Shoulder the Sky: A Story of Winter in the Hills by D.E. Stevenson ~ 1951. Original British title: Winter and Rough Weather. This edition: Thorndike Press, 1992. Hardcover. Large Print. ISBN: 1-56054-343-4. 407 pages.
My rating: 8.5/10, for the majority of this story. I found myself very keen to get back to it and find out what was about to happen next, the most compelling of D.E. Stevenson’s books in this respect so far.
*****
A few years after the conclusion of the Second World War, a young, newly married couple, Rhoda and James Dering Johnstone, arrive at their isolated farmhouse near the fictional Scottish village of Mureth. Rhoda is an accomplished professional painter, and her husband worries, with some reason, as to how she will adjust to a life as a sheep farmer’s wife, far from the stimulating world she has happily abandoned for true love.
Rhoda drifts for a while, mulling over the dilemma of what she sees as a black and white choice between her perceived role as a wife versus personal fulfillment as an artist. The author handled this theme sensitively and sensibly, though I couldn’t help but think that childless Rhoda, overseeing a small house with the help of a live-in cook-general, had a luxury of a “domestic support system” impossible for those of us in a similar societal-economic position to attain today.
With her husband’s full support, Rhoda returns to the studio, and proceeds to paint a portrait which has far-reaching consequences among the local residents.
Add in several on again-off again love affairs, a missing wife, a bullying neighbour, a misunderstood child, and the challenges of winter storms in an isolated locale, and you have a quietly dramatic novel, and my favourite DES to date. There are two prequels/companions to this title: Vittoria Cottage and Music in the Hills, but Shoulder the Sky works well as a stand-alone; I never felt like I was out of the loop, though there were references to previous events throughout.
My only complaint is the ending seemed a bit rushed. Everything fell into place a little too neatly, and though things were obviously set up for happy resolution, too many plot strands were left hanging. We were told that everything was now set to work out, so there were no real cliffhangers, but the novel’s abrupt ending felt very unfinished after some of the detail given earlier on. (This seems to be a common failing with most of the D.E. Stevenson books I’ve read to date.)
I greatly enjoyed this novel, aside from its minor but forgivable imperfections. The author has set it up beautifully, and the details she gives both of farm life and the art world appear to come either from personal experience or detailed research. I thought this particular novel was a relatively strong work for this “light romance” author, rather reminiscent of O. Douglas at her best.
Definitely recommended.
Oh! I must make one more comment. The edition I read was the Thorndike Press Large Print version, with a cover of lovely SPRINGTIME honeysuckle flowers. This story is decidedly wintry – a hugely important plot twist is centered on a winter storm, and the atmosphere throughout is shaped by the freezing weather. No mention of honeysuckle or springtime anywhere within – and I was watching for a clue. So a slap on the wrist to Thorndike’s design staff!
This cover is much more appropriate.
And now I must abandon my own cozy nook in the Prince George library, put on my winter jacket, and venture forth into our suddenly frozen world. It’s minus 10 (Celsius) out there and quickly getting colder; clear and crisp with a just-full moon shining on the newly fallen snow.
Grocery shopping, and the long drive home, and then a quiet day at home tomorrow, part of which will most likely be spent constructing the huge bonfire pile which has become a family All Hallows tradition. Or at least providing cocoa and other sustenance for the teens who’ve been plotting the construction of the pyre ever since last year’s spectacular display. (They’re running out of things to burn, having picked up sticks and collected scrap lumber so diligently in previous years that little remains anywhere within easy dragging distance. There was some mention of wanting a chainsaw and the use of a truck. We’ll see what happens. The weather forecast is dismal for October 31st – cold and snowy.)
There might even be a few Roman candles let off, which will shock the complacency of our own farm’s sheep – they definitely do not approve of such changes in routine, and generally wait out the human noisemaking in the shelter of their shed, gently baaing in ovine astonishment at all the fuss.
Happy Hallowe’en to those of you who celebrate it! And to everyone at the mercy of the present widespread bitter weather, I wish you a respite from the storms, and a chance to catch your breath and regroup before winter sets in in earnest.
Leaves & Pages 
Goodness, so you have to drive to PG for the library AND the internet? (I’m very lucky that my library branch is 3 short blocks away, always reachable in winter and rough weather.)
Yes, while I like that book very much, I feel the ending leaves one hole, that one of the children is almost completely ignored throughout the book and at the end.
About DES’s link to the art world: her husband, James Reid Peploe, was related to S. J. Peploe, a well-known Scottish colourist of the early 20th century.
Hello Susan – I see we are here almost at the same time! It’s not so bad as it sounds – we do have internet here at home, and we are a littles less than an hour away from several other libraries, the main branches in Williams Lake and Quesnel, plus the tiny library outpost at McLeese Lake which we seldom visit as its opening hours do not match our occasional forays to collect the mail in that community’s little post office.
The PG connection – my daughter belongs to a dance troupe in PG, so we make the long trek there & back several times a week. I therefore have occasional large chunks of time to fill and have taken to patronizing the library’s newly upgraded computer lab – free & speedy wireless – hurrah! At home we rely on a dreadfully slow satellite connection (Xplorenet – I shouldn’t complain – we were on dial up not too terribly long ago – I shudder at the memory of that patience-trying situation) and a very costly & occasionally very unreliable “smart hub” device which enables the teens to access their online high school courses.
One of the less joyful aspects of the rural life is our technological isolation. It seems there are not enough residents in our little valley to justify the expense of upgrading our phone lines to carry high speed internet, and the geography is such that the valley sides cut off the signal broadcast from the various towers and relay stations appearing on every nearby hilltop.
One of the perks of being in PG several times a week is that we can justify paying the yearly out-of-area fee to hold a full privilege library card, so it more than doubles our easy access to books, dvds and music cds.
And back to the book under discussion. That major omission bothered me too – the little daughter of Lizzie & Henry – she is invisible for most of the saga except for her brief appearance early on. Duggie is the centre of attention, but his sister, who initially appeared to be of deep importance to the troubled boy, disappears once Rhoda takes Duggie on as a protege.
Actually the hurried ending really bothers me, the more I think about it. This one should have been expanded, or another book written to follow all of the characters who we were left seeing in mid stride. Perhaps that was the author’s intent, to possibly return to these character again?
The art world connection – I suspected something like that. There are passages in Miss Bun and in Shoulder the Sky which certainly sound like the author has a strong and informed knowledge of the art world, and modern art in particular. I enjoyed that greatly.
[…] 6. Two which tied for my so-far favourites by this new-to-me writer, D.E. Stevenson: Miss Bun, the Baker’s Daughter (1939) and Shoulder the Sky (1951). […]
[…] Music in the Hills is followed by a third book to form a trilogy, Shoulder the Sky, also published as Winter and Rough Weather. I’d read this one some months ago, liked it a lot, and reviewed it here: Shoulder the Sky […]
I realize I’m a late-comer to this but I’ve just discovered this book – and this blog, btw, which I enjoy your mix of books and personal – I also was drawn to the wintry scene cover, so much that I actually somewhat put off reading this book in order to do during our own wintry snowstorm – wish I’d known the trick of the boards with nails during our own wintry hike – might have saved myself some falls. and, just to throw in, not for Halloween, which we don’t celebrate, but we do have teens who live their bonfires so we are familiar with the whole trucks and chainsaws things – they spend a fair amount of time sawing logs (no put intended, sorry) – and hauling them in; have quite a supply at the moment.
Also, we’re fortunate in our internet situation, even though we’re rather rural, in that we’re one of those who live on top of the mountain around here plus our local town has been quite aggressive in running out high speed internet over their phone lines; however, think those down in the valley experience what you do; sorry; glad you can have access to the online high school, however; we’ve done that and are now somewhat doing for some of said teen’s college courses but also well remember the time we have library cards for probably every library around, for older one, who was the prolific reader, while younger one is more discriminating, plus “somewhat” slower – didn’t say slower, just relative to brother, who was/is prodigiously fast – so, one, he prefers newer books that, typically, anyway, around here, we’ve found to not be at the library yet and the time frame makes it somewhat difficult.
Which, somewhat, brings me back around to the book and Duggie and Greta; I felt the same way about Greta being left out – I think it somewhat adheres to the era in which it was written – something there have been complaints about now in our time – that at least you have to acknowledge that at least Duggie’s brilliance was acknowledged by those in a position to know and his potential has the ability now to be realized, while I’m getting the impression that Greta is more like her mother, which would be something, that in that time frame, wouldn’t have been on any concern, any more than her mother being like she was, is – after all, in that sense, without making any waves – how would we feel – and I understand the emotions, etc. involved, but somewhat leaving that aside, if we can, or feel we can – about the whole divorce thing over that?
Somewhat like you said – were this story placed in modern times, without the whole “domestic support system”, of which Lizzie was one of the supports, a position that we could say suited someone like her, where would she be?
Greetings, Donna! Thank you for the lovely long comment and the kind words regarding the blog.
I really think I must read this book again; reading your thoughts and my own old post reminds me of how much I enjoyed my first discovery of D.E. Stevenson.
[…] can read a far more detailed review of this book over at Leaves and Pages although the book is called Shoulder the Sky there, presumably a title for the US […]
I do so enjoy a good D. E. Stevenson. Haven’t read this book yet. Thanks for your review.