Crewe Train by Rose Macaulay ~ 1926. This edition: W. Collins Sons & Co., Ltd, 1926. (One Shilling Library Series.) Hardcover. 307 pages.
My rating: A solid 9/10. It’s been several weeks since I read this rather shabby, more than slightly foxed edition of Crewe Train, but the character of Denham has walked beside me ever since.
TO
THE PHILISTINES,
THE BARBARIANS,
THE UNSOCIABLE,
AND
THOSE WHO DO NOT CARE TO TAKE
ANY TROUBLE.
I must admit that after that introduction I was already more than half won over, which was a good thing, for my initial impression of the characters in this quirky novel was that they were sincerely unlikeable. Our heroine in particular.
And yes, in her twenty-first year, everything changes for Denham. Her father’s in-laws, the Greshams, the family of his first wife, descend upon the Andorran establishment for a visit, and, perhaps brought on by the unwonted stress of having to socialize so strenuously after a self-imposed life of seclusion, Mr. Dobie fatally succumbs to a stroke in the night.
Denham’s stepmother makes no bones about her distaste for her sullen stepdaughter; in her loquacious outpouring of hurt at her new widowhood she presses the responsibility for Denham upon the Gresham family. “You had better take her away with you to England!”
So they do.
Culture shock does not adequately describe Denham’s introduction to English society after her lifetime of relative seclusion. She allows herself to be tidied up and dressed up and trained up in the social conventions; these do not take particularly well though the continually bemused Denham does not actively resist her attempted makeover into a more socially acceptable “young lady”. She merely remains stoic under her Aunt Evelyn’s well-meaning ministrations and her cousins’ continual encouragements. She processes all she’s being exposed to, and does her best in her slow, wordless way to try to live up to the Greshams’ expectations; her success is not noteworthy.
Time moves inexorably on. Denham meets a certain young man, Arnold Chapel, a junior partner in the Gresham family’s publishing firm. Arnold and Denham experience something of a meeting of minds, though Arnold’s quicker intellect runs rings around the plodding progression of Denham’s thought processes. The two embark upon a shared life, and the novel details the peaks and valleys the two must traverse – some literal, most strictly figurative – before coming to a place of joint repose.
A very clever book, this one. I frequently felt much in common with Denham as Macaulay writes her own rings around my own rather plodding (though appreciative) thought process. I identified tremendously well with Denham; I wonder if this is a universal response? Or do the rest of you see her as the unrelateable (though ultimately sympathetic) stranger within the gates of intelligent society?
I suspect we all have something of Denham in us, as onlookers and inner critics of the chatter and occasional excesses perpetuated by the self-proclaimed intellectual classes of our own time. Perhaps this explains the lasting appeal of this mocking (but frequently tender) confection of a tale?
Crewe Train is definitely on my personal short list of “Most Memorable Books of 2013”, even though the year is not quite half over. I am very keen indeed to explore more of Macaulay’s fiction; this novel has wet my appetite for something more of her creative style.
Leaves & Pages 
I have never read this, but I did read her last novel, The Towers of Trebizond, and I highly recommend it. I have her flagged in my book list as an author to read more of.
So good to hear. That was my feeling after reading Crewe Train – “Must continue with this author”. I’ll be looking for more by Rose Macaulay.
Does Denham mourn her father at all – is that part of her adjustment to English life? I only know Macaulay from hearing about The Towers of Trebizond (which I haven’t read). This sounds very different & very interesting!
No, it doesn’t seem that Denham really mourns her father in the conventional sense, though it is very apparent that she and he were companionate souls in their distaste for fuss, bother, and other people’s demands upon them. “Taking life as it comes” is Denham’s way; this includes the death of her father and the abrupt change in her lifestyle, it seems. This is indeed a very different and very interesting book; it isn’t *quite* a full-fledged bitter parody, but instead has a quite lovely strain of sweetness throughout, and Denham is portrayed increasingly sympathetically by her creator. I can’t think of what to compare it to; it does rather stand alone! And I too am very curious about Rose Macaulay’s other work. She may be one of this summer’s “quest” authors. 🙂
[…] Crewe Train (1926) by Rose Macaulay – a highly unusual, absolutely stoic English girl who has grown up in an isolated Spanish village is brought back to England by her upper-class relations after she is orphaned. The resulting cultural clashes are highly entertaining, and highlight the foibles of “accepted behaviour” in a rather cunning way. […]
I was inspired to read this book by your review, and you might like to look at my blogpost on it, here: http://clothesinbooks.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/crewe-train-by-rose-macaulay.html You’ll see that I didn’t like it quite as much as you did, though I did persevere because of your recommendation, and certainly liked it more as I went along….
Hi Moira – I commented on your post over on your blog. I’m still exploring Rose Macaulay – she is a much more prolific writer than I first thought – she’s popping up everywhere as I am now tuned in to her name – and I think something of an acquired taste. I ended up coming around to Denham’s side by the end of Crewe Train, though initially I found the whole scenario just a shade too odd and contrived for complete comfort.
[…] But I wouldn’t start here for my first introduction to this unique novelist. Perhaps try Crewe Train instead; it is just as satirically twisted but there are less characters to keep track off, and a […]