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Hungry Hill
'I tell you your mine will be in ruins and your home destroyed and your children forgotten ...but this hill will be standing still to confound you.' So curses Morty Donovan when 'Copper John' Brodrick builds his mine at Hungry Hill. The Brodricks of Clonmere gain great wealth by harnessing the power of Hungry Hill and extracting the treasure it holds. The Donovans, the ori...more
Paperback, 528 pages
Published
May 1st 2008
by Virago
(first published 1943)
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"I have the silver, you have the land"
Du Maurier recounts the lives of several generations of the Brodrick family, landholders in Dunhaven Ireland starting in 1820 when "Copper John" Brodrick cements a deal to start a copper mine at the base of Hungry Hill. John's main priorities are the business and its profits, with little concern for the day to day welfare of the miners and their families - enflaming a long-standing family grudge that leads to a curse on the Brodrick family. The story of the...more
Du Maurier recounts the lives of several generations of the Brodrick family, landholders in Dunhaven Ireland starting in 1820 when "Copper John" Brodrick cements a deal to start a copper mine at the base of Hungry Hill. John's main priorities are the business and its profits, with little concern for the day to day welfare of the miners and their families - enflaming a long-standing family grudge that leads to a curse on the Brodrick family. The story of the...more
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As she began work on this 1943 saga, du Maurier told her publisher, Victor Gollancz, that it would be 'endless, full of birth and death, and love and disaster.' Especially disaster. The story begins in 1820 as Copper John, patriarch of the Anglo-Irish Brodrick family, prepares to mine Hungry Hill for copper. Unfortunately, he neglects to ask permission of the hill first, and for the next hundred years, malevolent as Caradhras, it visits its vengeance on one generation of the family after another...more
Feb 07, 2013
Robert Elliot
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction
A real disappointment having read other books by the author. While the generational family saga was mildly interesting, as someone with an interest in history, I found it completely irritating that the lives of these people was completely untouched by the mammoth historical events that went on during these decades, like the Irish population being decimated by famine, and the landlords such as those depicted in this book, being a part of the reason why so many died. Also there was absolutely no r...more
A good story, about five generations of the Broderick family of Clonmere, Dunhaven, Ireland. It starts with Copper John in the early 1800’s when he signed to start a copper mine on Hungry Hill with his neighbor Robert Lumley. At the time he was cursed by Morty Donovan whose family was reputed to have owned the land Clonmere Castle sits on before the Broderick’s were given the land by the England Monarchs. John was a widower with 5 children, Barbara, Henry, Eliza, John & Jane – only John was...more
I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into when I decided to read du Maurier's Hungry Hill. I wanted to read something different from her best known works and thought that a family saga might make an interesting story.
Well... it did! An interesting, but, also a tragic and depressing story. The story of the Brodrick family and their life in Ireland from 1820 to 1920. The story opens with the patriarch John Brodrick, called Copper John. However we immediately know that the family has...more
Well... it did! An interesting, but, also a tragic and depressing story. The story of the Brodrick family and their life in Ireland from 1820 to 1920. The story opens with the patriarch John Brodrick, called Copper John. However we immediately know that the family has...more
An interesting story set in Ireland. I have to wonder why she picked this location as she usually sticks to her favorite Cornwall but I digress. The story involved an Anglo-Irish family who was loyal to the King and given land. One of the members of the family discovers copper on the land and decides to mine it. This causes more strife with the local population and a curse to the family by the Irish family whose land was taken and given to the English one. Basically follows the next few generati...more
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Wow.
Have to admit, I didn't expect to be so impressed and engrossed by the shabby paperback I picked up for purely sentimental reasons off of my Mother's bookshelf. Having spent the summers of my youth in Adrigole, at the base of the eponymous Hungry Hill, the title was what initially piqued my interest. However, it was the engaging characters and engrossing storyline which drew me in.
This being the first work of du Maurier's I've read, I can't say for certain if such strong, well rounded char...more
Have to admit, I didn't expect to be so impressed and engrossed by the shabby paperback I picked up for purely sentimental reasons off of my Mother's bookshelf. Having spent the summers of my youth in Adrigole, at the base of the eponymous Hungry Hill, the title was what initially piqued my interest. However, it was the engaging characters and engrossing storyline which drew me in.
This being the first work of du Maurier's I've read, I can't say for certain if such strong, well rounded char...more
Another du Maurier that I could not put down. This novel follows a wealthy family of landowners through several generations and the boon or curse that the family-owned copper mines have on them. I'll leave it up to you to read and find out which one it is. I will tell you that in the first few pages one of the main character's archnemesis curses him and tells him that by mining Hungry Hill he and his progeny will be rich, but forever cursed.
The characters are deep and rich, their lives intertwin...more
The characters are deep and rich, their lives intertwin...more
Once I start reading a book I want to read it to the end, and I hate giving up part way through, but that is what I've done with Hungry Hill.
I've read several other novels by Daphne Du Maurier, and some are amongst my favourite reads (Jamaica Inn, Frenchmans Creek), but I just could not engage with Hungry Hill or its characters. It tells the story of a family through the generations, with history (literally) repeating itself and the main problem I have is that I don't sympathise with any of the...more
I've read several other novels by Daphne Du Maurier, and some are amongst my favourite reads (Jamaica Inn, Frenchmans Creek), but I just could not engage with Hungry Hill or its characters. It tells the story of a family through the generations, with history (literally) repeating itself and the main problem I have is that I don't sympathise with any of the...more
I really got stuck into this family saga from Daphne du Maruier, following five generations of a family and their relationship with the mine at Hungry Hill. With du Maurier you know there's going to be tragedy in there somewhere and there are senseless deaths and senseless happenings a plenty. Despite being beautifully written, I felt somewhat depressed at the end of the novel because I didn't feel it was concluded very well and a lot of very bad things happened to people who frankly didn't dese...more
An epic of a story which follows the fortunes of a family as they rise and fall over the course of a century. Not very like the other books i've read by du Maurier, but her clarity of writing keeps you reading. I read this whilst on holiday, so had a lot of time to give it, I wonder if i would have finished it in other circumstances?
Somewhere in Ireland - probably - at the start of the 19th century two families squabble over the ownership of Hungry Hill. The current owner declares it his purpose to mine the land. The would be/should be owner thereupon curses the family and all descendants. From then on, no matter how many years it takes, death and misery will strike the successive generations at a young age. Not a cheerful book.
Hungry Hill is an Irish family saga written about a specific copper mine. It isn't as lengthy as most family sagas, and it is definitely not a flattering account of the Irish. The description and detail is classic du Maurier, and therefore makes it worth reading.
A story about five generations of an Irish family called Brodrick, their rise and their fall at the feet of a mountain called The Hungry Hill and the copper mine in it. The story was full of sad fates and occasionally they felt too much like a series of sad fates without much connection to each other, but towards the end the whole thing was tied together quite nicely.
Granted, copper mining is not the sexiest of topics, but at heart the book is really a family saga. It's beautifully written – the prose is clean, straight forward and unflourished. It was my first Du Maurier, I will definitely be reading more of her.
The book is quite melancholy but I suppose that's life.
The book is quite melancholy but I suppose that's life.
hmm, i didn't enjoy this one as much as 'house on the strand' for example. du maurier was very pleased with it apparently; perhaps because of the multiple main characters, following a family five generations, 'epic', etc. maybe it's my age; maybe i should of read it 20 years ago...
I love this author. This was a very interesting book. I was hoping there might be some type of mystery associated with the plot. There wasn't but it was still good.
I was very dispaointed with Hungry Hill. The other Du Maurier books that I've read, I've adored but apart from a few chapters where I was interested, most of Hungry Hill bored me.
Jul 20, 2011
Catherine
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2011,
daphne-dumaurier
Absolute epic about five generations of the Broderick family who own the copper mine on Hungry Hill. Yet another du Maurier novel - wonderfully written and full of engrossing characters - that I could hardly bear to put down, even though I kept waiting for the next depressing thing to happen!
Some parts were interesting, but for the most part horribly depressing. I never want to read this book again!
This novel tells of the legacy of a family and their effect upon a country based on the feud of another family. It displays the joys and sorrows of the Brodicks. It is an awesome read.
This is a multigenerational saga that I just could not enjoy. The characters were all so depressed and troubled. The story was well constructed, but it just wasn't the least bit enjoyable.
I rlove du Maurier's style of writing. I could not put this book down.
ok, but not one of my favorites of hers
Aug 21, 2011
Lobstergirl
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
shepherdesses
Shelves:
fiction
Relentlessly downbeat, woodenly written.
a good book... in the classical spirit.
so far so good
Interesting but scattered multiple-generation saga.
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If Daphne du Maurier had written only Rebecca, she would still be one of the great shapers of popular culture and the modern imagination. Few writers have created more magical and mysterious places than Jamaica Inn and Manderley, buildings invested with a rich character that gives them a memorable life of their own.
In many ways the life of Daphne du Maurier resembles that of a fairy tale. Born int...more
More about Daphne du Maurier...
In many ways the life of Daphne du Maurier resembles that of a fairy tale. Born int...more
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