📚 'Rather Dated' and belated December: Monica Dickens's 'The Fancy' 📚

[MotherofPearl]

Welcome to the Mumsnet 'Rather Dated' book club. This month - though very belatedly I'm afraid - we are reading and discussing Monica Dickens's 'The Fancy'. Please do add your thoughts when you are ready.

About the threads:

We are reading and discussing fiction from the 1930s to the 1990s that would have been described as 'contemporary' in its day. We are reading one book a month. Spoilers are permitted!

We started the chat thanks to a thread where we kicked off with a discussion of Penelope Lively, The Road to Lichfield.

Currently we have these separate threads:
November: Anita Brookner, A Start in Life
December: Margaret Drabble: A Summer Bird-Cage
January: Elizabeth Jane Howard, The Beautiful Visit.
March: Winifred Watson, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.
April: R.C. Sheriff, The Fortnight in September.
May: Elizabeth Taylor, Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont.
June: Margaret Kennedy, The Feast.
July: Mollie Panter-Downes, One Fine Day.
August: Elizabeth Von Arnim, The Enchanted April.
September: Barbara Pym, An Academic Question.
October: Dorothy Whipple, High Wages.
November: Elizabeth Bowen, The Last September.

Link to the main thread:

📚The Mumsnet 'Rather Dated' Book Group - All welcome to join📚 www.mumsnet.com/Talk/whatweree_reading/4624300-the-mumsnet-rather-dated-book-group-all-welcome-to-join

I took ages to get going with this, and as Fuzzy mentioned on the main thread, getting to know and remember all the characters is quite a challenge! But I kept going, and in the end really enjoyed this one.

I was fascinated by the social history of women working in the airplane factory, and their different lives and backgrounds. I am not especially interested in rabbits or breeding animals, but that part of Edward's life was mainly in the background, and where the rabbit shows were described, they too felt like an interesting glimpse of social history. His awful marriage felt so stifling, and I was also struck by the depiction of Wendy's abusive father, who was presumably suffering from a kind of shell-shock or PTSD, but who was quite frightening. The way Wendy and her mother had to tip-toe around him whispering and trying to placate him was quite powerfully evoked. I thought the ending, while inconclusive, was hopeful, and I was certainly rooting for Edward and Wendy to end up together.

One thing that slightly disappointed me was that I felt that some of the other story lines were not resolved, and we didn't get to find out what happened to all 'the girls' in the end, especially Sheila. But overall this has given me an interest in reading more Monica Dickens, and I think I will try Mariana next.

I’m a newby to this topic. The mention of “The Fancy” really caught my eye. It is probably one of my favourite books. I found it in a secondhand book shop when I was a teenager and have read it many times since. It’s the description of the relationships between people I found fascinating - they all feel so real, and you can almost smell the engine oil on the factory floor! I agree, Wendy’s relationship with her parents was quite disturbing, but so was Edward’s with his wife and her family.

I love The Fancy. I found the attitudes to 'women's work' quite fascinating. Like @Chikasan I've read it many times, and have distinct mental images of all the characters. I'd love to hear what other readers think of it.

I loved The Fancy. It reminded me of a black and white film called Millions Like Us, where a diverse group of women from different backgrounds come to work in a wartime munitions factory… I think what made the book particularly fascinating was that it was (I think anyway; can’t actually find my copy now) written contemporaneously so that it actually was a snapshot of life on the home front in 1943. Much more immediate than someone writing about 1943 many years later. It did take me a while to sort out the individual women in my head, I had to make notes! I’m not interested in rabbit breeding either, but how fascinating that so many people were back then (for food presumably). Edward’s marriage was viscerally awful, and I was pleased when his wife went off with the flashy chap (can’t recall his name, do wish I could find my copy … one of these days I need to put all my books in alphabetical order). I had no idea Monica Dickens was quite so prolific, I’m going to read more of her books.

I agree about the really vivid snapshot of wartime life Stella. I noted a preoccupation with food running through the novel which is understandable given wartime privations. I rather enjoy references to food and meals in novels, so this was a plus for me - in fact, the reference to treacle tart reminded me how much I like it and inspired me to make one!

Oh how funny @MotherofPearl , I felt just the same about the food references. There’s one bit where the jam roll runs out in the canteen and they have to have stewed prunes and rice, and the next day in Aldi I spotted jam roll in the frozen section, and felt impelled to buy it! We’re so lucky these days.

The flashy chap is Edgar Bell.

That is funny Stella! I did think rice and prunes sounded disappointing compared to jam roll.

Of course one of the key food references is to fried fish, and Wendy and Edward's shared preference for it, while Wendy's father and Edward's wife both prefer it boiled (which sounds fairly unappetising).

I’m very relieved people liked it, having suggested it! It was years since I’d read it, and I was amazed at how much I’d forgotten - I remembered Edward’s awful wife and her terrible family, and the way they treated him like a lodger in his own home, but I’d completely forgotten most of the stories of 'the girls' - which in fact was almost the best bit of the book in the end, as it brought the lives of everyday women so fascinatingly into focus.

@StellaOlivetti you're spot on with the comparison to 'Millions Like Us', and that sprang to my mind too. It was all so vivid that I wondered whether Monica Dickens had actually worked in a factory herself during the war - so I dragged out my copy of her (very good) memoir, An Open Book, which again I haven’t read for years, and she did indeed spend a year during the war at the Sunbeam Talbot factory near Wormwood Scrubs, repairing Rolls-Royce Spitfire engines. By that time she’d already published One Pair of Hands, about her experience as a cook (hence a lot of the great detail in this book about food), and she was finishing One Pair of Feet (about training as a nurse). So its feeling of authenticity is down to it being taken absolutely from life. I highly recommend all those books to anyone who hasn’t read them, btw.

As so often with our 'rather dated' books, I kept being amazed that this hadn’t been filmed. It felt as though I was watching a black and white movie in my head and I was practically casting all the roles as I read it. I actually loved all the comedy of the rabbit business, and poor, gentle Edward finally twigging that Mr Bell was fiddling the rations. The denouement was nicely done without being too neat - we could believe that there’d be a happy ending for at least some of the characters.

But for me, the most interesting and enjoyable aspect was the light it shone on women’s daily lives during the war, so punchily and frankly expressed - for Sheila, living with the (hopeless) David, unmarried, in terror of her conventional parents, wartime had brought only temporary freedoms. Dinah was married but in a secure, free and easy marriage of like minds, which seemed very modern. And poor Wendy and her mother - the tyranny of the father was well-drawn.

A satisfying and absorbing read all round.

Hello! I'm not reading comments yet as I'm still reading the book. I'm onto chapter 11.

I would like to mark my place on the thread with this picture that I have just seen on Twitter, of this enormous ball of fluff, the ultimate fluffy jumbo bunny. I don't think Allan Colley would approve of this kind of breeding. Poor bunny.

BAHAHAHAHAHA! @FuzzyCaoraDhubh 😂😂😂😂

Glad you like the picture @Terpsichore 😄the poor craythur though!

I know, I’m sorry, but I have form for this @FuzzyCaoraDhubh - DH and I once almost died laughing at a photo of a poor pedigree cat at a pet show (a different sort of 'fancy') that had had its fur trimmed into a massive kind of wedge shape round its face, and the rest of its body shaved. I even tracked down the (American) photographer in hopes of buying a print as a birthday present for DH, but it cost $$$. I think I still have the original magazine photo somewhere though. It was just hilarious 😅

It was the expression of rage on the poor cat's face……

I know, it's absurd. What goes through the minds of people though?! Look at the beaming face of the breeder! And you can only just make out the little pink nose and mouth of the rabbit.

You both have me laughing this evening. That rabbit!

Hello! Back again and just finished The Fancy. I loved it. I thought it was really good. I liked it from the start, but it grew on me more and more as the story progressed. It was a very absorbing read and I loved its authenticity. It reminded me of the book 'Our Hidden Lives', the diary entries of people from different backgrounds who lived through the war years and kept a diary in which they spoke very frankly about their day to day lives. There is one very unpleasant person who is included as well. It's quite gritty. I must read that book again soon. I really liked it at the time. This book is also full of life's ups and downs and it isn't straightforward at all for Edward or most of the girls.

I completely agree with everyone's excellent points. Thanks to Terpsichore for the background information. I liked how there was a mention of how there wouldn't be servants after the war. It reminded me of the young couple in 'One Fine Day' who were trying to muddle along in their house on their own with the overgrown garden. The upheaval that the war caused and the repercussions in the social order is suggested here. That couple living in the underground station were in a difficult situation, poor people.

I also liked the humour in the book, although Dickens can be cutting at times. I'm thinking of the description of Miss Bell in particular. Like her grandfather, if Monica doesn't like a character, she can be very unflattering! There is a great line towards the end that likens Mr. Bell to Bernadette of Lourdes trying to cure a sick rabbit. That made me laugh. She has a fantastic turn of phrase, also like the original Dickens!

Thanks to Terpsichore for this recommendation. It was very enjoyable (and definitely worth the eight euro something on Kindle!)

I really liked this, it's interesting to read a book by someone during the war who didn't know the outcome while writing it. This means that people are just trying to get on life but at the same time the war dominates alot of conversations and decisions from how people work to marriage decisions.

I thought it was bonkers that the person chosen to supervise that section of the factory was someone with no experience in that area just because he was a man and how they just expected mistakes to be made because they knew he wasn't qualified. I mean just from a practical pov it would just make business sense to promote one of the women. But this wasn't even commented on by the characters, I don't think it would even come into anyone head as an option.

This is my library which I think they dug out the vaults

Yes, good point @BadSpellaSpellaSpella - some of the women were so much more capable and took it all in their stride. But Edward was a man and therefore meant to be In Charge 🙄 (though I did like him and found him a sympathetic character).

Two excellent points, @BadSpellaSpellaSpella , and neither of them occurred to me when I was reading it, but yes, how interesting to read a book about the war written before the writer knew how it ended, and how completely bonkers to appoint a man as overseer who knew nothing about the processes, rather than promoting one of the women! Can’t believe I didn’t notice it. A good “rather dated” detail.

I like that rabbit on the cover.

Great front cover @BadSpellaSpellaSpella ! Very elemental 😁

Great point about Edward as supervisor.
It did occur to me while reading it. I thought that Dinah would have been excellent in that position.

Yes Dinah would have been good @FuzzyCaoraDhubh I did feel for Edward as he had high anxiety about that job and he knew he was out of his depth and was on his mind alot. I think this made him very sympathetic and I ended up rooting for him.

Yes. I agree with that. It was a steep learning curve for him. It was lovely how he cared about Wendy and her mother. He was very helpless around the house, wasn't he.

I noticed how every meal finished with cheese. While there was a lot of talk about food, most of the time it didn't sound very appetising. I like the sound of treacle tart, however.

Omg that angora rabbit! I just showed DS who got rejected from Oxford today, and it made him laugh, so thank you for that.

I loved the book. It really reminded me of Charles Dickens' writing - there was one simile about an out-of-place house which was really, really similar to a simile in A Christmas Carol (I'm an English teacher, so I read that twice a year on average).

I loved the detail of everyday life. I loved the description of the different types of dysfunctional family. Really good stuff.