Someone at a Distance
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Synopsis
'A very good novel indeed about the fragility and also the tenacity of love' commented the "Spectator" about this 1953 novel by Dorothy Whipple, which was ignored fifty years ago because 'editors are going mad for action and passion' (as she was told by her publisher). But this last novel by a writer whose books had previously been bestsellers is outstandingly good by any standards. Apparently 'a fairly ordinary tale about the destruction of a happy marriage' (Nina Bawden in the Preface) yet 'it makes compulsive reading' in its description of an ordinary family ('Ellen was that unfashionable creature, a happy housewife') struck by disaster when the husband, in a moment of weak, mid-life vanity, runs off with a French girl.Dorothy Whipple is a superb stylist, with a calm intelligence in the tradition of Mrs Gaskell (both wrote in the "Midlands" and had similar preoccupations). 'The prose is simple, the psychology spot on' said the "Telegraph", and John Sandoe Books commented: 'We have all delighted in this unjustly forgotten novel; it is well written and compelling'.
From the Publisher
Someone at a Distance (1953) was the first novel by Dorothy Whipple Persephone Books published, although it was the last she wrote. We chose it because we think it is her best, an outstandingly good novel by any standards. Apparently a 'fairly ordinary tale about the destruction of a happy marriage,' Nina Bawden wrote in her Preface, yet 'it makes compulsive reading' in its description of an 'ordinary' family, husband commuting up to town, wife at home ('Ellen was that unfashionable creature, a happy housewife'). Disaster strikes when a young French woman visits (the scenes back in France are most beautifully described, with touches of Balzac or Maupassant) and calculatingly seduces the husband. He abandons everything for her; then there is no going back.
The effect on his wife and children, on his partner at work, the way his life is destroyed in an instant of mid-life madness, all combine to create a novel of exceptional insight. This is a strongly moral book, which shows Ellen as a fulfilled yet dangerous innocent, with a touch of smugness which blinds her to her husband's vanity. Yet neither of them are more smug, or more vain, than anyone else...which is why the novel has a universal quality lifting it out of the realm of the commonplace.
Dorothy Whipple is a superb stylist: not a 'fine' writer or a Modernist but a calm intelligence in the tradition of Mrs Gaskell and George Eliot. The first sentence, with its overtones about the tragecy to come, encapsulatges the novel's quality: 'Widowed, in the house her husband had built with day and night nurseries and a music-room, as if the children would stay there for ever, instead of marrying and going off at the earliest possible moment, old Mrs North yielded one day to a long-felt desire to provide herself with company. She answered an advertisement in the personal column of The Times.'
'The prose is simple, the psychology spot on' said the Daily Telegraph, while the Spectator called it 'a very good novel indeed about the fragility and also the tenacity of love.' Someone at a Distance was in the Evening Standard bestseller list, propelled there in part by the enthusiasm of John Sandoe's bookshop in Sloane Square, which commented in its booklist: 'We have all delighted in this unjustly forgotten novel; it is well written and compelling.' Someone at a Distance has now become one of Persephone Books' quiet bestsellers.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
68 of 68 people found the following review helpful
By Lynette Baines
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Dorothy Whipple is yet another unjustly forgotten woman writer of the 40s and 50s. Someone at a distance is the story of an ordinary marriage. Ellen is a little complacent, a little smug about the happiness of her life and the security of her relationship with her husband, Avery. Avery is just drifting along in his comfortable job and familiar home life. The catalyst for change and tragedy in the novel is a discontented Frenchwoman Louise, who arrives as a companion to Avery's mother and insinuates herself into the family. In one memorable scene, Avery feels he is being engulfed by Louise's strong perfume, a wonderful metaphor for her effect on his life. He is too weak to fight off the effects of the perfume, and ultimately, he is too weak to fight off the consequences of his dalliance with Louise. Ellen emerges as a much stronger, more sympathetic character as she deals with the aftermath of Avery's desertion- dealing with gossips, sympathetic yet shocked relatives, and discovering a new place for herself in the changed world she inhabits. This is a beautifully written book with a strong moral sense and the ending is full of hope. Persephone have also republished Dorothy Whipple's They knew Mr Knight. If you enjoy well-written, absorbing novels with believable characters, I can't recommend Whipple's work too highly.
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful
By Charliecat
Format:Paperback
This has to be one of the most quietly brilliant novels I've read in a long time.
It tells the story of the most perfect happy family destroyed by one foolish mistake and the arts of a young French woman. It's simply heart-breaking and can make the reader, by turns, fume with anger and cry with sadness!
Dorothy Whipple's writing is without embellishments but is able to grip the reader until the very end. Louise releases a Pandora's Box full of evil and pain upon the happy North family...but at the bottom of the box was of course...hope. This is what Whipple leaves us with and it's perfect.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Continuing with my run of Persephone titles (following the delightful Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day), Someone at a Distance lives up to the high standard I have come to expect from Persephone. Dorothy Whipple puts a unique spin on the all too familiar tale of a husband going off with a younger woman - leaving his wife and children to fend for themselves. Vividly imagined, the characters' inner dialogues and outward behaviour as they react to the events unfolding around them are both realistic and insightful. The wife's response, as she struggles to cope and find new accomodation and work, is especially moving.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing read
I had high hope for this book after the excellent reviews and having just finished In Pursuit of Love which was great. Sadly Someone At A Distance was not nearly as good. Read more
Published 6 days ago by London Girl
4.0 out of 5 stars
A deserved re-publication
A convincing novel with some excellent portraits: Dorothy Whipple created a monster in Louise. It's a novel of its time and accordingly a window into another world that seems... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Janie P
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing
Wow, what a portrait of an English woman and her marriage. It is a deliciously compelling, exciting story that features the most seductive French temptress ever! Read more
Published 5 months ago by K. Kerby
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful surprise
Our Book Club choice chosen by a 30 something German girl. Expected to find it a tough read. However, it is brilliant.
Published 6 months ago by MRS S ANGEL
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful characters and story
This was a great read. I found the very middle-class, post-war, home counties setting a bit strange at first but once I got past this I was simply absorbed in Whipple's story. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Reddy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compulsive Read
This was my first introduction to Dorothy Whipple...and I am a complete convert. Thsi is a gripping tale of adultery, family disintegration, self sacrifice and love in its many... Read more
Published 8 months ago by hypnobear
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant tale, beautifully written
I adored this book. I read it knowing the premis and yet still gasped out loud at the denoument. It is a delicately written book with artfully painted characters that are both of... Read more
Published 8 months ago by bunintheoven
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just brilliant!
I don't know how she does it! All of her books are so well written and yet so readable. Whenever I retell the story of any of her novels to anyone, they don't sound that... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Joolsdarlington
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of the nastiest interlopers in fiction.
Another really unputdownable novel from Dorothy Whipple. The steady disintegration of a seemingly happy family due to the machinations of the young French woman, who finds herself... Read more
Published 14 months ago by KAW
4.0 out of 5 stars
A worm in the bud
I have never come across Persephone Classics before, nor the writer of this book, and both are welcome discoveries. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Alun Williams
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