Tag: village life during the Second World War

A Presumption of Death by Jill Paton Walsh & Dorothy L. Sayers – Harriet Vane in a Wartime village meeting many challenges

June 3, 2024

A Presumption of Death by Jill Paton Walsh & Dorothy L. Sayers

This book is a slightly hybrid effort. When Dorothy L. Sayers stopped writing Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane novels, she did write a few letters featuring Wimsey family members during the Second World War. Jill Paton Walsh was already a successful author when she was entrusted by Sayers’ estate to use these letters to write continuation novels. This book, which was probably a reread for me, is the second of these books. I greatly enjoyed it and read it really quickly. At its heart is a murder mystery which proves difficult to solve in true Sayers tradition, but which features the skills of Harriet Vane in the first instance. It also deals with wartime conditions which affected even the wealthy beginning in February 1940. It is bookended with Sayers’ letters which reveal how the Dowager Duchess views the Home Front and family matters in challenging times. This novel features many issues such as the role of women in wartime from aristocratic women to Land Girls, the priorities for men and the relationship between the famous Harriet and Peter.

Harriet is coping in the country house of Talboys in the village of Paggleham, with her two sons and the three children of her sister-in-law. She is supported by several servants and life is not too difficult in many ways. Local food sources in the countryside supplement the rations, even though pig-clubs can cause some problems and the magic of Harriet’s cook helps considerably. The research behind this book is considerable; the wonders of liquorice water and the lifestyle of RAF pilots are well described, but the information is never allowed to slow the narrative. There is humour from the children and some of the locals, and a certain dark humour in the refusal of some to use the main village shelter for religious reasons. Despite early preparations a practice air raid shows how the shelters needed certain basic comforts, and village life in all its complexity is a feature throughout the book. It is during a practice raid a young woman is murdered, and thus begins an investigation that Harriet becomes an unofficial part. The author tells us of Peter’s extended absence from the beginning of the book – and so Harriet is left, still a little unsure about her new role as effectively “lady of the manor” with responsibilities to the locals, a household which includes five children, and now with the task of finding out who may be a murderer. Peter may be in all sorts of danger on his secret mission, and Harriet must face investigating a crime without his experience and contacts.

This book works because it gradually introduces and builds on what we know of the characters and setting from Sayers’ own works, especially of Harriet’s character and skills. Even without the Sayers input, it is a very good novel of village life in wartime, and the nature of mutual suspicion which existed when invasion was a real possibility. The murder mystery is well plotted and developed. Harriet’s character emerges brilliantly in this novel as she must prove her ability to cope on all levels, not least with the unspoken fear for Peter’s situation. The author has really absorbed the elements of Harriet’s character that Sayers created, and expanded on them really well, alongside references to the events of “Busman’s Honeymoon” which is set in the village. I was very pleased to reread this book, appreciating anew the subtle and obvious extension to Sayers’ most loved novels. I would recommend it not only to Sayers’ enthusiasts, but also those who enjoy a well written wartime- set novel with a really well plotted murder mystery.  

The Four Graces by D.E. Stevenson – A possible sequel to a series or an excellent standalone war time novel

March 1, 2024

The Four Graces by D. E. Stevenson

Some people have seen this 1946 novel as a sequel to the three “Miss Buncle Books” and it is often listed as the same online. It is available from Sourcebooks, whereas the previous three have been republished by Persephone Books. As I am a completest where possible, I managed to get a copy of this book and read it eagerly. It is not a sequel in some respects; it does not mention Miss Buncle, or the other Mrs Abbott who was in some ways the main character in the third novel, and while it does mention and to a point continue the stories of a few characters, that is not the main thrust of the narrative. It is set in a village which is mentioned in the earlier books, and Miss Marks, for example, does make a brief appearance. It is also written and set after the third novel; indeed at least one wedding overlaps slightly, and it is another wartime novel of people being displaced and different expectations.

This novel is really about four young women, the “Graces” of the title, Liz, Sal, Tilly and Addie, who are the daughters of the Reverend Grace, vicar of the village parish of Chevis Green. It is a successful gentle comedy with aspects of a wartime novel written at the time – in some ways it is constructed when no one knows the outcome of the Second World War. As such it has much to say on the upheaval of people, men who are serving in the armed forces, at least one character struggling with wartime social displacement, and the various ways women are questioning expectations while struggling with hard work on the land, the shortages of food and the expectations of others. It is also a funny book of family relationships where a much loved widowed father reflects on the mysteries of his daughters, and each one has moments of puzzlement. There are houseguests, some of whom are more welcome than others, some moments of comedy and many points are simply enjoyable. Whether you read this book as part of a series of just as a one off, it is highly recommended.

The book opens with an Author’s Preface which tackles the question of whether this is a funny book. She points out that it is a book of a rural summer and the events that take place during it. Alongside that, it is also set in wartime, and there are life changing events described to a certain extent, but Stevenson wants to show real women in all their complexity and challenges, as real people who are funny and serious, dramatic and underwhelming, contradictory and confusing. The novel begins with Tilly playing the organ at a wedding, when she can look at the congregation without being seen, and when she can consider some weighty matters. As usual the four sisters are being gazed at, by certain gentlemen who appreciate their attractiveness, by those who have their own views. Over the next weeks the women will have to cope with their sometimes overly generous and somewhat naive father, a visiting scholar, a surprising question or several, and perhaps most significantly, a sort of relative who has designs of her own. Each woman must work out something of what, or who, she really wants, which can lead to many misunderstandings, as well as cope with those around them.

This is a book that I found really enjoyable for its lightness of touch, but with its underlying acceptance that people may not be what they seem. There are misunderstandings which echo the inimitable Miss Buncle, and timely help offered. It is not a book of great drama but offers a keen insight into people at a difficult time. This is a book to read for distraction, entertainment and much more, and I thoroughly recommend tracking down a copy.