A Sensible Life

by Mary Wesley

She was a thin, lonely child with huge eyes and an extensive vocabulary of French foul language.  Amongst the elegant middle-class British families holidaying in Dinard in 1926--leading their privileged lives of secure routine pleasures--Flora was a ten-year-old misfit.  Ignored by her self-absorbed parents, unloved, and pitied by the pleasant, stylish people in Brittany that summer, Flora was--peripherally--included in their gracious circles.  And there, meeting kindly civilised people for the first time, she fell in love--with Cosmo--with Hubert--with Feix.  It took forty years for the love affairs to be explored, consummated and finally resolved.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, 20th Century, British Literature, Literary Fiction, Historical

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Mary Wesley, CBE was an English novelist. She reportedly worked in MI5 during World War II. During her career, she became one of Britain's most successful novelists, selling three million copies of her books, including 10 best-sellers in the last 20 years of her life.

She wrote three children's books, Speaking Terms and The Sixth Seal (both 1969) and Haphazard House (1983), before publishing adult fiction. Since her first adult novel was published only in 1983, when she was 71, she may be regarded as a late bloomer. The publication of Jumping the Queue in 1983 was the beginning of an intensely creative period of Wesley's life. From 1982 to 1991, she wrote and delivered seven novels. While she aged from 70 to 79 she still showed the focus and drive of a young person.
Her best known book, The Camomile Lawn, set on the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall, was turned into a television series, and is an account of the intertwining lives of three families in rural England during World War II. After The Camomile Lawn (1984) came Harnessing Peacocks (1985 and as TV film in 1992), The Vacillations of Poppy Carew (1986 and filmed in 1995), Not That Sort of Girl (1987), Second Fiddle (1988), A Sensible Life (1990), A Dubious Legacy (1993), An Imaginative Experience (1994) and Part of the Furniture (1997). A book about the West Country with photographer Kim Sayer, Part of the Scenery, was published in 2001. Asked why she had stopped writing fiction at the age of 84, she replied: "If you haven't got anything to say, don't say it.

From Mary Wesley

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Flora, sensing that nobody would be looking her way, risked looking up. All around fellow diners hushed. Across the table Hubert looked bland. Behind his master's chair the butler raised his eyes to the ceiling. General Leigh, face flushed red, said, ' What? ' glaring at Miss Green, who in an almost inaudible voice was heard to repeat her remark. 'D-don't you think the L-League of N-Nations wonderful, General Leigh? W-what do you think of it vis-a-vis B-Baldwin?'
'It is a club for Frogs and Wogs,' said Angus loudly. 'It bodes nothing but ill, it will bring disaster. That bugger Baldwin pretends to go along with it, but he secretly despises it, as I do openly. The League of so-called Nations is an international mafia of ill repute artfully concocted by political lounge lizards and communists at somebody else's expense. Who is going to pick up the bill for all their tommy rot and skulduggery, Miss Green? Tell me that."

Meet Flora Trevelyan. She's a young girl of 10, on vacation in France with her extremely laissez-faire--to the point of negligent--parents. Left to her own devices, she meets hotel staff, a village seamstress, various dogs, and other vacationers. In particular, she meets the Leigh family, and becomes friends with their son Cosmo and his friend Hubert, both of them aged 15. They are at first protective of her, and then over the years begin to love her. There's an even older boy, Felix, who is aged 21 at the time of the French holiday. Wesley describes young love and infatuation well...but there is a creepy edge to it at the same time which put me off from the story somewhat.

At any rate, Flora's parents return to India where her father is a civil servant. Flora stays behind in boarding school. She continues to have intermittent contact with General Angus Leigh, his wife Milly, and their children. We see the over-indulgent, but genuine love of the Leighs contrasted with Flora's family. There are many variations of life shown, but I'm unsure whether any of them are truly sensible!

Bottom line: Very few of the characters were likable, and the story-arc spanned so much time (almost thirty years) that it was difficult to become invested emotionally. However, Wesley writes prose with enough skill to elevate the book slightly above average. Given 2.5/5 stars or a rating of "Above Average". Recommended as a library check-out for those who enjoy British/English literature.

Another quote: "Eventually asleep, she had nightmares and screamed because Matron, of all people, had turned into a marble bust which yet incomprehensibly and terrifyingly had arms, hands which held her in a throttling grip, shaking her awake. 'You stupid girl, look what you've done to your bedclothes, all tangled up and all over the floor. No wonder you are shivering.'
'Sorry, Matron, I was--'
'I'll get you a hot drink. Doctor will be here in the morning.'
'Is he marble?'
'What d'you mean, marble? Been dreaming you dwelt in marble halls?' Matron straightened the sheets and blankets.
'Marble arms--'
'Not arms, halls. I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls , is how it goes. I'm not totally uneducated, my girl.'
'And I am not your girl!'

Stuff I learned: Here's a link to an article about boarding schools in England http://www.ourkids.net/school/brief-h...
~~And here's a less flattering article about how boarding school may have contributed to some of Flora's neurosis. https://www.ibblaw.co.uk/insights/blo...

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was lovely. I loved the English backdrop and lushness of it. The audiobook has elegant music at the beginning and ending of the story. Enjoyed it thoroughly. Anna Massey's narration...brilliant. 👍👍

[Karen Hogan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Coming of age story about a young girl named Flora, who is ignored by her parents, while she is staying at a villa with other upper crust English vacationers. I couldn't seem to get into this book or the characters driving the narrative.

[Susan Chow-Dukhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flora Trevelyan is the daughter of negligent, self-absorbed parents, raised by hired help. Her parents spend most of their time in India, where her father, Denys Trevelyan works in the Indian Civil Service. He considers his daughter as "an expense, an inconvenience, a wedge between himself, his wife and his career", and never refers to her by name. He grudgingly resigns himself to the fact that he is responsible for Flora's upbringing and education (as cheaply as possible), until she turns seventeen, at which point she can be brought to India and married off.
In 1926, ten year old Flora comes to the notice of two fifteen year old English boys who are in Brittany for the Easter holidays. In turn, Flora observes the mannerisms and interactions of families, where the parents pay attention to, and care for their children. During this short time period, the two boys and a young Dutchman are friendly to her, and she winds up falling in love with all three.
Each part of the book takes place over a span of 35 years, as Flora's life reconnects with her "loves"and as she makes decisions to live a sensible life rather than do what is expected of her.
While some of the plot seems overly dramatic, this book successfully describes the feelings of loneliness, fear of rejection, the obsession of cerebral love and the reality of carnal love.

[Mack · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a few of Mary Wesley's novels that I want to read again. A Sensible Life is not one of her best though it is a tender and witty novel of how one finds their way to adulthood. There didn't seem a need for a climax but it was a gentle story of friendship, family and love.

[Sarah Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was holiday reading for me, chosen as a fast read as I found it in the holiday rental! Mary Wesley writes well and is careful to research her locations and historical background. The story carried me along and has that bitter sweet quality of novels set in the interwar years.

[Lene Hartvig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Mary Wesley's books. I read them all in Danish a long time ago.

[Katharine Holden · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hated it. I would like to drown these characters.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to give a 5 to books that are kind of depressing, but it's very realistic. So much wasted time and energy. People should learn to do better.

[Katy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I went into this book sure that I would like it, it sure sounded like the kind of book I would love. Instead, I found it slow moving, pointless, and filled with unsympathic characters (downright annoying). I found Flora fascinating, but everything I learned about her, I had to learn through characters that I disliked intensely. By the end, I really dreaded finishing the book.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about the life of a young Indian girl whose parents are self absorbed and neglect her, leaving her to spend much of her youth in a boarding school and how a summer with English vacationers and particularly three boys she meets substantially impacts her and who she is able to love. Great read for building vocabulary but not an easy read due to the author’s older writing style. The plot is challenging because one would hope for more for all the characters but perhaps it is close to real life in the early 1900s.

[Leanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had such high hopes for what turned out to be this creepy rapey boarding school boys novel. I’m shocked this is considered a classic?
I never felt close to any character, and the protagonists real parents are so horrible, you can’t even stand to read about them. Her mom seems unbelievably awful and I didn’t buy her character at all.
No one seems to mention how These boys constantly sexually harass Flora. The author seems to have written it thinking it was romance? And no, this isn’t a really old, super dated book. Tho it takes place in the 30s so I understand that was normal. What isn’t normal is how it’s written like it was “cute” and “boys will be boys.” I mean, several times Flora punches and hits the boys and men who force themselves on her, and I just couldn’t get past how casually this was portrayed.
Besides all that, it’s boring!

[Stefania Saviane · Rating 4 out of 5]

29/40 Popsugar: copertina senza immagini o grafica (nella mia edizione italiana, che ha perduto la sovraccoperta molti anni fa...)
Una bimba di dieci anni cresce, portando nel cuore i momenti gioiosi passati sbirciando nella vita degli altri, innamorata dei ragazzi grandi dell'allegra e chiassosa compagnia di allora.
E anche se negli anni si riveleranno una delusione, lontani dall'immagine idealizzata, ciononostante il loro ricordo riscalda un'esistenza tranquilla.
La bambina "diversa" si nasconde nella normalità e vive la sua vita sensata.
Le atmosfere, i dialoghi, tutto viene raccontato con efficacia, attraversando la vita borghese inglese dal 1926 al 1961.
Un libro che scorre veloce verso l'epilogo, un po' da romanzo rosa, ma in fondo Flora se l'è pure guadagnato, che male c'è?

[Kai Coates · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second Mary Wesley, after loving The Camomile Lawn, and at first I was very, very worried. More on that in a bit.

A Sensible Life starts in Brittany in the 1920s, where several English families are staying over the Easter holidays. Flora, age 10, is practically abandoned by her parents, spending most of the time hanging out with the locals and an Armenian seamstress who found herself stateless after the Russian Revolution. Without diving into a Dramatis Personae, Flora comes to the attention of two families staying at the same hotel: the Leighs (a landed family from England visiting with their teenage children and their children's best friends) and a Dutch Baroness with five daughters and one very eligible son. Wesley does a great job of creating the atmosphere and personalities within this group. Everyone notices Flora and hate her parents for being so neglectful, but she's too young to completely fit in with the teenagers and none of the adults really want to take responsibility for her.

During this vacation, Flora "falls in love" with three boys: Cosmo Leigh, his best friend Hubert "Blanco" Wyndeatt-Whyte, and Felix, son of the Baroness. Wesley captures the innocence and borderline violent emotions of this childish love. Flora, who has been deprived of love her entire life, creates this fantasy of being in love with these boys, of them being her constant companions as she is sent away to boarding school for the next seven years.

This is only the first part of the book, but it was probably the most vital and the most concerning. Multiple people, not just the teenage boys, sexualize Flora (the 10 year old) to a disturbing degree. I do not think Wesley was specifically trying to say something about the sexualization of young girls, but it comes off so "acceptable" that it is completely alarming. I mention this just because I was extremely turned off by what seemed to me casual pedophilia in the writing and almost gave up. Instead, I am going to read a biography of Wesley to see if she was potentially a victim of sexual abuse as a child (some statements in The Camomile Lawn are similar in theme) or to get a better understanding of what she was trying to say. Later, as Flora matures but is still not an adult, Wesley does explore how women coming into their sexual identity are vilified, seen as belongings and/or threats.

Anyway, Flora gets older and the three boys, now men, re-enter her life in different ways. Although parts shied away from delving deeper in favor of more romance, I appreciate how Wesley (who only wrote 7 novels, all between the age of 70-84) was sex positive in so many ways. One of the men is a bisexual and although the characters gossip about it behind closed doors, they are generally accepting of his sexuality. Flora's own sexuality is explored in a very honest way - some casual relationships are disappointing, others fulfilling, etc.

In the end, the book is about how we learn what love is if we are never given it. Flora spends all of her childhood recognizing the signs in other families, but never on the receiving end. Wesley lets her characters make mistakes, blunder, and run away. I ended up loving the characters (well, except Flora's parents, most of whose chapters felt like a waste) and the world she created.

[Adrian]

My second Mary Wesley - and again, a bonkers read.

I'm not sure how I found out about the Camomile Lawn, but I did and, when I did, managed to snare a copy, knowing full well that it was a wild ride into the upper-class misbehaving, sort of a More Sex, Please, We're British kind of mindset. For such a short book, it had a wild plot and a unique, unusual authorial tone. Unlike, say a, Jilly Cooper, this was a jaded voice who had too much beauty, too much of everything and reflected this in her characters.

Her characters are intelligent, bold, saucy and unashamedly upper class. This is meant to reflect Wesley's life, based on society relationships, sex and culture.

Here we have a generally weird story with a vast ensemble of characters but a protagonist, Flora. She's nine at the beginning of this book and is holidaying in France. There, she meets Cosmo (and his sisters), Hubert and Felix (and his sisters.) Her partners dislike her for entirely shallow and unbelievable reasons, so Flora must grow up as a child devoid of maternal and paternal love. As billed on the back, Flora becomes the object of affection for these three boys, who lust after her seemingly from the get-go but amp up their obsession with her at FOURTEEN. It's a genuinely odd arc for Wesley to go down. Later, her father, who is in India, is asked by his wife and the mother of Flora if he will also find her attractive and worthy with a roll in the hay, to which he replies, it'll be you who put incest in my head. Ummm, what?!

Some choice lines:

'We should have had the child adopted.'
'Denys,!'
'It's not as though she were a son. I know you feel the same.'

And later
'Don't do that,' Denys snapped.
'What about this, then,' she murmured.
Presently Denys whispered, sweating, 'Where did you learn to do that?'
'I just did it. It came naturally'
'You've never done it before.'
'I have wanted to.'
'You would have made a wonderful tart,' he said. She knew the mood was over.

What odd odd writing. I think the reason I continued to the end - even though it's under 400 pages, it is a pretty long read- is just working on the mechanisms in Wesley's head.

The nearest way I can summarise this is Mamma Mia in reverse (instead of 3 lovers over a summer, three lovers over the extension of the novel.) A wild ride.

[Mike Little · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flora, the protagonist, is a wonder. She starts at the bottom in post-WWI France, with neglectful, self-absorbed parents, and begins to mix in with a higher class of people from England. She's a young girl as the story opens and in middle age when it ends. She's had three loves and a few affairs but has always been her own woman. It both helps and hinders that she's beautiful.

I admit that I got lost in the motivations of some of the characters, or their lack of motivation to follow through on paths they wanted. "Why?", was my common question. I moved on the book and assumed that it was that I don't comprehend the motivations of the upper-middle-class in England in the 1930s. These are not stiff, moralistic, people as are often portrayed in novels portraying this era, but many that I've read were written in that era. This book is more modern. In any case, I did enjoy the more human responses and actions portrayed here.

The ending felt contrived and as if the author thought she'd written enough so I'll just end it here. I hoped that Flora was happy.

[Andrew McClarnon · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable flick through some pages of Flora's sensible life, though I am not sure why she should have her story told. There are some great sketches in here, I liked our periodic visits to the devoted, but utterly selfish Trevelyans in India. I greatly enjoyed our stay at Coppermalt for a slice of Downton Abbey meets Brideshead. However I am not sure whether our 'heroes' (Flora, Cosmo, Blanco, Felix) are ever quite up to the job of leading the story, and it is the second row of characters (Milly, Angus, Joyce, Vita etc) who really made this a good read.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

A privileged British family in the 1920 take their annual holidays to Brittany, France. The main character, Flora, has a difficult upbringing with her parents, with whom she had a cool relationship They lived in India while Flora stayed in England at a boarding school. The main characters are followed through their maturing years and whilst there are some interesting developments, there are also one too many coincidences that bring the characters together again through the years. Interesting, but irritating as well.

[Hjwoodward · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I really love about Mary Wesley's books is the authentic World War settings. They have such a ring of truth about them. I also enjoyed watching Flora grow: a neglected ten-year-old, a quiet fifteen-year-old and then a beautiful and self-sufficient seventeen-year-old. I respected her choice to run away and make her own way through the world instead of allowing herself to be married off by her ghastly parents.

[Inês Monteiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great novel!
Although on the surface it may appear to be a frivolous romance, the depth is hidden on Flora's gradual understanding of life and, above all, love.
The pace is slow at the begging, but it soon involves the reader in a whirlwind of emotions. By part 3 one starts to be addicted, where she goes on meeting some of her past lovers unexpectedly throughout her life.
Its a beautiful journey from a lonely childhood to adulthood.
The ending really gets you.
Recommend it!

[Regan Gambier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whilst maybe not a 5-star book, I have read this at least once every year of my life. That kind of connection to a book deserves 5-stars on its own. Flora Trevelyan is an absolutely fascinating little girl - aloof, resilient, defiant. With no one to guide her, she navigates her own path to adulthood and I think she's brilliant.

[Frankie Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked it up at a train station. Giving it 5 even though it took a couple of chapters to get in to. But once I was I missed the characters when I wasn’t reading, they weren’t that likeable but I wanted to know what they were doing. Tenderly written and laugh out loud funny. Will defo find more of Mary Wesley

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading now in 2023 it was a joy to immerse myself in a different era of the world.

Mary Wesley is very good at scene setting and vividly paints pictures with her words.

The only downside I would say is the overuse of French words in the dialogue between characters - if your French language is a bit weak you may find yourself stopping to look up translations!

[Elinor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finish some books only because I am mildly curious about what happens. I like this author’s writing but her story about a young girl who falls in love with three boys (at the age of ten!) and carries a torch for them all her life was somewhat weird and unsettling. I did want to find out whether she ended up with one of them, but it was a long slog to the last page.

[Sue Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story told over many years with the central characters remaining. Loved the way there is a thread throughout but you are kept guessing right until the end as to how and who it is really about. Brilliantly a little quirky,

[Lizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt a bit melancholy by the end, but then a book spanning someone's life is bound to be a bit on the sad side. Mostly enjoyed, it's always a shame when someone s dreams don't match up to the realities. Very well written.

[Courtney Johnston]

I wanted to love this and so much of it is Wesleyian-wonderful (especially the brutal relationship between Flora and her parents) but the sexualisation of an adolescent girl — even if totally real — just made me feel sickly.

[Isabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the kind of book spanning generations that Elizabeth Jane Howard deals with a lot better.
This is a bit all over the place, too many characters made it very hard to follow, and as usual with Mary they behave in a way no real person ever does.
It was enjoyable though, if a bit overly long.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, readable, but way too many chance encounters, and characters who needed a slap upside the head.

[Little Red Readinghood · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book, however three stars because when I can to write this review I couldn't remember what it was about. A sweet love story starting when two children meet.