Tuesday, December 27, 2016

THE FURROWED MIDDLEBROW DOZEN 2016

While in other ways 2016 was an absolutely terrible year—here's hoping 2017 doesn't turn out as badly as seems likely—a look back at all the books I read this year, and my difficulty in selecting only 12 of my favorite books of the year, suggests that it was a very good year for me on the bookish side—and this is really true in more ways than one.

Firstly, as a reader, the fact that I had to force myself to eliminate no fewer than nine other books that I really loved obviously means that I was lucky enough to find books that really spoke to me this year. I had to make a rule that I would only include each author once, which required that ELIZABETH ELIOT’s Alice (1950) and RACHEL FERGUSON’s A Harp in Lowndes Square (1936) be removed from the list. This was also the year that I properly discovered NGAIO MARSH’s late mysteries, having foolishly avoided them before, but there just wasn’t room for either Dead Water (1963) of Clutch of Constables (1969) on my list, and even JOSEPHINE BELL’s delightful Death at Half-Term (1939), which I read while we were travelling and enjoyed very much, had to be dropped.

Other terrible deletions from the list include my intro to the Thrush Green series by MISS READ/DORA SAINT, Battles at Thrush Green (1975), GWENDOLINE COURTNEY’s The Girls of Friar’s Rise (1952), my favorite ELINOR M. BRENT-DYER Chalet School book so far, The Chalet School Reunion (1963), and my return to reading MURIEL SPARK with Loitering with Intent (1981). (I loved the Spark, by the way, though in the rush of getting ready for our trip I never got round to writing about it.)

The second reason it was a good year for me is that I actually had the opportunity to play a role in bringing three of the books on my list back into print this year, in both cases for the first time since the 1940s. I’ve already written tiresomely often about the Furrowed Middlebrow imprint from Dean Street Press (see links to them in the left column, including my announcement from last week of the new titles we'll be doing in March 2017), but the opportunity came about and developed so quickly that, looking back at the list of books I read this year, I found it hard to believe that I'd only discovered two of the FM books and one additional Dean Street mystery in the early months of this year. Things happen quickly! And happily, as I announced last week, we'll also be reprinting another of the books from this year's list.

But to counteract, for just a moment, all this regret and all the adoration I’m about the express below, I can’t help mentioning one book I don’t regret not including here at all (which I also never got round to writing about, and it would have been an uncharacteristically harsh post if I had). I ordinarily love GLADYS MITCHELL unconditionally, but I’m afraid the love is now at least somewhat conditional—to retain my love, she simply must do better than The Longer Bodies (1930), her absolutely dreadful third novel. The daftness of Mitchell’s mysteries is usually a joy for me, but here it went over the top, and the perky, flapperish, dimwitted characters (indistinguishable from one another) and even more dimwitted plot were pure irritation and no joy. Fortunately, much much better work was to come.

But now, back to the adoration. This year, I’m going to present my top 12 in reverse order. The “ranking” is unscientific, but based on the strength of the feelings each book evokes in retrospect. Here goes:



I seem to have been even more focused this year on World War II—pre-, mid-, and post-—than usual (which is saying something!). Although it’s not the most polished of the novels on my list, this is one of the most astonishingly detailed portrayals of the immediate postwar years in England that could be imagined. As Rose Macaulay did with bombed-out ruins in The World My Wilderness, which I discussed recently (and which was a re-read, so it’s not eligible for this list), in Peace, Perfect Peace Josephine Kamm seems to have set out to carefully document the mundane day-to-day details of postwar life. It’s endlessly interesting.



Another flawed but fascinating novel, and I was thrilled to have a chance to read it, as it came from my Hopeless Wish List. Tracing the relationships and experiences of a group of women translators at the Ministry of Foreign Intelligence, it’s particularly entertaining for anyone who works or has worked in an office environment, with the cameraderie and pettiness that such places can inspire. But imagine that office environment in the midst of the Blitz! Funny, a bit bitchy, and, like Kamm, marvelously detailed, it’s an almost unique portrayal of women office workers in World War II.



In some ways, this novel might have enabled the whole Furrowed Middlebrow publishing venture. I had already read and loved Peck’s first mystery, The Warrielaw Jewel, and when I finished this one I couldn’t resist emailing Rupert at Dean Street and suggesting both books for their Golden Age mystery series. The rest, as they say, is history! Both mysteries are in print from Dean Street, and of course Peck’s wartime novel Bewildering Cares was one of the first batch of Furrowed Middlebrow titles (and was #1 on my 2014 Furrowed Middlebrow Dozen).



This one is still in print and available from Greyladies! I can’t say it better than I did in my original review: “For me, what sets The Winter Is Past apart from other portrayals of the earliest days of the war, is that while it has all the hallmarks of a cozy, comforting bit of escapism (and indeed it is very, very entertaining and addictive, so it could really be read as such), Streatfeild's characters are undoubtedly real living breathing human beings, not idealized figures with only minor problems easily resolved at the end. Their flaws are shown and wrestled with, and reading about how they come to terms with them and with one another, one must come to terms with their failings too, and then forgive them and like them anyway.”



The first title on this list not related in any way to WWII! A wonderful intro to Young’s work for me, the tale of a 40-ish spinster with “too much dignity, a troubled relationship with the truth, and a tendency to speak her mind a bit too eloquently.” Miss Mole is a wonderfully complex, damaged character, which makes it even more inexplicable that none of Young’s novels seem to be in print on either side of the Atlantic (though happily most are fairly readily available in green Virago editions from the 1980s).



Released in October as one of the inaugural Furrowed Middlebrow titles, and recently discussed in Gillian Tindall’s article about Ferguson in the Times Literary Supplement, I go back and forth between this novel and A Footman for the Peacock as my favorite Ferguson. Both a satirical warning against nostalgia and a marvelous bit of nostalgia in its own right, it’s funny, highly literary, and a complete education in Edwardian pop culture all in one spot.


6) AUSTIN LEE, Miss Hogg and the Brontë Murders (1956)

I meant to find a way to work in a short review of the two delightful Miss Hogg mysteries reprinted by Greyladies in the past year, but with the trip preparations and the trip itself, they sort of got lost in the shuffle. Despite the fact that they are written by a man (I know, shocking, right?), I fell in love with both this one and the earlier Sheep’s Clothing (1955), which introduces the redoubtable Miss Hogg, spinster heroine of nine mysteries. But having just been to Haworth myself, I had to choose this one, set in and around Brontë country, as my favorite. Both are still in print from Greyladies, who reportedly will eventually reprint all nine Miss Hogg mysteries. I for one am very impatiently awaiting the other seven!



We’re back to the war with this one, but in what delightful style! I dared to compare this one to blogger favorite Guard Your Daughters by Diana Tutton (which, for those of you who don’t subscribe to the Persephone Post, will finally become a Persephone reprint next year—exciting news indeed). In some ways, I like Cavan’s novel better than Tutton’s—there’s a similar focus on charming, perky young girls in an eccentric family, with a similarly dark undercurrent (in this case the imminent approach of war) and the inevitable romantic touches, but I think Moon might actually be more fun. It’s definitely on my radar to be an FM reprint if possible (though sadly Cavan’s other work doesn’t seem to be of equal quality), but its rather jumbo size (just under 400 pages!) would make it a costly reprint. Clearly, I will have to re-read it (and Tutton’s novel as well, of course, for comparison) to assess the situation.



In limiting myself to including one title per author on this list, I set myself the challenge of deciding between Elizabeth Eliot’s giddy debut, Alice, and her fifth and final novel, Cecil (Henry and Mrs Martell would both be close behind as well). Ultimately, though, the more subtle, mature work had to make the cut (though it’s the one that makes her subsequent silence as an author that much more sad). In Cecil, Eliot sets herself the challenge of presenting the dysfunctional relationship between Lady Guthrie and her son through the eyes of an in-law who only sees them infrequently. There’s an almost Jamesian subtlety about the narrator’s (and therefore the reader’s) limited perceptions and knowledge about these characters, which reminds one that we can never know for sure all the motivations of those around us.



I admit that I probably overuse the term “hilarious” on this blog—it’s an easy go-to term for any book that has regularly made me laugh. But in this case it definitely applies. I’ve long been a fan of Anderson’s rollicking memoirs—I wrote about two of her other titles here and here—but this one just might be my favorite of them all. Detailing the granting of a young Verity’s long-cherished wish to accompany her sister Rhalou to boarding-school, and the difficulties she has in adapting to the new environment, Daughters of Divinity is must-read material for fans of school stories and anyone who likes giggling deliriously while one’s family members, spouse, or fellow train-riders look on with unease.



I’m in the minority here, but I found this final novel from the divine Stella Gibbons—written around 1980 but not published until this year—to be one of the best she ever wrote—eloquent, heartbreaking, and impossible to put down. Many other readers have found it hard to engage with the emotionally disengaged heroine, but perhaps I have a bit more in common with Juliet than I’d like to admit. If you’re up for something a bit more challenging, empathy-wise, but with all the wisdom and wit that Gibbons had developed over a lifetime of writing, give this one a try.



It was tough to make a call about my favorite new read of the year. There are so many different kinds of books on this list, so there’s no way to objectively choose a favorite. But this only novel by Ursula Orange’s sister-in-law, recommended to me by Monica Tindall’s niece, Gillian Tindall, ultimately won out. A powerful portrait of a terrible mother and a precise dissection of exactly how she became that way, it’s as compellingly written as a mystery novel and will make your identifications and sympathies shift so frequently as to get tied in knots. And, as I mentioned in my pre-Christmas post, Dean Street Press and Furrowed Middlebrow will be reprinting Tindall's novel next March, along with the three best novels of Ursula Orange!


And that’s that. Wow. It really was an extraordinarily successful year of reading. I’d better get busy with my bookshopping and interlibrary loans to make 2017 just as satisfying!

Now, what were your favorite reads of 2016?

36 comments:

  1. Counting only "new" to me books, and I probably missed some from early in the year since I don't keep a list. (Also, I do a LOT of re-reading and love it): (Not in order)

    Chelsea Concerto and Bewildering Cares from Furrowed Middlebrow press

    Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper written by Phaedra Patrick

    Two SF/Fantasy novellas: Penric and the Shaman and Penric's Mission by Lois M. Bujold

    Pied Piper by Nevil Shute

    The Lark Shall Sing by Elizabeth Cadell

    That is what I can think of at the moment.

    Jerri

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I want to add a bit more information about The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, a first novel published in 2016. I think it may well appeal to folks who enjoy middlebrow novels. Arthur Pepper's wife died a year ago, and he is struggling with grief. He decides that after a year it is time to clean out her closet and discovers a charm bracelet that he had never seen before. As he traces the origins of each charm he learns more about his wife and himself and life. It sounds strange, I know, but I found it a combination of entertaining, well written, funny, moving and thought provoking. I listened to the audiobook version. Not for everyone, but I recommend people give it a try.

      Jerri

      Delete
    2. Thanks Jerri! I'm excited to see two of the Furrowed Middlebrow/Dean Street Press titles in there, and I have been meaning to get round to that Cadell as well!

      Delete
  2. Your blog makes me so happy. I love hearing about books and authors who are completely new to me. And am so pleased about the new publishings. I am a huge Miss Read fan. You might like reading the Thrush Greens in order. Not that it really matters, but there are things that happen, people who come and go. But maybe that's just me who likes to read things in order. ;<) Thanks so much for your blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Nan! So glad you enjoy the blog. I actually am (slowly) reading the Thrush Green books in order, but the trouble is I started with Battles, so I've been proceeding from there and then will have to go back to the beginning. Perhaps just an excuse to reread the later ones after that!

      Delete
  3. Scott, is there an online middlebrow reading group? I can't find one at Goodreads, where most of that action seems to have migrated. (Yahoo Groups used to be the place, but there is much less going on there now.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It afraid I don't know for sure about this, Patrick. Maybe someone else will chime in. I know there is a Facebook group, if you use Facebook, and there is a Virago group, on Library Thing, I think? I bet there would be some kindred spirits there who might also know of other groups.

      Delete
  4. Oh, Scott, I am so glad you listed Streeatfeild's "The WInter Is Past." I LOVED that novel. Everything you said, and so much more. NOT at all like her children's "Shoes" novels, for sure. Poignant, sad in places, yes, everyone needs to get a copy and read it!
    Our Laura, from both the Stevenson and Thirkell lists, got me onto the Miss Hogg novels, and I have managed to collect them all. Spotty as the series goes on. I would have chosoen the "Sheep's Clothing" over the "Bronte Sisters,' but - hey! - it IS your list! I am ready to read the last two - probably spent way too much on some of them - but you know how addiction is.
    Anyway - LOVE your list, and already earmarking some titles...............
    Happy New Year (sigh) to you and Andy, and again, many thanks for all the work you do to bring such happiness to so many readers! Tom

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm green with envy, Tom, that you have the whole Miss Hogg collection! Perhaps I'll have to housesit for you one of these days...

      Delete
    2. I promise to bequeath them to you, Scott - although I hope that will be a long wait!
      Ha ha!
      Tom

      Delete
  5. Oh Dear, I've not read any of your 12 but have read all Miss Read and several of your mentions at the start that didn't get into the actual list.
    There is no hope of ever getting to the end of my TBR list

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think TBR lists aren't meant to be finished Sue, one must just enjoy the embarrassment of riches of having so many good books still to read. (Or that's what I'm telling myself today anyway.)

      Delete
  6. I'm always interested in reading about your discoveries, Scott. Sadly, none of my favourite reads this year fall into your "off the beaten page" designation. That said, both were by women:

    May Agnes Fleming's The Midnight Queen (1863), a fast-moving, wildly gothic tale set during the Plague Year. Mrs Fleming was Canada's first bestselling novelist.

    The Margaret Millar mystery Do Evil in Return (1950). A favourite, I was happy to see Millar's work - all of it - begin returning to print this year through Syndicate Books.

    Happy to see Furrowed Brow launched, too! So much richness! My best for the New Year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the kind words Brian! Both of the books you mention sound intriguing--who could resist a gothic novel involving the plague?!

      Delete
  7. Pure Juliet and Miss Mole are two books I'm looking forward to reading this winter. There were so many stand-out reads for me this past year I'm not sure I can choose a favourite. Lady into Fox by David Garnett may have been a short read but it certainly was beguiling...and a good place to start.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm embarrassed to admit I have never read Lady into Fox, Darlene. That will have to be a 2017 title. I hope you enjoy the Gibbons and the Young!

      Delete
  8. Oh thanks for asking. I just checked my list of 103 books read in 2016, and selected the following as my favourites:

    We Took to the Woods by Louise Dickinson Rich 1942
    Saddlebags for Suitcases by Mary Bosanquet 1942
    Open Heart, Open Mind by Clara Hughes 2015
    A Chelsea Concerto by Frances Faviell 1959
    As Far as You'll Take Me by Lorna Whishaw 1958
    Bird's Eye View by Elinor Florence 2015
    The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver 2009

    The first five are memoirs, which I read a lot of, because I enjoy entering someone's life. Mostly 20th century woman. The other two are novels. Only one is a reread, though I guess most rereads must by nature be among one's favourites.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You've already added the Bosanquet to my list, Susan, and I have been meaning to read the Rich for ages. Now I'm also intrigued by the Whishaw book, which I'd never heard of...

      Delete
  9. What a lot of wonderful books! I am still seeing if I read a top 10 book as my last read of the year, so my best of will appear in a few days. Some real crackers here, though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Liz! I enjoyed seeing your list just a little while ago.

      Delete
  10. You are seriously bad for my bank balance Scott. There are at least three must track down somehow and read books in that list - Peace, Perfect Peace, The Winter is Past, Table Two - ah yes, four not three - and Daughters of Divinity.

    Actually I will happily read anything you come up with and about eight times out of ten I agree with your take on a book. Your blog is sheer delight so thank you.

    The name of Josephine Kamm rang loud bells so I googled her and found she had written a biography of Miss Buss and Miss Beale, two key figures in girls' education in England, and the latter the first Principal of my own Alma Mater. I am pretty sure I have read it at some point. Digging further I was amazed at how prolific she was, and on a wide array of subjects too.

    Gladys Mitchell is an odd author, ranging from stunningly brilliant to appalling. The odd thing is that no one seems to agree on which books are which. My personal nadir is Brazen Tongue but in one of the many lists ranking her works, it appears in the top ten good books. No one seems to entirely share your view of Longer Bodies....

    One of my favourites, Sunset in Soho (much WWII), is right at the bottom of the list for someone else...have you read it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Gil! I am very intrigued by Kamm, and am hoping to find time to read more of her work this year. I found a copy of Peace without breaking the bank. Table Two, though, may prove a challenge.

      As for Mitchell, I did notice after writing my post that some readers actually rank Longer Bodies pretty high, which I find astonishing. But to each their own! I believe I read Soho very early on, before I knew much about Mitchell (the WWII connection drew me to it, of course). I need to reread. And I happen to have Brazen Tongue on my Kindle, along with two or three others that I haven't read. Hmmmm.

      Delete
  11. What a wonderful list! And how good that #1 will be coming back into print. You really are doing the most wonderful work :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Simon! And I was so delighted to see The Lark topping your list!

      Delete
  12. Nan in her comment said it for me: your blog makes me so happy! As do all the other comments - thank you all of you. Bother the housework - next year I am going to make more time for reading ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Tanya. And you know, the dust just accumulates again in a few days anyway. Reading is a much more productive use of time! :-)

      Delete
  13. Thrilled to read about Verily Anderson. I had only ever read her (much loved) books about Brownies, borrowed as a child from the Bromley public library - then I came across her in Janey Hampton's wonderful biography of Joyce Grendel & it was like meeting an old friend. Hampton is one of Anderson's daughters.

    I saw that in one of your earlier reviews you mentioned Grenfell. Hampton's book is a great read - Grenfell had a very interesting life. There is quite a lot about Anderson & her family towards the end of the biog - the young Janey is at a party at which Joyce mentions to her that she is in terrible pain; Janey offers her an aspirin, but Joyce says 'I'm afraid it's a bit too late for that' - she died of cancer soon after.

    Anyway, so delighted to find out more about Anderson & am looking forward to reading more of her work - thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you might really enjoy Anderson's memoirs, Rosemary, and I think I will have to pick up the Hampton book you mention. I didn't realize she was Verily's daughter. Thanks for sharing that!

      Delete
  14. Here's a dusty dozen I enjoyed, including writers I got onto from your big list:
    1941 - Budd Schulberg - What Makes Sammy Run?
    1941 - C.S. Wallace - Westbound Murder.
    1942 - Helen Ashton - Joanna at Littlefold.
    1942 - Maritta Wolff - Night Shift.
    1942 - Ursula Orange - Have Your Cake.
    1943 - Lorna Lewis - Tea and Hot Bombs.
    1944 - Anne Duffield - Out of the Shadows.
    1945 - Chester Himes - If He Hollers Let Him Go.
    1946 - Alan Kennington - Flying Visitor.
    1946 - Edith Howie - The Band Played Murder.
    1947 - H.J. Dellar - Incident Closed.
    Grant Hurlock

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How on earth do you track down these books, Grant?! I thought I was pretty good at getting hold of obscure titles, but I've been trying to get hold of Have Your Cake and Tea and Hot Bombs for years! I'm envious, and now I have to check out some of the others you mentioned as well...

      Delete
  15. I just finished norah hoult's "There Must Be Windows" and really admire it.I'm about to read sarah grand's 'The Beth Book'from 1897.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Norah Hoult is one of my favorite Persephones, though it seems to be a bit dark for some readers' taste. I'm glad you liked it too. I haven't read The Beth Book, but I hope you enjoy that one too!

      Delete
  16. ...sorry, I accidentally lopped the 1st title off my dozen. It's:
    1940 - Sutherland Scott - Murder in the Mobile Unit.
    Grant Hurlock

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh Scott, what a list! I have the Streatfeild and Young on my shelves already but would love to find the Anderson book. Always good to have a quest. Thanks for all the great recommendations and best wishes for lots of wonderful bookish discoveries in 2017!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Claire. I have enjoyed all of Anderson's books, but Daughters and Spam are undoubtedly the two to be particularly on the lookout for.

      Delete
  18. Hi Scott – I'll be happy to lend you those two you mentioned. (Maybe you can grace us with one of your perceptive reviews if you like them.) A couple of others you might also enjoy are Joanna (especially its exciting first part in which the title character escapes from France with her husband and his mistress one step ahead of invading Nazis) and Incident Closed, an atmospheric mystery about murder among Air Raid Wardens during WWII – although I have no idea if it's female-authored and thus eligible for your list. Murder in the Mobile Unit, though male-authored, reminded me a lot of Green for Danger. It's about an emergency medical team dispatched to treat air-raid casualties, something like that in my favorite blitz-lit novel, Robert Greenwood's The Squad Goes Out.
    Grant Hurlock

    ReplyDelete

NOTE: The comment function on Blogger is notoriously cranky. If you're having problems, try selecting "Name/URL" or "Anonymous" from the "Comment as" drop-down (be sure to "sign" your comment, though, so I know who dropped by). Some people also find it easier using a browser like Firefox or Chrome instead of Internet Explorer.

But it can still be a pain, and if you can't get any of that to work, please email me at furrowed.middlebrow@gmail.com. I do want to hear from you!