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The Return of the Prodigal
Reproduction of the original: The Return of the Prodigal by May Sinclair
250 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1914
About the author
May Sinclair
207 books62 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
May Sinclair was the pseudonym of Mary Amelia St. Clair, a popular British writer who wrote about two dozen novels, short stories and poetry. She was an active suffragist, and member of the Woman Writers' Suffrage League. May Sinclair was also a significant critic, in the area of modernist poetry and prose and she is attributed with first using the term stream of consciousness) in a literary context, when reviewing the first volumes of Dorothy Richardson's novel sequence Pilgrimage (1915–67), in The Egoist, April 1918.
May Sinclair was the pseudonym of Mary Amelia St. Clair, a popular British writer who wrote about two dozen novels, short stories and poetry. She was an active suffragist, and member of the Woman Writers' Suffrage League. May Sinclair was also a significant critic, in the area of modernist poetry and prose and she is attributed with first using the term stream of consciousness) in a literary context, when reviewing the first volumes of Dorothy Richardson's novel sequence Pilgrimage (1915–67), in The Egoist, April 1918.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 15, 2022
I didn't love these shorter works quite as much as her longer novels - there is something just slightly mechanical about the relationships between her characters. That said, she shows her usual perception of people and their motives, but there is nothing too heartbreaking.
February 18, 2016
Prolific novelist, early supporter of modernism and a leading suffragette, all the biographical information about May Sinclair promotes the fact that she was credited with inventing the phrase "stream-of-consciousness" and for a positive review she gave to Elliot's 'J. Alfred Prufrock'.
Those are reasons enough to be interested in her. What isn't pointed out so forcibly, though, is what a terrific writer she was herself, but that became clear enough after reading the seven short stories and one novella that comprise this collection, published in 1914.
Psychologically subtle and complex, whether in a light, detachedly amused vein or in striking a deeper, more serious note, May's characters can be both more or less than they seem, or even something else entirely.
Her female characters are all originals, the males just as well drawn.
The differing appearances of surface and spirit is a strong theme that runs throughout the compilation, and one that her shimmering, sinuous prose is perfect for. Only the title story is a little weak, while the closing novella is something of a minor masterpiece I think.
'The Return of the Prodigal'
Stephen K. Lepper, a millionaire pork-packing Prince in his adopted America, is returning home to England to see his mother and sisters for the first time in fifteen years. When he left them he was a spendthrift alcoholic who squandered all the family money, but how could they not be delighted to see him now that he can repay them in riches?
'The Gift'
Freda Farrar, 'a dryad in exile', has the gift of poetry, but was it merely unlocked by Wilton Caldecott, or entirely inspired by her love for him?
'The Fault'
A husband with a hair fetish is wronged by his wife and gets divorced, thereafter becoming intimate with two adorable sisters, the younger of whom, Phoebe, he takes a particular shine to. But she has one fault that he can't get over.
'Wilkinson's Wife'
Nobody could understand why Wilkinson married his wife, nor why he stays with her. She wasn't in the least attractive nor intelligent. The once sociable Wilkinson was now rarely seen, for his wife did not enjoy society. Mrs. Norman is determined to come to his rescue.
'Miss Tarrant's Temperament'
Hostess Fanny Brocklebank 'took her excitements, lawful or otherwise, vicariously in the doomed and dedicated persons of her friends'. The most radiant of them is Philippa Tarrant, who connives to torment a different man out of his senses with every season, but do any of them realize the type of temperament she really has?
'Appearances'
A wealthy and attractive young man has his proposal turned down by the woman he loves while on holiday and is given no reason, yet he is aware that he can't help himself from gazing at another traveller, a 'beautiful and hypothetical stranger.'
'The Wrackham Memoirs'
A withering portrayal of a vain and pompous novelist named Charles Wrackham, of whom 'the brief popular fury for him ... was absurd then and seems still more absurd to-day, now that we can measure him.' But he has pretensions, and they extend beyond the grave.
'The Cosmopolitan'
This highly impressive novella of liberation features an artist, Maurice Durant, returning to England after a seven year tour of the world. Underwhelmed by his friends' reception he excepts a two week invitation to stay at the country manor of a wealthy uncle, Colonel Tancred.
The uncle turns out to a provincial bore and his only daughter, Frida, a plain and highly repressed woman of thirty, their only entertainment to be found through interminable games of whist. But Frida, subsumed by her father, seems to harbor a rare and restless spirit.
Many of her works are available for free through the Project Gutenberg site, and I have already ear-marked another one to read before long.
Those are reasons enough to be interested in her. What isn't pointed out so forcibly, though, is what a terrific writer she was herself, but that became clear enough after reading the seven short stories and one novella that comprise this collection, published in 1914.
Psychologically subtle and complex, whether in a light, detachedly amused vein or in striking a deeper, more serious note, May's characters can be both more or less than they seem, or even something else entirely.
Her female characters are all originals, the males just as well drawn.
The differing appearances of surface and spirit is a strong theme that runs throughout the compilation, and one that her shimmering, sinuous prose is perfect for. Only the title story is a little weak, while the closing novella is something of a minor masterpiece I think.
'The Return of the Prodigal'
Stephen K. Lepper, a millionaire pork-packing Prince in his adopted America, is returning home to England to see his mother and sisters for the first time in fifteen years. When he left them he was a spendthrift alcoholic who squandered all the family money, but how could they not be delighted to see him now that he can repay them in riches?
'The Gift'
Freda Farrar, 'a dryad in exile', has the gift of poetry, but was it merely unlocked by Wilton Caldecott, or entirely inspired by her love for him?
'The Fault'
A husband with a hair fetish is wronged by his wife and gets divorced, thereafter becoming intimate with two adorable sisters, the younger of whom, Phoebe, he takes a particular shine to. But she has one fault that he can't get over.
'Wilkinson's Wife'
Nobody could understand why Wilkinson married his wife, nor why he stays with her. She wasn't in the least attractive nor intelligent. The once sociable Wilkinson was now rarely seen, for his wife did not enjoy society. Mrs. Norman is determined to come to his rescue.
'Miss Tarrant's Temperament'
Hostess Fanny Brocklebank 'took her excitements, lawful or otherwise, vicariously in the doomed and dedicated persons of her friends'. The most radiant of them is Philippa Tarrant, who connives to torment a different man out of his senses with every season, but do any of them realize the type of temperament she really has?
'Appearances'
A wealthy and attractive young man has his proposal turned down by the woman he loves while on holiday and is given no reason, yet he is aware that he can't help himself from gazing at another traveller, a 'beautiful and hypothetical stranger.'
'The Wrackham Memoirs'
A withering portrayal of a vain and pompous novelist named Charles Wrackham, of whom 'the brief popular fury for him ... was absurd then and seems still more absurd to-day, now that we can measure him.' But he has pretensions, and they extend beyond the grave.
'The Cosmopolitan'
This highly impressive novella of liberation features an artist, Maurice Durant, returning to England after a seven year tour of the world. Underwhelmed by his friends' reception he excepts a two week invitation to stay at the country manor of a wealthy uncle, Colonel Tancred.
The uncle turns out to a provincial bore and his only daughter, Frida, a plain and highly repressed woman of thirty, their only entertainment to be found through interminable games of whist. But Frida, subsumed by her father, seems to harbor a rare and restless spirit.
Many of her works are available for free through the Project Gutenberg site, and I have already ear-marked another one to read before long.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews