Mamma

by Diana Tutton

The doomed mutual attraction of a middle-aged widow and her new son-in-law, who is much closer to her own age than her daughter’s, forms the central drama in this social comedy with tragic overtones. Joanna Malling lost her husband in the first year of their marriage. At the age of 21, she was left with a baby daughter to raise alone. Now twenty years later, Libby is herself a grown woman living in London, and Joanna buys a new home to begin the next stage of her life. But her solitary existence is about to be shattered when Libby announces she is engaged. And with a change of job for her new husband Steven, the newly married couple move in with Joanna. What starts as an uneasy relationship between Joanna and Steven develops into something much more intimate and reminds Joanna of all she has missed out on. With Libby growing suspicious, Joanna must make a heart-rending decision. British Library Women Writers 1950's.

Part of a curated collection of forgotten works by early to mid-century women writers, the British Library Women Writers series highlights the best middlebrow fiction from the 1910s to the 1960s, offering escapism, popular appeal, and plenty of period detail to amuse, surprise, and inform.

Genres: Fiction, Classics, British Literature

248 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1956

About the author

Diana Tutton was born Dinah Godfrey-Faussett-Osborne, the youngest of four daughters. She was brought up at Pipe Hill House, Lichfield, and on the family estate in Kent.

She married Captain John Tutton during the Second World War. They lived in Kenya for three years and in Malaya for two three-year stints, otherwise living in England. They had two daughters. She wrote three novels, all published during the 1950s.

Reviews

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having loved Guard Your Daughters, I was very excited to hear that the British Library was going to publish this one and got hold of it as soon as I could, and I'm very glad I did.

This one had a really interesting plot line. Joanna's daughter, Libby, ends up engaged to Steve after a trip to London. Steve is 35, so closer in age to Joanna's 41 than to Libby's 20. At first Steve and Joanna's relationship is quite awkward, and Libby is keen for them to get to know each other better. Circumstances intervene to make this happen when Steve is posted to a job in a nearby town to Joanna's home and the pair move in with her. They soon fall into a routine, which includes the Times crossword puzzle in the evening and it is over this one evening that they fall into a conversation about poets; from this moment on, it becomes clear that Steve has much more in common with Joanna than with Libby and they start to have feelings for each other, which leads to lots of angst and reflection; "It would be unthinkable that she should ever seek out Steven's company in preference to Libby's, or he hers, and yet they liked each other, and were mutually nearer in age than either was to Libby. Feeling at last a real impulse of friendship towards Steven, it seemed sad to have to check its growth"' The plot sounds rather sensationalist from the summary but it is actually very sensitively handled.

I really like Joanna; for the most part, the story is from her point of view, so we don't get to know Libby as well, but she is more prim than her mother, and more worried about what people will think. They also have a great character in their cleaning lady, and the two enjoy a good gossip about her. It's a very easy read that draws you into their world and will no doubt stand up to many a re-read.

[JimZ · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me, the novel really never took off. Slow going. It appears to be a period piece in that back in those days and that country, it was perfectly acceptable for a 35-year-old man to marry a 20-year-old woman, but practically taboo for that same man to marry a lightly older widow. Someone will have to explain the near-taboo of a man marrying a slightly older woman who is a widow. What this novel revolves on, when it finally gets to the point, is that there appears to be some chemistry between the 35-year-old man who is married to the widow’s daughter, and the widow. I have no idea of why Steven (the 35-year-old man) would want to put the moves on Joanna (the widow) when he 1) appears to be in love with Elizabeth (the daughter of Joanna), and 2) is married to her, and 3) is attracted to women with big breasts (or as Diana Tutton called them ‘bosoms’) which Joanna does not have.

I’ll have to read the reviews of the book — perhaps I will be edified by them. But as of now, it seems that the book was a period piece (perhaps a good read for folks in the 1950s in the UK) but why it got re-issued by the British Library Women Writers Series is a mystery to me. But that is my own stuffy egocentric opinion. Thank goodness the only person who listens to me is me. 🤪 🤨 🙃

Reviews (Everybody below loved it...):
• Thoughtful review but chock-full of spoilers! https://leavesandpages.com/2014/01/24...
• Spoilers in here also...https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2021...
• Spoilers in here also...https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2021/...
• Ditto...https://bagfullofbooks.com/2021/06/07...
• Ditto to ditto...http://desperatereader.blogspot.com/2...
• https://www.holdsuponhappiness.com/in...
• https://shinynewbooks.co.uk/mamma-by-...

[JacquiWine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another excellent entry in the British Library’s Women Writers series (they’ve yet to reissue a dud), the sort of novel that’s a pleasure to sink into for its subtlety and understanding. Its author, the British writer Diana Tutton, was interested in fiction focusing on families and relationships – particularly those that were frowned upon by society. While Mamma was published in 1956, it was written a few years earlier – possibly the early ‘50s, a time when societal attitudes were beginning to loosen and change.

On the surface, Mamma tells the story of a forty-one-year-old widow, Joanna Malling, who develops feelings for her son-in-law, Steven – a man of thirty-five. However, in truth, the novel is more an exploration of Joanna’s inner world and her position in society than a salacious love triangle. There is a degree of restraint in the writing – a subtlety that makes the story all the more immersive. It reminded me a little of Dorothy Whipple’s novels – Someone at a Distance, perhaps, albeit with less melodrama. Either way, I would definitely recommend it.

When we first meet Joanna, she has just arrived at her new home in Tadwych, a suburban town somewhere in the south of England. Tutton wastes little time in establishing Joanna’s position in society. Widowed at the age of twenty-one, Joanna has remained unattached since then. While she had hoped to remarry in her twenties, no suitable partners subsequently emerged, ushering in the prospect of permanent widowhood – a state Joanna has grown used to over the years.

After twenty years of widowhood […] she had quite expected to marry again, but in the five years after Jack’s death she had had only one proposal, and that one so unsuitable as to be almost an insult. She had politely rejected a solicitor, twenty-four years older than herself, and had settled down to perpetual widowhood. (p. 4)

To read the rest of my review, please visit:
https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2021...

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ack, I’m a bit let down by this one! I’m trying to put my finger on why exactly. I enjoyed Joanna’s character but I was a bit bored by Steven and Libby. Perhaps I expected Steven’s character to be more compelling? Or the tension between him and Joanna to be a bit more intense? I was also bored by Steven’s mother’s plot line. Mrs Holmes was amusing but not really amusing enough. I thought the ending was both satisfying and believable though. And Simon’s afterward is excellent as always. I think this may not have been to my taste but please don’t let that stop you from picking this up. It’s well worth a read.

[A J HOOPER · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sensitive description of a mother/daughter/son in law triangle. Joanne is not thrilled when her impetuous young daughter moves herself and her new husband into Joanna's home. Son in law Steven is only five years younger than Joanna. But when Joanna finds herself falling in love she's horrified since she adores her daughter Elizabeth and has a strong sense of duty.
A contrast in moral behaviour is provided in the shape of the happy go lucky cleaner, married with five children but occasionally found to be 'doing the Pools' at 4 in the morning with a gentleman friend. The two differing practices of morality throw serious questions as to outcome. Is it better to stifle one's passion for a higher cause (in this case for Elizabeth's well being)? Or will everything come all right anyway if you follow a natural path of sensuality?
Tutton believes in the former, describing Joanna's shutting out possible love poignantly while providing at the very end of the novel a sop to the unhappy woman.

[Gina House · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique, but entirely believable story! This is the very first Diana Tutton book that I've read and I have to say that I enjoyed her writing style very much. Her conversations are smooth, lively and natural. I quickly became connected to all of the characters, especially 'Mama', but also with her daughter Elizabeth (Libby) and son-in-law, Steve.

I can easily see how this situation could occur with Joanna's feeling lonely for so many years after her husband died and having her daughter so young. I think it's a little less likely that a 20 year old would marry someone 15 years older nowadays, though. The age different between Joanna and Steve is only around 5 years, so they're in the same generation and generally have a lot in common.

The book was very easy to read, interesting and fun at the same time. I was dying to know what would happen between all of the characters. I was a little disappointed by the ending, though, and I wish that the final few pages had been less subtle. I feel that I didn't quite get the closure I'd hoped for, which made me like the book a tiny bit less overall.

I would definitely read this again, though, and I'm looking forward to reading Guard Your Daughters next.

[Lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

She was only 41, but society relegated her to be a ‘mamma’ and nothing more.

Mamma is a touching story of a 41 years old woman who struggled to fit the mold society expected of her in the late 50s.

Joanna (Mamma) had been a widow for two decades and was seen by society as an old, good-for-nothing woman despite being relatively young. Deep inside, she dreamed of marrying again, but men had eyes only for the fresh and young.

Things got tangled when her daughter Elizabeth married a man 15 years her senior and moved in with Joanna. Turned out that Steven, the husband, had much more in common with Mamma than with the superficial and immature Elizabeth.

Poor Joanna had to deal with the conflicted emotions of feeling attracted, or even in love, with her son-in-law, and at the same time, selflessly suppress all those feelings to protect her beloved daughter.

The forbidden love is not what the story is about, though. It is just a way of demonstrating Joanna’s limited existence and the suffocating role she was forced into by society. Mrs. Tutton dealt with the taboo with such grace and feeling that it was never cringey.

The gem in the book is the analysis of women’s role in society and the strong contrast between those who experienced the horrors of war firsthand and the post-war generation with its more privileged, untroubled upbringing. Elizabeth was carefree, innocent, and quite superficial, while Joanna and Steven were more mature and grounded.

Another interesting topic was the difference in station and opportunity between different social classes. Some of the views are obviously influenced by the author’s own perception of the world and a reflex of the book’s period (1956).

I was immediately captivated by Joanna. Being in my forties (actually a little older than sweet Mamma), I commiserated with her misfortunes and admired how she bore it all with class and fortitude. She was in an impossible situation, yet she crossed to the other side stronger and even more beautiful.

The narrative is well-woven, and the story kept me glued to the pages until the very end. All the characters were layered, and women of all walks of life and age were portrayed.

Mamma is one of those stories that stays with you long after the book is finished. I intend to read all other books by Mrs. Tutton.

I recommend the printed edition because it is simply stunning!

I received a copy of this book for an honest review.

*For more reviews, book art, and book-related articles, please visit https://lureviewsbooks.com *

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this! I'll write a longer review later, but I was very, very entertained and stayed awake far past my bedtime finishing it tonight!

[Roger Pettit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Presumably spurred on by the success in recent years of their re-publication of a large number of out of print crime novels, the British Library has now turned its attention to the resuscitation of straight fiction. Its ‘Women Writers’ series, of which ‘Mamma’ is one example, is a collection of novels by female authors whose work long ago fell into neglect. ‘Mamma’ is a slight but engaging tale of a middle class woman, Joanna Malling (a 40 year old widow), and the impact her self-control and somewhat delicate sensibility have on her relationship with her son-in-law, Steven. At least, that is what the book jacket would have you believe. But, in truth, the conflict between desire and loyalty epitomised by the nature of that relationship is really a factor only in the last quarter of the book. Up until that point, what we have is a story that centres on Joanna’s relationship with her twenty-one year old daughter Elizabeth (Libby) and which depicts middle class family life and society in suburban England of the 1950s. It is also a subtle analysis of the loneliness and isolation that can be wrought by widowhood. Diana Tutton is, on this evidence, a perceptive and sensitive writer whose unfussy prose style and clever characterisation are great strengths. In that sense, she reminds me of two women novelists who achieved greater fame and success than she seems to have done: Elizabeth Bowen and Elizabeth Taylor. ‘Mamma’ is a gentle and sympathetic portrayal of human frailty. It is also a fascinating slice of social history. It most certainly deserves the revival it is now experiencing and is well worth reading.

[Lottie Caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whilst I didn't enjoy this as much as her better known novel "Guard Your Daughters", it's a compelling read that got me biting my nails about how this seemingly average and middle-aged woman was going to handle her attraction to her daughter's partner. It was uncomfortable at times, but that just added to its appeal. I'm a great fan of Diana Tutton and this did not diappoint.

[Irina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful little gem from the 1950s, this novel tells the story of a 41yr old widowed mother in the English countryside, whose daughter and new husband - closer in age to her than to his bride - come to live with her. Naturally, all sorts of repressed British emotions bubble to the surface.

Light, witty, and thoroughly entertaining, it’s the kind of book you can devour in a single day. A charming interlude amid those beastly, weighty tomes piling up on your nightstand. Don’t hesitate - reach for this one as a true breath of fresh air.

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25*

[Naomi J · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Ashamedly Joanna sprang up. It was quite natural, she told herself crossly, that a sex-starved woman should have her occasional dreams and desires, but to allow her daughter and son-in-law to figure in them was an offence against rudimentary delicacy, and besides, she ought to be past this sort of thing by now. If she felt the need of a little eroticism before inexorable middle age should put a stop to her sex-life, let her go and buy some filthy postcards. This thought amused her, so that her assumed cynicism fell away, and she laughingly admitted that she felt no real need of a last fling, and would embark on the change of life with barely a pang. Only she hoped that it would not make her irritable, or mad.”

Joanna Malling, widowed with a young baby at 21, has her quiet, single, middle age interrupted when her daughter, Libby, comes to live with her, along with her new husband, Steven. Steven, 35, is closer in age terms to his mother-in-law, Joanna, who is 40, than to his wife, Libby who is 20. Soon Joanna becomes attracted to Steven and envious of the sexual relationship Libby can now enjoy with her husband. Steven, in turn, begins to admire Joanna more as time goes on.

This is a witty, gentle read which shows societal expectations of women, particularly young widowed women in 1950s England. We feel for Joanna, who is young by today’s standards, but seen as old and “past it” in the society in which she lives. I loved how the youth and exuberance of Libby is contrasted with the quieter, gentle nature of Joanna and was pleased that the novel ends on a positive, hopeful note and that, despite its intriguing moral premise, the novel does not explore this taboo relationship, but rather, sheds a light on 1950s society’s expectations of women at different stages of life.

[Silvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book sneaked up on me. On the surface it was all quiet domesticity but slowly I started to feel the currents underground working to bring waves to the surface. The roles the three main characters seem to be so at ease in shift and what was a precarious equilibrium is revealed. Joanna, a 41 year old widower, offers to share her house with her 20 year old daughter (Liz) and her son-in-law of 35 (Steven) and for a while they live together under one roof. This novel is a fascinating portrayal of social conventions and expectations. There seems to be no room in society for Joanna, she is too old to remarry and too young to be a grandmother. The crisis in the novel comes when Joanna and Steven realise they have so much in common, mostly because they are of a similar age, and start developing feelings for each other. The plot sounds scandalous but the book never is and as such it represents very well the quiet constraints of Joanna’s life.

[Emma Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Mamma" was the first book written by Dianna Tutton, a book dealing with a taboo topic first published back in 1956. In this book Tutton sensitively captures the emotional conflict between ones own desire with maternal love and loyalty, as the lead protagonist falls in love with her daughters older husband. However, this is not just a story about the mutual attraction of two people who find they are on the same mental plane with a desire for greater intimacy, this is also about 1950's society, culture and values.

Whilst this isn't my favourite of the British Library Women Writers series I have read (as my preference is for more plot driven books) this was an easy read covering an intriguing topic.

[Kay Robart · Rating 3 out of 5]

See my review here:

https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2021...

[Muaz Jalil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read. The story revolves around three characters: mother in law , daughter and her husband. Subtle taboo relationship between husband and mother-in-law.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never realised crosswords could be so dangerous!

[Molly Furnival · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Keri Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Women don’t stop being human beings once they have children, and in Mamma, Diana Tutton utilizes a taboo topic to highlight this in a way that seems very progressive for 1955. The main character, Joanna, is a 41 year old widow, and her 20 year old daughter Elizabeth sees her as simply “Mummy” and nothing beyond the boundaries of that role. The narrow, limiting way Elizabeth views her mother is an excellent representation of the way that society generally viewed older women at that time (and it still feels super relevant for today, too). The book is much less scandalous than the Goodreads blurb makes it seem, utilizing a great deal of restraint and delicacy with the subject matter. It was difficult for me to imagine a story like this having a happy ending, but Tutton actually manages to write a great ending for the story without it feeling too trite. A very interesting, thought provoking 4 star read!

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was probably a risque book when it was published. My interpretation of the love triangle between Joanna, Steven, and Libby was more of a "could have been" than an "actual was." We're reading about developing feelings mostly from Joanna's point of view, so it seemed open to interpretation how Steven felt.

There were a lot of ruminations about differing expectations about marriage, and how to navigate getting to know one's spouse, being a single woman past 40, and a woman's worth.

It was really sad to see how Joanna described herself at 41 as past the last bloom of youth. Even Stephen thought of her as old, worn out, and haggard. I couldn't tell if Joanna's feelings about herself were just Joanna's feelings or if they were Tutton's feelings as well. Regardless, it seemed really sad that a single woman at this age basically had no hope of ever finding love again.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read it and I've loved it and I notice with dismay that I did not review it at the time. This was beautiful risqué writing at a time when the conditions depicted in these pages would have so easily existed in inter-generational families living together at close quarters, where a 40 yrs old widow is considered finished in terms of her experience of sensuality and life. When daughters of 20s with much more mature husband in their mid-30s co-habit with their mother in laws in close crammed quarters, where tension builds up and reaches a febrile crescendo, situations in which you feel the hot sticky thick claustrophobic atmosphere of domestic middle-class quarters exploding. A sublimely hot read.