📚 'Rather Dated' April: Rumor Godden's 'The Greengage Summer'📚

[FuzzyCaoraDhubh]

This month's book for the Rather Dated Bookclub is Rumor Godden's 'The Greengage Summer'.
All are welcome to join in the discussion!

This is a wonderfully immersive story about a family of five, whose mother, in a pique of annoyance takes them over to a sleepy rural village in France in champagne country, to 'see the battlefields' and 'give them an education' because she thinks they need to learn and appreciate what the previous generation has experienced during world war two and then they will appreciate how well off they are.

The children are only too keen to travel outside of the boring, humdrum little town of Southport. Little do they know what lies ahead for them as their mother becomes seriously ill and the children, the eldest of whom is sixteen, are left at the hotel to manage on their own and cope with the French staff and the mysterious Englishman Eliot, who, while wonderful and kind to them, is a complex and difficult individual with an agenda of his own and who shows a ruthless streak and is frightening and confusing for them.

There is so much to discuss in the book. I'm going to start by outlining the main aspects of the plot. Firstly, there is the introductory section in England where the children are bored and restless and Mother hatches her plan. I liked Mother. I was sorry that she was laid up in the hospital for the duration of the book but it had to be, or the story wouldn't have happened!

Then, the early days at the hotel when Joss was sick in bed. This was idyllic. The children start to settle in and find their feet. Then Joss gets better and Eliot notices her. Mlle Zizi becomes jealous. Eliot takes them out on an excursion three days in a row. There is trouble on the third day. M. Joubert takes Joss on as a student. Everything calms down and there is a reprieve. The children go back to playing and having a quiet time, but they still observe everything that happens around them.

The Brass Instruments Ball preparation is underway. Jealousy on the part of Mlle Zizi rears its head again. Joss dresses up and becomes the belle of the ball. Eliot ignores her and stays at Mlle Zizi's side. Joss attracts the attention of Paul with disastrous consequences. The gendarmerie and Detective Cailloux, alerted by Joss, come to the hotel to interview the children about Eliot. The telegram which calls Uncle William from England is Eliot's downfall. We don't know what happens following the close of the story, but I assume that Eliot's location is discovered and he will be arrested.

I really loved the description of the village and the hotel and I thought the writing was very descriptive and colourful and that it was full of vivid imagery evoking all the senses. I liked the children and thought they were a real bunch of characters. There were many good lines too, sharp observations and humour.

Place marking to come back properly in a day or two. Thanks for starting us off Fuzzy. That’s a great summary and I agree about the writing. More shortly.

I really enjoyed this! An excellent choice.
I’m not sure whether everyone’s edition has a preface explaining how closely the events in the book resemble the author’s own experience as a teenager marooned in a French hotel with her siblings when her mother becomes seriously ill. Really interesting. The novel’s plot is more dramatic, but only a bit!
I agree that the children are brilliantly depicted in the novel. I think RG had three sisters in RL, and Willmouse is an amusing and interesting additional character.
The awkwardness and embarrassment of trying to navigate a grownup world that you don’t fully comprehend is well portrayed. I did actually have the experience, living-in while working as a waitress at the age of 16 in a small countryside hotel, of a lad from the village climbing a ladder to try to get into my bedroom window. I hadn’t thought about that for years until the episode with Paul reminded me. Happily nothing too serious happened ( he gave up in the end ..)

I love this book and Rumer Godden in general, because she was one of my mother's favourite writers.

She captures the reality of childrens lives and focuses really well.

Oh my goodness @highlandcoo 😯😯😯
Wow and yikes! I liked the inclusion of French in the book :)

Yes, I loved the children, especially Willmouse. 'It is influenced by the Chinese' he pronounced, 'which is why it suits her' of Joss's dress for the ball. He was a smart kid. He knew that Eliot was up to something and his observations nearly got him killed.

Yes, she does write children really well. This is a bit like a book for young adults, I think, as it's narrated by children and is about children, but it has serious adult themes.

I have underlined lots of lines. Here's a good one; 'To wake up for the first time in a new place can be like another birth'. Wonderful.

I agree that RG is really skilled at capturing the interior lives of children. I enjoyed the novel very much. This had quite a lot of ‘rather dated’ elements, including the depiction of the relationship between 16 year old Joss and 35 year old Eliot, and indeed the kiss Eliot gives Cecil, who is only 13. It’s hard to imagine a hotel in 2025 allowing five children - including a 4/5 year old - to stay on their own! My edition did have that Preface you mention @highlandcoowhich explains this was based on a real life experience.

I very much enjoyed all the descriptions of French food, and also the garden and orchard. My French isn’t great so I had to battle through some of that. The characters were all well-drawn though few were likeable - though Eliot’s charm really came through. Monsieur Joubert seemed one of the only honourable adults.

RG seems to have a knack for telling slightly strange but interesting stories, I think. I’ll definitely read more of her books.

I loved the occasional appearance of Nebuchadnezzar in his basket, getting increasingly withered!

@MotherofPearl there is a beautiful TV production (years old) of The Peacock Spring, if it's available anywhere online. Very beautiful camera work.

My favourite of Godden's is The Battle Of The Villa Fiorita. And my mum's favourite was Kingfishers Catch Fire. But Two Under The Indian Sun is also very good.

We read 'Black Narcissus' before, very early on in our book club and I can still remember it very well. Godden wrote memorable books. I have seen 'The Peacock Spring'. I must look up the others you mentioned @TheAmusedQuail

M. Joubert was the only honourable adult. Yes, I think so as well. I agree with the problematic dated aspects you mentioned too, Mother, especially the kiss. Very, very dodgy. I also enjoyed Nebuchadnezzar in his basket!

This is my 1958 copy, sans introduction, but I rather like the cover (it cost 5p, according to the pencilled price inside!)

I re-read it a year or so ago but enjoyed re-reading this time, and noticed a lot more details, I think. What occurred to me was the small mystery of exactly when Cecil was recalling her memories - evidently she was an adult, as she says 'I am grown-up now - or almost grown-up', and several times that 'we didn’t know such things then' or 'we were children', or words along those lines.

But Godden's very clever in creating an in-between character, a watcher, who's just the right age to not really fit in with any group, but also to be quick and observant and able to understand just enough French. Even better, this allows her to narrate events contemporaneously as though they were just happening, without really allowing adult knowledge to creep in except very occasionally. The sense of innocence and bewilderment at adult actions is beautifully handled, while we - the readers - instantly understand exactly what’s happening. We can see that Mademoiselle Zizi is sick with sexual jealousy of the beautiful, budding Joss; that Eliot is mesmerised by her (at 16 - yep, pretty repulsive to us now and indeed 'rather dated', not to mention all that 'you are a woman now and Ready for Love' business 🤮) - but also that Eliot, despite being the baddie, indeed a killer, and a thoroughly reprehensible character, takes pity on the children in their plight and comes to feel and behave almost as a father towards them, to the point where he probably allows himself to be caught by sending the telegram to Uncle William.

I really enjoyed it once again.

There's a film of it too, with Susannah York as Joss (her first starring role; she's young, but looks too old for the part) and Kenneth More as Eliot. Jane Asher is Hester and Danielle Darrieux is Mademoiselle Zizi, but they erase Cecil completely. It’s actually a really good film but it can’t convey the same subtleties as the book and it doesn’t try to, although plot-wise it’s pretty faithful. Godden collaborated on the screenplay.

I really enjoyed your observations @Terpsichore and agree with you completely, especially about Cecil's role as observer in the story. It's a very clever device to have a character who is a good observer but is not fully cognisant of what is going on around her. It really draws the reader in. I was mesmerised! Imagine not having Cecil in the film! I suppose it's different on screen. The story isn't told as much as it is shown.

I love the edition of your book (that was originally 5p!). That's a lovely front cover. The colours remind me of the line that evokes green and gold; 'les Oeillets, the gold-green days, the love, to end in this'.

After reading this I definitely wanted to eat chunks of fresh, proper French baguette slathered with butter and jam! Introduce the goûter over here, I say 😋

(Oh, and the other thing about the film is that it’s much more heavily implied that Mademoiselles Zizi and Corbet were a couple before Eliot arrived on the scene)

I had a third of a baguette with French cheese yesterday. Vive le goûter, I say!

I would have to go a long way to find a greengage. I remember seeing pots of 'Reine Claude' in the supermarket in France when I was studying there. Coming from a place with only four kinds of jam, I was fascinated by the shelves of jam over there.

We're lucky enough to have a greengage tree in the garden - not sure of the variety, but I recognise the description of the fruit. They really are luscious (if you can get to them before the wasps do….)

My library reservation finally came through yesterday so I’ve now finished it. Unlike everyone else, I thought this was just OK. I did really like all the children, but felt that there wasn’t really enough of them (I wanted more Willmouse and his fashion sense!). I liked the descriptions of the hotel and the gardens. I was also intrigued about how autobiographical this was (I had that introduction in my copy). However, I can’t really put my finger on why but the plot just felt a bit lacking to me. I think I was expecting more of the coming of age stuff and then it got overtaken by the criminal stuff which I hadn’t expected before going into the book (I didn’t know anything much about the story before reading it). It almost felt like it was trying to be two separate books and for me it didn’t quite succeed.

I also loved Nebuchadnezzar. There aren’t enough potato pigs in the world!

IIRC the film makes a lot more of the fall-out, @ChessieFL. They go back home and the police come to see them and ask questions about Eliot, which they don’t in the book; it’s just left very much implied as to what happens.

Late post to say thank you as I finally got round to reading this book due to this thread - I rather liked the sound of it as a teen but my library didn’t have a copy. I found it very immersive too, particularly the descriptions of the garden and the town. I liked the device of having the other characters commenting on the events as well as Cecil - I liked hearing the different voices but I would also like to re-read it again when I’m ready, as I want to see how much of the action is predicted in these parts and if they give any clues as to what happens to Eliot and the other characters after the end of the novel.

Good to hear you enjoyed it @Benvenuto 👋 I think I read it again once I finished it to try and piece it together. I think the film would be good to watch too.

This is my most favourite book ever, and one I reread often. RG is so good at children and describing places. I also enjoyed The Peacock Spring.

Loved reading everyone's thoughts, I am a huge RG fan. So subtly written... and that horror of the kitchen boy's shallow grave never fails to make me feel sick.

I would like to see the film too once I have reread the book - I remember seeing a bit of it as a teen. I am glad that I didn’t read the book when younger though. I did read This House of Brede as a teen (& possibly others) but I found it quite difficult even though I liked her style of writing and I suspect it was partly due to lack of life experience & partly because her characters are complex and not always easy to identify with. In contrast I read the Peacock Spring about a year ago & really enjoyed it.

OMG House of Brede! That book is in my top 5 ever!

The Greengage Summer is one of my all-time favourite books! I bought a copy for my teen, expecting her to love it too, and was quite disappointed to find it wedged into the "family" bookshelf shortly afterwards, instead of her own bookcase where she keeps ones that she's really enjoyed!

The Greengage Summer is one of my all-time favourite books! I bought a copy for my teen, expecting her to love it too, and was quite disappointed to find it wedged into the "family" bookshelf shortly afterwards, instead of her own bookcase where she keeps ones that she's really enjoyed!

Sorry, no idea why that posted twice