. It is a time of transition and for the female young aristocrat it is not as easy and defined. Mortality has changed where things before unthinkable and lead to ruin are not so disastrous. Are the modern days of today better in regards to the past of modestly? I don't think so but yet in times of the past it was far from perfect but today's world is the other extreme. You may disagree of course!
This story is a perfect example how some people have a harder time dealing with life and all the bumps ahead. Some people are able to withstand all kinds of waters and others need calm floating without any signs of troubles ahead. How hard it must be for these souls who can not change their course on how they feel life's events. Also in this story it has how some people want to ruin the happiness of others, some on purpose and others just because of their selfish behaviors. Do you have to be effected by these people? No, but sometimes things are not always so clear to us, how these people operate.
Do you really know a person? We can only know what someone wants us to know and without knowing more it is hard to help each other sometimes. There is always something that a person keeps to themselves.
The story in brief- Alice and Margaret become friends at school and their lives are intertwined over the years.
I loved my first taste of Elizabeth Eliot and look forward to reading her again!💖💟💜💕
*A little bit about Elizabeth Eliot before I go into my review of "Alice" which the introduction of this book gives the reader an idea about the author. Alice's mother was American but had been living in England since she was 4 & her father was English and after his brothers death inherited a title.
"This ‘high aristocracy’ was, indeed, the world into which, on 13 April 1911, Germaine Elizabeth Olive Eliot was born, her birth registered only as ‘Female Eliot’. "
*In "Alice", the girls attend a kind of a farce "finishing school".
"While it is on record that her brothers were sent to Eton, we know nothing of Elizabeth’s education. Was she taught at home by a governess; or did she attend a London day school, or an establishment such as ‘Groom Place’, where we first meet the two young women in Alice,"
"The fact that the young women in her novels invariably received an education inferior to their brothers may indicate that Elizabeth did indeed feel that she had not been ‘properly educated’. Whatever the reality, a review of the US edition of Alice revealed that Elizabeth ‘Like many authors, has been writing since she was 10’."
*Interesting tidbit.
"Elizabeth’s mother, certainly, had had a governess, 70-year-old Miss Dinah Thoreau, who took rat poison in December 1934 and killed herself in her room in Paddington. "
*Quite apparent in "Alice"
"Whatever their real-life relationship it is fair to say that in Elizabeth Eliot’s novels mothers tend to be seen in a somewhat negative light, while fathers are noticeable by their absence."
*The estates mentioned
"Port Eliot, an ancient house, shaped and reshaped over the centuries, is so extensive that, its guidebook confesses, not once in living memory has the roof been completely watertight. If not so ancient, similarly large houses, often in the west-country and sometimes decaying, certainly play their part in Elizabeth Eliot’s novels."
*In "Alice"
"When Margaret, the narrator of Alice, visits ‘Platon’, Alice’s Devonshire family home, she sat in ‘one of the drawing rooms. There was no fire, it was bitterly cold, and everything in the room, including the chairs and sofa on which we sat, was covered with dust sheets.’"
*Coming out in society,
"Naturally Elizabeth Eliot’s position in society meant that in due course she ‘did the Season’ as a debutante, her presence recorded at hunt and charity balls and even in a photograph on the front of Tatler. In Alice, Margaret admits that ‘The basic idea was rational enough. When a girl reached marriageable age, she was introduced by her parents into adult society, where it was hoped she would meet her future husband."
*Interesting about Elizabeth during WW 2-
"On the outbreak of war in 1939 Lady Elizabeth James, now living alone in a flat in St John’s Wood, was registered as an ambulance driver with the London County Council. However, nothing is known of her life during and immediately after the war until the publication of Alice in 1949."
When "Alice" came out " Sunday Times" compared Elizabeth Eliot to Nancy Mitford and Elizabeth von Arnim. Not having read Mitford yet, I can not comment on that but having read Arnim, which she is one of my favorites, I can see it for these reasons. The humor is there but it is not all humor, it is a dry sense looking at society and commenting. It is funny that the main character's name is Skeffington. Humor is there and laced throughout "Alice" but this is not a funny book or even light hearted. "Alice" is serious fiction that brings its reader to wonder what is this book all about, and it finally becomes clear but not until the very end do you know the "fate" of all. When the story was being played out from the very beginning, I was wondering about why certain things were mentioned and everything out together had its reason. When the "finishing school" scenes are just important as when the girls are older and their relationship continues. Her humor also is a little like Stella Gibbons.
I also thought of Edith Wharton too because of society and the person's role is here but in "Alice" times have changed more so then Wharton's times. "Alice" is 1930's England and occupation are starting to be looked on different than the earlier times where money was given without labor to family members. The times are changing, women are working but yet still many of the old values are held. It is a time of transition and for the female young aristocrat it is not as easy and defined. Mortality has changed where things before unthinkable and lead to ruin are not so disastrous. Are the modern days of today better in regards to the past of modestly? I don't think so but yet in times of the past it was far from perfect but today's world is the other extreme. You may disagree of course!
This story is a perfect example how some people have a harder time dealing with life and all the bumps ahead. Some people are able to withstand all kinds of waters and others need calm floating without any signs of troubles ahead. How hard it must be for these souls who can not change their course on how they feel life's events. Also in this story it has how some people want to ruin the happiness of others, some on purpose and others just because of their selfish behaviors. Do you have to be effected by these people? No, but sometimes things are not always so clear to us, how these people operate.
Do you really know a person? We can only know what someone wants us to know and without knowing more it is hard to help each other sometimes. There is always something that a person keeps to themselves.
The story in brief- Alice and Margaret become friends at school and their lives are intertwined over the years.
I loved my first taste of Elizabeth Eliot and look forward to reading her again!💖💟💜💕
January 13, 2019
This novel keeps the reader firmly at a distance. The narrator Margaret is herself at a distance from Alice, the chief character, and, as the novel begins with the two of them in school, there is a further distancing effect as the juvenile narrator is not always aware of the motivations of the adults around her. The unprincipled, charmless Sonia provides their first lesson in worldly affairs, and Alice suffers painfully from the knowledge that her beautiful, self assured sister is selfish and dishonourable.
The subject matter is Nancy Mitford territory - no proper education for girls, upper class snobbery, the poverty of aspiration beyond the debutante marriage market - but without Mitford's lightness and froth. The writing has touches of a dry sardonic comedy, such as the notion of the anti-social Col. Norton as a party host, or the scheming Mrs. Bryant as a moral guide. Yet the overall tone is of growing foreboding and alienation. Margaret's life is described in deadpan sentences while Alice's quiet despair is prefigured by her suicide attempt and continues until she achieves her wish "to live in the world and not of the world". Her favourite picture gives an insight into her state of mind, the way she blanks out events at highly stressful points in her life. The "intuitive fear" which cripples Alice is finally conquered but at what price?
The subject matter is Nancy Mitford territory - no proper education for girls, upper class snobbery, the poverty of aspiration beyond the debutante marriage market - but without Mitford's lightness and froth. The writing has touches of a dry sardonic comedy, such as the notion of the anti-social Col. Norton as a party host, or the scheming Mrs. Bryant as a moral guide. Yet the overall tone is of growing foreboding and alienation. Margaret's life is described in deadpan sentences while Alice's quiet despair is prefigured by her suicide attempt and continues until she achieves her wish "to live in the world and not of the world". Her favourite picture gives an insight into her state of mind, the way she blanks out events at highly stressful points in her life. The "intuitive fear" which cripples Alice is finally conquered but at what price?
did-not-finish
July 25, 2019Lively, witty writing, but a very boring story and flat characters. Lively wit is not enough to hold my interest for very long. Bailed a third of the way in.
February 19, 2023
A tale of two girls
The story covers about a decade in the lives of the narrator, Margaret, and her friend Alice, who first met at boarding school in the late 1920s, and who continue friends through the years, with Margaret writing mainly about Alice and her various relationships, and the other people in their lives. There is a lot of humour in the story, and some quite entertaining characters, but Not fleshed out enough to make them really interesting. Margaret says almost nothing about her own relationships for instance, we learn nothing about the men in her life. I thought Sonia was more interesting than Alice, we don’t see enough of her. the ending was very strange and not, to me, very satisfactory, which also spoilt my enjoyment of the book.
The story covers about a decade in the lives of the narrator, Margaret, and her friend Alice, who first met at boarding school in the late 1920s, and who continue friends through the years, with Margaret writing mainly about Alice and her various relationships, and the other people in their lives. There is a lot of humour in the story, and some quite entertaining characters, but Not fleshed out enough to make them really interesting. Margaret says almost nothing about her own relationships for instance, we learn nothing about the men in her life. I thought Sonia was more interesting than Alice, we don’t see enough of her. the ending was very strange and not, to me, very satisfactory, which also spoilt my enjoyment of the book.
March 20, 2019
Written in 1949, this book makes clear how few options women, especially young women, had in the early part of the 20th century. I usually like novels written by women in that era, but I had trouble sticking with this one.
While there was some humor early on and the detail is adequate, I disliked most the characters and couldn’t relate to the main character at all. It was unclear why she was “afraid of life,” and so it was hard to sympathize or understand her actions. I found myself skimming about half way through.
That said, this was the author’s first novel and she does show promise. I think I’ll try one of her later novels.
While there was some humor early on and the detail is adequate, I disliked most the characters and couldn’t relate to the main character at all. It was unclear why she was “afraid of life,” and so it was hard to sympathize or understand her actions. I found myself skimming about half way through.
That said, this was the author’s first novel and she does show promise. I think I’ll try one of her later novels.
September 29, 2019
Interesting that the titular Alice is constructed for the reader through the voice of Alice's best friend. This creates a difficulty in really getting to know Alice and ties up perfectly with the ending, which once revealed, we realise was inevitable.
November 11, 2019
This is a novel about friendship. Narrated by Margaret, this is the story of Alice, “my best friend; one had to have one, and she was the only person in the school who wasn’t horrible”. Margaret knows and loves her friend from childhood, as together they try to survive school, their social season, love and life. It reminded me of Mitford’s “Pursuit of Love” and “Love in a Cold Climate”, in its description of a young woman from a relatively wealthy family trying to find an identity. The similarity is stronger as the narrator is the child of an unorthodox mother who sets up few or no expectations for the narrator, leaving her free to comment on another young woman. Though never fast moving, this book proceeds at a gentle pace as a young woman’s life and times emerges through the eyes of her concerned friend. I was pleased to have the opportunity to read and review this reprinted gem from Dean Street Press.
Alice is an unusual girl, accepting to a certain extent, spontaneous at others, and always memorable for those around her. This is the story of her from schoolgirl, negotiating difficult teenage years before that stage is acknowledged, and the young woman she becomes. There is great insight into a life of relative financial comfort, yet with limitations that are undefined and unclear. She is more vulnerable than the other girls, as one of her friends says “Alice does mind things too much and it makes one afraid for her.” Her older sister Sonia, with her model like figure and ability to wear clothes impressively strikes out away from Alice, being influenced by her friends and increasingly distant from her family. Alice’s own decisions and actions are sometimes baffling, sometimes touchingly amusing, and always interesting. The section which depicts her time on an unusual and worn boat is at once domestic, yet also reveals her basic optimism.
This is a book full of gentle insight and genuine understanding of a world which can be confusing. It is humourous in its way, and the dialogue is always cleverly revealing of so much; the times, the particular situation, and the characters who people this novel. It is a skilfully written book of its time, full of the colour of the 1940s, the clothes the food, the places where people live. It acknowledges the problems of servants and their frequent loyalty,yet also the problems of the expectations of young women, including the morals of marriage sometimes lightly undertaken. The novel displays its cast of characters well, especially when they recur after a distance of time and space. Eliot handles her cast, setting and plot successfully while maintaining the centrality of Alice in Margaret’s narrative. There are women who are older who behave badly, and others who are more kindly disposed to the young women.
This is a book of its time, and its recent reprinting along with other books by Eliot is an opportunity to read and enjoy this undervalued author. I recommend it as a good introduction to both her writing and more general writing of the time.
Alice is an unusual girl, accepting to a certain extent, spontaneous at others, and always memorable for those around her. This is the story of her from schoolgirl, negotiating difficult teenage years before that stage is acknowledged, and the young woman she becomes. There is great insight into a life of relative financial comfort, yet with limitations that are undefined and unclear. She is more vulnerable than the other girls, as one of her friends says “Alice does mind things too much and it makes one afraid for her.” Her older sister Sonia, with her model like figure and ability to wear clothes impressively strikes out away from Alice, being influenced by her friends and increasingly distant from her family. Alice’s own decisions and actions are sometimes baffling, sometimes touchingly amusing, and always interesting. The section which depicts her time on an unusual and worn boat is at once domestic, yet also reveals her basic optimism.
This is a book full of gentle insight and genuine understanding of a world which can be confusing. It is humourous in its way, and the dialogue is always cleverly revealing of so much; the times, the particular situation, and the characters who people this novel. It is a skilfully written book of its time, full of the colour of the 1940s, the clothes the food, the places where people live. It acknowledges the problems of servants and their frequent loyalty,yet also the problems of the expectations of young women, including the morals of marriage sometimes lightly undertaken. The novel displays its cast of characters well, especially when they recur after a distance of time and space. Eliot handles her cast, setting and plot successfully while maintaining the centrality of Alice in Margaret’s narrative. There are women who are older who behave badly, and others who are more kindly disposed to the young women.
This is a book of its time, and its recent reprinting along with other books by Eliot is an opportunity to read and enjoy this undervalued author. I recommend it as a good introduction to both her writing and more general writing of the time.
June 19, 2023
It starts off in a boarding school, where our narrator, Margaret, wishes her life were more exciting. Her best friend's sister is cut off for living in sin in London. Her best friend, Alice, is always looking for security, while Margaret is wishing she had more choices in life, and even takes a job as a typist. The girls apparently become fast friends with everyone they ever meet, so they can find someone to visit for tea or for weeks of housing. Alice marries the first man who asks her, and Margaret says she will never marry, but....
April 13, 2020
3.5. Interesting.
January 23, 2024
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2024...
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May 1, 2019Looked like exactly my sort of thing but I had to power through to the end. Rather tedious, actually.
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