Sparrow

by Mary Hocking

The theme of "The Sparrow" is the conflict presented to Ralph Kimberley, a London vicar, by his ardent support of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Although a kind, well-intentioned man, he does not realise the effect his sympathies are having on his parish, nor on those who are close to him. His wife, Myra, feels neglected and unloved and finds herself taking an unhealthy interest in Keith Wilson, a young discharged prisoner whom Ralph has befriended. His orphaned niece, Sarah, too, feels herself alone and unwanted. It takes dramatic events to bring home to Ralph the knowledge that his personal obligations must come before his devotion to the cause. Instead of choosing the role of a martyr, he must perform an act of apparent cowardice to begin a fresh start.

248 pages, Hardcover

Published June 1, 1975

About the author

Born in in London in 1921, Mary was educated at Haberdashers’ Aske’s Girls School, Acton. During the Second World War she served in the Women’s Royal Naval Service (Wrens) attached to the Fleet Air Arm Meteorology branch and then briefly with the Signal Section in Plymouth.

Writing was in her blood. Juggling her work as a local government officer in Middlesex Education Department with writing, at first short stories for magazines and pieces for The Times Educational Supplement, she then had her first book, The Winter City, published in 1961.

The book was a success and enabled Mary to relinquish her full time occupation to devote her time to writing. Even so, when she came to her beloved Lewes in 1961, she still took a part-time appointment, as a secretary, with the East Sussex Educational Psychology department.

Long before family sagas had become cult viewing, she had embarked upon the ‘Fairley Family’ trilogy, Good Daughters, Indifferent Heroes, and Welcome Strangers, books which give her readers a faithful, realistic and uncompromising portrayal of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary times, between the years of 1933 and 1946.

For many years she was an active member of the ‘Monday Lit’, a Lewes-based group which brought in current writers and poets to speak about their work. Equally, she was an enthusiastic supporter of Lewes Little Theatre, where she found her role as ‘prompter’ the most satisfying, and worshipped at the town’s St Pancras RC Church.

* Source

Reviews

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are several conflicts at the centre of Mary Hocking’s 1964 novel The Sparrow. Conflicts of family, community, and the personal conflict that sometimes exists between the devotion to a cause and personal obligations. Mary Hocking is very good at weaving together the complexities of lives lived by fairly ordinary people.



“He was not in jail. The thought gave him no satisfaction as he mounted the chancel steps and turned to face the congregation. In fact, he felt rather more martyred here in St. Gabriel’s than he would have done had he been condemned to spend the morning at Cannon Row police station.”

Hocking stands back from her characters with a cool apraising eye – it’s a style not all readers love perhaps, but is one adopted by many exceptional writers like Elizabeth Taylor. I have written quite a lot of posts about Mary Hocking over the last three or four years so I shall resist the urge to go into a lengthy introduction about her – though I am aware that there will some newer readers who do not know who she is. For those wanting to know more there are plenty of old posts that you can explore.

Back to the novel itself.

Ralph Kimberley is a London vicar, an active supporter for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament he has already been on several high profile demonstrations. Now Ralph – and some of his activist friends long to get arrested, as if only that can properly demonstrate their commitment to the cause. Ralph is a good man, though fails to properly realise the effect his political activism is beginning to have on his family and his parish.

Full review: https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2017/...