I thought I'd start by reviewing one of my most loved books.
Title: Watch the Wall My Darling
Author: Jane Aiken Hodge
Published: 1966
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| Image from www.goodreads.com |
My copy looks nothing like this picture. It is just a plain maroon cover like on the old Reader's Digest books your Dad probably has kicking around somewhere. I was going to put a little pic of it in here but it's so insanely tatty, I'm a little bit ashamed :-S.
Watch the Wall My Darling is very dear to me because my Nan, who was a bit of Cadbury's Fruit and Nutcase it has to be said, tried to give it to me when I was way to young for Shmexiness. Then, when she died (sad face), my Granddad said that I could have it. I was 9 so err, yeah, still not really old enough to appreciate the tension but just about old enough to understand that Ross Tretteign was one hot piece of smuggler arse! (Pervy, much?). More on him later...
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| Inscribed on the wall of The Smugglers Inn in Osmington Mills, Dorset, UK |
The story is a fairly simple Pride and Prejudice-y type romance set in Victorian times and involving a strong, independent, smart woman and a stubborn, rough, rugged yet charming man. They hate each other, then they become friends but still argue, then they luuurve each other. Alas! At the crucial moment in their developing relationship, mean ol' fate steps in and makes it almost impossible for them to get together. Adventures ensue (which I am not going to tell you about because I don't want to spoil the story). Suffice to say, it seems like all is lost (oh noes!) but then (slight spoiler here if you're not familiar with how these things go) Mister Rugged saves Ms Independent and they ride off into the sunset and everyone lives happily ever after. THE END.
Awwww!!!
The main characters are Miss Christina Tretton, the feisty independent (American!) woman and Ross Tretteign, an upstanding pillar of his English community and smuggling head honcho. There is also an annoying aunt, a vain cousin a grumpy grandfather and yep - you guessed it! - a whole band of bloodthirsty, 'orrible smugglers!
Set in Rye, the plot follows Christina Tretton as she travels to the UK on a deathbed promise she made to her Father. Her aim is to make amends with her Grandfather after a family feud which went on for years. She gets there, has a couple of run-ins with a band of smugglers and falls in love with Ross.
Let's just take a few seconds here to admire Ross. In my head he looks like this:
Okay, so that is actually Mr Gerard Butler but you get the picture.
Let's just take a few seconds here to admire Ross. In my head he looks like this:
Okay, so that is actually Mr Gerard Butler but you get the picture.
Really, the characters are pretty standard but Watch the Wall was probably the first romance I read so the fairly formulaic nature of the characters is not something I noticed at first. I simply loved the different sides to Ross. The way he was so dispassionate drove me to distraction, which I suppose was the point. He is portrayed as a self-assured arse who is ridiculously good-looking but knows it. For the first half of the book, it is very hard to find any redeeming features, other than his looks so I think Aiken Hodge's manipulation of the reader's attitude towards him was very subtle and nicely managed. So much so that I can't pinpoint exactly when I thought - "Yeah, you know what? He's lovely!".
Christina is a typical juxtaposition to the Victorian female stereotype and that's what makes her appealing to today's female. She has comparable attitudes and beliefs which - and this is probably rather annoying to Germain Greer and other such feminists - are pretty much revoked by the end of the book in favour of belonging to a strong, confident, good-looking man. (There is an essay question in there somewhere). I still admire her though because, when I was a "pre-teen", she represented everything I thought a young woman should be. Independent, intelligent, and self-controlled. I did find her a little lacking though on the passion side of things. I feel that, at times, her stoicism was unrealistic, but then a) it IS a fiction novel and b) she was supposed to be Victorian and we all know how they were supposedly very stiff (steady...) in the upper-lip department.
Other things I love about this book (besides Ross):
It is set by the sea, very near to where I grew up so that gave the scenes a very familiar backdrop and made it seem almost like it was a true story. I could really imagine the weather, the look of the house, the darkness (a very prominent theme) and the drudgery. It was all so...tangible.
Christina is a typical juxtaposition to the Victorian female stereotype and that's what makes her appealing to today's female. She has comparable attitudes and beliefs which - and this is probably rather annoying to Germain Greer and other such feminists - are pretty much revoked by the end of the book in favour of belonging to a strong, confident, good-looking man. (There is an essay question in there somewhere). I still admire her though because, when I was a "pre-teen", she represented everything I thought a young woman should be. Independent, intelligent, and self-controlled. I did find her a little lacking though on the passion side of things. I feel that, at times, her stoicism was unrealistic, but then a) it IS a fiction novel and b) she was supposed to be Victorian and we all know how they were supposedly very stiff (steady...) in the upper-lip department.
Other things I love about this book (besides Ross):
It is set by the sea, very near to where I grew up so that gave the scenes a very familiar backdrop and made it seem almost like it was a true story. I could really imagine the weather, the look of the house, the darkness (a very prominent theme) and the drudgery. It was all so...tangible.
I am also a sucker for a HEA (Happily Ever After). This ending is a sweet relief to the seriously hefty tension that the author builds up; especially in the second half of the book, where Christina becomes involved in the smuggling as well.
I know that sounds like an odd thing to say, "I loved the ending because it was a relief"... but it was more that it was exactly what I wanted to happen. I think the writer was pretty clever in making you long for the happily ever after that she had planned.
The fact is, the story probably won't blow you away (unless you are 9 years old, in which case - you'll be all "Yay, enormous dresses!" and "Yuck! Love!"). However, it is a good read for a nice easy story that will make your belly fizz a little (in that lovely warm romancey way, not in that - "I think I had a dodgy kebab last night" way).
Ultimately, this is a well put-together little number that makes an easy holiday read. At first the going is a little slow but the second-half really picks up with some exciting action that will leave you reading the last chapters in a rush. It has all the ingredients for a good old fashioned romance : smugglers, the seaside, Victorians and a healthy bit of sexual tension.
You will love this if you love: Jane Eyre, Pride & Prejudice, Gerard Butler ;-)
