An Avenue of Stone is the second instalment in Pamela Hansford Johnson’s Helena trilogy. It is certainly Helena who drives this novel, she is a fantastic character – who it is hard to do justice to in a review. At the heart of this novel is the fear of ageing, the loneliness and uncertainty that comes with ageing, that desperation to keep it at bay is poignantly explored in a novel which is so compelling and superbly written. An easy five star read for me.
“But those who have lived richly, exhaustively, staring into every face, attentive to every voice, are only too often pursued by the spinster Furies, and are driven at the end down avenues of stone where the walls reach to the sky, and the doors are sealed, and the pavements are rubbered against all sound but the beat of the hurrying heart. Well—Helena would say—And even if I understood all that … and believed it … wasn’t it worth it?”
In a sense the books would probably stand alone reasonably well, but I was glad I read them in the correct order. In the first book; Too Dear for my Possessing we witnessed the gradually changing relationship between Claud Pickering and his stepmother Helena. As a young boy living in Bruges, before his father married his mistress, before Helena gave Claud a half-sister – he had hated her. Helena had been a tempestuous force of nature, and she and Claud had really butted heads in those days. In the years since his father’s death Claud and Helena’s relationship changed. With his half-sister Charmian, fourteen years his junior they are very much a family – albeit one that drive Claud a little bit mad.
“The night was very clear and starry, the streets empty, I felt elated, at first knowing no reason for my pleasure; then I realized that I had seen Helena again, the Helena of the world before the war, had seen my own youth in her. Because there was something left of the past I could not be entirely unhopeful of the future.”
Now in her late sixties Helena is Lady Archer – married to wealthy Daniel Archer – whose daughter Claud once loved, not bad for a former actress – and it’s a role Helena does very well at. Helena is living very comfortably with her husband in London, Claud and Charmian are close by. It is war time, and Claud is a Major in the war office – Charmian in the ATS, although only twenty-two is already married, but while her husband is abroad she is staying with her mother. Neither Claud nor Helena think much of him, Helena calls him the boiled owl.
When Daniel dies suddenly Helena’s financial situation is made rather more precarious, as Lord Archer leaves much of his wealth distributed between former mistresses and his step daughter Charmian. Although she is certainly not poor – Helena can no longer quite afford the large flat she and Daniel lived in together. Now Helena can throw off the role she adopted as Lady Archer, and return more to herself. Claud helps Helena re-locate – despite her resistance. A friend of Claud’s John Field needs somewhere to stay, and Claud persuades Helena to have him to stay for a short time. Helena makes her usual protests and makes a big show of it being a huge imposition, but she soon has Field whipped into shape. He helps with the washing up, fetches and carries and Helena rather loves bossing him about. From here on in, Field becomes a pretty much permanent fixture – and Helena loves having him around.
“I have always recognized a tormenting emotion that lies between friendship and love; something stronger than the first and less demanding than the second, though it may well exceed it in endurance. It may exist between man and man, or between woman and woman, but, as it has some undefined sexual element, it exists more frequently between man and woman. It is a torment of understanding that can have no physical expression.”
In time Claud has reason to be concerned about the hold John Field has on Helena – she adores him, talks about him endlessly when he isn’t there, makes plans for him, and in her eyes John can do no wrong. Helena is as difficult as ever in many ways, and she is very good at covering up things that she thinks Claud won’t approve of, and with Claud busy at the WO most of the time, he can’t know everything that happens. He turns up from time to time to find she has agreed to some financial obligation or other that worries him but is unable to do much about.
What Pamela Hansford Johnson does so well, is to show us the frustration of Claud and Charmian as they try to steer an ageing Helena in the right direction. Yet, Helena has her own frustrations, and despite her being a difficult character, we can’t help but feel for her, as tries to keep hold of her independence and decision making.
Helena’s platonic love for Johnny verges on obsession, he brightens her life – gives her a purpose, adds the kind of excitement to her life she hasn’t had since she was a younger woman. She and Johnny collude secretly over matters of money and business. Helena can’t see what a fool she is being, she has become a figure of fun to some of her contemporaries, especially the vile Mrs Sholto – Charmian’s mother-in-law. Behind her back, Helena is being laughed at, and much to Claud’s horror, gossiped about in the most unpleasant way. Helena can’t see herself for who she really is now, getting older and rather vulnerable.
“Helena would love Field till she died, but in a different fashion. Whether she knew it or not, she was really regarding him now in a ‘correct’ light; as a child to be cherished and pleasured, his faults discounted, his small virtues magnified into qualities of man’s worth. And this is not the love that flatters.”
Forgive me for including so many quotes, but I just loved this book so much and found Pamela Hansford Johnson’s writing to be wise and insightful, and so, so readable. I flew through this kindle edition in no time, and was sad when there was no more. I can’t wait to read the third book in the trilogy A Summer to Decide, which I bought ages ago in a huge Bello buying glut. I have a habit of then forgetting all about the books I have on my kindle – I should get it out more often.
Incidentally – does anyone know exactly what happened (if anything) to Bello books? They disappeared ages ago it seems, though their kindle books are certainly still available on Amazon.
It’s a joy to read a review of a book the reviewer clearly loved from start to finish!
Thank you, I really did love it.
My fave books my PHJ are AN IMPOSSIBLE MARRIAGE and THIS BED THY CENTRE.Bit like Monica Dickens at times.
Did Jean Rhys win the neglected novelist vote?
I enjoyed An impossible marriage too.
Yes Jean Rhys won the neglected novelist vote. I don’t necessarily agree that she is as neglected as others but she is an excellent writer.
Thank you for reminding me about Pamela Hansford Johnson. I loved that book of here that I’ve read, I’ve always intended to read more, but she has never quite come to the head of the queue of books to read.
I had over looked her for years, so glad I started to read her she was very prolific.
Sounds wonderful Ali, and I can tell you really loved it! I didn’t realise there was an issue with Bello – what a shame if they’ve slipped off the radar…
Well there might not be an issue exactly. They dropped off social media ages ago, but certainly some books seem to be still available on Amazon. Not sure if new things are coming out or not or whether just the stuff that was re-issued by them a couple of years ago.
Is Bello a print on demand company who also sell e books online?Please tell me more.
Yes they are print on demand and ebooks they are/were part of Pan Macmillan. If you put Bello into Amazon search you don’t get them appear you need to search for individual writers. They publish Mary Hocking, Pamela Hansford Johnson, Gerald Durrell, and many others.
https://www.panmacmillan.com/imprint-publishers/bello?page=1
There is still a website.
Just skimming this for now as it’s the second part of a trilogy that I might want to read one day. PHJ definitely sounds worthy of further investigation. Out of interest, how does she compare with writers like Elizabeth Taylor and Rebecca West?
Well of course she famously hated Elizabeth Taylor! She is very much a contemporary of ET but doesn’t stand back from her characters in the way ET does. She is probably not quite as literary/serious as Rebecca West but she is an excellent writer, her character development is superb. Very good storytelling.
PHJ is much more readable for me that Rebecca West.But my fave twosome are Taylor and Lehmann.
Helena sounds like a marvelous character!
She is, I couldn’t help but develop a soft spot for her.
I have read that PHJ is similar to Somerset Maugham and Graham Greene–2 male authors i am not into at all.
A lovely review, and what a good series this sounds. I’m not sure what’s happened to Bello either, the business model should have worked as there were far fewer overheads having them print on demand. They certainly brought back some great books so hopefully they’ll keep going.
Well now I’m thinking perhaps they just disappeared from social media. I love their books and it looks like Bello books can still be bought from their website.
I am sure you will enjoy A Summer to Decide – it didn’t necessarily move in the direction I expected, and the characters are not kind to each other (this seem to be a bit of a theme in her work, especially where men are concerned), but I loved it.
It seems that (once at least) the Helena novels were hugely popular. Those who remember them, seem to do so with great fondness.
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