The post-WWII period is not a period of literature with which I am terribly familiar. My general interest lies between about 1860-1920, then jumps forward into the 1970s and onwards from there. That leaves 50 years where I have scratched the surface thanks to the odd book and my undergraduate 20thC course, but no more than that. All of which means that Persephone Books have been things I have read much about but never actually read anything from. I have always admired their design and their ethos, but haven’t bought anything from them… until recently.

Over lunch with Dovegrey Reader a month or so ago, I was reminded of Persephone, and, not knowing where to start with their prodigious list, asked her for a recommendation. DGR suggested I start with Dorothy Whipple, so off I popped to The Book Depository later that day, and brought up a list of her books. Given that I’d not even heard of her until about 2 hours previousily, I’m afraid to say I based my decision purely on which had the nicest jacket. I ended up buying the Persephone Classics edition of Whipple’s 1953 novel Someone at a Distance.

The story is very simple. Ellen and Avery North are a happily married couple with two children, Anne, who is 15 and spends much of her time at boarding school, and the older Hugh, who is doing his National Service at the time the novel is set. Avery’s elderly mother lives nearby with her exacting standards and nitpicky ways. She one day announces she has employed a young French woman, Louise, to come over to England for some time to act as a companion and to help her improve her French. Avery and Louise go on to have an affair, discovered when Ellen and Anne (home for the holidays) walks in on them embracing. Avery flees with Louise, unable to face his family but not particularly wanting to be with his mistress either. The rest of the novel follows Ellen as she tries to come to terms with the collapse of her marriage and begins to plan for the future, and Avery and Louise as they travel between England, France and America.

For all the plot is straightforward, the emotions that Whipple skillfully describes and narrates are complicated, raw, and heart-rending. Her prose style is unadorned but she manages to say a great deal about the break-down of a relationship. The simplicity of her writing makes the emotion stand out, all the focus is on the characters and what they are coping with; the reader is spared none of it. The whole thing is utterly captivating, and I read all 413 pages in two sittings, staying up till 2am (and I had to go to work the next day!) to finish it.

Simon has reviewed this book over at Stuck in a Book, and he says he has very definite ideas about who the ’someone at a distance’ is. I was thinking about this all the way through the novel, and I have to say that there are several candidates for me. The most obvious ’someone’ (I think) is Louise, who is revealed to be at a distance from everyone in her life, not to mention the physical distance she has crossed to come to England. Perhaps, though, it could be Avery, who has to distance himself from his family after his affair. But what about Ellen, who is struck out on an emotional limb in the fall-out from the deception. It could be any or all of those people. Maybe it’s none of them at all. I would be interested to hear the thoughts of anyone else who has read this.

Oh, and the cover. The cover! How beautiful it is. The cover painting is, the back of the book tells me, Pauline by Sir James Gunn. Is it just me who thinks Pauline looks like a young Queen Elizabeth II?

Any other Persephone recommendations gratefully received in the comments below…