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Jalna #12
Wakefield's Course
Originally published in 1941, Wakefield’s Course begins in the spring of 1939 at Jalna. Renny Whiteoak is keen to sail for Ireland with his small daughter, Adeline, to buy a racehorse, but he’s more eager to see his younger cousins, Finch and Wakefield, who have been living in London. On his arrival in England, Renny becomes entangled in his cousins’ affairs of the heart. This is book 12 of 16 in The Whiteoak Chronicles . It is followed by Return to Jalna .
344 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1941
About the author
Mazo de la Roche
365 books64 followersMazo 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 15, 2020
Wakefield’s Course is the twelfth book in the series. Published in 1941, it is 1939 in Jalna. As the title suggests, the story focuses on Wakefield.
War looms on the horizon. Wakefield and Finch are in London. The reader is introduced to new characters, Molly Griffith, Paris Court, and Johnny the Bird. Dermot Court also appears in this book. Apparently Renny visited him after the Great War.
A couple of old characters return in the form of Malahaide Court and Sarah Court Whiteoak, Finch’s estranged wife.
Wakefield is now an actor; Molly a young actress. Johnny the Bird is a steeplechaser. Paris Court is the only child of Malahaide Court and his American wife.
Malahaide and Dermot Court play a role in the sale of Johnny the Bird to Renny. Dermott has no living heirs and proposes meeting Mooey and perhaps making him his heir. Piers and Pheasant reluctantly agree to sending their oldest son to Ireland. In the meantime Renny takes Paris to Jalna.
Finch has once again fallen under the sensual spell of Sarah.
Molly and Wakefield become engaged. He meets her eccentric family in Wales. Unfortunately Molly and Wakefield are separated by a twist of fate.
When Molly’s stepfather and brother die, Renny invites Molly’s now orphaned sisters to come to Jalna and move into the now vacant fox farm. A death in the family has left it empty. Molly goes to Hollywood to try her luck with motion pictures.
When war is declared Renny, Rags, Piers and Wakefield all join the military. Rennie and Rags rejoin their old regiment. Piers joins the army and Wakefield joins the Royal Air Force. The book ends with the evacuation of Dunkirk and a stirring speak by Winston Churchill.
War looms on the horizon. Wakefield and Finch are in London. The reader is introduced to new characters, Molly Griffith, Paris Court, and Johnny the Bird. Dermot Court also appears in this book. Apparently Renny visited him after the Great War.
A couple of old characters return in the form of Malahaide Court and Sarah Court Whiteoak, Finch’s estranged wife.
Wakefield is now an actor; Molly a young actress. Johnny the Bird is a steeplechaser. Paris Court is the only child of Malahaide Court and his American wife.
Malahaide and Dermot Court play a role in the sale of Johnny the Bird to Renny. Dermott has no living heirs and proposes meeting Mooey and perhaps making him his heir. Piers and Pheasant reluctantly agree to sending their oldest son to Ireland. In the meantime Renny takes Paris to Jalna.
Finch has once again fallen under the sensual spell of Sarah.
Molly and Wakefield become engaged. He meets her eccentric family in Wales. Unfortunately Molly and Wakefield are separated by a twist of fate.
When Molly’s stepfather and brother die, Renny invites Molly’s now orphaned sisters to come to Jalna and move into the now vacant fox farm. A death in the family has left it empty. Molly goes to Hollywood to try her luck with motion pictures.
When war is declared Renny, Rags, Piers and Wakefield all join the military. Rennie and Rags rejoin their old regiment. Piers joins the army and Wakefield joins the Royal Air Force. The book ends with the evacuation of Dunkirk and a stirring speak by Winston Churchill.
January 4, 2016
After all this time following this series I'm half in love with Rennie myself. I get exasperated with his wife Alayne since after twice choosing to marry into this family she still gets exasperated with everyone and is a rather indifferent mother. And Sarah! How can we possibly lose her? I sure wish we would.
September 18, 2026
Wakefield’s Course by Mazo de la Roche continues my project to read the Jalna oeuvre. This novel follows Whiteoak Heritage by date of publication, but follows Whiteoak Harvest in the storyline. I am glad I read the latter so recently (back in June) because events in this novel hearkened back to the philanderings of some of the Whiteoak members. The blurb on the back cover refers to a dark secret that is uncovered which shocks the whole family. Stop reading now as I will reveal the secret spoiler. Those familiar with the Whiteoaks will find no surprise in learning that this secret must in some way involve Renny, the red-haired womanizer who can’t keep it in his pants. When his younger brother Wakefield falls in love with and becomes engaged to an actress named Molly Griffith, Renny realizes after learning about her life and gazing at her features that this Molly is none other than his own daughter. He fooled around with Molly’s mother about twenty years ago when she was working at the Jalna stables. This discovery is a bit too convenient for a dramatic device, and seems more fitting of a soap opera, or for an episode of “Coronation Street”, where characters are introduced to the street only to find out that they are the offspring of residents (Emma Brooker as the daughter of Steve McDonald, and Kit Green as the son of Bernie Winter-Alahan). De la Roche did not reveal this secret till late in the story, so, if readers read the blurb on the back cover, they would be anticipating a shocking revelation with every turn of the few remaining pages. I did not have any hint of the true identity of Molly’s father so it was indeed a shocking revelation.
We meet Malahide Court again in London. This is the cousin who so thoroughly annoyed the Whiteoak clan when he long overstayed his welcome at Jalna in Young Renny. Malahide had only the most pleasant memories of his time there and had totally forgotten (or chosen to selectively ignore) the upfront in-his-face request to hightail it from Jalna once and for all.
De la Roche has a brilliance for writing about the most minuscule detail or observance which can set a scene and put the reader right in the middle of an intimate moment. When Renny and his nine-year-old daughter Adeline sail to London, they dine at the home of their freeloader and cheapskate cousin Malahide and his family. Adeline is starving by dinnertime, yet when she sits at the table, her poise is shaken:
“Never in her life had she seen so little food on a table and never had she been hungrier. Dermot Court had a small appetite and seemed satisfied. Malahide minced over his plate and never stopped talking. He was an entertaining talker. He had been everywhere and done everything but his conversation was of a sly, slanting sort that repelled a child’s interest. Adeline could think only of how her stomach was struggling to clasp her backbone and how it clamoured for more after each morsel she gave it. When the servant held the dish of green peas beside her (Mrs. Court had already refused them) Adeline calculated that, with three men to follow her, she must not take more than twelve peas.”
I liked how de la Roche portrayed the passive-aggressive relationship between sisters-in-law Alayne and Meg regarding home decor:
“Meg always managed, though no one saw her do it, to replace certain ornaments in the position they had occupied in her day. It was a constant struggle between her and Alayne as to where a certain china gentleman, with a three-cornered hat and a flute in his hands, should stand. Alayne now gave him an accusing look, took him from the mantelpiece and firmly replaced him in his obscure corner.”
The author personified a scarf and gave it an intimacy that reflected its owner Molly’s love for Wakefield:
“This gauzy scarf kept fluttering against Wakefield’s ear. It made delicate fluttering noises, like words tittered in confidence. It flicked his cheek. It wound itself about his neck, binding him and Molly together, yet she knew nothing of its vagaries.”
I wonder why de la Roche never felt it necessary to name the leading man of the play Wakefield and Molly are starring in. The lead actress is a prima donna named Phyllis Rhys, yet her counterpart is always “the leading man”. I must complain about the numerous typos in these reprints. I found three each in the first two chapters alone. How do they even occur? Chapter XVII is entitled In the Ruined Abby and the word abbey alternates between the correct and incorrect spelling. The last line of chapter XXVI is “She put her arms about him and held him dose.”. The final word is clearly meant to be close. Did someone, or some computer program, mistake the cl for a d and render the word as dose? Wrong words were also inserted in place of others and I needed to reread some sentences a few times to figure them out. It is a shame that these impressive reprints should be fouled with so many careless mistakes.
March 13, 2019
Oh my. An episode from Renny's past comes back to ruin things for another member of the family. Three of the Whiteoak brothers go off to World War II -- will they all return?
Loved this book, but was not happy with the hundreds of typos throughout! I can't believe anyone really did any sort of editing.
Loved this book, but was not happy with the hundreds of typos throughout! I can't believe anyone really did any sort of editing.
November 9, 2019
I enjoyed this very much. Written during the war in 1942, the copy I read was given to somebody as a present in 1943. It was a very moving story in this novel of the series.
I have enjoyed every Christmas at Jalna throughout the novels. The more I read of this series, the more I enjoy it.
I have enjoyed every Christmas at Jalna throughout the novels. The more I read of this series, the more I enjoy it.
July 22, 2022
Ditto ditto. My previous reviews of this series say it all. On to #13.
May 28, 2023
The Jalna books were some of my Mom's favorites when she was a teen (back in the day). I remember reading some when I was in high school. Decades later, I found she still has them, so when visiting in the last several years I've been rereading them, plus some others she found in used bookstores. I've enjoyed the earlier ones that tell the story of three generations building and living at Jalna, a farm in the wilds of Canada.
This one I found disconcerting, although the title would suggest the story is about one brother (Wakefield), much of the story revolves around Rennie or Piers. It is disjointed, moving between the story of one brother's acquisition and training of a racehorse; another about another brother's unfortunate fascination with his narcissistic wife; and then the titular character meeting, falling in love with a woman who he later is separated from ....
The story ends after most of the men have left Canada for Europe and World War 2, and maybe the disjointedness of the story telling was supposed to represent the build up to and experience of war... but it took away from the charm of the earlier books.
This one I found disconcerting, although the title would suggest the story is about one brother (Wakefield), much of the story revolves around Rennie or Piers. It is disjointed, moving between the story of one brother's acquisition and training of a racehorse; another about another brother's unfortunate fascination with his narcissistic wife; and then the titular character meeting, falling in love with a woman who he later is separated from ....
The story ends after most of the men have left Canada for Europe and World War 2, and maybe the disjointedness of the story telling was supposed to represent the build up to and experience of war... but it took away from the charm of the earlier books.
April 13, 2023
The spoiled, precocious youngest Whiteoak brother has grown up at last, but is still trying to find his way in the world. Acting comes naturally to him, and during his first stage role he falls in love with another aspiring actor, Molly. How their romance culminates is an absolute shocker.
As always, the descriptions of natural beauty around the old house in Ontario form a delightful framework for the humans who live there.
As always, the descriptions of natural beauty around the old house in Ontario form a delightful framework for the humans who live there.
December 21, 2022
Really enjoyable.
February 23, 2023
Światowo, Kanada, Irlandia, Nowy York, Londyn. Whiteoakowie podróżują.
March 8, 2023
J'ai beaucoup aimé ce tome ! J'avais été un peu déçue par le tome 9 et le début du tome suivant mais la fin de ce dernier et les tomes 11 et 12 rattrape cette déception. Encore une fois il se passe beaucoup de ✨drama✨ dans cette famille parfois un peu coincé. On découvre plus en détails le personnage de Wake et franchement le pauvre au niveau de ses amours je ne m'attendais pas à ce plot twist de malade. Le personnage d'Alayne que j'aimais bien commence à me taper sur le système. Elle ne change pas et ne se remet jamais en question. Selon elle le problème vient toujours des autres. Adeline et Renny évoluent en mieux au cours des tomes. Les oncles sont toujours aussi attachants. Je n'aime toujours pas Meg.
February 15, 2012
I'm ambivalent about WAKEFIELD'S COURSE. On the one hand it's extremely well-written. There are beautiful descriptions of the Irish countryside, the remote Welsh hills and the rugged Cornish coast. There's a ruined castle too, appropriate enough for such a Gothic tale. And it takes place in 1939, on the eve of World War II. An exciting time, with danger so very imminent, and all of the excitement and uncertainty are vividly evoked.
On the other hand I object to certain things about this book, much as I like it. WAKEFIELD'S COURSE "jumps the shark," to use a modern phrase. Here author Mazo de la Roche goes out on a limb by presenting us with a fairly ridiculous---and highly implausible--- premise:
Wakefield, youngest Whiteoak brother, secures a part in a successful London play. He falls in love with his co-star, Molly Griffith. She's a nice girl, and they get engaged. He brings her home to Jalna. He then discovers that she's actually Renny's daughter from a long-ago affair...ergo, she's Wakefield's niece! Out of all the potential mates in the world, Wakefield has selected HIS OWN NIECE to fall in love with! If she'd been a Canadian girl this scenario might have made sense, since Molly's mother would have been a local. But no. Here we have the extraordinary coincidence of an English woman who briefly visited Jalna, 20 years earlier, as a horse trainer for Renny; who returned to the UK pregnant and who raised Renny's bastard daughter thousands of miles away, without telling Renny of her (the daughter's) existence. And Wakefield just HAPPENS to meet the daughter years later, in London...Arrrrg! Thomas Hardy himself couldn't have used coincidence to a more ludicrous extreme.
The theme of incest is used largely to horrify and titillate. Renny, remembering his own randy youth, calls it a case of "pigeons coming home to roost," but I find the whole premise absurd. How Wake and Molly resolve their "problem" is, of course, the whole crux of the matter. And there's also some fun stuff about neurotic Finch being seduced by his even more neurotic and estranged wife, Sarah, with more angst to follow. The Gothic element works very well here, so if you're in a sufficiently dark mood you should really enjoy WAKEFIELD'S COURSE.
On the other hand I object to certain things about this book, much as I like it. WAKEFIELD'S COURSE "jumps the shark," to use a modern phrase. Here author Mazo de la Roche goes out on a limb by presenting us with a fairly ridiculous---and highly implausible--- premise:
Wakefield, youngest Whiteoak brother, secures a part in a successful London play. He falls in love with his co-star, Molly Griffith. She's a nice girl, and they get engaged. He brings her home to Jalna. He then discovers that she's actually Renny's daughter from a long-ago affair...ergo, she's Wakefield's niece! Out of all the potential mates in the world, Wakefield has selected HIS OWN NIECE to fall in love with! If she'd been a Canadian girl this scenario might have made sense, since Molly's mother would have been a local. But no. Here we have the extraordinary coincidence of an English woman who briefly visited Jalna, 20 years earlier, as a horse trainer for Renny; who returned to the UK pregnant and who raised Renny's bastard daughter thousands of miles away, without telling Renny of her (the daughter's) existence. And Wakefield just HAPPENS to meet the daughter years later, in London...Arrrrg! Thomas Hardy himself couldn't have used coincidence to a more ludicrous extreme.
The theme of incest is used largely to horrify and titillate. Renny, remembering his own randy youth, calls it a case of "pigeons coming home to roost," but I find the whole premise absurd. How Wake and Molly resolve their "problem" is, of course, the whole crux of the matter. And there's also some fun stuff about neurotic Finch being seduced by his even more neurotic and estranged wife, Sarah, with more angst to follow. The Gothic element works very well here, so if you're in a sufficiently dark mood you should really enjoy WAKEFIELD'S COURSE.
March 30, 2012
This book had one of the best plot surprises that I have encountered in my reading in a number of years--but I'm not going to reveal what it is. But the author, de la Roche, does an excellent job of seamlessly weaving that surprise so that it seems so right and not at all contrived. There are clues--but I wasn't really looking for them so I had a genuine "Aha" moment. This novel carries the family through the last year of peace before WWII begins and the men of the family go off to war. I really enjoyed this installment of the family saga and hated for it to end.
July 15, 2012
Book #12 in the Jalna series. The youngest of the Whiteoak brothers, Wakefield, travels to London to become an actor. He is joined by his brother Finch, a pianist. This novel takes place in England, Ireland, and Canada just on the eve of World War II. I usually prefer the books that are set predominantly at Jalna, but I found this one particularly enjoyable. I loved the theater scenes with Wakefield. There is a doozy of a plot twist with Wake's romance with young actress Molly Griffith too.
December 30, 2016
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.
February 29, 2012
Wakefield discovers that he is engaged to Renny's illegitimate daughter with Kit from Whiteoaks
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2014
It was a harder book to go through, as Wakefield is not my favourite character, there were a few unexpected twists and turns later on in the book, which made it quite compelling.
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February 2, 2018Read in French, with the title 'Le destin de Wakefield'.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews