Young Renny

Jalna #4

by Mazo de la Roche

First published in 1935, Young Renny takes us even further back in the Whiteoak family saga to 1906. Renny, the young master of Jalna, is just eighteen. His twenty-year-old sister Meg is engaged to marry the young man next door, Maurice Vaughan Uncle Nick and Uncle Ernest, now in their fifties, have squandered their inheritances abroad on high living and reside again at Jalna. But the plot thickens further, when two outsiders join the A gypsy woman, who seduces Renny, and a distant cousin from Ireland, who befriends Gran, moves into Jalna, and spies on the family. This is book 4 of 16 in The Whiteoak Chronicles . It is followed by Whiteoak Heritage .

Genres: Fiction, Canada, Historical Fiction, Family Saga, Historical, Romance

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1935

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

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

YOUNG RENNY is set in 1906 and therefore qualifies as a "flashback" novel, featuring Renny Whiteoak in his young (pre-Alayne) days. He's not yet twenty years old. He's handsome and virile and arrogant. He has his first roll in the hay with a gypsy woman, but afterwards he has to deal with major fall-out from the family. He's also feuding with Irish cousin Malahide Court, who competes with him in a local horse show. Malahide is a nasty, treacherous, lisping sychophant who attaches himself to the old grandmother. Much conflict is generated by Renny's dislike for this man, upon whom he (Renny) and sister Meg play a number of mean-spirited pranks. Malahide, in turn, takes real pleasure in evening the score...

As an added bonus there is Meg's broken engagement, which we first heard about in JALNA. Meg cancels the wedding after learning that her betrothed, Maurice Vaughan, has fathered an illegitimate child. This baby, of course, will grow up to be Pheasant, who plays a prominent role in the rest of the series. There's some humor, too, for readers who have already read JALNA, in knowing that Meg will wait twenty years before forgiving poor ol' Maurice! So much for the Whiteoak stubbornness. It's fun, too, to see Eden and Piers as tiny boys, already showing traits that foreshadow the men they will become.

In my opinion, YOUNG RENNY is the best "flashback" Jalna novel. It's well-written and fast-paced. Cousin Malahide in particular is a memorable character that you'll love to hate. Don't miss this one.

[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

[Craig Rowland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young Renny by Mazo de la Roche is a prequel to both of the de la Roche novels I have already read. This one, although written in 1935, takes place in 1906. At this time Renny is eighteen years old, and is a randy stripling who gets involved intimately with two women. One of them, Lulu, is part Gypsy and old enough to be his mother. She is a true MILF from the last century. This is my third de la Roche novel and although her books are nearly a century old, I always assert in these reviews that she could have written them yesterday. Aside from a few words that were more popular at the time, such as stripling and a curious overuse of the adjective and noun indolent / indolence, de la Roche wrote realistic dialogue and had some pretty steamy sexy interplays between Renny and Lulu. No wonder I couldn’t put this book down. There’s a lot of romping around in the hay here–in a literal and figurative sense.

The comedy in Young Renny comes from the visit of a distant cousin of matriarch Adeline, Malahide Court. Malahide is nothing more than a freeloader yet is a wannabe aristocrat. All his life he floats from house to house, sponging off family members, each relative getting more distant along the family tree line. No one, absolutely no one at Jalna can put up with him, except for Adeline whom he has learned to wrap around his finger. Even on his first day at Jalna while being introduced by Adeline, Renny and his sister Meg share this covert exchange:

“‘This fellow is making me sick. Do you mean to say we’ve got to have him about for weeks?’
“‘Even months,’ answered Meg. ‘Isn’t he awful? His clothes–his waist! I believe he wears corsets!'”

Malahide soon took to Jalna as if he owned the place and “was never embarrassed, no matter where he was discovered, always proffering some glib explanation of his curiosity and drifting unabashed into further investigations.” No wonder, then, when he started to snoop around the stables:

“He showed too that he could ride a horse, his incredibly long thin figure seeming to become a part of the spirited mare Renny had hoped would throw him.”

After a period where no one wants to say anything to him directly or have conveyed to him through Adeline, the Whiteoaks give up and eventually tell Malahide, without innuendo or subtlety, that they really cannot stand him being around anymore. The barbs directed at him from various Whiteoak members go right over his head or he just laughs them off. The funniest moments are the spontaneous and unexpected outbursts of Adeline’s parrot Boney, who had been taught to say “To hell with Malahide!”.

Renny is not the only stripling who enjoys sleeping around. The novel begins with the news that Meg’s fiancé Maurice Vaughan had fathered a child with another woman. The infant is left on his doorstep by the woman he was fooling around with, who leaves him. Word soon gets out and the wedding is called off. Meanwhile, Adeline is curious to see the baby and goes over to visit Maurice’s parents. Even after subsequent rereadings, I still laugh over this passage which shows a dichotomy of opinion:

“They found the infant asleep in a bassinet in Mrs. Vaughan’s dressing room. In one hand it grasped the rubber tube of a feeding bottle, the nipple of which was still wet. Downy dark hair clung in moist rungs on its head, which, like the bud of a flower, pushed, tender and relentless, from its sheath. As they looked down on it, its lips widened in a secret smile that flickered a moment across its face and was gone.
“‘It hears the angels,’ whispered Mrs. Vaughan.
“‘More likely it’s just wet itself,’ said Adeline.”

I loved this novel, and will be reading more from de la Roche this year.

Now a note on the front cover. All of de la Roche’s Jalna novels have been reprinted as large format paperbacks. I am glad that they have been issued this way with their beautiful new covers. I have to ask why the image of a young woman holding a guitar was chosen for Young Renny. The novel was named after Renny Whiteoak, who is a young man of eighteen. For those unfamiliar with the Jalna series, Renny might be construed as a feminine name, leading one to falsely believe that the woman on the front cover was Renny. If I were to relate the photo to anyone in the book, it might be Vera, Renny’s second and much younger girlfriend, or Meg, his sister. It could be Lulu, but the cover photo is that of a younger woman than Lulu. The print on the seal is too small to read without a magnifying aid, but it reads The Whiteoaks Chronicles. The family name is Whiteoak, so the seal should read either The Whiteoak Chronicles (better) or The Whiteoaks’ Chronicles. This is not the first time I have read Whiteoaks for Whiteoak on the back covers of these reprints. I also wonder if the type had been totally revised and reset, as I noticed the misspelling of “golden yokes” instead of “golden yolks” in a description of a breakfast table. Surely de la Roche didn’t spell the word as yokes, and kept it that way for the past ninety years?

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book #4 in the Jalna series. This is a fun book in the Whiteoak family saga. The family has a supercilious visitor from Ireland, and young Renny, the oldest of Philip's children, becomes interested in a local gypsy woman. There was a lot of humor in this book, with Philip's children often interacting with their grandmother Adelaide. I loved the scenes with Boney the parrot. A very enjoyable read!

[Saj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part four of the series and oi, with the drama! There's mysterious older women teaching younger men about love, there's cheating and heartbreak and babies and a really annoying cousin with a hilarious name (Malahide!). Needless to say I loved it and Adeline is just one rocking' grandma!

[Amma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Same as previous Jalna books. There are at least 13 of them! You follow the family in love, death and the birth of new babies.

[Ginny · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time I read it loved it.

[Raftul_cu_carti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dacă ești fan Bridgerton atunci îți va plăcea si seria de cărți,,Jalna" a lui Mazo de la Roche.
Publicata pentru prima data in 1935, cartea se intoarce in trecutul familiei Whiteoak, pana la anul 1906. Renny, tanarul stapan de la Jalna, are doar 18 ani. Sora lui mai mare, de 20 de ani, Meg este logodita cu un tanar vecin, Maurice Vaughan. Unchii Nick si Ernest, care au in jur de 50 de ani, si-au risipit mostenirile in strainatate traind pe picior mare, iar acum s-au intors sa locuiasca la Jalna. Si lucrurile se complica si mai mult, cand acestui amestec de personaje li se alatura doi straini, care fac mai picanta viata familiei : o tiganca, care-l seduce pe Renny, si un verisor indepartat din Irlanda, care devine cel mai bun prieten al lui Gran. Aceasta este a patra carte din saga familiei Whiteoak de la Jalna
Nu te poți plictisii, chiar și detaliile sunt plăcute la cartea aceasta🥰
(Când am cumpărat o nu știam ca este o serie ,aceasta este cartea a 4 a, dar btw recomand)

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young Renny is the fourth chronological book of the series. Published in 1935, this book takes place in 1906. Renny and Meg now have two younger half-brothers: Eden, aged 5 and Piers, aged: almost 2.

This book examines the thwarted engagement between Meg Whiteoak and neighbor, Maurice Vaughn.

We also get to know irresistible Renny, who women of all ages adore. Renny meets an older woman who becomes enamored of him. They have a brief affair and then go their separate ways. Renny also meets and woos a young woman, Vera Lacey. They become engaged, but she returns to England and nothing comes of it.

The reader is also introduced to Malahaide Court, a distant cousin of who figures prominently in Wakefield’s Course.

[Elinor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This entire series is probably the most fast, fun, and enjoyable one I have ever tackled. The books just roar along and I come to the last page unexpectedly every time. Young Renny, Adelaide's grandson, now aged nineteen, is learning about his own sexuality and the women are glad of it. The other predominant character is Malahide Court, a thoroughly distasteful visitor from Ireland who gets his comeuppance when he is attacked by a trumpeter swan! Really, you couldn't make this stuff up -- except that Mazo de la Roche did!

[Jean Carlton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable read. Continued used of great characters, good scene and nature descriptions, good pace, humor, action. Next . . . #5.
I find I can't leave this series alone. They are fast, fun reads so I am easily able to mix in other reading. I continue to marvel at how Ms. De la Roche was able to achieve writing the chronological narrative years and years apart over 15+ years!

[Barbara Choo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have insomnia and some recommend to read a simple boring book to help fall asleep.
So when I found the Jalna series on kindle I thought why not. I had read them back in the late 1950s and loved them I wondered u if I would still like them . Well they were great medicine to clam the mind and slip into dreamland.

[Terhi Varjoranta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suom. Jalnan nuori Renny

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The narrative felt clunkier than the first three but still amusing.

[Senga Time · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ciężka sprawa mieć taką rodzinę, ale trzeba sobie jakoś radzić. Waśnie, zatargi, antypatie, ale też miłość, przyjaźń czyli przepis na udaną sagę rodzinną.

[Sabine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pourquoi les héros de cette saga sont ils si peu sympathiques?

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loving this series! The characters, the humor and all the drama. 🙂

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a freshness in style that is so unique. I think it is a great gift to write a story without intriguing twists and turns and still keep the reader engaged.

[Meg Ulmes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am reading my dad's favorite series of books. It took me months to get this one from the library. I enjoyed reading it, but I wish the author would show me more and tell me less. I love the characters, especially the title one Renny. I guess I'm saying that I would like more substance--this narrative seemed a bit thin. However, I'm ready to move on to the next novel--and I'm hoping for some more depth!

[Carolyn Agosta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fourth in the Jalna series, by order of events. Young Renny takes place in 1906 and is a real coming-of-age book. Quite humorous in places. Written in 1935, there's a subltety about one of the characters(Malahide)that I was surprised to find. Adeline remains a force to be reckoned with. Don't miss this book if you're reading the Jalna series!

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really quite like Phillip and am sorry he is only in a couple of books. Meg is still likable in this book--at least to a point, although I know she becomes one of my least favorite. The whole storyline with the cousin from Ireland was amusing, with all the ways they use Wakefield and the parrot to annoy him.

[Zéro Janvier · Rating 3 out of 5]

J'avais dévoré tout Jalna quand j'étais adolescent, et si je suis incapable aujourd'hui de me souvenir de chacun des tomes qui composent cette saga gigantesque, je me souviens tout de même que j'avais pris beaucoup de plaisir à découvrir cette famille et ce domaine familial que l'on suit pendant presque un siècle.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, a good, decent novel, although Renny's and Meg's unkind treatment of their distant and rather deplorable Irish cousin and matriarch Adeline's overbearing treatment of most everybody were a bit wearying. On to Jalna #5!

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the fourth in a wonderful series about the Whiteoak family. I cannot wait to complete the entire series!

[Katherine Blocksdorf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great installment in the Jalna Series.