Friends and Lovers by Helen MacInnes ~ 1947. This edition: Little, Brown & Co., 1947. Hardcover. 367 pages.
My rating: 6/10.
*****
I met this author, figuratively speaking, one long, hot teenage summer in the 1970s. With the high school library closed to me and everything else in print in the house already devoured, I was desperate for something new to read. I was half-heartedly digging through boxes of old Reader’s Digests in our sultry attic when I found a stash of hardcovers packed away in a pile of string-tied cardboard boxes, relics of my mother’s previous life in California before her marriage and relocation to the interior of British Columbia.
Mother was born in 1925, and as a lifelong avid reader collected as many titles as she could with her limited budget as a single “working girl”, a career which spanned almost 20 years before a late-for-the-time marriage at age 36. A browse through my mother’s collection was a snapshot of middle class bestsellers of the 1950s and 1960s, when my mother did the majority of her book buying. If I made a list of authors I’ve been introduced to through my mother’s personal library, Helen MacInnes would be solidly on there.
Best known for her suspenseful espionage thrillers set in World War II and the Cold War, Helen MacInnes also wrote several romance novels, Friends and Lovers in 1947, and Rest and Be Thankful in 1949. The latter title was one on my mother’s shelf, and I read it and quite enjoyed it in a mild way, so when high school resumed in September and I came across another MacInnes title in our well-stocked school library, Above Suspicion, I added it to my sign-out stack. Already a fan of Eric Ambler and John LeCarre, the political thriller immediately appealed, and Helen MacInnes was added to my mental “authors to look out for” list.
Over the years I eventually read most of MacInnes’ titles, with varying degrees of interest and enjoyment. At her best she wrote a gripping, fast-paced, suspenseful story that held my interest well; occasionally I found my attention straying. When I recently came across Friends and Lovers, I picked it up and leafed through it, trying to remember if I had previously encountered it. The title was familiar, but darned if I could remember the storyline – never a good sign! When I started reading, I knew immediately that at some point I had read the book, but I had absolutely no memory of the plot. Was this a spy novel? A romance? A few chapters in I concluded that it was a pure romance, albeit one that attempted to address some larger issues.
David Bosworth is an academically brilliant though financially struggling student entering his last year of studies at Oxford in the early 1930s. In Scotland for the summer, employed as a tutor with a wealthy family, he meets 18-year-old Penelope (Penny) Lorrimer and, rather to his dismay, falls in love at first sight. He had always thought that intellect could govern emotion; his feelings for Penny turn this long-held theory on its head, and, when it becomes apparent that Penny has been similarly smitten, a clandestine relationship ensues.
David is the sole prospective support of a troubled family. His widowed father, seriously injured in the Great War, is a helpless invalid on a small pension. His sister Margaret, who has some talent as a pianist, refuses to take on a paying job to help support her father and herself, as she feels her musical training towards a career as a concert pianist is too important to compromise. David has financed his own university education by attaining a series of scholarships; now with his degree in sight he is agonizing over his future and his family responsibilities. A wife and family of his own have no place in his plans, and Margaret, once she realizes David’s attraction to Penny, is openly resentful of what she sees as a threat to her own future reliance on David’s earning power. David, emotionally fastidious, refuses to entertain the notion of a relationship other than marriage with the woman of his choice; his emotional and sexual frustration are frankly and sympathetically described by MacInnes.
Penny is also faced with family opposition to the relationship. Her well-off, upper-middle-class parents are and suspicious of the designs of a financially struggling university student on their daughter. A romantic entanglement is unthought of; a marriage even more ridiculous to consider – David will obviously be in no position to support a wife of Penny’s background “in the style to which she is accustomed” for quite some years, if ever. The only reason Penny is not out-and-out forbidden to see more of David is that the idea of her seeing anything in him is so ridiculous to her parents that he is dismissed as a momentary indiscretion, not deemed worthy of further notice by Penny as well as themselves.
Penny manages to get to London to study at the Slade Art School; David visits her on his free Sundays and the relationship progresses through its many difficulties to its inevitable conclusion.
Did I like this novel? Yes, and no.
It was very much a period piece in its portrayal of the two main characters. David, to my modern-day sensibilities, is much too chauvinistic and jealous to be admirable; Penny is much too ready to conform to David’s masculine expectations. Stepping back from that knee-jerk reaction to their fictional personalities, I realize it is a bit unfair to judge them by present-day standards. As products of their environment, possibly drawn from real-life characters, (I have read that this may indeed be a semi-autobiographical story, as the two protagonists resemble MacInnes and her husband in many key ways), David and Penny do seem generally believable, if a mite annoying at times, in their stereotypical behaviour.
Their friends and families were never given as much attention in character development throughout as they could have been, a definite flaw in this novel. Things tend to fall into place a little too neatly on occasion; Penny’s throwing off of her family’s protective embrace and her establishment as a gainfully employed London working girl comes out as a bit too pat and good to be true; David is offered opportunity after wonderful opportunity and enjoys a great luxury of choice as to his own working future; one sometimes wonders what all the fuss and angst is about.
A big point in favour is the discussion of attitudes in England towards the Great War veterans. MacInnes lets her very definite political opinions (liberal, anti-fascist) show throughout. The brooding situation of the “Germany problem” is well-portrayed; the story is set in the 1930s but was written and published in the 1940s, so the author’s portrayal of the characters’ apprehensions as to their and their country’s future must certainly have been influenced by the author’s own pre-World War II experiences and thoughts. Overall an interesting glimpse into the time, written by someone who lived what she wrote about.
Absolutely honest personal opinion: One of Helen MacInnes’ weaker novels. I much prefer Rest and Be Thankful, the other of her “pure romances”, which I regularly re-read. It also discusses the after-effects of war and subsequent political attitudes, and is a stronger, more cohesive story overall with much better character development and a strong vein of humour, something I feel Friends and Lovers generally lacks. Friends and Lovers often feels forced, as if the author were rather abstracted while writing it; given the times it was written in, I will forgive her that but it does show in the final result.
Would I recommend it? Yes, with reservations. I will keep it on my shelves as a re-read, though for far in the future; no hurry! Has merit as a vintage novel, but not a favourite.
Once again, I completely agree. I started reading MacInnes as a teen and preferred her over LeCarre etc. This one is a weak effort in comparison — I much prefer Hidden Target, for example.
I’ve got quite a stack of vintage MacInnes which I’m meaning to re-read. Interestingly enough, my teenage son has been dipping into these and quite enjoying them, though he has commented on the “period piece” aspect of them. I’ve also introduced him to Hammond Innes & Nicholas Monsarrat – these were favoured teen reads of mine, though I haven’t touched them since then – too much other stuff waiting to be discovered, lol – & he’s quite enjoyed those. He’s like me, a very fast reader (genetic, I’m sure – my dad was a blazingly fast reader too) so we go through a lot of books and it’s something of a challenge to keep him supplied. I love it when he shares my opinion on a book I love/despise. Of course, he has tastes of his own which I can’t relate to but all in all we have some good conversations about our sometimes shared reading choices. 🙂
[…] Friends and Lovers (1947) by Helen […]
Just read for the first time “Rest and Be Thankful”, a surprising find in my library’s giveaway cart. As a young reader of Helen MacInnes my favorites were titles like “Friends and Lovers” and “Assignment in Brittany,” those that had a more developed love story. On a whim decided to search for RABT and found your site. Despite my delight in finding a fellow spirit cannot agree with your relative ranking of the two “pure” romances. While I recognize that much of your assessment of the two main characters in FAL is true, to me it was a much more vivid experience of a writer’s journey to unite two characters. RABT is a more gentle read, with a less believable setting, and taken up much more with the characterizations of the various NY authors and the relationship between the two women. I am at heart a lover of romance, both high and low unfortunately, and to me in that regard there is no comparison between the two.
Hi June, I am so very glad you were moved to comment on my post.
And yes, I see what you’re saying. FAL is much more a truly “pure” romance, dwelling on the interactions between the two main characters and their inner thoughts and feelings as their relationship develops. RABT is something of a social satire; much more playful; which is likely why it appeals to me more than FAL. The love story in RABT (well, all the love stories; there are multiple pairings-up going on 🙂 ) is much more of a side note; I would say that the deepest relationship portrayed is that of the two main female characters; their love for each other is deep but definitely platonic. That novel (RABT) is a much lighter read; not as challenging and with less depth than FAL.
And though we differ an the relative rankings of these two stories, isn’t it wonderful that we both agree on the Helen MacInnes’ merit as a writer!
Hi all Those who have read and cared to comment about the book,
I am from India and in my teens in in 1970s I read this book, had it with me for years, and but, after joining work force, marriage and kids and a different life in another place, the teenage collection of books was lost. This book was one of my favorites, for no other reason but to read that sweet little passage on “niceness”… I am Vinita and my name means polite… And I always remembered that passage as defining some of me,.. So if any one has that book, and and can cite that passage I will be obliged!
Thanks
Vinita
Hello Vinita, so good to hear from you. I will take a look through the book and see if I can find the passage you are remembering. 🙂
Hello again, Vinita. I have re-read the book, and sadly did not seem able to find the passage you referenced. Could you tell me a bit more about it, and the part of the story it was associated with? I would be happy to take another look. 🙂