The book's full title is "Wenderholme - A Story of Lancashire and Yorkshire". It was written by Philip Gilbert Hamerton and originally published in 1869. I really enjoy the beautiful, often witty, and elegant writing of the time, and Wenderholme was no exception.
The subtitle is a little misleading; the Lancashire/Yorkshire aspect is not what the book puts all that much emphasis on.
The principal storyline starts in 1853 (or thereabouts) and spans about 12 years, with dips into the past every now and then.
A wide cast of characters man the pages, all well fleshed out and portrayed as people with faults and strengths, just like real people.
At the time the story is set, big changes in society had already happened and were ongoing. Industrialisation meant that many a manufacturer had steadily accumulated enormous wealth, financially surpassing even some of the oldest and most noble aristocratic families. But the class difference was still very much there, and keenly felt - marriages between nobility and industry were usually only accepted when the nobler part were desperate for money and saw no other way out, whereas the commercial world looked upon their aristocratic counterparts with a mix of feeling: There was awe as well as despising them for their privilege, haughty ways and uselessness when it came to practical matters.
"Wenderholme" deals with all those differences, and how they affect the lives of young and old within mainly two families. There is drama in the form of premature death, alcoholism and insanity, not to mention a huge house fire, but there is also joy in making friends, finding love and one's own place in the world.
There is a lot in the book to learn about the day-to-day lives of rich and less rich people of the time, both of the idle aristocracy as of the hard-working mill owners (not their "hands", though), plus a vicar, his family and a doctor.
It was a good read, if a bit long at times, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Before reading this book, I had never heard of the author. He only lived to 60, and while the wikipedia entry about him is quite detailed about his career, it says almost nothing about his personal life. A wife is mentioned in passing, but that's about it.
"Wenderholme" sounds like an interesting read. I have always enjoyed books written in that time period. I grew up reading authors like Nathaniel Hawthorne who wrote of that time period and earlier. You seem to be able to find many of the better free ebooks on Kindle. I've tried a few and some were not as good as others. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Bonnie! I don't think I have ever read anything by Hawthorne, although the name is of course familiar.
DeleteOn my downloading sprees, I have come across free ebooks that were so badly written (and/or edited) that I was glad I had not spent any money on them. But there have been some gems, and some were just keeping me entertained on train trips - that's all I want from a book sometimes :-)
Given my Yorkshire upbringing I'm ashamed to say that I've never heard of this book nor of the author. My father's family were mill workers so I shall have to look for a copy.
ReplyDeleteThe author was from Lancashire, and most of what he wrote was non-fiction. Also, I guess many works that were popular in their day have then descended into obscurity; therefore, in my opinion you don‘t need to be ashamed for not knowing it.
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