The #1976club starts today, I have come to thoroughly enjoy these club reads hosted by Karen at Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings and Simon at Stuckinabook and 1976 is one of the later years that have been selected. There were a good selection of titles to pick from including lots of books I have read before and was quite tempted to re-read. In the end I decided to go for two new reads – my second 1976 title will be reviewed later this week.
It is especially pleasing that Brian Moore’s The Doctor’s Wife fitted into this reading week, as 2021 is the centenary of Brian Moore’s birth and Cathy at 746 books has been celebrating his life and work all year. I first read Brian Moore in 2019, when I read his 1955 novel The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, maybe the best known of his novels these days. Earlier this year I read Lies of Silence and The Feast of Lupercal as part of the centenary read-a-long hosted by Cathy – remembering suddenly that my dad had been a big fan of Brian Moore’s novels. There are themes present in The Doctor’s Wife that I certainly recognised from those other novels. Despite, the fact that the majority of this novel is set in France, the Troubles in Northern Ireland loom large. Yet, in this novel Moore also examines human relationships, especially within marriage with great insight and understanding.
Sheila Redden, a thirty-seven year old Doctor’s Wife from Northern Ireland, arranged to stay overnight in Paris with a friend Peg, before continuing her journey the following day to Villefranche where she would be joined by her husband. The same room, in the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon sixteen years earlier.
“What about those men you read about in newspaper stories who walk out of their homes saying they are going down to the corner to buy cigarettes and are never heard from again? This is Paris. I am here. What if I never go back?”
Four weeks later, Sheila is nowhere to be found, and her brother; Owen Deane another doctor, has followed her to Paris to try and discover what happened and where she is.
When she arrived in Paris Sheila knew that her husband Kevin was rather less keen on this holiday than she was, in fact he would probably have rather stayed at home. She was looking forward to catching up with Peg, and seeing a bit of Paris again on her own. She has no idea that a chance introduction will see her spending her holiday with an American man eleven years her junior. Tom Lowry is attractive and charismatic and instantly attracted to Sheila, he is nothing like her husband. Sheila is flattered by Tom’s attention, but leaves Paris as planned for Villefranche and the hotel where she is due to meet her husband. Tom follows, and Kevin doesn’t arrive – held up by work at home, he promises to try and get away in a few days, of course he never does.
“She looked back now at this eager stranger, this American boy, smiling at her, sipping wine. ‘I don’t know,’ she said ‘some people never want to go outside the place they were born in. And others seem to want to run away from the day they’re old enough to walk.’
‘And which are you?’
‘A runaway.’
‘But you didn’t leave, did you?’”
The inevitable happens, and Sheila embarks on a passionate affair with Tom. There are a few rather explicit sex scenes which may not be for everyone, but it’s clear that despite the differences in their ages, it is Sheila for who all this is new, a million miles from her sexual experiences with her husband. This a kind of awakening for Sheila – as if she is suddenly becoming the woman she always should have been.
“How did I get so bogged down in ordinariness that even this once I couldn’t do the spontaneous thing, the thing I really wanted to do. The future is forbidden to no one. Unless we forbid it ourselves.”
Alongside the story of Sheila and Tom, there are flashbacks to the life Sheila had in Northern Ireland her memories of the troubles, which have affected her greatly, and her narrow stifling marriage to Kevin. She also has a fifteen year old son, but seems able to tell herself that he doesn’t really need her anymore, he will be off her hands in a few years anyway. It’s rather sad, that while Sheila is contemplating never returning to her life in Northern Ireland, it is her teenage son who seems to be considered the least.
On the one hand there seems to be no judgement from Moore on the behaviour of his characters, however it is interesting that throughout the novel, he mainly refers to Sheila as Mrs Redden – driving a point home, I thought. The reader remains in little doubt that Kevin Redden is not the man Sheila should be spending her life with, there is a very unpleasant scene between them, which I don’t want to discuss here, because others may be reading this book this week. Sheila has to make some big decisions about her future, Tom is pressing her to go to America with him, Kevin insists she should go home. When Owen Deane arrives in Paris no one seems to know where Sheila is.
A novel about a woman having an affair with a younger man, and making seismic decisions about her life, is nothing new. Yet, Moore brings something else to this age old story. He also makes it fantastically compelling.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this novel, Ali. I’ve written a short piece on it, which I’ll probably post later this week for the Club. (There are a few things I’m still thinking about, hence my slight hesitation!) The references to Sheila as ‘Mrs Redden’ are very telling, I think – a woman largely defined by her status relative to her husband, not as an individual in her own right (until she meets Tom, of course). Somewhat ironically, Tom seems rather lightly sketched as a character relative to the others, and I couldn’t help wondering if a man of his age would fall for someone like Sheila so quickly and completely. Anyway, lots to think about in this very nuanced book!
The more I think about it now, the more I wonder why the author chose to refer to her mainly as Mrs Redden? she was only Sheila in speech. It is very telling.I think Tom’s feelings were infatuation, which would never have lasted,too sudden and intense for real life. Perhaps Moore thought that typical of a young man. Looking forward to your thoughts.
The title itself indicates that she is being thought of someone’s possession, or perhaps she even thought of herself as such before this affair. Sounds like an intriguing read!
Oh yes she is very much someone’s wife, someone’s mother and someone’s sister. We see her become herself at last I suppose.
Echoing Marina’s comment – the title suggests Sheila’s identity had been subsumed in her husband’s. Interesting handling of the themes by a male writer by the sound of it.
Actually, Brian Moore is generally said to write women well, and I think I agree with that on the whole. He does handle the themes.
So glad you enjoyed this Ali! I found the treatment of the son to be a bit flippant too but that aside I thought this was a very strong book
Yes, I felt sorry for Danny, and Sheila’s attitude to him was sad.
This does sound a subtle study of a story that as you say, is nothing new. 1976 is an interesting time for it to happen as well – I wonder if there were lots of women around Sheila’s age and a bit older who were thinking about new societal freedoms that weren’t so apparent when they got married in the 1950s/early 60s.
I think you’re right, about women wanting more freedoms, perhaps it would have been a different book had been written twenty years earlier.
How fun that we both reviewed this on the first day of the club week – and both got so much out of it. Like you, I felt really sorry for Danny. It’s still such a taboo, isn’t it, a woman considering choosing herself over her child.
I did think the ‘Mrs Redden’ and the title were interesting – the narrative seems to call her Mrs Redden less and less, but she never becomes ‘Sheila’, just increasingly ‘She’.
The scene you mention was really harrowing – I also didn’t mention fully, for spoiler reasons. I was shocked, and wasn’t sure quite what to make of it.
Yes, I noticed that Sheila was referred to as Mrs Redden less as the novel went on. That scene was really disturbing, I was shocked at how it seemed to be just brushed aside, and not referred to again.
I’m certainly intrigued by this one, Ali – it sounds like Moore really writes women well, and to also portray the relationship of an older women and a younger man successfully is quite an achievement. I will keep an eye out!
He does portray women well, he has a good understanding for people’s relationships too. It’s a very compelling read.
Wow, you’ve made me want to read this novel! I thought The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne was sensitively written and I liked it very much. I’ll look out for this one.
It’s a very compelling read, with some fascinating themes,which are portrayed well. I hope you enjoy it.
Like others I find it interesting that Moore wrote about a woman facing Sheila’s dilemma(s) especially at the time. The attitude towards her son must have been pretty shocking at that point.
Yes, I suspect Sheila’s attitude to her son may have been shocking at the time, unless a 15 year old boy was considered generally to be more adult than we perhaps think now.
Brian Moore does take on some interesting women characters, you’ve definitely made me want to go and fish this out, especially as it coincides with the 100 years and 1976.
I found with Judith Hearne I couldn’t help but dig into the author’s motives and the context at the time, he’s a very thought provoking author, writing away from his birthplace gave him a greater freedom to explore the psyche perhaps, but something of his past conditioning seems to lie between the lines, which modern readers detect.
His characters are fascinating and well presented. He does seem to explore motivations and foibles of human beings. I have often wondered at what his own attitude to his characters might be. Living away from Ireland probably did give him more freedom to explore his characters.
I think it was interesting (now that I’ve read it) that Tom and Sheila not only are from different cultures (with different expectations) but they are also of different generations and therefore will have had different attitudes, even though the age gap was only ten years. She was a prewar baby so belonged to the “traditionalist or silent generation” and he was post war, so a baby boomer. His friends and peers would have been getting up to all sorts, which made me think that Sheila’s actions and decision actually made her all the more radical, defying convention as she did.
I read a few of Moore’s novels years ago (though not this one) but sadly haven’t yet managed one for his centenary despite the best laid plans! Interesting what you say about the son – I wonder if, in 1976, 15, the age at which many would start work, was seen as ‘older’?
Um… in 1976, the legal age to work in the US was 16 in almost all states. I know that because I turned 16 in 1973.
I’m not sure why this would be relevant as the US does not feature in this novel! However, it looks like the leaving age in the UK (including N Ireland) was raised to 16 in 1972. The point still stands that, as many would leave at that age to work (very different to now), 15 would feel a more independent age.
Yes, I think that’s true.
Many kids left school at 16 then, and for some time afterwards, unless they were likely to go onto University at 18.
Yes, I wondered whether 15 was seen as older then,than it is now. I left school at 16 in 1984, (for FE college) but others left education completely at that age.
After reading your review and Simon’s I’m not sure that I want to read this. There seems to be something here that’s putting me off of this book, and I can’t put my finger on it.
I can sort of understand that, I think the premise wouldn’t usually appeal to me, but I knew I liked Brian Moore and as this was 1976 it was a good time to read it.
I think I remember that this is one of his books that figures in Diana Athill’s reminiscences about working with him as his editor? I do look forward to reading more of his books at some point.
Oh it may have been, I read that book, brilliant! But can’t remember if this book was one that she mentioned in her reminiscences of Moore.
Sounds like one that’s not for me but I’m very glad you’ve been able to combine the two challenges in such a satisfying way!
Probably not really one for you, though there’s so many excellent themes in this one. I was glad it fitted in the challenge.
I was entranced by The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, what a powerful portrayal of a woman. The Doctor’s Wife sounds just as good so I’m off to find a copy.
…Judith Hearne is just so good. It was a brilliant portrayal, I really hope you like this too.
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