3.5
To the North
ByPublisher Description
A young woman’s secret love affair leads to a violent and tragic act in one of Elizabeth Bowen’s most acclaimed novels. To the North centers on two young women in 1920s London, the recently widowed Cecilia Summers and her late husband's sister, Emmeline. Drawn to each other in the wake of their loss, the two set up house together and gradually become more entwined than they know.
But the comfortable refuge they have made is "a house built on sand"; both realize it cannot last. While Cecilia, capricious and unsure if she can really love anyone, moves reluctantly toward a second marriage, Emmeline, a gentle and independent soul, is surprised to find the calm tenor of her life disturbed for the first time by her attraction to the predatory Mark Linkwater. Bowen’s psychological acuity is on full display in a conclusion that plumbs the depths of this seemingly detached young woman in a single, life-shattering moment.
But the comfortable refuge they have made is "a house built on sand"; both realize it cannot last. While Cecilia, capricious and unsure if she can really love anyone, moves reluctantly toward a second marriage, Emmeline, a gentle and independent soul, is surprised to find the calm tenor of her life disturbed for the first time by her attraction to the predatory Mark Linkwater. Bowen’s psychological acuity is on full display in a conclusion that plumbs the depths of this seemingly detached young woman in a single, life-shattering moment.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesTo the North Reviews
3.5
“This was a really enjoyable read. The writing is very good, lots of sly humour and clever observations that make you read them twice to catch the meaning and then the latter parts of the novel are so tense …it’s quite a build up. It’s about two sister-in-laws, Cecelia, a widow and Emmeline who share a house in London and their various relationships. There’s also Lady Waters, complicatedly related to both main characters who is always interfering in the lives of others. Emmeline runs a travel agency with a partner, Peter, both of them are tyrannised by their secretarial help. First, an incompetent one and then she’s replaced by the complete opposite, so efficient the business loses all personality. An interesting read showing the superficiality of society, and the roles of women changing slowly.”
About Elizabeth Bowen
Elizabeth Bowen was born in Dublin in 1899. She wrote many acclaimed short stories and novels, including The Heat of the Day, The Death of the Heart, The Last September, and Eva Trout. She was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1948. She died in 1973.
Other books by Elizabeth Bowen
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