Under the Harrow

by Mark Dunn

What if Charles Dickens had written a contemporary thriller? In Under the Harrow , a group of Victorians live a semi-idyllic and unwitting, anachronistic existence, aided only by minimal trade-related contact with the supposedly plague-ridden Outland. They are products of an experiment that had become a lucrative, voyeuristic peep-box for millionaires and their billionaire descendants. But the experiment has run its course, and Dingley Dell must be totally expunged–and with it, all trace of the thousands of men, women, and children who live there. A few Dinglians learn the secret of both their manipulated past and their doomed future, and it is this motley group of Dickensian innocents who must race the clock to save their fellow countrymen and themselves from mass annihilation. Under the Harrow showcases the kind of dazzling wordplay and narrative richness that have made Mark Dunn's novels and plays both commercially successful and critically acclaimed.

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Victorian, Conspiracy Theories, Contemporary, Science Fiction Fantasy

590 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Mark Dunn is the author of several books and more than thirty full-length plays, a dozen of which have been published in acting edition.

Mark has received over 200 productions of his work for the stage throughout the world, with translations of his plays into French, Italian, Dutch and Hungarian. His play North Fork (later retitled Cabin Fever: A Texas Tragicomedy when it was picked up for publication by Samuel French) premiered at the New Jersey Repertory Company (NJRC) in 1999 and has since gone on to receive numerous productions throughout the U.S.

Mark is co-author with NJRC composer-in-residence Merek Royce Press of Octet: A Concert Play, which received its world premiere at NJRC in 2000. Two of his plays, Helen’s Most Favorite Day and Dix Tableaux, have gone on to publication and national licensing by Samuel French. His novels include the award-winning Ella Minnow Pea, Welcome to Higby, Ibid, the children’s novel The Calamitous Adventures of Rodney and Wayne, Under the Harrow and Feral Park.

Mark teaches creative writing and leads playwriting seminars around the country, in addition to serving as Vice President of the non-profit PULA (People United for Libraries in Africa), which he founded with his wife, Mary, in 2002.

(modified bio courtesy of http://njrep.org/playwrights.htm)

Reviews

[Jason Pettus · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

This oversized novel has gotten a bad rap from a lot of reviewers, from being unfavorably compared to other projects for which it shouldn't; it's not exactly a ripoff of The Truman Show, although it shares one of its elements, and it's not exactly a ripoff of M. Night Shyamalen's The Village, despite sharing an element of that, and it's not exactly a steampunk or alt-history novel either, although it certainly feels like both at various moments. Instead, it's a clever epic about a small New England town that seems at first to have come straight out of a James Howard Kunstler post-oil thriller -- one that after an unnamed apocalyptic event has reverted to an insular, pre-tech, Luddite existence, which has had only a copy of the Bible and the complete works of Charles Dickens to guide their arts and culture over the last century, which is why this account of their awakening to the reality of the outside world is written in such delightfully Dickensian prose. The plot itself is best left a surprise, which is why I won't detail any more of it today; but suffice to say that those who enjoy smart and well-done neo-retro genre tales should definitely go out of their way to pick this up.

Out of 10: 8.5

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read and really liked Ella Minnow Pea back in 2004 (I am a sucker for epistolary novels and also for wordplay) but I hadn't sought out or heard about anything else by Mark Dunn until I saw Jenny's post about Under the Harrow back in June. The promise of another quirkily charming book by Mark Dunn was very exciting, and I'm glad to say that, though I initially had a hard time getting into this book, by the end I was pretty won over.

Under the Harrow is the story of a place called Dingley Dell, which seems a lot like Dickensian England, except that the events of the story take place in 2003, in a valley whose precise location isn't known to its residents. (They've figured out their latitude from the angle of the sun, but don't know their longitude, though some guess that they're probably in Ohio or Pennsylvania.) At the start of the book, eleven-year-old Newman Trimmers, nephew of the book's narrator, runs away "to see the world" (13). Which is a problem, because no one who isn't foolish leaves Dingley Dell: few of those who leave for "the Outland" ever return, and those who do make it back are invariably hospitalized for madness—some infection from the world beyond the valley apparently afflicts the brains of those Dinglians who venture forth into it. The valley, meanwhile, has quite an odd history: an orphanage was founded there in 1882; in 1890, all the adults of the valley left, leaving behind a letter explaining that there was a terrible pandemic, that one of them was infected and the rest exposed, and that they had to leave for the safety of the children. Who, incidentally, have a broad enough age-range and have been taught enough trades and vocational skills that they manage to survive. The children and their descendants build a society around the trades they've been taught and around the small library that's been left with them (the ninth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, the Bible, a dictionary, an atlas, and the works of Charles Dickens). At some point they begin to trade with some Outlanders who have, apparently, survived the pandemic, but actual contact with the outside world beyond business exchange never happens, and the society of the valley continues along more or less Dickensianly for decades... until Newman's flight to the Outland, along with the mysterious death of the wife of a rich villager, starts a string of questions and events into motion.

The story is framed as Newman's uncle's writing of the tale after the fact (he's a writer by trade, and, indeed, a journalist, so it makes sense that he would have interviewed everyone involved to get the whole picture), and many of the chapters that center around Dingley Dell and its denizens aim to capture the speech and style of the valley world. This means that the narrative is often funny/ridiculous, so ridiculous that I nearly abandoned the book entirely: it's just so over the top, and until the point at which we start to hear more about where Newman went and what he saw after he left the valley, I wasn't really engaged with the story. Passages like the below were amusing, but didn't seem amusing enough to carry the rest of a 500+-page-book. Luckily, the story gets exciting, so the jokes didn't have to carry the book:

Malvina Potterson continued to bubble and babble as she led me inside and into the fat armchair that her husband had occupied up to the very moment of his death and then a few inconvenient hours thereafter. Betty followed along, her head bobbing, one hand brushing aside a nettlesome fly that had entered the domicile expressly to torment all of her facial projections as it sought a potential landing place, and in the end achieved a small measure of victory in the annals of insectival annoyance by prompting the beleaguered young woman to swat herself hard upon the nose. (30)

[Madeleine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the last 19% at work and I really, really wish I hadn't because I was far too emotionally invested in what happened to these characters. I haven't fought back tears over fictional tragedies like this since I watched "Toy Story 3" and I have never beamed with such joy over fictional victories since.... well, ever.

I maintain that Mark Dunn is a writer's writer, as evidenced by his dazzling wordsmithing prowess. The story he spun in this charming anachronistic gem is absolutely enchanting and the characters with which he populates a fictional Arcadian valley are some of the most realistic I've had the pleasure of encountering.

Dunn deserves to be commended further for the way he juxtaposes a modern America against a frozen-in-time Dickensian society. Additionally, his mimicry of Dickens's style is nigh seamless. The author has done what countless teachers and an English degree failed to do: make me wonder if my dislike of Charles Dickens might be unfounded.

My only gripe is that the story moved a little slowly at first, in that Dunn lingered a little too long on characters I hadn't warmed to yet. But that might also be attributable to how my Kindle died within a week of its acquisition, stalling my progress in this tale by a good number of weeks while Amazon took its sweet time sending me a replacement.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this novel is set in western Pennsylvania in 2004, the characters in the odd town of Dingley Dell seem more suited to a Dickens novel than to a novel about twenty-first century Americans. Their language, technology, and culture seem more like 1880 than 2004. And while they are aware of the existence of those who live outside the borders of their town, they do not travel beyond their borders nor do they receive visits from the "Outsiders." The novel is narrated by one Frederick Trimmers, Esq., who was a resident of Dingley Dell, and his first person narrative is convincing, except when he uses it to tell stories that he had not witnessed. Those chapters slide into third person point of view with occasional awkward sentences like, "'Where are you taking me?' asked my nephew. A book written after 2004 (published in fall of 2010) could certainly get away with keeping that third person point of view when reporting scenes Frederick Trimmers had not seen for himself. But that is a small quibble. The story and the concepts behind it are worth reading. Once hooked into the characters and story, the book just pulls a reader along at quite a pace. While being familiar with Dickens' work and time makes the language accessible at once, the reader with no such reading experience need not fear reading this book. The suspense will keep such a reader faithful to the end.

[Trish · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Dickensian 'Truman Show.' Enjoyable in spite of the fact (as with 'The Truman Show') that I don't entirely buy it. I don't doubt the depravity, rather I doubt that enough people would be interested enough in Dingley Dell to keep the quixotic project going for more than 100 years, and I really doubt that the wealthy residents who were bought off with Outland trinkets could successfully keep the stuff from being discovered for more than 100 years.

Still, it's an absorbing read with engaging characters. The first several chapters can be slow going, but once the conspiracy begins to unravel, events accelerate toward a dramatic and mostly satisfying conclusion. I wish Newman's fate were revealed -- I'd like to think that he adapts to the Outland and perhaps becomes a pilot.

"...corporate playfellows, crapular with an overdose of power and privilege..."

[Jake Forbes · Rating 1 out of 5]

Picked this up on a whim from the library's new release shelf as the cover was mysterious and elegant for something filed under sci-fi.

I really enjoyed the first 100 pages or so in a nerdy bibliophile way, but after the reveal, which comes early, the book suffers from a few major flaws. For one, the first person narration just doesn't work. It really seems as if Dunn wanted to write 3rd person, but didn't want to give up the fun of writing with pseudo-period prose. Second, while its easy enough to suspend disbelief for the Dinglian characters, the other characters lack the grounding in reality that they need for the book's premise to hold up. Finally, while Dunn does an admirable job recreating some aspects of Dickensian prose, his narrator lacks the wit and heart that makes Dickens' long-winded prose so effective.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give it an extra half point if Goodreads so allowed just for being so delightful a conceit. Unwieldy in execution but, there again, so was Dickens. I'd only give him three stars too (except for "Bleak House").

[Bree Sechelski · Rating 1 out of 5]

For me personally, it was very hard to follow.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an inventive, creative dystopian saga. The author had a lot of stamina to weave this rather complicated story and tie all the ends together; I believe he succeeded in doing so. The story is about a community of people who live hidden away somewhere in the U.S. (we later learn they are in Pennsylvania). They live in modern times but are unaware of the world outside their Dickensian, Victorian-era culture. The story is told by one of the citizens of this society known as Dingley Dell, and through him we learn of many other inhabitants of the town and of a dastardly plot by the Outlanders beyond the borders of Dingley Dell. Dinglians are deservedly wary of wandering into the Outland, and the plot against Dingley Dell is gradually revealed. Of course, the Reader cheers for the Dinglians to survive. But not all the Dinglians are the good guys, and not all of the Outlanders are bad. Thus, the complicated twists and turns that keep one turning the pages (lots of them) of this intriguing fantasy. Also interesting are some of the Dickensian-era, Victorian words one learns throughout the reading.

[Magill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I continue to think that the author has a phenomenal way with words, no doubt his being a playwright contributes much to that (as well as his plot development). I have read Mark Dunn's prior books, most having their own conceit (told entirely by letters, or by footnotes) but this, a Dickensian style, seems the most ambitious to date. That being said, it was a slow book and, as I laboured through it, I was grateful that the selected style did not include the tiny print often used for Dickens, as I would have had to cease all effort entirely.

The novelty of the style wore off sufficiently, so that it maintained the merest incentive to continue. The story-line was slow and detailed, but the pace became almost painful as the book neared its end. It was the skill and talent of the author that impelled me to continue but it was relief that was the emotion at the end. Not a book for the impatient, nor for those who have to return the book to the library before leaving town shortly.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a conversation earlier this week with a fellow reader about how young adult dystopias, for the most part, fall flat and fail to convince. The “governments” are often bizarre social experiments that couldn’t last. The economics don’t work. The politics don’t work. Occasionally, books like Mark Dunn’s Under the Harrow come along to show other authors how it’s done. There is a social experiment at the heart of this book. In valley somewhere along the 41st parallel, there are 11,000 people living in a curious Victorian-flavored society. Somehow, they have been passed over by 121 years of history. As the novel develops, we learn that there was a conspiracy inside and outside of the valley working to keep the experiment going. Under the Harrow opens just a few weeks before the wheels come off the whole enterprise...

Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.

[Teri Kuhn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking forward to this book because I loved everything I ever read by Mark Dunn. And I thought I would love that the isolated valley remained a Dickensian society, but I have to say, I found it to be difficult to read at times. The narrator seemed to take many words to get to the heart of what he was saying. Then it hit me: I don't think I like Dickens that much. I feel like I should love Dickens because 1) I majored in English Lit in college, 2) I love other Victorian authors with passion, and 3) I love Louisa May Alcott and she loved Dickens so by rights I should love him, too. However, in truth, his novels are kind of cumbersome. I'm a fan of brevity; I like when authors get to the point. I felt like this story could have been told in a much shorter amount of pages. But, the story itself is excellent. I like the premise and the way the plot developed. For me, it just dragged a bit too much.

[Ashlyn Gebbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally picked this book up because of the unique story. I like Dickens, and I was interested to see how Mark Dunn would put a modern twist on it. While the book was decent, I had a hard time getting through it. Some of the characters were odd or hard to connect to. In particular, I was never a huge fan of Trimmers. I just felt like the soul was missing.

Even though the characters were lacking, the storyline was certainly interesting and a little disturbing. That's what kept me reading even though I was frustrated with the characters. I wanted to see how the actual story would play out.

So, not a great book, but an ok book. The connection between Dickens and the present was interesting, and I liked recognizing characters I'd met before. Worth reading, but not one to reread.

[Jokim Toon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Premise: five stars. Execution: three stars.

I know Mark Dunn wanted to have a narrator who wrote in Dickensian English, which I found delightful, but having a character in the story function as the first-person narrator and yet write many passages like an omniscient third-person author doesn't really work, in my opinion. Perhaps the narrator could have said in the beginning that he was writing a novel based on true events and then left himself out of the story for the most part, or only revealed at the end which of the characters he, himself, was. Something, in any case, could have been done to make the narration more consistent.

Still, this is a gem, and it deserves a wider audience.

[Ginny Pennekamp · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK, I'll confess: I read half of this book, was actually beginning to enjoy it, and then thought, "I have got to read something entertaining or I am going to die." This book isn't terrible, it's got some enjoyable characters and the spin on the standard plot is fun enough. But something is also really dry and smothering about the whole exercise, and I don't know if it's that Dickens always puts me to sleep, or I saw M. Night's The Village already, or exactly what it is but yeah... man, plowing through this book felt like work and never once did I smile picking it up at the end of the day. I'm done for now. Life is too short.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the most original concepts I've encountered in some time. Imagine a society of 11,000 people in rural Pennsylvania, which believes it is fenced in to protect from a worldwide plague, that bases it's culture on an old encyclopedia britannica and the collected works of Charles Dickens. Some curious individuals have left the settlement, but any who return are automatically thrown into Bedlam for treatment and kept isolated. When a few citizens begin to unravel the true history of Dingley Dell, and realize its days might be numbered, the story turns into a modern conspiracy thriller told in the language of Dickens. It took awhile to get going, but eventually I was hooked.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story line is based on an interesting premise (there's a valley in Pennsylvania that has been kept apart from the rest of society and its growth since the 1880's - they've progressed a little, but not much - mostly because they had almost no literature, and strictly limited contact with the outside world). Most enjoyable was the author's very effective affectation of the Dickensian writing style and locution. That made it slow to get into, for those of us who don't currently read a lot of Dickens, but reminded me of just how lovely language can be. Makes me want to grab up some Dickens, and ignore the stack of more modern novels sitting on the To Be Read shelf.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading and absolutely adoring Ella Minnow Pea I was very interested to read another book by Mark Dunn. Although Under the Harrow is a much more hefty volume and took a bit longer to get into, in the end I wasn't disappointed. Truly unlike anything else I've read before, it somehow seemed to be a mix of classic English fiction, science fiction and George Orwell... Strange, but somehow it works out to be a very compelling story. And, like Ella Minnow Pea, what starts out cute and quirky soon turns deadly serious.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommend -- an original story line about a community still living in the Victorian era in early 21st century Pennsylvania. An experiment begun in 1890 has left a group of orphans to build a world where their only references are the novels of Dickens and a set of encyclopedias. Now Dingley Dell has 11,000 inhabitants, and some of them are beginning to question the stories and presumptions that have kept them from leaving the valley. Their search for answers intersects with the project sponsors' plan to end the experiment without leaving any evidence behind. Well written with a very Victorian flavor as the narrator is a resident of the Dell.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book about an isolated community that had a limited literary contact-- the works of Dickens, Encyclopedia Britannica 9th edition, the Bible and a dictionary. Since the "author" is a resident of the community, the book has a neo-Dickensian prose style. I enjoyed learning a lot of archaic words!

I liked the premise and the literary style. The world-building started out in an interesting way. However, I think the pacing of the reveals about the true nature of the community was off. After the reveals, I wasn't as interested in the plot, so the ending dragged for me. A number of plot twists seemed unprobably convenient as well. I wish the conspiracy had been more human.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, how I absolutely LOVE Mark Dunn! From the creative mind of Ella Minnow Pea and Ibid (leaving out Welcome to Higby because it's a plain novel) comes another tour de force. Sort of like M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, but with a Victorian, Dickensian slant: this thriller reads like a boring Jane Austen novel! And therein lies another example of Dunn's genius: he wraps a style around a great story. Can't help but love and hate the intentional snail's pace of the plot, reeking with alliteration, etc. Dunn is a gem that not many people know about.

[Sean Patrix · Rating 5 out of 5]

• Under the Harrow. By Mark Dunn. I can’t begin to express how much I enjoyed this novel. Imagine a group of people hidden away in a secret valley in Pennsylvania, who have been cut off from the rest of civilization for the last century – and whose main learning consists of the complete collection of Charles Dickens. Lots of dark secrets are about to be revealed. I’m on the lookout for more books by Dunn. An excellent fantasy novel.

[CD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very clever, very well written. It is a strange little novel with an odd premise, but it works. It works.

Sometimes you just want to read sentences out loud just to hear the musicality of them, they are so beautiful. All of his characters are well thought out and full of depth and emotion. Even the despicable ones have a redeeming characteristic, usually hidden, but somewhere, hidden.

A pleasureable read.

[Marcie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Liked the Dickensian flavor and vocab. The premise of an experimental Dickensian society in modern age about to be destroyed was very interesting. Unfortunately, another author trying to sprinkle in homosexuality (where is this in Dickens???!?) where it is unnecessary and unwanted as well as unrealistic (why are none of them antagonists?). Another class warfare book that is also against the rich and those in government or military.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has been frustrating me for months. It has all these elements that I traditionally love: a somewhat Dickensian narrator, mystery, people drinking tea. I want to love this book. I feel like I should love this book. But I don't.
It sits on my book shelf with the book mark no further along than the last time I got bored and set it down in favor of something better to read. I'd be interested to hear what others have to say about it.

[Kiersten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite. Dunn's story of the Dickensian society hidden away in a valley started out with such promise. I like the narrator's voice, and the society or old women he kept. But as the book went on (and on...and on) anything enchanting was replaced with strange, depressing, and downright yucky. I give the book 3 stars for making me think about the way our society has developed, but tha's all I can give it considering I was so happy to finally be done with the book.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love the diverse range of characters in this book. Mark Dunn manages to communicate a huge manner of ideas thorough Dickensian language, neatly showing the differences and similarities between modern times and Victorian ones. It's fantastic and intriguing.the poaching is excellent! It grows more and more rapid as the text progresses and gosh his style is wonderful. I think I'll be returning to this one again

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whew! Only took me 8 months to read. A fun book written in Dickensian, very Dickensian style. One of those read a couple chapters, put it down for a few weeks, read a little more. In the end it became my read whilst in the bath tub book. Maybe I'll eventually get through Bleak House in the same way.

[Amy Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was difficult to get into at first. Kind of slow going. However, once I was a few chapters in I was hooked. I enjoy the concepts that this author comes up with. Once I got several chapters in, I really felt connected to the characters. How the lives of the townspeople become intertwined, and the relationships that develop held my interest and made me feel invested in the story.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This definitely ranks third under Ella Minnow Pea and Ibid, but it was enjoyable. My main complaint was the ridiculous black and white characters. There were good guys, and bad guys, and the good guy who becomes a bad guy and then goes back to being a good guy. Very predictable and disappointing.