What do you think?
Rate this book
Lettice Delmer
This 1958 novel in verse charts the spiritual journey of the heroine from Highgate during WW1 to Bloomsbury in the 1920s.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
1 person is currently reading
96 people want to read
About the author
Susan Miles
18 books1 follower'Susan Miles' was born Ursula Wyllie in 1887 in India, where her father was a colonel. Educated in London, in 1909 she married William Roberts, who was Rector of St George’s, Bloomsbury from 1917-38. Under the name Susan Miles she was a published novelist and poet; in 1920 Harold Monro singled her out in Contemporary Poets as one of the fifty most important poets then writing. She also two novels, a novel in verse ('Lettice Delmer') and a biography of her husband entitled 'Portrait of a Parson'. She died in 1975.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 30, 2019
I enjoyed this, a very different read for me. It is written entirely in verse, but it is a page turner and certainly evocative of the ww1 to 1920s period. This is the story of Lettice, loved and cosseted by her mother. When she eventually meets the outside world and people from outside her bubble, everything backfires.
The book covers some difficult topics from the time including STDs, suicide, rape, ‘unwanted’ pregnancies, homosexuality.
The book covers some difficult topics from the time including STDs, suicide, rape, ‘unwanted’ pregnancies, homosexuality.
June 8, 2018
Wow, this book was utterly depressing yet utterly gorgeous. Which I hadn’t expected for my second Persephone book. I felt for every single character in this book, which I owe perhaps to the form of writing—verse. The content and theme, though I’m not thoroughly familiar with (and therefore found it difficult to relate), was very moving despite it. The story just flows so easily. Having it written in verse is absolutely genius, made it ‘unputdownable’ and painted the story into scenes that I was watching from afar and taking in each detail. Fantastically written, too, with beautiful descriptions that jump out at me amidst a very readable story.
September 5, 2017
Great writing & characterisation. The verse just flows.
March 4, 2018
A very engaging little book. Don’t be put off by the verse style of writing
February 8, 2016
Several Persephone Books called me from the shelves, quite sure that they were the book I should read this week-end though. I deliberated for quite some time, but in the end I was contrary.
I picked up the book that was sitting quietly, not making any attempt to draw my attention.
The idea of a novel in verse, albeit blank verse, rather intimidated me, but I put my faith in Persephone.
The opening caught my attention. Mrs Delmer, mother of Lettice and wife of the doctor in charge was visiting a “Special Hospital”, an institution for unmarried mothers and young women with venereal disease, determined to do good works and to show her support for her husband.
The bleakness and horror of such a place; the staff’s understanding of that, and that Mrs Delmer’s efforts must be tolerated; and Mrs Delmer’s embarrassment when she misreads situations are all caught perfectly.
But Mrs Delmer is determined to get things right, determined that she and her husband will do as much as they can to give help and support. They will even take a young woman into their home, and reunite her with her infant son.
Their concern is laudable, but of course it will affect their daughter.
A lovely picture is painted of Lettice, eighteen years old, spoiled, uneducated and uninformed, and yet charming. And it is easy to feel sympathetic towards Lettice, because it is so clear that she is the product of her upbringing and because she is so clearly ill-equipped to deal with what life may throw at her.
The arrival of Flora Tort and her son Derrick is not a success, but the Delmers persist.
They can’t understand what is happening to their daughter, that the disruption of her home life, her rejection by the young man with who she thought she had an understanding, will hurt her deeply and lead her to become estranged from her family.
Lettice’s life takes a downward spiral.
She is in many ways infuriating – stubborn, proud, and so often failing to understand the people and the world around he – and yet there is a vulnerability, a feeling that Lettice really cannot cope, so that it is quite impossible not to feel for her.
And her story is counterbalanced by the story of her family, as it evolves into something very different.
Lettice’s is a dark story, of depression, abortion, suicide, despair, death … but it is also a story of faith, hope and redemption.
The characterisation is lovely and the psychological insight is acute. But the failures of communication and understanding are infuriating, and so sadly believable.
I’d love to say more, i’d love to quote, but I’m afraid I can’t without having to say and explain too much.
And the verse? I have to say it works wonderfully well, giving the story and the characters room to breathe and grow, and at the same time giving the story just the right rhythm and urgency.
Very clever.
Lettice Delmer is not a comfortable book, and I found it very unsettling, but it is both moving and compelling.
And certainly worthy of its dove-grey jacket.
I picked up the book that was sitting quietly, not making any attempt to draw my attention.
The idea of a novel in verse, albeit blank verse, rather intimidated me, but I put my faith in Persephone.
The opening caught my attention. Mrs Delmer, mother of Lettice and wife of the doctor in charge was visiting a “Special Hospital”, an institution for unmarried mothers and young women with venereal disease, determined to do good works and to show her support for her husband.
The bleakness and horror of such a place; the staff’s understanding of that, and that Mrs Delmer’s efforts must be tolerated; and Mrs Delmer’s embarrassment when she misreads situations are all caught perfectly.
But Mrs Delmer is determined to get things right, determined that she and her husband will do as much as they can to give help and support. They will even take a young woman into their home, and reunite her with her infant son.
Their concern is laudable, but of course it will affect their daughter.
A lovely picture is painted of Lettice, eighteen years old, spoiled, uneducated and uninformed, and yet charming. And it is easy to feel sympathetic towards Lettice, because it is so clear that she is the product of her upbringing and because she is so clearly ill-equipped to deal with what life may throw at her.
The arrival of Flora Tort and her son Derrick is not a success, but the Delmers persist.
They can’t understand what is happening to their daughter, that the disruption of her home life, her rejection by the young man with who she thought she had an understanding, will hurt her deeply and lead her to become estranged from her family.
Lettice’s life takes a downward spiral.
She is in many ways infuriating – stubborn, proud, and so often failing to understand the people and the world around he – and yet there is a vulnerability, a feeling that Lettice really cannot cope, so that it is quite impossible not to feel for her.
And her story is counterbalanced by the story of her family, as it evolves into something very different.
Lettice’s is a dark story, of depression, abortion, suicide, despair, death … but it is also a story of faith, hope and redemption.
The characterisation is lovely and the psychological insight is acute. But the failures of communication and understanding are infuriating, and so sadly believable.
I’d love to say more, i’d love to quote, but I’m afraid I can’t without having to say and explain too much.
And the verse? I have to say it works wonderfully well, giving the story and the characters room to breathe and grow, and at the same time giving the story just the right rhythm and urgency.
Very clever.
Lettice Delmer is not a comfortable book, and I found it very unsettling, but it is both moving and compelling.
And certainly worthy of its dove-grey jacket.
March 3, 2010
The content and theme of this book are really not to my taste, but a word must be said about its extraordinary form. There are few examples of a modern novel in verse; and the result here is something remarkable. The verse is never lofty or pretentious, but simply gives a taut energy and impetus to the story.
January 7, 2016
A novel in verse, but very easy to read, although I found it gruellingly emotional. It shows women struggling to recover some kind of life after suffering rape, unwanted pregnancy and venereal disease - bleak, but not without hope. I suppose the main theme is redemption.
February 4, 2017
Oh! It's in verse! I was totally surprised (though I think every single thing I have read about this book mentions that fact...) This was a super fast read and manages to convey a complicated story and a lot of emotion into it's few words. The ending is definitely one to discuss.
February 14, 2012
Novels in verse are not really to my taste, but since I love anything published by Persephone Books, I gave it a try. Fortunately, at 200 pages, it was a quick read. Very well-written.
April 19, 2013
I am astonished with how thoroughly middlebrow this book is despite the fact that it is in verse. I am glad to have read it, but I did not enjoy it over-much.
May 21, 2024
More like 3.5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews