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Mariana
Monica Dickens's first book, published in 1940, could easily have been called Mariana - an Englishwoman. For that is what it is: the story of a young English girl's growth towards maturity in the 1930s. We see Mary at school in Kensington and on holiday in Somerset; her attempt at drama school; her year in Paris learning dressmaking and getting engaged to the wrong man; her time as a secretary and companion; and her romance with Sam.
We chose this book because we wanted to publish a novel like Dusty Answer, I Capture the Castle or The Pursuit of Love, about a girl encountering life and love, which is also funny, readable and perceptive; it is a 'hot-water bottle' novel, one to curl up with on the sofa on a wet Sunday afternoon. But it is more than this.
As Harriet Lane remarks in her Preface: 'It is Mariana's artlessness, its enthusiasm, its attention to tiny, telling domestic detail that makes it so appealing to modern readers.' And John Sandoe Books in Sloane Square (an early champion of Persephone Books) commented: 'The contemporary detail is superb - Monica Dickens's descriptions of food and clothes are particularly good - and the characters are observed with vitality and humour. Mariana is written with such verve and exuberance that we would defy any but academics and professional cynics not to enjoy it.'
We chose this book because we wanted to publish a novel like Dusty Answer, I Capture the Castle or The Pursuit of Love, about a girl encountering life and love, which is also funny, readable and perceptive; it is a 'hot-water bottle' novel, one to curl up with on the sofa on a wet Sunday afternoon. But it is more than this.
As Harriet Lane remarks in her Preface: 'It is Mariana's artlessness, its enthusiasm, its attention to tiny, telling domestic detail that makes it so appealing to modern readers.' And John Sandoe Books in Sloane Square (an early champion of Persephone Books) commented: 'The contemporary detail is superb - Monica Dickens's descriptions of food and clothes are particularly good - and the characters are observed with vitality and humour. Mariana is written with such verve and exuberance that we would defy any but academics and professional cynics not to enjoy it.'
377 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1940
104 people are currently reading
5,163 people want to read
About the author
Monica Dickens
94 books124 followersFrom the publisher: MONICA DICKENS, born in 1915, was brought up in London and was the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens. Her mother's German origins and her Catholicism gave her the detached eye of an outsider; at St Paul's Girls' School she was under occupied and rebellious. After drama school she was a debutante before working as a cook. One Pair of Hands (1939), her first book, described life in the kitchens of Kensington. It was the first of a group of semi autobiographies of which Mariana (1940), technically a novel, was one. 'My aim is to entertain rather than instruct,' she wrote. 'I want readers to recognise life in my books.' In 1951 Monica Dickens married a US naval officer, Roy Stratton, moved to America and adopted two daughters. An extremely popular writer, she involved herself in, and wrote about, good causes such as the Samaritans. After her husband died she lived in a cottage in rural Berkshire, dying there in 1992.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 318 reviews
July 22, 2016
BEAUTIFUL! "Mariana" has become one of my favourite books of this year so far!
It deals with Mary, an impressionable, creative child living in London with her mother. Mary is a daredevil, but she also has a fascination for life and everything surrounding her, and her fascination is contagious. Reading the chapters about her childhood kind of reminded me of the childhood scenes in "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, simply because they brought back the nostalgia of my own childhood and what it feels like to be little and free.
"Mariana" continues the narrative of Mary as we follow her into young adulthood and later adulthood. By that time, my heart was sold and I was eager to stay with Mary and find out what would happen to her. This was one of those books that made me think about it when I wasn't reading it, and when I was reading it, it was with a persistent smile on my face.
Monica Dickens, the granddaughter of Charles Dickens, masters the craft of writing really really well. "Mariana" is kind of written like a jigsaw puzzle in which you get small bits and pieces, but it's not until the very last page that you get to see the big picture. Alongside that, "Mariana" is funny, honest and insightful. It basically tells the story of young girl who grows up to become a woman, and it does so very well.
I loved this book! I cannot praise it enough! And I'm thankful that I have another book by Monica Dickens waiting for me on my bookshelves :)
It deals with Mary, an impressionable, creative child living in London with her mother. Mary is a daredevil, but she also has a fascination for life and everything surrounding her, and her fascination is contagious. Reading the chapters about her childhood kind of reminded me of the childhood scenes in "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, simply because they brought back the nostalgia of my own childhood and what it feels like to be little and free.
"Mariana" continues the narrative of Mary as we follow her into young adulthood and later adulthood. By that time, my heart was sold and I was eager to stay with Mary and find out what would happen to her. This was one of those books that made me think about it when I wasn't reading it, and when I was reading it, it was with a persistent smile on my face.
Monica Dickens, the granddaughter of Charles Dickens, masters the craft of writing really really well. "Mariana" is kind of written like a jigsaw puzzle in which you get small bits and pieces, but it's not until the very last page that you get to see the big picture. Alongside that, "Mariana" is funny, honest and insightful. It basically tells the story of young girl who grows up to become a woman, and it does so very well.
I loved this book! I cannot praise it enough! And I'm thankful that I have another book by Monica Dickens waiting for me on my bookshelves :)
February 4, 2020
Mariana, Monica Dickens
Mariana (1940) is the first novel by Monica Dickens, the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens, which describes the growth and experience of Mary Shannon, a young English girl in the 1930's as the first hints of war begin to permeate English domestic life.
The novel starts with an adult Mary spending a weekend in an isolated cottage on the Essex marshes during World War II. She hears on the radio that her husband's ship has been sunk with many many lives lost, her phone line was dead and it was too late to travel back to her home in London that night, where she dreaded a telegram may be waiting so she resolves to leave first thing the following morning. She thinks back over her life, the events which lead up to her present crisis.
Mariana, Monica Dickens, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books:in association with Michael Joseph, 1958 = 1337. 287 Pages.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: سال 1972 میلادی
عنوان: ماریانا؛ نویسنده: مونیکا دیکنز؛
رمان با «مری» بزرگسال آغاز میشود، که پایان هفته را، در یک کلبه ی تنهایی، در باتلاق «اسکس»، در زمان جنگ جهانی دوم میگذراند. او از رادیو میشنود، که کشتی شوهرش غرق شده، و جان بسیاری از دست رفته است، خط تلفنش قطع شده، و خیلی دیر است تا در آن شب به خانه ی خویش در «لندن» بازگردد، جاییکه ممکن است در آنجا تلگرامی در انتظار پاسخ باشد، او به زندگی خود میاندیشد، رویدادهایی که منجر به بحران کنونی وی شده است. ا. شربیانی
Mariana (1940) is the first novel by Monica Dickens, the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens, which describes the growth and experience of Mary Shannon, a young English girl in the 1930's as the first hints of war begin to permeate English domestic life.
The novel starts with an adult Mary spending a weekend in an isolated cottage on the Essex marshes during World War II. She hears on the radio that her husband's ship has been sunk with many many lives lost, her phone line was dead and it was too late to travel back to her home in London that night, where she dreaded a telegram may be waiting so she resolves to leave first thing the following morning. She thinks back over her life, the events which lead up to her present crisis.
Mariana, Monica Dickens, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books:in association with Michael Joseph, 1958 = 1337. 287 Pages.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: سال 1972 میلادی
عنوان: ماریانا؛ نویسنده: مونیکا دیکنز؛
رمان با «مری» بزرگسال آغاز میشود، که پایان هفته را، در یک کلبه ی تنهایی، در باتلاق «اسکس»، در زمان جنگ جهانی دوم میگذراند. او از رادیو میشنود، که کشتی شوهرش غرق شده، و جان بسیاری از دست رفته است، خط تلفنش قطع شده، و خیلی دیر است تا در آن شب به خانه ی خویش در «لندن» بازگردد، جاییکه ممکن است در آنجا تلگرامی در انتظار پاسخ باشد، او به زندگی خود میاندیشد، رویدادهایی که منجر به بحران کنونی وی شده است. ا. شربیانی
September 11, 2018
I really enjoyed this - an interesting coming of age story, looking at life in the 1920s and 30s. I really liked the character of Mary, and loved the exploration of different kinds of love.
October 3, 2022
Una historia tierna y llena de nostalgia sobre una mujer que, tras recibir una fatal noticia, rememora su infancia y juventud, como hija de una madre viuda dentro de una familia con posibles, con una casa en el campo, en el que nuestra protagonista pasa los veranos.
Básicamente no pasa nada, que es uno de mis tipos de historia favoritos, sobe todo si, como aquí, está tan bien contado, con cierto humor, pero también una visión muy certera de los sentimientos y las emociones de una jovencita.
El final puede ser previsible para cierta gente, pero aún así, está contado de tal forma que es un finalazo.
Básicamente no pasa nada, que es uno de mis tipos de historia favoritos, sobe todo si, como aquí, está tan bien contado, con cierto humor, pero también una visión muy certera de los sentimientos y las emociones de una jovencita.
El final puede ser previsible para cierta gente, pero aún así, está contado de tal forma que es un finalazo.
April 9, 2021
This novel (which borrowed heavily from Monica Dickens' own life, and was written when she was only 23) is set in one of my favourite eras: England between the world wars. There is a frame around the story, in which the grown-up heroine is waiting to hear if her husband survived the bombing of his ship, but then we are immediately plunged into young Mary's childhood -- at Charbury, the quintessential family country home in Somerset. The book is mostly about Mary's various false loves -- before finding the one true love -- but all the pleasure is in the detail. Her Uncle Geoffrey, a lazy, feckless, but utterly charming actor, was an absolute scene-stealer.
Hugely enjoyable to read, but it didn't have the emotional impact of The Winds of Heaven -- the first Dickens novel that I read.
Update: Rereading for The Persephone Project, April 2021
Harriet Lane's Introduction to my Persephone edition really does pin down the essence of this book as "the sometimes comic story of a young woman trying, often quite desperately, to occupy her days while waiting for the arrival of the right young man . . .". The book is bracketed by descriptions of solitude - once described by Mary as a 'benison' - although so much of the plot is taken up with Mary's various attempts at falling in love. Briefly, Mary knows what it is likely to be completely simpatico with another person. (Personally, I have never experienced this and have given up hope that I ever will: middle-aged realism has finally won out over romance.)
For me, the strongest bits of the novel were at the beginning when Mary was a child - at school, at home in London, but especially at Charbury, the Somerset home of Mary's grandparents. I remember laughing with delight, more than once, at the perfection of her observations.
It was a pleasure to read, and I would give it the same rating that I did in 2012, whilst also noting that I remembered very little about it from the first time I had read it.
Hugely enjoyable to read, but it didn't have the emotional impact of The Winds of Heaven -- the first Dickens novel that I read.
Update: Rereading for The Persephone Project, April 2021
Harriet Lane's Introduction to my Persephone edition really does pin down the essence of this book as "the sometimes comic story of a young woman trying, often quite desperately, to occupy her days while waiting for the arrival of the right young man . . .". The book is bracketed by descriptions of solitude - once described by Mary as a 'benison' - although so much of the plot is taken up with Mary's various attempts at falling in love. Briefly, Mary knows what it is likely to be completely simpatico with another person. (Personally, I have never experienced this and have given up hope that I ever will: middle-aged realism has finally won out over romance.)
She liked everybody in this funny, smelly little place, because it was such fun being with Sam. He made life so easy by always knowing, not deliberately but intuitively, how to treat people. It would always be like this now. Secure. Never again that feeling of solitude in a crowd that made one sometimes begin to think furtively of escape.
She remembered chiefly the deepening discovery that another person could be oneself. That being with him could be like being alone without the loneliness.
For me, the strongest bits of the novel were at the beginning when Mary was a child - at school, at home in London, but especially at Charbury, the Somerset home of Mary's grandparents. I remember laughing with delight, more than once, at the perfection of her observations.
It was a pleasure to read, and I would give it the same rating that I did in 2012, whilst also noting that I remembered very little about it from the first time I had read it.
October 5, 2022
3,5/5
En la fructuosa y necesaria misión de recuperar autoras injustamente olvidadas, la editorial Trotalibros nos brinda una de las publicaciones que más emoción han suscitado. En primer lugar llama la atención su nombre, Monica Dickens, y sí, suena raro pero siendo la bisnieta del gran maestro de la literatura, Charles Dickens, Monica fue inmerecidamente ignorada del mundo editorial castellano. No es hasta ahora que podemos leer “Mariana”, que vio la luz en 1940 y que aterriza en una preciosa edición cuidada y elegante. Os invito a saber más de ella, vale la pena y prometo unas cuantas risas.
“Mariana”, se nos presenta en su primer capítulo como una historia romántica, madura y cargada de dramatismo, o eso puedes llegar a intuir al leer la presentación. Pero todo cambia y de una página a otra la vida aflora y la felicidad nace a través de un viaje al pasado, tal y como se dice en inglés, estamos ante un “coming-of-age” en toda regla. Nos espera un escrito feel good, narrado con tal entusiasmo que es inevitable que se transmita al lector.
Hace poco os hablaba de la importancia de que un libro me haga sentir, en esa ocasión eran emociones negativas, en esta, tengo que deciros que hacía mucho tiempo que una lectura no me hacía sentir tan bien. Mary me ha contagiado su ilusión de vivir, sus ganas locas de equivocarse, de probar cosas, de chocar y volver a levantarse, magullada pero siempre con una sonrisa. Nuestra protagonista dista mucho de ser considerada perfecta, al contrario, es una rebelde sin causa, de una familia de artistas.
En conclusión, si aún no os he convencido, tan solo puedo añadir que me he reído a carcajada limpia en innumerables ocasiones gracias a las peripecias de nuestra querida Mary. Es una novela que carece de pretensiones de ser una obra maestra, que incita a dejar volar las emociones y a sacar la negatividad de la mente. La recomiendo, mucho, sobre todo para cuando queremos sentirnos bien y felices leyendo.
En la fructuosa y necesaria misión de recuperar autoras injustamente olvidadas, la editorial Trotalibros nos brinda una de las publicaciones que más emoción han suscitado. En primer lugar llama la atención su nombre, Monica Dickens, y sí, suena raro pero siendo la bisnieta del gran maestro de la literatura, Charles Dickens, Monica fue inmerecidamente ignorada del mundo editorial castellano. No es hasta ahora que podemos leer “Mariana”, que vio la luz en 1940 y que aterriza en una preciosa edición cuidada y elegante. Os invito a saber más de ella, vale la pena y prometo unas cuantas risas.
“Mariana”, se nos presenta en su primer capítulo como una historia romántica, madura y cargada de dramatismo, o eso puedes llegar a intuir al leer la presentación. Pero todo cambia y de una página a otra la vida aflora y la felicidad nace a través de un viaje al pasado, tal y como se dice en inglés, estamos ante un “coming-of-age” en toda regla. Nos espera un escrito feel good, narrado con tal entusiasmo que es inevitable que se transmita al lector.
Hace poco os hablaba de la importancia de que un libro me haga sentir, en esa ocasión eran emociones negativas, en esta, tengo que deciros que hacía mucho tiempo que una lectura no me hacía sentir tan bien. Mary me ha contagiado su ilusión de vivir, sus ganas locas de equivocarse, de probar cosas, de chocar y volver a levantarse, magullada pero siempre con una sonrisa. Nuestra protagonista dista mucho de ser considerada perfecta, al contrario, es una rebelde sin causa, de una familia de artistas.
En conclusión, si aún no os he convencido, tan solo puedo añadir que me he reído a carcajada limpia en innumerables ocasiones gracias a las peripecias de nuestra querida Mary. Es una novela que carece de pretensiones de ser una obra maestra, que incita a dejar volar las emociones y a sacar la negatividad de la mente. La recomiendo, mucho, sobre todo para cuando queremos sentirnos bien y felices leyendo.
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September 9, 2020My daughter Eliza told me to read this book, which she described as "cozy." Say no more! Bring on the cozy. By Charles Dickens's great-grandaughter. Published by Persephone Books, a publisher that all book-lovers should know about. Wonderful books, beautifully published.
July 24, 2016
Monica Dickens was the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens. Of her novels, I've only read Mariana, which I like very much; I would also recommend her non-fiction, particularly the very funny One Pair of Hands, about her work as a cook and the households she worked in.
Mariana was Dickens' first novel, published originally in 1940. It begins with Mary, the heroine, learning that her husband's destroyer has been sunk with only a few survivors. While she waits to find out whether her husband is one of them, she takes refuge in thinking of her past: the vivacious mother and actor uncle who brought her up, the beautiful Elizabethan house belonging to her father's family, her education at a strict girls' school and a drama school, and her love affairs in England and Paris.
Just as One Pair of Hands and her other autobiographical works do, Mariana draws on Dickens' personal experiences: she too spent her holidays at an ancestral house, she too went to drama school, she too spent time in Paris after leaving school. Perhaps partly because it's based on her own life, the book is full of the small domestic details Dickens is so good at, of clothes, food, gardens, and houses, which I find so fascinating. I've only read this twice, but it's quickly turning into a perfect comfort read.
Mariana was Dickens' first novel, published originally in 1940. It begins with Mary, the heroine, learning that her husband's destroyer has been sunk with only a few survivors. While she waits to find out whether her husband is one of them, she takes refuge in thinking of her past: the vivacious mother and actor uncle who brought her up, the beautiful Elizabethan house belonging to her father's family, her education at a strict girls' school and a drama school, and her love affairs in England and Paris.
Just as One Pair of Hands and her other autobiographical works do, Mariana draws on Dickens' personal experiences: she too spent her holidays at an ancestral house, she too went to drama school, she too spent time in Paris after leaving school. Perhaps partly because it's based on her own life, the book is full of the small domestic details Dickens is so good at, of clothes, food, gardens, and houses, which I find so fascinating. I've only read this twice, but it's quickly turning into a perfect comfort read.
August 31, 2022
¡Qué necesario es a veces dar con historias que te abrazan! Y qué fantástico es cuando llegan en el momento indicado. Hace unas semanas salí muy tocada de la lectura de ‘Una educación’, las memorias de una joven criada en una familia de fundamentalistas mormones y, al mismo tiempo, en el plano personal, fueron momentos complicados y de muchos nervios. En esos días, Mary llegó a mi vida como esa amiga que llena de luz cualquier habitación y de risas cada historia.
Lo mismo te preguntas, pero ¿quién es Mary? Mary es la protagonista de ‘Mariana’, que igual que sus demás novelas, tendrían mucho de la vida de la propia Monica Dickens. La conoceremos en un día lluvioso, cuando ella, que solo quería pasar un día tranquilo leyendo y relajándose, escucha por la radio que el buque donde sirve su marido, ha sido hundido. Debido a la tormenta, está sin línea por lo que se verá obligada a esperar al día siguiente para conocer si su marido ha fallecido o a tenido la suerte de sobrevivir.
En el transcurso de esa larga noche (¡cada minuto de espera debió ser como un año entero para Mary!), a nosotros como lectores nos da tiempo a echar la vista atrás y repasar la vida de Mary desde su infancia. Gracias a esto, te das cuenta de que tienes entre las manos una genial novela de crecimiento, no tanto el drama que auguras al inicio. Al mismo tiempo, la autora elige muy bien los escenarios de la obra, para valiéndose de ellos, hacer un retrato del momento histórico, ese sol que brilla antes de que lleguen las nubes negras de la guerra.
Mary es uno de esos personajes inolvidables, capaz de sacar siempre el lado positivo de las situaciones, de, no sin sufrimiento, saber tirar siempre hacia delante con la cabeza alta, moderna, divertida, cabezota, a veces insegura, a veces celosa, pero siempre sumamente auténtica. Mary, sincera en extremo, con mundo interior, inquietudes, dudas… a quien quise desde la primera línea del libro (“Mary oía a menudo la expresión: “No soporto estar sola”, y nunca llegó a entenderla”).
Lo mejor quizá sea que Mary no está sola, siempre estará con ella su familia que cuenta con personajes absolutamente geniales como su tío, un actor de comedias que no quiere casarse, su madre, una mujer luchadora y fuerte pero muy divertida, una abuela a la que querrás abrazar y otra con la que deseas no vértelas jamás…
Una historia de crecimiento, de amistad, de amor, de aprendizaje, de pérdida… Cuando lo leí tuve la sensación de que una parte de romance fue un poco precipitada, ahora echo la vista atrás y creo que era yo enfadada porque el libro se me acababa.
Sonrisas y lágrimas soy yo leyendo y amando este clásico rescatado por @trotalibros.
Lo mismo te preguntas, pero ¿quién es Mary? Mary es la protagonista de ‘Mariana’, que igual que sus demás novelas, tendrían mucho de la vida de la propia Monica Dickens. La conoceremos en un día lluvioso, cuando ella, que solo quería pasar un día tranquilo leyendo y relajándose, escucha por la radio que el buque donde sirve su marido, ha sido hundido. Debido a la tormenta, está sin línea por lo que se verá obligada a esperar al día siguiente para conocer si su marido ha fallecido o a tenido la suerte de sobrevivir.
En el transcurso de esa larga noche (¡cada minuto de espera debió ser como un año entero para Mary!), a nosotros como lectores nos da tiempo a echar la vista atrás y repasar la vida de Mary desde su infancia. Gracias a esto, te das cuenta de que tienes entre las manos una genial novela de crecimiento, no tanto el drama que auguras al inicio. Al mismo tiempo, la autora elige muy bien los escenarios de la obra, para valiéndose de ellos, hacer un retrato del momento histórico, ese sol que brilla antes de que lleguen las nubes negras de la guerra.
Mary es uno de esos personajes inolvidables, capaz de sacar siempre el lado positivo de las situaciones, de, no sin sufrimiento, saber tirar siempre hacia delante con la cabeza alta, moderna, divertida, cabezota, a veces insegura, a veces celosa, pero siempre sumamente auténtica. Mary, sincera en extremo, con mundo interior, inquietudes, dudas… a quien quise desde la primera línea del libro (“Mary oía a menudo la expresión: “No soporto estar sola”, y nunca llegó a entenderla”).
Lo mejor quizá sea que Mary no está sola, siempre estará con ella su familia que cuenta con personajes absolutamente geniales como su tío, un actor de comedias que no quiere casarse, su madre, una mujer luchadora y fuerte pero muy divertida, una abuela a la que querrás abrazar y otra con la que deseas no vértelas jamás…
Una historia de crecimiento, de amistad, de amor, de aprendizaje, de pérdida… Cuando lo leí tuve la sensación de que una parte de romance fue un poco precipitada, ahora echo la vista atrás y creo que era yo enfadada porque el libro se me acababa.
Sonrisas y lágrimas soy yo leyendo y amando este clásico rescatado por @trotalibros.
February 26, 2013
This is one of those comfort reads that take you back to a lovely safe place when it's miserable outside or you're ill or simply having a duvet day. Monica Dickens was at one time hugely popular but now she's seen as old-fashioned, and she probably is, but in a good way.
This is her second book, but her first novel. It was published in 1941 when she was only twenty-four, and it's semi-autobiographical, I would say. Mariana (named for she of Tennyson's moated grange)is the spirited, but ultimately conventional daughter of a widowed mother, and brought up in shabby genteel circumstances. Her psychological 'place of safety' is a country house where she used to stay with her cousins as a child. During the novel she rambles through a series of romances,including an engagement to a wealthy French boy,until she finally discovers her soulmate. There are comparisons to be made with the delightful I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. You could also say that it's Bridget Jones's Diary for the 1930s.
Some readers will find Mariana a little smug, but I didn't mind that too much. She's wickedly funny about the range of elderly aunts, raffish uncles and slovenly maidservants who shamble through her life and I often found myself chuckling over some thumbnail character sketch.
I do admire Persephone Books for bringing this book back into print in a beautiful edition - with flaps - and a lovely introduction by Harriet Lane.
This is her second book, but her first novel. It was published in 1941 when she was only twenty-four, and it's semi-autobiographical, I would say. Mariana (named for she of Tennyson's moated grange)is the spirited, but ultimately conventional daughter of a widowed mother, and brought up in shabby genteel circumstances. Her psychological 'place of safety' is a country house where she used to stay with her cousins as a child. During the novel she rambles through a series of romances,including an engagement to a wealthy French boy,until she finally discovers her soulmate. There are comparisons to be made with the delightful I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. You could also say that it's Bridget Jones's Diary for the 1930s.
Some readers will find Mariana a little smug, but I didn't mind that too much. She's wickedly funny about the range of elderly aunts, raffish uncles and slovenly maidservants who shamble through her life and I often found myself chuckling over some thumbnail character sketch.
I do admire Persephone Books for bringing this book back into print in a beautiful edition - with flaps - and a lovely introduction by Harriet Lane.
January 20, 2021
Esta es una de esas lecturas que dan calorcito al corazón, 'Mariana' hace referencia a un poema de Tennyson del mismo título en el que Mariana se siente morir porque su corazón le dice que su amor nunca volverá:
Upon the lonely moated grange.
She only said, "My life is dreary,
He cometh not," she said;
She said, "I am aweary, aweary,
I would that I were dead!"
Y algo de eso hay en el libro de Monica Dickens, que te deja los tres últimos capítulos con el corazón en un puño por Mary, sufriendo y temiendo literalmente hasta la última línea. Mary desespera en la tormenta y recuerda su vida desde que era niña hasta el momento en que comienza el libro, en un círculo que cierra con esperanza, nos habla de sus vacaciones en casa de los abuelos, de la lucha constante de su madre viuda de una guerra, de su poco destacable paso por las escuelas, de su affaire con un rico parisino, de desilusiones, de esperanzas, de amor por la familia a pesar de sus defectos. 'Mariana' es un libro que se ancla al alma y se queda para siempre.
May 23, 2016
In 'Mariana', we follow a young girl growing up in the 1920s and 30s. We follow her infatuations, her precious memories, her dreams and disappointments. The book is beautiful, dreamy and a wonderful pleasure to curl up with. I enjoyed every single page and wished it would never end.
People don’t want to read about people in heaven. They like to lick their lips over them in hell.
I adored our protagonist, Mary. She appreciates the good things in life. She's passionate, creative and dreamy. Although she is very sociable, she values being alone and enjoys her own company.
She had a feeling of calmness, almost of dignity, that she had never had when she was not alone. With other people one was only an unconsidered fragment of the company; alone, one was a complete entity by oneself.
'Mariana' is a wonderful novel that I would recommend to anyone who liked I Capture the Castle, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, 'Anne of Green Gables' and Jane Austen. Or anyone who likes to read novels filled with dreams and creativity.
She was nineteen and it felt wrong not to be in love.
Monica Dickens is an - for me at least - unknown author, despite the fact that she has written tons of books and is Charles Dickens' great-granddaughter. 'Mariana' has been out of print for many years and has only recently been reprinted.
My blog: The Bookworm's Closet
June 8, 2015
Charming and highly readable. It was a tad predictable but Persephone novels have yet to disappoint me with wonderful observations of the time period and witty conversation I really connected with Mary as a heroine, it was a nice cozy read!
April 11, 2020
4.5 stars
Read
April 18, 2013This may be the loveliest opening to a novel that I have ever read.
“Mary sometimes heard people say: ‘I can’t bear to be alone.” She could never understand this. All her life she had needed the benison of occasional solitude, and she needed it now more than ever. If she could not be with the man she loved, then she would rather be by herself.”
It captured my own feelings perfectly, and expressed them more beautifully than I ever could.
MarianaMary escaped to the country with just her small terrier dog, Bingo, in tow. Her husband was at sea, in the navy, and the country was at war. Because she wanted to be quiet, to remember, to think.
It was lovely watching Mary and Bingo settle in, lovely to be reminded of the depth of Monica Dickens’ understanding of character and of her talent for catching exactly the right details to paint a perfect picture.
I was particularly taken with her understanding that a terrier can be sound asleep and alert at the same time …
The peaceful scene was disturbed when Mary switched on the wireless, when she heard that her husband’s ship had been hit. There were survivors, there was hope, but Mary had a night to get through before she found out the next morning if her husband was alive or dead.
It was a sleepless night, and as she lay awake Mary turned over memories in her mind.
She remembered her childhood, with a mother who had been widowed in the last war and who worked as a dressmaker to support them. Her husband’s family would have helped but she didn’t want to be beholden to them. It was enough that they gave Mary lovely, idyllic summer holidays in the country. And a place in a bigger family.
She remembered going to drama school with grand plans, and coming to realise that she was on the wrong path. Fashion college in Paris was a much better idea. She could have a lovely time and she could play a part in the family business. Mary had a wonderful time in Paris, and she made a marvellous catch. But even the most marvellous catch is not necessarily the right catch.
Mary found her happy ending back in England, at the most unexpected moment.
Now it has to be said that Mary is not the most sympathetic of characters. She is often awkward, thoughtless, selfish even. But she was real, and for all her failing I did like her, I did want her to find her path in life, her place in the world. Sometimes fallible heroines are so much easier to love.
And Mary was real, alive, and her emotional journey was so utterly real. There were highs and lows, tears and laughter. Every emotion a young woman might go through. And so many incidents, so many moments to recollect.
All of this was observed so beautifully, with understanding, intelligence, and just the right amount of empathy.
But if Mary’s life was the foreground, the background was just as perfectly realised. Her world was as alive as she was, and every character who was part of that word, even if only for a short while, was caught perfectly.
I loved watching over Mary’s life. It was an ordinary life, but every ordinary life is unique and Monica Dickens highlighted that quite beautifully.
And I could have stayed in her world quite happily, but morning eventually came, and Mary had to face whatever news of her husband might come. And when it came I had to leave.
I’d love to know what happened in the next chapters of Mary’s life, but failing that I’ll go back and read about the years I know all over again one day. Because this is a lovely book, and a lovely way to get lost in another life and another world.
“Mary sometimes heard people say: ‘I can’t bear to be alone.” She could never understand this. All her life she had needed the benison of occasional solitude, and she needed it now more than ever. If she could not be with the man she loved, then she would rather be by herself.”
It captured my own feelings perfectly, and expressed them more beautifully than I ever could.
MarianaMary escaped to the country with just her small terrier dog, Bingo, in tow. Her husband was at sea, in the navy, and the country was at war. Because she wanted to be quiet, to remember, to think.
It was lovely watching Mary and Bingo settle in, lovely to be reminded of the depth of Monica Dickens’ understanding of character and of her talent for catching exactly the right details to paint a perfect picture.
I was particularly taken with her understanding that a terrier can be sound asleep and alert at the same time …
The peaceful scene was disturbed when Mary switched on the wireless, when she heard that her husband’s ship had been hit. There were survivors, there was hope, but Mary had a night to get through before she found out the next morning if her husband was alive or dead.
It was a sleepless night, and as she lay awake Mary turned over memories in her mind.
She remembered her childhood, with a mother who had been widowed in the last war and who worked as a dressmaker to support them. Her husband’s family would have helped but she didn’t want to be beholden to them. It was enough that they gave Mary lovely, idyllic summer holidays in the country. And a place in a bigger family.
She remembered going to drama school with grand plans, and coming to realise that she was on the wrong path. Fashion college in Paris was a much better idea. She could have a lovely time and she could play a part in the family business. Mary had a wonderful time in Paris, and she made a marvellous catch. But even the most marvellous catch is not necessarily the right catch.
Mary found her happy ending back in England, at the most unexpected moment.
Now it has to be said that Mary is not the most sympathetic of characters. She is often awkward, thoughtless, selfish even. But she was real, and for all her failing I did like her, I did want her to find her path in life, her place in the world. Sometimes fallible heroines are so much easier to love.
And Mary was real, alive, and her emotional journey was so utterly real. There were highs and lows, tears and laughter. Every emotion a young woman might go through. And so many incidents, so many moments to recollect.
All of this was observed so beautifully, with understanding, intelligence, and just the right amount of empathy.
But if Mary’s life was the foreground, the background was just as perfectly realised. Her world was as alive as she was, and every character who was part of that word, even if only for a short while, was caught perfectly.
I loved watching over Mary’s life. It was an ordinary life, but every ordinary life is unique and Monica Dickens highlighted that quite beautifully.
And I could have stayed in her world quite happily, but morning eventually came, and Mary had to face whatever news of her husband might come. And when it came I had to leave.
I’d love to know what happened in the next chapters of Mary’s life, but failing that I’ll go back and read about the years I know all over again one day. Because this is a lovely book, and a lovely way to get lost in another life and another world.
October 26, 2023
GIVE THIS A CHANCE--IT GETS BETTER AS YOU FO. PEOPLE BEHVE IN A REALISTIC MANNER--THEY ARE NOT ANGELS! AND YET THE ENDING MAKES YOU HAAPPY BUT I AM NOT GOING TO EXPLAIN IN WHAT WAY.
MARIANA'S ABILITY TO KEEP HER THPOGHTS TO HERSELF AND NOT SAY A WORD SURPRISED ME. I AM SO VERY DIFFERENT. THIS IS WHY I AT TIMES HAD DIFFICULTY RELATING TO HER. I FRW TO ACCEPT THE WAY SHE WAS. PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT.
LISTENED TO AN RNIB RECORDING WHICH WAS GOOD.
***********************
*One Pair Of Hands 4 stars
*One Pair of Feet 1 star
*Mariana 3 stars
*Kate and Emma TBR
*The Winds of Heaven TBR
*The House at World's End TBR
MARIANA'S ABILITY TO KEEP HER THPOGHTS TO HERSELF AND NOT SAY A WORD SURPRISED ME. I AM SO VERY DIFFERENT. THIS IS WHY I AT TIMES HAD DIFFICULTY RELATING TO HER. I FRW TO ACCEPT THE WAY SHE WAS. PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT.
LISTENED TO AN RNIB RECORDING WHICH WAS GOOD.
***********************
*One Pair Of Hands 4 stars
*One Pair of Feet 1 star
*Mariana 3 stars
*Kate and Emma TBR
*The Winds of Heaven TBR
*The House at World's End TBR
June 16, 2024
"Mariana" es una auténtica joya literaria. La novela, escrita por Monica Dickens, bisnieta del famoso Charles Dickens, es una obra que brilla con un encanto y una calidez únicos. A primera vista, la historia de Mary, una joven esperando noticias de su marido en la guerra, puede parecer sombría, pero Mónica Dickens nos sorprende con un tono ligero y humorístico que captura la esencia de una mente joven y torpe.
Mary Shannon, la protagonista, es una persona con la que es fácil identificarse debido a sus múltiples defectos y fracasos. A través de sus bucólicos veranos en el campo, escapadas parisinas y fracasos amorosos, Dickens nos presenta a una joven que, aunque no tiene grandes ambiciones, vive una vida llena de experiencias coloridas y personajes entrañables. Mary puede parecer engreída en algunos momentos, pero su autenticidad y humor la convierten en una protagonista entrañable.
Lo que realmente destaca de "Mariana" es la capacidad de Dickens para crear personajes maravillosos. Mary es una heroína imperfecta y, precisamente por eso, tan real y relatable. Desde su infancia hasta la edad adulta, la seguimos en sus aventuras, fracasos y descubrimientos personales. Su familia, amigos y amantes añaden una profundidad y color a la narrativa, haciendo que cada página sea un deleite.
Monica Dickens, aunque puede ser considerada anticuada en algunos aspectos, logra con "Mariana" una novela atemporal que resuena con cualquiera que haya experimentado el crecimiento y los retos de la vida. Publicada en 1940, esta obra semiautobiográfica refleja la vida en los años 20 y 30 de manera vívida y humorística.
No solo es una lectura reconfortante y divertida, sino también un retrato honesto del crecimiento y la maduración. Momentos como la última actuación de Mary en la escuela de teatro, su decepcionante corte de pelo y su ataque de apendicitis son simplemente brillantes y realistas. Dickens tiene un talento especial para hacer que los personajes se sientan como viejos amigos, y la narrativa fluye con una calidez y familiaridad que hace difícil dejar el libro.
"Mariana" es una novela encantadora, divertida y perspicaz que te transporta a un lugar seguro y nostálgico. Es un libro para leer una y otra vez, especialmente en las tardes lluviosas con una taza de café. Monica Dickens ha creado una obra maestra que no solo honra el legado de su famoso bisabuelo, sino que también establece su propio lugar en el panteón de la literatura clásica. Una lectura imprescindible y absolutamente deliciosa.
Mary Shannon, la protagonista, es una persona con la que es fácil identificarse debido a sus múltiples defectos y fracasos. A través de sus bucólicos veranos en el campo, escapadas parisinas y fracasos amorosos, Dickens nos presenta a una joven que, aunque no tiene grandes ambiciones, vive una vida llena de experiencias coloridas y personajes entrañables. Mary puede parecer engreída en algunos momentos, pero su autenticidad y humor la convierten en una protagonista entrañable.
Lo que realmente destaca de "Mariana" es la capacidad de Dickens para crear personajes maravillosos. Mary es una heroína imperfecta y, precisamente por eso, tan real y relatable. Desde su infancia hasta la edad adulta, la seguimos en sus aventuras, fracasos y descubrimientos personales. Su familia, amigos y amantes añaden una profundidad y color a la narrativa, haciendo que cada página sea un deleite.
Monica Dickens, aunque puede ser considerada anticuada en algunos aspectos, logra con "Mariana" una novela atemporal que resuena con cualquiera que haya experimentado el crecimiento y los retos de la vida. Publicada en 1940, esta obra semiautobiográfica refleja la vida en los años 20 y 30 de manera vívida y humorística.
No solo es una lectura reconfortante y divertida, sino también un retrato honesto del crecimiento y la maduración. Momentos como la última actuación de Mary en la escuela de teatro, su decepcionante corte de pelo y su ataque de apendicitis son simplemente brillantes y realistas. Dickens tiene un talento especial para hacer que los personajes se sientan como viejos amigos, y la narrativa fluye con una calidez y familiaridad que hace difícil dejar el libro.
"Mariana" es una novela encantadora, divertida y perspicaz que te transporta a un lugar seguro y nostálgico. Es un libro para leer una y otra vez, especialmente en las tardes lluviosas con una taza de café. Monica Dickens ha creado una obra maestra que no solo honra el legado de su famoso bisabuelo, sino que también establece su propio lugar en el panteón de la literatura clásica. Una lectura imprescindible y absolutamente deliciosa.
March 24, 2017
Mary Shannon has gone away to brood while her husband is at war in WW II. During a storm she hears on the radio that her husband's ship has gone down; frantically, she tries to telephone to get news, but her line is down. During the long night, she remembers her life from about age 8, and it is part coming of age and part becoming her own person. This is the second novel by Monica Dickens, the great- granddaughter of Charles Dickens, and she said that it was semi-autobiographical.
Part of this book gripped me more than others. I did root for Mary, even if she was often self-centered; I think that is a natural part of most children's development, and if she didn't get out of it as early as many of us think she should have, just look around at how many self-centred teens and early twenties people there are today.
As far as women authors went, Monica Dickens was only outsold at that time by Daphne du Maurier, however, her work hasn't remained as popular over time. I haven't read du Maurier for years, so can't give a good comparison as to why, but I do think it's a shame she's so little known now. I didn't love this book, although I suspect that when I was younger I'd have liked it more.
Part of this book gripped me more than others. I did root for Mary, even if she was often self-centered; I think that is a natural part of most children's development, and if she didn't get out of it as early as many of us think she should have, just look around at how many self-centred teens and early twenties people there are today.
As far as women authors went, Monica Dickens was only outsold at that time by Daphne du Maurier, however, her work hasn't remained as popular over time. I haven't read du Maurier for years, so can't give a good comparison as to why, but I do think it's a shame she's so little known now. I didn't love this book, although I suspect that when I was younger I'd have liked it more.
June 3, 2020
Realmente delicioso y entrañable.
Este libro es un "coming of age" o una "historia de crecimiento" que nos cuenta la vida de Mary durante sus primeros años en la Inglaterra de los años 20 y 30. Tiene uno de los mejores comienzos que yo he visto nunca. Realmente memorable. El final no es totalmente cerrado pero para mí eso no ha sido un problema aunque sé que para algunos lectores ha supuesto una decepción.
El resto de la historia es justamente eso: entrañable. Recorremos la infancia de Mary y sus veraneos en la casa de campo de sus abuelos, sus primeros amores, sus intentos por convertirse en actriz, su vida y estudios en París así como sucesivos enamoramientos hasta llegar al amor de su vida.
Una de las cosas que más me ha gustado es la atención al detalle, a las pequeñas cosas del día a día y sobre todo, el sentido del humor y la fina ironía con que retrata determinadas situaciones y personajes.
Creo que Monica Dickens es una más que diga biznieta de Charles y espero leer más cosas suyas en un futuro.
Este libro es un "coming of age" o una "historia de crecimiento" que nos cuenta la vida de Mary durante sus primeros años en la Inglaterra de los años 20 y 30. Tiene uno de los mejores comienzos que yo he visto nunca. Realmente memorable. El final no es totalmente cerrado pero para mí eso no ha sido un problema aunque sé que para algunos lectores ha supuesto una decepción.
El resto de la historia es justamente eso: entrañable. Recorremos la infancia de Mary y sus veraneos en la casa de campo de sus abuelos, sus primeros amores, sus intentos por convertirse en actriz, su vida y estudios en París así como sucesivos enamoramientos hasta llegar al amor de su vida.
Una de las cosas que más me ha gustado es la atención al detalle, a las pequeñas cosas del día a día y sobre todo, el sentido del humor y la fina ironía con que retrata determinadas situaciones y personajes.
Creo que Monica Dickens es una más que diga biznieta de Charles y espero leer más cosas suyas en un futuro.
October 3, 2022
If I could choose a book to never end it would be this one! I haven’t read it since I was 18 (over 30 years ago!) & it was every bit - and more- wonderful than I remembered. Off to dig out some more of MD’s novels now. What a brilliant writer she was.
January 27, 2016
Review originally published here: http://girlwithherheadinabook.co.uk/2...
I adored this book – it was such a comfort read. I feel a real sense of sadness that it is only a library book – giving it back is going to be a wrench. There are obvious parallels to I Capture The Castle but to me, it recalled far more The Pursuit of Love, only a far gentler version; there is none of the trademark Mitford spikiness, it is self-deprecating rather than skewering. This is a true coming-of-age tale with the blithe ingenue heroine Mary at its heart. The story begins with her as a young wife, listening to the wireless and hearing that her husband’s ship has gone down. Stuck out in the countryside in the middle of a storm, with no access to a phone line, Mary has no way of finding out what has become of him and, unable to sleep, she lies in the darkness thinking of all of the events of her life that have brought her to this point. From such a bleak beginning, the novel immediately lightens, going back to Mary’s idyllic childhood, the long summers spent amongst her cousins at Charbury, her bohemian dress-maker mother and her would-be movie star uncle – it becomes a comedy of manners, with the reader watching a young girl grow up in a world which knows that her ultimate fate is only ever going to be matrimony.
There is more than the whiff of the memoir about Mariana, with many of the details drawn from Monica Dickens’ own life. There is a comfort about many of the early events of the story, with various childish adventures and mishaps that would not be out of place in a Noel Streatfeild novel. Still, there is an added layer to many of the anecdotes, with the adult Mary reminding herself of details that her mother reported later, of tensions and arguments of which at the time she was ignorant – these days were not as halcyon as she believed. Yet all the same, Mariana never sets out to be a novel that is going to rock the boat; as a young woman growing to adulthood in the 1930s, Mary is extremely conventional in her outlook – inheriting the outlook of her father’s side of the family, she is horrified when her mother suggests that when she grows up she will have to out to work. “Oh no, I shan’t do that, I’m going to be married and have twenty-six children with names going all through the alphabet, like Arthur, Barbara, Chloe, Egbert, Felicity, George, Harriet, Ipheginia -‘ The twelve year-old Mary is no crazed husband-hunter, she just knows that the only career she is interested in is that of wife.
There is a real nostalgia to Mariana, particularly in its descriptions of Charbury, her grandparents’ country house. There are frequent descriptions of food – the nursery teas and the high dinners to which the children are invited on their best behaviour, then the wonderful evening when Mary’s Uncle Geoffrey takes her to the Cafe Royal. The food really hits its zenith when Mary spends her year in Paris, with the dashing Pierre available to guide her to all of the best spots – then when Mary realises on the boat home to England that she cannot possible remain in France, since England looks ‘so comfortably unexotic, like a cabbage.’ Food is a part of Mary’s identity – and with the advent of rationing, not only is the reader wistful for the luxurious pre-rationing cuisine, but Mary is having to find familiarity elsewhere.
More than anything, Mariana is a truly funny novel – my personal favourite was the scene from Mary’s childhood when she struggles through her algebra homework, with both her mother and uncle trying to help her. Her mother ‘with puckered brows trying to cast her mind back to the days of the Dulwich High School, and Uncle Geoffrey breathing down the back of Mary’s neck, out of his depth but willing to have a good guess’. As the conversation continues, Uncle Geoffrey doggedly repeats the question to himself since his ‘policy was, when in doubt, always go back to the beginning.’ This was so reminiscent of my own childhood struggles with maths that I had to laugh – Dickens has a real ear for dialogue and it is this which lifts what could otherwise be a very run-of-the-mill tale into being a novel to truly treasure.
Much of Dickens’ wit is highly observant, such as her words on Mary’s classmate Cecily Barnard who ‘couldn’t even write her own name and was not allowed to lock the door of the lavatory’ – then there is also the horror of Mary’s first friend Muriel, whose ‘oppressive attachment’ proves hard to shake off. There is the shudder of true recognition in Dickens’ description of Muriel as ‘like those undergraduates whose political and religious convictions are as obtrusive as their Adam’s apples.’ It is with relief that Mary discovers Angela Shaw as a friend instead. The comedy hits its most absurd height with Mary’s attempts to train as an actress which are harrowing in their awfulness – Dickens conjures up vividly Mary’s leaden lack of aptitude, something which must have been a cathartic experience since Monica Dickens too was kicked out of drama school for not being able to act.
I read the book with no pre-conceptions – I even somehow missed the blurb – and so observed Mary’s romantic adventures and misadventures with no expectations about where the cards would fall and ultimately I was glad that I had done so. This is not a story with wild twists and turns, it is the story of how a young girl came to be but perhaps the biggest surprise is that Mary’s conclusion is not a romantic one, but a realisation that she is complete in herself. That no matter what the morning may bring, she will have to go on. ‘When you were born, you were given a trust of individuality that you were bound to preserve. It was precious. The things that happened in your life, however closely connected with other people, developed and strengthened that individuality. You became a person Nothing that ever happens in life can take away the fact that I am me. So I have to go on being me.’ Mary may appear rooted in the domestic, but for all that, she makes a surprisingly revolutionary revelation. I can think of few novels which left me feeling quite so much happiness, and the only reason I didn’t whoop at the final few lines was that I was on a bus. A reassuring read but one with an incredibly warm heart.
I adored this book – it was such a comfort read. I feel a real sense of sadness that it is only a library book – giving it back is going to be a wrench. There are obvious parallels to I Capture The Castle but to me, it recalled far more The Pursuit of Love, only a far gentler version; there is none of the trademark Mitford spikiness, it is self-deprecating rather than skewering. This is a true coming-of-age tale with the blithe ingenue heroine Mary at its heart. The story begins with her as a young wife, listening to the wireless and hearing that her husband’s ship has gone down. Stuck out in the countryside in the middle of a storm, with no access to a phone line, Mary has no way of finding out what has become of him and, unable to sleep, she lies in the darkness thinking of all of the events of her life that have brought her to this point. From such a bleak beginning, the novel immediately lightens, going back to Mary’s idyllic childhood, the long summers spent amongst her cousins at Charbury, her bohemian dress-maker mother and her would-be movie star uncle – it becomes a comedy of manners, with the reader watching a young girl grow up in a world which knows that her ultimate fate is only ever going to be matrimony.
There is more than the whiff of the memoir about Mariana, with many of the details drawn from Monica Dickens’ own life. There is a comfort about many of the early events of the story, with various childish adventures and mishaps that would not be out of place in a Noel Streatfeild novel. Still, there is an added layer to many of the anecdotes, with the adult Mary reminding herself of details that her mother reported later, of tensions and arguments of which at the time she was ignorant – these days were not as halcyon as she believed. Yet all the same, Mariana never sets out to be a novel that is going to rock the boat; as a young woman growing to adulthood in the 1930s, Mary is extremely conventional in her outlook – inheriting the outlook of her father’s side of the family, she is horrified when her mother suggests that when she grows up she will have to out to work. “Oh no, I shan’t do that, I’m going to be married and have twenty-six children with names going all through the alphabet, like Arthur, Barbara, Chloe, Egbert, Felicity, George, Harriet, Ipheginia -‘ The twelve year-old Mary is no crazed husband-hunter, she just knows that the only career she is interested in is that of wife.
There is a real nostalgia to Mariana, particularly in its descriptions of Charbury, her grandparents’ country house. There are frequent descriptions of food – the nursery teas and the high dinners to which the children are invited on their best behaviour, then the wonderful evening when Mary’s Uncle Geoffrey takes her to the Cafe Royal. The food really hits its zenith when Mary spends her year in Paris, with the dashing Pierre available to guide her to all of the best spots – then when Mary realises on the boat home to England that she cannot possible remain in France, since England looks ‘so comfortably unexotic, like a cabbage.’ Food is a part of Mary’s identity – and with the advent of rationing, not only is the reader wistful for the luxurious pre-rationing cuisine, but Mary is having to find familiarity elsewhere.
More than anything, Mariana is a truly funny novel – my personal favourite was the scene from Mary’s childhood when she struggles through her algebra homework, with both her mother and uncle trying to help her. Her mother ‘with puckered brows trying to cast her mind back to the days of the Dulwich High School, and Uncle Geoffrey breathing down the back of Mary’s neck, out of his depth but willing to have a good guess’. As the conversation continues, Uncle Geoffrey doggedly repeats the question to himself since his ‘policy was, when in doubt, always go back to the beginning.’ This was so reminiscent of my own childhood struggles with maths that I had to laugh – Dickens has a real ear for dialogue and it is this which lifts what could otherwise be a very run-of-the-mill tale into being a novel to truly treasure.
Much of Dickens’ wit is highly observant, such as her words on Mary’s classmate Cecily Barnard who ‘couldn’t even write her own name and was not allowed to lock the door of the lavatory’ – then there is also the horror of Mary’s first friend Muriel, whose ‘oppressive attachment’ proves hard to shake off. There is the shudder of true recognition in Dickens’ description of Muriel as ‘like those undergraduates whose political and religious convictions are as obtrusive as their Adam’s apples.’ It is with relief that Mary discovers Angela Shaw as a friend instead. The comedy hits its most absurd height with Mary’s attempts to train as an actress which are harrowing in their awfulness – Dickens conjures up vividly Mary’s leaden lack of aptitude, something which must have been a cathartic experience since Monica Dickens too was kicked out of drama school for not being able to act.
I read the book with no pre-conceptions – I even somehow missed the blurb – and so observed Mary’s romantic adventures and misadventures with no expectations about where the cards would fall and ultimately I was glad that I had done so. This is not a story with wild twists and turns, it is the story of how a young girl came to be but perhaps the biggest surprise is that Mary’s conclusion is not a romantic one, but a realisation that she is complete in herself. That no matter what the morning may bring, she will have to go on. ‘When you were born, you were given a trust of individuality that you were bound to preserve. It was precious. The things that happened in your life, however closely connected with other people, developed and strengthened that individuality. You became a person Nothing that ever happens in life can take away the fact that I am me. So I have to go on being me.’ Mary may appear rooted in the domestic, but for all that, she makes a surprisingly revolutionary revelation. I can think of few novels which left me feeling quite so much happiness, and the only reason I didn’t whoop at the final few lines was that I was on a bus. A reassuring read but one with an incredibly warm heart.
January 26, 2020
A rather nice period piece, the story of a middle class, but struggling young woman in 1930's Great Britain, supposedly somewhat autobiographical. It was pleasant, but not outstanding. I rate it a 4 because it is of historical significance, slice of life, and all that.
January 21, 2008
Well I really enjoyed this book, it's the story of Mary who we first meet when she's about eleven. We follow her through holidays at her grandfathers large country house with her cousins, schooling, a short spell at a dramatic arts college, an art course in Paris, her first job, and a couple of misjudged romances. There are a host of loveable charcters - one of my personal favourites being Uncle Geoffrey. Of course as with many of these republished works that Persephone offer - some of the langauage is slightly non pc and rather dated - but you have set things in the context of the times they were written in and not mind too much - I love things written in the 20's 30's and 40's (this was originally first published in 1940) - although madly I often had the voice of Ceila Johnson ringing in my ears as I read - but that could just be me - I saw Mary as a younger Ceila Johnson I think.
April 22, 2019
I really liked this one, but I rarely get on very well with books that take place over a long period of time and follow a lifespan, with a few exceptions. This one follows Mary from the age of about 11 and finishes about 15 years later, so we do follow the important stages of her life, but it would jump a bit in places.
March 6, 2020
Reading it was like being somewhere in the country on a hot summer day, lying on the grass under a tree looking at the sun shining through the leaves. The story was full of light and precious little things of everyday life.
Loved every page of it, will definitely reread in the future. Such a charming heartwarming read.
Loved every page of it, will definitely reread in the future. Such a charming heartwarming read.
January 3, 2017
Absolutely delightful. This is a gentle coming of age tale, set between the two great wars. Mary finds love and loses love and finds and loses her way. She's absolutely charming, full of inconsistencies and idiosyncrasies. I read that this is a "hot water bottle" book, and indeed, it is.
January 10, 2023
El olor a sábanas limpias le recordó a lo que de niña llamaba el 'olor de Charbury'. Era lo primero que se percibía al entrar por la puerta principal, una mezcla indefinible de todas las cosas aromáticas de la casa: rosas, himo de leña, suelos encerados, pan y lavanda guardada entre la antigua ropa de cama. Sólo se notaba al principio, al llegar de Londres. Unos días después se convertía en parte del propio yo campestre, como las prendas viejas de vestir, los rasguños en las rodillas y despertarse los sábados por el ruido que hacían los jardineros al barrer el camino de grava con escobas de retama. A veces, en el colegio de Londres o en el piso cerca de Olympia, donde vivía con su madre y el tío Geoffrey, percibía algo que le recordaba al olor de Charbury y todo su pequeño ser se conmovía de nostalgia y se le llenaban los ojos de lágrimas anhelando vacaciones, la baja casa de estilo isabelino de Somerset, que tenía el tamaño justo. Suficientemente grande para todo menos para la ostentación.
Si algo tiene Mariana es un primer capítulo cautivador. Siendo a su vez intrigante debido a un horrible suceso. El desencadenante para que Monica Dickens nos guíe a través de la vida de nuestra protagonista, Mary. Un camino que comienza con la inocencia de la infancia y termina en el punto en el que comenzamos.
Nos encontramos ante una preciosa y entrañable novela de iniciación. De crecimiento. Personalmente me ha recordado a mi primera novela de iniciación: Un árbol crece en Brooklyn, de Betty Smith. La inocencia, despreocupación y alegría de la infancia, la ilusión del primer amor... El primer desamor con su desengaño. La lucha para llegar a encontrarse a uno mismo. Encontrar tu lugar en el mundo... La nostalgia por 'Cualquier tiempo pasado fue mejor' ante los sinsabores de la vida.
Al fin y al cabo... Enseñanzas y emociones en un viaje en el que debemos ser fieles a nosotros mismos. A nuestros valores y sueños para alcanzar la felicidad. Creo que ese es uno de los mensajes más fuertes que intenta transmitir la autora a través de su Mariana.
Nada de lo que suceda en la vida puede borrar el hecho de yo soy yo. Tengo que seguir siendo yo.
Una novela que en su primer capítulo puede dar una idea equivocada. Puede parecer que nos vamos a enfrentar a una novela triste. Y sí. Hay momentos que encogen el corazón. Pero destaca más su sencillez, dulzura y su encantadora cotidianidad. En la que poder recrearse. Por eso os invito a darle una oportunidad a esta inolvidable historia recién rescatada de un injusto olvido.
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April 26, 2017Mon avis : https://everydayreadingblog.wordpress...
March 1, 2017
Mariana by Monica Dickens is a coming of age novel about a young girl, striving her whole life, to find the perfect love. It’s a story that has great depth and one of the most striking endings I have read in the longest time.
Mary lives with her working mother and uncle in a small flat in London. She remains disconnected to her everyday life in London but highly anticipates the time that she can spend during the holidays with her extended paternal family in the countryside. Her first love is for her cousin. But the love is rather one sided.
We witness Mary’s emotional awakening as a young child, besotted with cousin Denys. Later as a young woman, we find her in engaged to a young Frenchman in Paris, called Pierre. Though Pierre helps her to overcome her loneliness in a foreign city, Mary knows that the relationship is tinged with her doubts. Later, when she is working in England, she finds love in the most unexpected way. Sam, a young architect is everything she has always, unknowingly been looking for. With Sam there are no doubts, no fears or insecurities. But with the outset of the Second World War, lives fall into jeopardy. Can Mary’s love survive the ordeal?
While Mary is enrolled in drama school as a young girl, she is asked to recite Tennyson’s poem ‘Mariana’. As revealed later in the novel, this is quite a pivotal moment in the novel. Mariana is a poem about a woman who is disconnected from society and despondently awaits the return of her love. The poem is laced with doubt and desolation. There is an absence of a conclusive ending in the poem, just as there is in the story by Dickens. But there is a faint whisper or a premonition of what may come to pass. Some endings are best left unsaid.
It is only at the end of the novel that we fully realize that Dickens’ Mary is Tennyson’s Mariana and the full force of Dickens’ genius strikes us.
https://bagfullofbooks.com/2017/03/01...
Mary lives with her working mother and uncle in a small flat in London. She remains disconnected to her everyday life in London but highly anticipates the time that she can spend during the holidays with her extended paternal family in the countryside. Her first love is for her cousin. But the love is rather one sided.
We witness Mary’s emotional awakening as a young child, besotted with cousin Denys. Later as a young woman, we find her in engaged to a young Frenchman in Paris, called Pierre. Though Pierre helps her to overcome her loneliness in a foreign city, Mary knows that the relationship is tinged with her doubts. Later, when she is working in England, she finds love in the most unexpected way. Sam, a young architect is everything she has always, unknowingly been looking for. With Sam there are no doubts, no fears or insecurities. But with the outset of the Second World War, lives fall into jeopardy. Can Mary’s love survive the ordeal?
While Mary is enrolled in drama school as a young girl, she is asked to recite Tennyson’s poem ‘Mariana’. As revealed later in the novel, this is quite a pivotal moment in the novel. Mariana is a poem about a woman who is disconnected from society and despondently awaits the return of her love. The poem is laced with doubt and desolation. There is an absence of a conclusive ending in the poem, just as there is in the story by Dickens. But there is a faint whisper or a premonition of what may come to pass. Some endings are best left unsaid.
It is only at the end of the novel that we fully realize that Dickens’ Mary is Tennyson’s Mariana and the full force of Dickens’ genius strikes us.
https://bagfullofbooks.com/2017/03/01...
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