- Hardcover: 385 pages
- Publisher: Cape; 1st edition (1947)
- Language English
- ASIN: B0000CNM8S
- Product Dimensions: 20.4 x 14 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,882,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Emily Hilda Young's last book, 'Chatterton Square', was published in 1947 by Cape. It was written while she was living in London with Ralph Henderson, the then Headmaster of Alleyn's School in Dulwich, and his wife, in a ménage a trois.
Naturally enough, just as the inhabitants of the square were kept in the dark of their new-found notoriety, the world at large was of the ménage a trois, and this subversive rebel streak led Virago to reprint her books, when they were hunting for provocative women's literature.
Being familiar with Canynge Square and Clifton, I found her book utterly engrossing, her bisexuality coming across in her descriptions of both men and women, whose lives she so eloquently satirises in a delightful yet trenchant style; very much reminiscent of Jane Austen or Barbara Pym.
All in all, if you are looking for an E. H. Young book which you can't put down, or have never read her before, then try this one, as I can really recommend it for thought provoking reflection, as well as pleasure!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Author and book should be better known
21 July 2009
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
In the summer of 1938, in the shadow of approaching war, the Fraser and Blackett families live outwardly undramatic lives in their neighboring houses in Chatterton Square in the fictional city of Radstowe (Bristol). The Frasers are a large lively family headed by Rosamund, whose husband has abandoned the family to pursue his creative life in France. The Blacketts and their three daughters live a tightly constrained, very conventional existence controlled by totally egotistical Mr. Blackett. E. H. Young depicts the interaction of the two families, and the rich inner lives of these very ordinary people with humor, understanding, and the sort of moral vision shown by Jane Austen. Selfishness and generosity, cold hearts and loving ones, courage and its opposite, all appear in these people. At the end of the book the Munich agreement has achieved "peace in our time," and there is peace of a kind in the two households; but I hated to leave them, wanting to know how they would be affected by the dark years ahead.
E. H. Young is a writer who deserves to be rediscovered. Her wit, ability to create fascinating characters, and clear judgement of what makes ordinary life rich and meaningful are a delight.
E. H. Young is a writer who deserves to be rediscovered. Her wit, ability to create fascinating characters, and clear judgement of what makes ordinary life rich and meaningful are a delight.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
A very fine novel
29 July 2010
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Set in the months leading up to WWII, Chatterton Square focuses on two people living across the street from each other in Upper Radstowe (based on Bristol). There are the Blacketts: Mr. Blackett, a domineering, selfish bore who stifles his very Victorian wife, and their three daughters, especially Flora and Rhoda, who live under the thumb of their father. Across the street live the Frasers, with no discernable man at the head. Rosamond Fraser is a mostly carefree mother of five children growing to adulthood, who lives with her old childhood friend, Miss Spanner. All of the action is set around the eponymous Chatterton Square, yet it's always referred to as the Square, never by its full name.
This is one of those novels that are frequently described as "character driven." As far as plot goes, there's not much to this book; for most of the novel, the characters sit in breathless anticipation waiting for something to happen, for the war to start (especially worrying for Rosamund, considering two of her sons could potentially participate). Where the author excels is character description, but she does it very subtlety; instead of saying that Bertha Blackett is Victorian in her mannerisms, the author says that Bertha is one of those women who should have been wearing a bonnet and bustle. With her meek, mild demeanor, constantly demurring to her husband, she's an interesting contrast to Rosamund, who's faced with a very 20th-century decision. But somehow, the two women forge a friendship together, despite Herbert Blackett's disapproval. Herbert's character lacks the comedy that many bores in fiction possess, but he's still a well-defined and interesting character.
Another thing that EH Young does very well is depicting the various relationships between her characters--married relationships, young people courting, friendships between two middle-aged people (especially interesting is the dynamic between Rosamund, Bertha Blackett, and Piers Lindsay; equally interesting is the friendship between Rosamund and Miss Spanner). EH Young depicts all of her characters and their complicated relationships with wit and insight, and I found this book to be a joy to read because of that. Because this book was written in 1947, after the war had ended, there's a fair bit of foreshadowing with regards to the war, but other than that, I really enjoyed this book.
This is one of those novels that are frequently described as "character driven." As far as plot goes, there's not much to this book; for most of the novel, the characters sit in breathless anticipation waiting for something to happen, for the war to start (especially worrying for Rosamund, considering two of her sons could potentially participate). Where the author excels is character description, but she does it very subtlety; instead of saying that Bertha Blackett is Victorian in her mannerisms, the author says that Bertha is one of those women who should have been wearing a bonnet and bustle. With her meek, mild demeanor, constantly demurring to her husband, she's an interesting contrast to Rosamund, who's faced with a very 20th-century decision. But somehow, the two women forge a friendship together, despite Herbert Blackett's disapproval. Herbert's character lacks the comedy that many bores in fiction possess, but he's still a well-defined and interesting character.
Another thing that EH Young does very well is depicting the various relationships between her characters--married relationships, young people courting, friendships between two middle-aged people (especially interesting is the dynamic between Rosamund, Bertha Blackett, and Piers Lindsay; equally interesting is the friendship between Rosamund and Miss Spanner). EH Young depicts all of her characters and their complicated relationships with wit and insight, and I found this book to be a joy to read because of that. Because this book was written in 1947, after the war had ended, there's a fair bit of foreshadowing with regards to the war, but other than that, I really enjoyed this book.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
