Electricity

by Victoria Glendinning

In Victorian England, electricity is the latest scientific marvel, a fireless light that announces a new era. For Charlotte Mortimer, electricity yields something even more powerful. When she weds an ardent young engineer who is commissioned to wire the estate of a country gentleman, Charlotte finds herself in a disorienting world of new ideas and sensations--and a passion that ultimately forces her to forge a life on her own terms.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Novels, Literature, British Literature

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

British biographer, critic, broadcaster and novelist. She is President of English PEN, a winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, was awarded a CBE in 1998 and is Vice-president of the Royal Society of Literature.

Glendinning read modern languages at Oxford and worked as a teacher and social worker before becoming an editorial assistant for the Times Literary Supplement in 1974.

She has been married three times, the second to Irish writer, lawyer and editor Terence de Vere White, who died of Parkinson's disease in 1994.

Reviews

[Story · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this over 20 years ago and never forgot it. When I came across it again last week at the library, I was delighted to read it again; in fact, I enjoyed it even more the second time around.

[JoAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical fiction about a young woman who marries a man obsessed with electricity.. It is a brand new field and he is on the cutting edge. There is much in this book that will stick with me. The descriptions of the homes, the clothing, the smells, the class differences. Well done.

[Barb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once again I have to say I think the review from Publisher's Weekly gives away too much of the story and at the same time I whole heartedly agree with their criticism that as a reader it is difficult to feel emotionally connected with Charlotte the narrator.

A lot of interesting issues are woven into the story of Charlotte Mortimer's life. Set in Victorian, London, Charlotte marries Peter Fisher a brilliant young man passionate about electricity. The two of them travel to Morrow Hall, the home of Lord Godwin, who has hired Peter to convert the home to electrical lighting. Charlotte finds herself drawn to the handsome and charismatic Lord Godwin.

The events that unfold and the family history that is only ever really alluded to are all very interesting but I never felt a real connection with Charlotte. I understood her limited choices in life and sympathized with her plight but I wish that Glendinning had allowed Charlotte to explain to us why she made the choices she did. Maybe it was that she had grown up with secrets around her and thought that's how adults operate?

And while I'm not one to enjoy being left hanging, I did like the untidy ending and I think that it's part of what would make this a good book club choice. The ending is completely open for discussion.

There are also plenty of issues to discuss, fidelity always seems like an interesting topic. And what about the quiet of the country before the high voltage lines were installed? What about responsibility? What about mad men running asylums? There's a whole bunch of juicy stuff thrown in here that would be great for a group discussion. But for me I didn't love the main character and so in my opinion this book was good not great.

[CATHERINE · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a completely unique book which has a lot of layers - an historical period drama, the role of women in this point of history and their vulnerability,the implementation of electricity into normality, the spirtual world, parent/child relationships, the class system as well as descriptions of the natural world. The difference between city life and country life. Health, social standing, love, loss etc. The narrator is essentially unlikeable although everything is viewed from her perspective. She is a very detached observer of her own life, and seems emotionally remote however the reasons behind why this might be the case are referred to which may help to explain her relationships with others. Not the most likeable of people but that doesn't detract from the story and provides an interesting perspective to the narrator. I think the story will be one that sticks with you, and there are some scenes that really stay with you. A page turner but not a typical novel which can only be in its favour.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this a while ago, on loan from a friend, and then found a copy at Goodwill. Interesting book. It has stuck with me over the past year or two, and I find that at odd, stray moments, something from it pops back to mind.

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a big fan of the biographical writing of Ms Glendinning I was somewhat surprised to find she had written a novel. However I entered the book with some trepidation considering all she has so successfully written in the non-fiction arena I was unsure what to expect. Immediately I was taken with her style and prose but never fully warmed to the protagonist Charlotte. I feared for her and her questionable decision making but never felt close to her as I wished. The exciting area which I wished the author had taken us was with the beginning of women's right group and advocates. She was a single minded feminist albeit a little naive but she never fully faced her freedom until the end of the book when so much unnecessary damage ad been done. I recognise we are reading mid to late Victorian period in our 21st century eyes and I appreciate the authors attempt to be true Charlotte's time and ethos of women being second class citizens but her teacher's influence seemed to have been so strong at the beginning and at the end but where was it in the middle of the story when such strength was needed? A well worth reading well written book, I hope she writes more.

[Betty Silvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short book engaged my interest and really transported me to the people and beginning times of electrical lights in London, England. I enjoyed following the main character's life choices and family events that shaped her into a mature woman. Very interesting to experience the pros and cons of the age of electricity.

[Jackie underwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read some reviews that say Charlotte made bad life choices but I disagree. She made choices, like we all do in life. I think the only unwise choice was to go along with Ralphie and trick the sitters. But sometimes you do things and you know you shouldn’t, that’s life. I really enjoyed this book, it was different, i liked Charlotte, but I didn’t like her father!

[Jim Perry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Anything electrical is briefly incidental to this turn-of-the-century young woman's experiences (and poor life choices).

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

In short, interesting writing style. Unlikable characters. Generally unsatisfying.

[Nik Morton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Victoria Glendinning’s second novel Electricity was published in 1995. It is an excellent piece of writing narrated in the first person beginning in the period 1883.

Charlotte is reflecting on what has happened to her in the last couple of years with wit, candour and growing self-realisation. The narration is so credible the reader feels a privileged confidante.

A twenty-one-year-old stranger, Peter Fisher, was due to stay at their London suburb family home by arrangement with a relative for a modest rental. The acquisition of a lodger was timely since the father of the house had lost his job. Charlotte was eighteen. An attachment developed in the close confines. It transpired that Peter was a young genius fascinated with electricity, working with a Mr Ferranti, ‘the coming man’.

Soon after Charlotte’s Aunt Susannah came to stay at their house too. And Charlotte had to share her bedroom…

All of the characters are well-drawn, whether it’s the positively creepy father, the put-upon mother, the querulous Aunt, or the electricity-obsessed Peter. Of all these, Aunt Susannah is the most amusing.

Glendinning’s descriptions of the period, down to the finest detail of the way they lived, put the reader deep into the story. There’s plenty of humour and indeed poignancy, sadness and tragedy. Many subjects spark interest, such as animal magnetism, Mesmerism, electricity itself, dress-making, precious and semi-precious stones, English apples, séances, electroconvulsive therapy, infidelity and duplicity, all expertly woven into Charlotte’s tale.

This is a believable slice of life in the 1880s, and very well told.

[James Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Electricity by Victoria Glendinning is a Victorian tale of a young woman with prospects. Told in an engaging manner the story meanders its way as Charlotte Mortimer navigates her life firstly as daughter, then becoming a wife, then lover / adulterer. Told in the first person, the story paints a vivid picture of life in the 19th century from the point of view of women encompassing all the hardships and restrictions that bound them during this age. It caught my eye as I believed the title referred to the occupation of her husband Peter Fisher as a wireman. The sparing details about electrification of a country house were ably set out but weren't fully explored as the narrative was Charlotte's. I felt this topic could have played a bigger part with more detail but the "electricity" in the title actually referred to Charlotte's psyche as she branches into work as a medium. The book isn't long and seems somewhat half told with much of Charlotte's future still waiting to happen, the body of the story encompassing three or four years or so at most. The tale is consequently a little slight and while interesting I wasn't totally taken with the lead character due to the casual way in which she seemed to lead her life. Nevertheless this was an interesting diversion to the usual books I have read of late and certainly worth the effort.

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

The blurb sounded integuing, historical novel about something we take for granted and we're now looking at it in a different way (such as electric powered cars) and how people view it 100 years later, alongside a tale of a 'sensual and spirited' women.

I felt there were undertones in the first 'notebook' of things left unsaid that we would find out about later.
The relationship with her husband Peter came up an abrupt end and the complain of her own disability didn't seem to add anything to the story.

Very little about electricity in the latter parts of the book and unsure why she's persued the career after did, felt like I was missing something...

The ending was frustrating, as it left me hanging and after having persevered with the book, hoping there would be a grand conclusion at the end that would make the time spent reading it have some sense and context, it didn't.

It could be an interesting read for a book club, as there were several facets and charterers that could be discussed further from other readers perspectives but for me, it fell short

[Rachel Gruber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing my mission to read my bookshelf and this one was next on the list.

Short, atmospheric, and surprisingly to me, very autumnal. I wasn't expecting this to have such strong autumn vibes when I picked it up, but the gloomy Victorian England setting really felt so well suited to autumn.

While sometimes I found myself banging my head over Charlotte's decisions, I still enjoyed her story and her journey. While the ending left you hanging, I like that there was a smidge of hope in the final few pages.

Will definitely revisit this one.

[Sarah Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this novel. It kept me reading by continuous plot surprises. Victoria Glendinning sets the story against the background of nineteenth century wealth inequality and industrial development. The detail about the introduction of electricity and towards the end , the niceties of apple growing gives the story depth. However I do think there is a problem in putting historical research into a novel. Just occasionally here the presence of the author was a little too strong.

[Jackie Delaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this novel some years ago and loved it. The change from candlelight to the harshness of electricity is enthralling and evocative. This change to glaring electricity from the soft light of candles wrough many changes on society, and the protaganistic experiences most of them. Beautifully evocative of life when candles ruled.

[Alison Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and unusual story.

[Judith Falkner · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a bit too romanacy for my taste but well written . Enjoyed it more once the protagonist was on her own.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the randomness of second-hand bookshops; the appeal of finding a long out of print book that you've been searching for for ages is matched by the pleasure in discovering books you've never heard of and would never have found by any other means. Electricity is one such find, picked up in the Oxfam shop in Keswick a couple of years ago, it's a tale of technological innovation and domestic life in late Victorian England with a completely engaging young female lead character. Although only 250 pages long, it feels like a much more comprehensive and immersive historical novel. Taking in the excitement of rapid technological development, the craze for spiritualism, class relations, Victorian sanctimoniousness and hypocrisy and various love stories, it is packed with incident and detail. What I'll remember most, though, is the remarkable recreation of the small, often overlooked details of domestic life, so we'll done that the reader can smell, taste and feel the world it describes.

[Gillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was on my shelves for over 20 years before I read it, and I am so glad I finally did. This is a very nice character study of a young woman, Charlotte, at the dawn of electricity coming into the mainstream for the population. The story follows Charlotte as she navigates leaving her London home with her new husband, who is working on an estate switching over from gas lamps. But the Electricity title also refers to the power of love and attraction with the interplay of two men in young Charlotte's life, and the choices she makes. This is an easy, engaging, and thoughtful read.

[Barbara Sibbald]

Victoria Glendinning is known as a biographer (Rebecca West, Leonard Woolf, Vita Sackville-West, Edith Sitwell, Elizabeth Bowen etc.), indeed Vita is a very fine book. Here she turns to fiction set in the late Victorian era when electricity was just coming to be. Charlotte marries Ralph who is involved in that venture, with his sight firmly on the future, while she struggles with her past and tries to see a future. She even gets involved in spiritualism. I wanted to like this and though I found it interesting (particularly the wealth of detail on the homes and living conditions), I was not emotionally engaged in Charlotte's life. I was a cool observer. Like a biographer? I don't know.

[Lynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was very unique in its writing style, and it had some very interesting historical aspects to it, including some cool descriptions of how electricity was first introduced to homes, but I did not care for the main character and her poor life decisions. The way she narrated was often without feeling, sometimes cold take on situations. There were some very dark parts to this book, including child abuse which was at one part graphically written. I don't know how this book got on my to-read list, and I don't know why I finished it, other than the need to see it come out with a happy ending. Which it more or less did not.

[Melanie Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was great to read a book with scenes set in my hometown of Hitchin. I thought this book was well-wrtitten and brought the period to life. It was a shame that I didn't like the characters very much, but maybe I oughtn't to be too judgmental given the constraints of the time.... (obviously I am not referring here to the incidents of child abuse mentioned, which is abhorrent and inexcusable in any context!)

[Elaine Cougler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Electricity by Victoria Glendinning takes the period of electricity developing from one rich home to another--not in whole cities yet--and builds a story around that concept. Metaphorically Electricity also abounds with sparks flying between Charlotte Mortimer and her young husband, the electricity king. Interesting to learn more about the times.

[Velvetink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Then ending was a bit weak and predictable and disappointing compared to the rest, rushed maybe...but still enjoyable and interesting about the period in England when Electricity first was installed. although 11.10.2013 1 of 22 books for $10 (fill a bag)

[Carey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, although I never really cared about the narrator.

[The Chicks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kim's pick