Mary Wakefield

Jalna #3

by Mazo de la Roche

First published in 1949, Mary Wakefield is the third in the series chronologically, set back in the 1890s. The title character is the governess of Renny and Meg Whiteoak. She falls in love with their widowed father, but the couple must overcome the obstacle of his overbearing mother who does not want her son to remarry.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Canada, Romance, Historical

337 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

Mazo de la Roche, born Mazo Louise Roche, was the author of the Jalna novels, one of the most popular series of books of her time.

The Jalna series consists of sixteen novels that tell the story of the Canadian Whiteoak family from 1854 to 1954, although each of the novels can also be enjoyed as an independent story. In the world of the Whiteoaks, as in real life, people live and die, find success and fall to ruin. For the Whiteoaks, there remains something solid and unchanging in the midst of life's transience--the manor house and its rich surrounding farmland known as "Jalna." The author, Mazo de la Roche, gave the members of her fictitious family names from gravestones in Ontario's New Market cemetery, and the story itself balances somewhere between fact and fiction. Critics think events in the novels reflect de la Roche's dreams, moods, and life experiences. As the daughter of a traveling businessman, she may have seen the Jalna estate as the roots she never had, while the character Finch, from Finch's Fortune, is thought to be a reflection of herself.

Reviews

[SheriC · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't think I've ever read a romance where I found both romantic leads so thoroughly boring. I had no interest in seeing whether they would work it out, was even sort of rooting for the devious and catty rival Muriel to knock Mary aside and snatch the indolent Philip away. And most likely make him miserable for the rest of his life. The charm of this book was in the peripheral characters and in the strong sense of place. Perhaps my favorite character was Phillip's half-grown spaniel pup, with his melodramatic moanings and joyful gambolings and callow slinkings and mournful mopings.

Hardcover, third in a series, in which I have no desire to read further. I inherited this vintage 1949 book from my father, as one of the few mementos of his mother. I never met her, but from his accounts she was a loving and terrifyingly Sicilian lady who, with her cabal of equally terrifying sisters, kept all the rascally extended family in line.

Full review with photos on Booklikes.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mi-am cumpărat cartea de la un tonomat de carti de la metrou, cu 10 lei. De la Romana pana la Dristor, n am putut sa îmi scot ochii din ea. Mi a plăcut tare mult. E dulce și sensibila, o poveste de dragoste draguta.
Celor ce le plac poveștile romantice cu final fericit, și care au nevoie de relaxare totala... asta e.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up for nostalgia's sake at one of the antique stores in Cambria. I must have read each of the 16 books in the Jalna series about a dozen times when I was a teenager. It is a saga about many generations of the Whiteoak family who originally came to Canada from England. Still enjoyable to me. I might have to go to the library and read the rest again!

[Lectora Cualquiera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me da mucha pena cuando me encuentro alguna reseña de alguien que ha leído uno de los libros de la precuela y decide que no quiere leer más, porque por algún motivo es cierto que a Mazo de la Roche las precuelas cronológicas no le quedaron ni de lejos tan bien formuladas como las novelas propias de "Jalna", y ese desánimo lleva a muchos lectores contemporáneos a perderse una muy sólida saga familiar.

'Mary Wakefield' tiene el encanto de ver a personajes que conoces de adultos o ancianos en otras etapas de su vida, concretamente a Renny y Meg de niños, a Ernest y Nicholas en la cuarentena y a Philip, el señor de Jalna y hermano pequeño, que está muerto en toda la saga menos aquí, en los inicios de su vida con Mary Wakefield, que es la madre de la caterva de muchachos que van a protagonizar la saga de Jalna: Eden, Piers, Finch y Wakefield. Pero, sin ese background, lo cierto es que la novela no pasa de ser un folletín un tanto afectado y caricaturesco que para nada muestra la calidad en la construcción de personajes que Mazo de la Roche hace en libros sucesivos.

Por otro lado, me doy cuenta de la enorme importancia que Philip tuvo para Adeline y para Meg y Renny y de lo poco, en cambio, que es mencionado en el resto de libros como una figura a recordar por parte de sus hijos. Con todo, da igual, porque para mí siempre es agradable volver a Jalna😊

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

J’ai beaucoup aimé ce livre qui m’a fait penser un peu au livre d’Anne de Lucy Maid Montgomery et aux livres de Jane Austen. C’était une belle lecture, complètement inattendue, puisque j’ai trouvé ce livre dans une boîte à livres.

[P.R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The recent reviews of the 'Whiteoaks' series of books by other Goodreads readers have sent me back in time to when I first read them. I was still at school, and borrowed them from the local library. They were hardback with pink covers. I adored them from the start, and began to purchase my own collection. Sadly these were 'Pan' paperbacks which soon grew yellow with age and fell apart, so I am pretty sure I threw them away in the end.

I began with 'Mary Wakefield' which to my mind is the gentlest of the series. No others show any fondness for Mary, who rashly takes a position as governess to two children in Canada. She has no idea that she will fall under the spell of their widowed father, nor that this family will become a dynasty of strong-willed, somewhat insensitive (with exceptions), but occasionally delightful individuals.

Mazo de la Roche was a good author. She painted wonderful pictures of the family's life on the edge of Lake Ontario, each person carefully drawn with character traits which cling throughout the series. As a teenager, I couldn't stop reading these books, but I wonder how they would appeal to me now, half a century on!

I must read this again... :)

[Jean Carlton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable read. The family grows more interesting all the time. Characters are varied and wonderful - even the pets especially Jake, the dog. Her descriptions capture the setting beautifully- put you there among them all.
“ ...the clear crisp beauty of the autumn morning, the shining little clouds puffed up to importance by the lively wind, the colored fallen leaves that skipped nimbly over puddles on the road.”
This writer uses words with purpose. This time she describes a wedding cake as a "magnificient erection in ornate icing. . ."
:)
On to the 4th book in the long series.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm starting to enjoy the family chronicle aspect of the Jalna-series, just like I remember doing as a child. It's fun and interesting to see how the characters develop over time.

In this book I also liked the different perspectives on events and on Mary Wakefield. The gossiping neighbors with their different views and prejudices also adds humor to the story.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am totally hooked on these books.

[Elinor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it was a bit jarring to skip forward an entire generation from the first two books in the series, once I became accustomed to the idea that Adeline is no longer a lovely young woman, I started to enjoy this third novel. Primarily, this is a love story between Mary Wakefield and the owner of Jalna, Adeline's youngest son -- who has to contend with his mother's disapproval. Adeline is shameless in her machinations. It's a very entertaining read and some of the characters are priceless. The author had a real sense of humor and I laughed out loud a couple of times. I also very much appreciate her descriptions of the natural beauty that surrounds Jalna.

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary Wakefield is the third chronological book of the series. Published in 1940, this book takes place in 1893. Adeline and her fourth child Philip II are both widowed. Philip has two children by his late wife, Margaret Ramsey Whiteoak: Meg, aged 9 and Renny, age 7. Mary Wakefield is engaged as a governess for the two children and falls in love with Philip Whiteoak II. This is perhaps the most purely romantic book of the series.

[Ann A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This family has welcomed me with open arms!
I love them for their authenticity. One can follow their childish ways and think that all is not well. Then, one of them -or several of them- shows us what family is really all about.
The writing speaks to me realistically so that I am drawn in and never want to leave.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back on track after the shock of a disappointing book 2. This is a romance, with Adeline interfering in her own inimitable way. Thoroughly enjoyable, and it romped along until the final couple of chapters which felt a bit like an add on to prepare the reader for the next edition in the series.

[Eve O'Mahony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely, old fashioned, romantic story. The danger of it being too syrupy sweet is balanced out by some truly laugh out loud comical scenarios and the spicy presence of Adeline Whiteoak, out Matriarch-ing all Matriarchs! (She's my secret heroine and role model, if only I had the nerve!)

[Gloria Laviolette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly am enjoying this whole series. I picked up one of the books even before there was internet, and swore that I would eventually read the whole series. Thanks to the internet I am able to do so.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

First read 50 years ago and upon recalling my enjoyment I decided to re read the series. Lovely descriptions and have not disappointed

[Lilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable if a little slow.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite up to the standard of the first two, but maybe I was just disappointed at the leap in timeline between this and the last book.

[Senga Time · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rodzina dość specyficzna, ale tym razem fabuła skupia się na Mary, młodej dziewczynie u progu życia.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really liking this series. This third book wasn't a 5* as the first two were but it was still very good. Looking forward to number 4.

[Loraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series! It is just a pity that the gaps between the books are not explained by the author

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

A weak entry in the Jalna series, with an extremely watered-down Jane Eyre scenario. Mary is a lousy governess and her employer is a putz.

[LauraT · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slowly going along their lives: how I love family sagas!!!

[Cynthia Lorenzo Vedia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es una bonita historia. Al principio me parecía algo lento, pero después me ha enganchado la historia de Mary y su vida en Jalna. Está bien escrita y es entretenida.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

MARY WAKEFIELD is, chronologically, third book in the Jalna series, though it's not the third Jalna book that author Mazo de la Roche wrote. Compared to her original trilogy----JALNA, WHITEOAKS and FINCH'S FORTUNE, all set in the 1920's---it doesn't stand up very well. But even so, it's an interesting "flashback" to the 1890's, when Renny Whiteoak and his sister Meg are motherless children in need of a new governess.

The title heroine is, of course, that governess. Miss Wakefield arrives at Jalna to teach the unruly young Whiteoaks, who give her a rather hard time for awhile. And it doesn't help much when their widowed father, Philip Whiteoak II, falls for the governess, and she for him. Grandmother Adeline makes a comeback here as Philip's domineering mom, who doesn't want her favorite son to remarry. Most of the conflict is between Mary and Adeline, and the dramatic interest lies in seeing who will win the battle.

It has also been suggested that de la Roche structured this book on JANE EYRE, with the similar theme of a governess falling in love with her employer. However, Mary is a rather colorless character compared to Jane, while lazy, slow-as-molasses lover Philip is NO Mr. Rochester! Don't expect too many Gothic elements here. The best part of the book concerns the mischievous pranks of the children, who will grow up to be the Meg and Renny we know.

[K.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the third chronological Jalna book, Philip Whiteoak (senior) is dead, along with Philip junior's wife Margaret (daughter of the Scottish Doctor Ramsay. Ernest engages a governess (Mary Wakefield) for Philip's two children Meg and Renny, and naturally Philip soon but unwittingly falls in love with her. Complications abound when Mary faces the hostility of the Whiteoaks, Mrs Nettleship (a Danveresque housekeeper)and her young charge Meg Whiteoak. Adeline is naturally the most formidable opponent, but Mary manages to get one over her - though she acknowledges that it is the last time it is ever likely to happen!) and the couple manage to overcome other obstacles to reach their happy ending. It is the first book in which we meet the grown-up children of Adeline and Philip - Augusta has married a Sir Edwin Buckley (much to Adeline's frustration as her daughter is now her social superior), Nicholas was married but his wife eloped with someone else, and Ernest has remained single, and plays the stockmarket, much to the admiration of his friends and family. Several truly great scenes in this book, Philip and Mary's dance in the moonlight, Muriel Craig's scheming, and of course, the inevitable confrontation between Adeline and Mary!

[Mary Stagg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third in the Whiteoak saga, we see Adeline's youngest son, now conveniently widowed with two young children, for the first time. Adeline is now in late middle age and Philip is dead. The older Whiteoak children have made their lives in England though punctuated by visits to Jalna.
Mary Wakefield is the governess engaged in a hurry to teach the children. Its a charming book though rather too heavy on the delicacy of women in general. There is as always in these books a host of characters - some familiar from the first two books and some new ones. Its hard looking from a vantage of nearly a century and a half later to quite understand why elbow sleeves should cause such consternation but they do. Obviously, elbows came late to Canada.

[Carolyn Agosta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading the Jalna series in order of events, rather than in order written. This book takes place around the 1890's, which makes it third in the series, while it was actually written eleventh out of sixteen. We get to see a good bit of Adeline Whiteoak, the family matriarch, and get to see how her children relate to each other now that they're grown. It's a good book, although not as good as some of the others in the series. If you want the whole Jalna experience, though, you'll want to read this one.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a romance novel! However, it is really well written, with lots of character and landscape and no "bodice-ripping" nor unseemly simpering. 'Tis a oft-told tale, the widowed master with two charming if rambunctious children, the lovely governess, misunderstandings and obstacles but an entirely predictable happy ending. I confess that I did enjoy this latest in the Jalna books and will continue with them chronologically.

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

#3 in the Jalna series. I am continuing with my summer re-read. I enjoyed the first two books, but found them a slower read than I recalled. This novel, though, completely captured my interest and the series really picked up for me!

Mary Wakefield comes to Jalna as governess for the children of widower Phillip Wakefield. There is an immediate spark between these two, with many complications.

I look forward to the next read in this series!