Mariana - Softcover

Dickens, Monica

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1906462046 ISBN 13: 9781906462048

Publisher: Persephone Books, 2008

Synopsis

“Funny and poignant. . . . This book is written with verve and exuberance.”—The Sunday Telegraph

Monica Dickens, the great granddaughter of Charles Dickens, published Mariana in 1940 when she was only twenty-four years old. A bestseller in its time, Mariana is the often-comical story of a typical English girl growing up in the 1930s.

A lively young woman who has no idea what to do with her life, Mary is often at loose but happy ends: going to school and vacationing in Kensington; a hilarious failed attempt at drama school; a year in Paris learning dressmaking and getting engaged to the wrong man; and finally her romance with the right man.

They nearly all had short hair. She wondered whether they had gone through these pangs before they bobbed it, or whether their husbands had laughingly clapped a basin over their heads one fine Putney day and run a pair of scissors round as casually as they would trim a garden hedge.

Monica Dickens was born in London in 1915. Her father was Henry Charles Dickens, the eighth son of Charles Dickens. She was an active humanitarian and is the author of numerous novels and children’s books. Despite her privileged upbringing, Dickens volunteered in the service and worked in an aircraft factory repairing Spitfire fighters. This, and her work as a cook and servant, informed much of her writing.

About this title

About the Author

Monica Dickens was born in London in 1915. Her father was Henry Charles Dickens, the eighth son of Charles Dickens. She was an active humanitarian and is the author of numerous novels and children's books. Now a freelance journalist, Harriet Lane worked as a reporter and columnist for the London Observer.

From Library Journal

First published about 1940, this novel was written by a great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens. The story is about one terrible night during which a woman waits to hear whether her husband has survived the sinking of his ship by a German sub. Mary recalls idyllic childhood summers spent at the family's country house-playing with cousins, riding ponies and, in later years, fox hunts and dances. The beautiful prose and apt dialog are beautifully narrated by Jane Asher. One caveat: a whiff of anti-Semitism appears; for instance, Mary is devastated to learn that, after the country house is sold to a Jewish man, the tree she used to swing from as a child has been cut down for firewood. She thinks it wrong that her tree was sacrificed so that "a rich Jew" can warm his toes by the fire. Otherwise, this is a fine additon to fiction collections.
Luana Ellis, Jamestown Community Coll. Lib., Olean, N.Y.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Persephone Books
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1906462046
• ISBN 13: 9781906462048
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 377