With thanks to Dean street press for the review ebook
Rhododendrom Pie was Margery Sharp’s first novel – it is famously hard to find and generally expensive when a copy comes up for sale. Therefore, there was great excitement among Margery Sharp fans when Dean Street Press announced it as one of the titles in their next batch of releases which are out at the beginning of January. I actually read this at the end of October – but have held my review back for a few weeks – it didn’t really seem quite fair to dangle a book in front of your noses when you couldn’t buy it for another two months – now at least you don’t have long to wait.
The story concerns Ann Laventie and her family. The Laventies are a family of social snobs, they see themselves as intellectual or artistic, they are cool and composed. The beauty of their surroundings matters to them enormously – an ugly chair for example is just not to be born no matter how comfortable it might be. Living at Whitenights in the Sussex countryside, they keep at arm’s length people they find dull or ordinary – and are known for not being very sociable locally. Ann however is rather different to her parents, her brother Dick and sister Elizabeth – she gets a lot of pleasure out of the ordinary things in life – and though she is proud of her family, and loves them, she feels unable to admit always to how she really feels about things.
One of the things Ann keeps quiet about is the odd family birthday tradition of presenting whoever’s birthday it is with a floral pie – a thing of beauty which naturally can’t actually be eaten.
“Every year she had hoped against hope, and every year the lovely inedible petals have cheated her. For she has a fundamental, instinctive conviction that they are out of place, Flowers are beautiful in gardens … and in houses, of course … but in a pie you want fruit. Apples. Hot and fragrant and faintly pink, with lots of juice … and cloves. She wished there had been apples in her pie.”
Dick is a sculptor, Elizabeth has become a writer of rather fine essays, Ann does not really have a talent – she is more down to earth, kind, practical and a good friend. Mrs Laventie had some kind of accident years earlier and is now disabled, and we get the impression that Mr Laventie takes himself off to Paris whenever it suits him to do so. The family have what they clearly all see as a more intelligent and progressive attitude to life. While the Laventies generally rather approve of the bohemian lifestyle of Elizabeth and Dick’s London friends and of people living together rather than marrying – Ann rather likes the idea of a white wedding with orange blossom and living happily ever after. She loves the garden at the family home in Sussex and enjoys living in the country. She does not entirely fit in with her sister’s friends in London, although on a visit to London, Ann easily makes friends and is found by everyone around her to be very likeable indeed.
“Ann settled down on the grass again with her chin on her fists and one shoe waving in the air. She wasn’t reading really, only pretending to, so that the others wouldn’t talk to her. It was too nice in the garden to talk. How queer to think she was lying on the surface of the world…an enormous warm green ball spinning slowly through space somewhere, under a lime tree like a sliver of grass, a minute pink dot.”
Ann is good friends with the Gayford family from next door – they are a large, noisy, loving family – a little chaotic, relaxed, and unpretentious and really quite different to the Laventie family. She is particularly fond of John Gayford, a gloriously ordinary young man, who works in the nearby town as a bank clerk. The Laventies sneer just a little at the Gayfords, react to a picnic invitation with eye rolling irritation and are certain that they are on a higher plane altogether.
“Ann reflected with pleasure that she was always known for English at sight – like Dr Gayford, who was invariably answered in his mother tongue whenever he tried to order a meal in French. They were English too – more than that, Sussex – and – well, Ann liked the Gayfords. And she liked Jimmy and James and Delia, and the next time an opportunity occurred she would say so. The flags of Ann’s rebellion swept on unchecked…”
When Gilbert, a handsome screenwriter comes to Whitenights from London to visit – he rather turns Ann’s head. Gilbert’s view of the future though would be totally different to Ann’s dreams – after a whirlwind visit to London, Ann is rather glad to get back home and happy to see stolid, sensible John Gayford again. John Gayford would not be the Laventie choice of suitor for their daughter however, John challenges Ann’s assumptions about him and his family – and while Ann has to find her way to her own happiness she must also find a way of reconciling her family to what she wants.
Rhododendron Pie is a lovely book, in this first novel by Margery Sharp we can see something of the writer she was to become, as a debut it is excellent. A charming, whimsical novel which I am delighted to see back in print.
I’d love to have an old copy of this!
So would I.
I’ve seen lots of praise for Margery Sharp from bloggers for years now so this one’s going straight on my list unless you think I should start with a another. I’m a sucker for attractive jackets that fit their books well which Dean Street Press seem to excel at.
These covers are really attractive. I think this would be as good a place to start as any, though my favourite of her books to date was Something Light published in 1960.
I can understand from your post why you’ve wanted to get your hands on this, it and Ann Laventie sound wonderfully charming!
It really is charming and I really liked Ann and Sharp’s portrait of her family is so good.
How lovely! This has been an elusive Sharp title for so long, so I’m glad it’s going to be available again – it really does sound like a treat! 😀
It was a lovely read for the end of half term, how long ago that feels now. I’m glad this is available again for her many fans.
Fabulous! I’ve only had a taster of Margery Sharp’s fiction so far – a short story in the Wave Me Goodbye anthology – but it was enough to whet my appetite for more. Your enthusiasm for her work really shines through in this review!
That story in Wave me Goodbye was excellent. I really like those novels of hers that I have read.
Oh I can’t wait! This has been on my list since Beyond Eden Rock, I think, wrote about.
Yes I remember that review. Really hope you enjoy it.
You introduce me to so many great books and authors!
And I am happy to do so. 😊
Another one to add to my must read list. Sounds great.
It was a lovely gentle read with a central character I really liked.
I’m so excited that this is being reprinted. Like you, I don’t think it’s her best but it’s so intriguing as a first book and the completist in me is delighted that readers will be able to access it now and see how her writing evolved.
We couldn’t expect her first novel to be her best. Though as a first novel it is lovely. I haven’t nearly as many Margery Sharp novels as many fans but I have a few waiting on my kindle. Reading this one reminded me how good she is.
So delighted this lived up to the hype – and wonderful to have it available after all these years.
Yes, really lovely to have this back in print.
Saving this as I have it too!
Hope you enjoy it.
Noooooooo. As soon as I see one of those dratted Dean Street covers, I just KNOW I’m going to want to read whatever book you’re about to discuss. *sigh* And I do have several Sharp novels, but not this one. Gah.
She is always such a good read, hope you enjoy reading those of hers you do have.
Oh, I want to read this one!
It’s certainly enjoyable, glad you like the sound of it.
I’m really looking forward to this one and will download it via Kindle as soon as I’ve made some progress with my TBR shelves. And of course I HAD to look and see what vintage copies cost — yikes! I found one for $300 and another for $500! I’m very grateful for the Furrowed Middlebrow reprints!
I know thank goodness for these Furrowed Middlebrow books. I really hope you enjoy this one.