‘Rather Dated’ Summer: Lettice Cooper’s *The New House*

[MotherofPearl]

This month (well July really) ‘rather dated’ fans have read Lettice Cooper’s The New House.

I really enjoyed this book, and was amazed by Cooper’s ability to sustain a whole novel which takes place over the course of just one day. It manages to open out lots of stories as it explores the lives and relationships of the central characters of the Powell family.

It’s set in the 1930s and was originally published in 1936. I’ve read one of Cooper’s other books, National Provincial, and I can see here a recurrence of some of the themes she explores in that novel - the 1930s as a crucial period of change, a shift in attitudes between the generations, and a time of class upheaval too.

The story of Rhoda trying to break free of the expectation that as an unmarried woman she will stay at home to care for her aging mother is the central one. I found the resolution towards the end, where Mrs Powell says “Of course you must go!” really quite moving, because I expected her to make a huge selfish manipulative fuss when Rhoda announced her intentions.

I was also really interested in the increasingly strained relationship between Maurice and Evelyn, and the conflict between their values, which seemed pretty irreconcilable to me. It was awful the way in which they seemed to tussle over the affections of little Tatty.

Aunt Ellen was a rather tragic figure in many ways, with no independent life at all really. I couldn’t decide whether her going to live with Mrs Powell at the end was a happy ending or not. I suppose it was what allows Rhoda to avoid turning into Aunt Ellen herself.

I’m looking forward to reading what others made of it.

That's a lovely introduction, MotherofPearl, thank you!

I also enjoyed this book very much. I think it must have been a great book to read on holiday, thinking of Stella, as the pace is very leisurely and the reader gets to spend lots of time with every character. I felt I knew everybody very well by the end of the book. I thought that even the more objectionable people had a redeeming feature. 'Of course you must go!' was a lovely moment.

I liked the structure of the story that began in the morning and ended at night in three parts; morning, afternoon, evening.

I must admit to feeling worried that Rhoda would not leave the household or at least that it might have caused bad feeling between herself and her mother. I was relieved that it worked out and she left with her mother's blessing.

I agree that Aunt Ellen is a tragic figure. She seems to have lacked the awareness that she served her sister all her life. I suppose you could say that she is a completely selfless person, but definitely a bit blind and happy to serve. At least she was happier at the end than at the start of the book. Her living situation sounded grim.

The writing in the book was also really good. There were lots of really nice observations (I remember dimly an allusion to a pear, that there is only a brief amount of time in which to eat a pear. I thought this was clever). I hope to remember more as I flick through the book later on!

I thoroughly loved this. You know that feeling when you’re a few pages in and you think, yep, going to enjoy this one … I definitely had that. I loved that it was unashamedly a family domestic novel, concerned with women and centring their lives and choices. The socialist ideas I must admit did feel a bit clunky to me, but that’s a minor gripe.
How clever to write a whole book where the action takes place in one day. I wonder now if that structure was what made the novel feel modern to me, because it did feel weirdly modern for something written in 1936.
I was absolutely invested in the characters, and the relief at the end when Mrs Powell says to Rhoda that she can go was real. For me, though, the most compelling relationship was that of Maurice and Evelyn, it was a good portrayal of an increasingly unhappy marriage between two unsuited people. And the character of Tatty, and her father’s love for her, were both excellently realised. I’m writing this from memory as I’ve lent my copy to a friend who’s poorly at the moment and I think that its leisurely pace will be ideal for someone with lots of time to fill.

Just realised I’d totally forgotten to leave my review 😬

I was convinced I'd read this, but in fact I was thinking of another Persephone book with a similar-ish title (House-Bound by Winifred Peck), so managed to track this down and race through it.

It’s a really engrossing read, I thought, and I felt for poor Rhoda being at the beck and call of her spoiled, petulant mother (a 'golden child' if ever there was one). If anything felt a little unconvincing, it was the past failed romances of both Rhoda and Aunt Ellen, both of which sounded like total non-starters of relationships anyway, with useless men who weren’t prepared to be patient and understanding - and if what was seemingly their one chance of marriage and happiness hung on these very flimsy foundations, then I’m afraid they were doomed from the start as far as I could see.

The contrast between introspective, guilt-ridden Rhoda and her go-ahead, determined sister Delia was fascinating, and for me this was one of the most successful parts of the book - in fact the differences between all three siblings was very well done. I sympathised with Maurice in his woes with the awful Evelyn - this particularly struck home for me, I have to admit, as there’s a slightly analogous situation in my own family, so I felt Cooper's insights here were spot-on much of the time, and very psychologically acute - especially the scene with Tatty going out in the car with Maurice and getting upset. It wasn’t hard to predict a depressing family dynamic growing up between the three of them with Tatty as a pawn stuck in the middle of her parents' ongoing conflict.

I did have to laugh at the tiny, cramped new house with 'only' half an acre of garden - massively bigger than most people nowadays would ever dream of - but I suppose if you downsized from an elegant Georgian villa with 38 acres of land (I think that was the size of the building plot they mentioned at one point?) it might feel like a big step down.

The prospect of Aunt Ellen moving in with her sister at the end was a resolution of sorts, and I felt glad for poor Ellen, whose life had been one of dutiful service (and the example to Rhoda of what she'd become if she wasn’t careful) but I didn’t feel things were totally cut and dried; Cooper left hanging the idea that there might be further arguments….and tbh I did also wonder why Ellen hadn’t moved in with them much earlier, when they were living in the big house. Still, that’s an irrelevance, I suppose!

Finally, the device of setting the story over the course of one day, and the constant switching between thoughts of the characters, seemed to me to owe a huge debt to Virginia Woolf, and especially Mrs Dalloway. The writing felt very modern at times. Good choice!

I haven't read Mrs Dalloway yet. I'm tempted to now, also having read a review of it on the 50 Bookers' thread.

I also felt sorry for Tatty in the tug-of-war between her parents. I found it odd how one parent tried to claim ownership of a child so that if Evelyn had a son, then he would be hers and Tatty was Maurice's. It's a very strange way of thinking, the child as your possession. Similarly, Rhoda was her father's daughter and Maurice was Natalie's son and Delia was...her own person I suppose!

I also thought that the description of the relationship between the siblings was excellent. Rhoda is the dutiful eldest child and the golden child. Delia is the tearaway youngest one. Natalie was probably never going to like her daughter-in-law because she married her lovely boy. It's very true to life and very well conveyed by Cooper.

I also liked the scene between the older sisters when they were looking at Natalie's box of things and remembering days gone by. There was a strong sense of behavioural patterns repeating themselves in this family and entitlement at the core. Natalie has been looked after and pandered to since she was a young girl. At least she came round to seeing Rhoda's point of view, but what if Ellen hadn't been there to take her place? I don't think that Rhoda would have left her at all.

I remembered that I hadn't read the preface by Jilly Cooper and discovered it when I picked up the book the other day!

https://persephonebooks.co.uk/blogs/the-persephone-perspective

An overview of 'The New House'.
This was a very enjoyable book.