A re-discovered Author

Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a wonderful book - intelligent, at times very funny, but also deeply poignant. It tells the story of a marriage that is gradually destroyed thanks to the arrival of a 'viper' into its happy nest. What touched me most was the deft and gentle revelation of how deeply fragile even the most secure human relationships are, built as they are on that invisible cornerstone we call trust.

Dorothy Whipple was extremely successful for a period in her own writing life - the 1930s and 1940s - but fell out of fashion (a terrifying concept for all authors!) because, as her agent put it, 'Editors have gone mad about action and passion instead.' In my view 'Someone At A Distance' abounds with both action and passion. The everyday joys and suffering of her characters are utterly credible, so painfully so, that by the end I was rooting for them to find a way out of the mess.
(And no, I am not going to say whether they manage it or not).

In my experience it is rare to find an author who can offer such depth and substance with so light a touch. The skill in achieving this is considerable and yet the reader is so swept along by the story that it feels effortless. So add this, or indeed any Dorothy Whipple novel, to your must-read lists. I have already started another which is clearly just as good.



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