I wasn't sure what to make of this rather strange and somewhat flawed novel, Elizabeth Taylor's second, published in 1946. I love her writing, but I don't think this one will ever be a favourite ( and it's probably not the best one to choose if you've never read Taylor before).
'Cassandra, with all her novel-reading, could be sure of experiencing the proper emotions ....' From the opening sentence, it is clear that this is going to be a satirical take on Jane Austen and Jane Eyre. (Taylor's biographer Nicola Beauman points out further parallels with Ivy Compton-Burnett - which I'm afraid went over my head as I'm not familiar with her - and EM Forster's Howards End, very clever this latter one but impossible to describe without spoiling a shocking twist towards the end of book.
Cassandra is the orphaned heroine who takes a job as governess to the young daughter of a widower, still haunted by his love for his dead wife (shades of Rebecca here). '"He will do to fall in love with," Cassandra thought.' Her employer Marion Vanbrugh - a man with a girl's name - is no swarthy Mr Rochester, however, but an effete upperclass drip.
Cassandra does, of course, get her man because that is what happens to governesses in novels and these are 'characters' rather than real people. Far more 'real' are the characters of the monstrous, snobbish nanny and the landlady of the local pub, who is having an illicit affair with Marion's drunken cousin. (Another shocking twist when we discover at the end of the book what has driven him to drink.)
Actually, the more I think about this novel, the more I appreciate its clever construction ... It's strange, very difficult to describe and I'm sorry that this is such a confusing review. A novel worth reading, though if you're a Taylor fan already.
