To end their year of being Dickens Champions Mitchell Classics Book Group have been reading Havisham by Ronald Frame. Lauren introduces what they thought about their year of reading Dickens and Havisham before handing over to Mario and Rosalind for their views:
Looking back on our year of being Dickens Champions, I have to say what an exciting and richly rewarding experience it has been! Our group, the Mitchell Classics Book Group based here in Glasgow, really enjoyed our year of championing all things Dickens. It was a delight to have the opportunity to read and/or re-read some of the best books the great man wrote. Having to read five of his novels within a relatively short period of time allowed for close reading along with comparing and contrasting in a way that we haven’t done before. Dissections of characters and daring analyses of the different plots became more vivid, and discussions, dare I say, more heated, as one or more of the group defended or disparaged their favourite dauntless do-gooder/delicate diva, or dastardly dog (Do you see what I did there? On the other hand ‘[p]apa, potatoes, poultry, prunes and prism, are all very good words for the lips’, Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit).
At our last book group meeting, our group discussed Havisham, the recently published book by Ronald Frame about one of Dickens’s famous characters from Great Expectations. Frame tells the story of Miss Havisham’s youth and her upbringing, and most importantly, the circumstances surrounding her youthful love for a man who is a villain, her arguably wilful self-deception of his faults, and its culmination in her being jilted on her wedding day.
As one of the Dickens Champions, the group was delighted at being invited to read and review Frame’s new book, and it was with much excitement and anticipation we began our reading. I am sorry to report that our enthusiasm and keenness to champion all things Dickens, which included this book, did not transpire; the group, on the whole, found the book did not come up to our great expectations. Quite simply, by drawing such a close and studied characterisation of Miss Havisham (without, arguably, efficacy and vigour), Frame has effectively taken away the mystery, the awe, the almost mystical embodiment of unrealised expectations that are literally and figuratively boarded up in a darkened, derelict mansion, which acts as a metaphor for the decay of its still living souls within, that Dickens depicts in his master work Great Expectations.
I will hand it over now to two of the group members to give you their own impressions of the book. First up is Mario, who gives his thoughts on being a Dickens Champ in 2012, as well as his own view on Havisham. Finally, Rosalind shares her thoughts on Frame’s book, and talks about some of the issues that she had with the novel.
Mario’s review
To mark the bi-centenary of the birth of Charles Dickens, his work was remembered and celebrated in a variety of ways throughout 2012. There were several new studies of his life and times, some appearing in print form as fresh biographies and others presented as drama. Many of his best known stories were adapted for radio and the regular broadcasts ensured that many people were reminded of his importance as well as his continuing popularity.
Perhaps the best tribute and the most significant form of appreciation that can be shown to an author is to read and enjoy his/her work. During 2012, not only in Britain but all round the world, countless readers were doing just that; reading (more often than not re-reading) this ever-popular writer. As individuals or as small book groups this was our contribution to the anniversary celebrations.
At the start of last year, various book groups were invited to take part in a project which involved a commitment to read and discuss a selection of five novels over the course of the year. Our group, The Mitchell Classics Book Group, was happy to take part and exchange views and opinions on each novel. By spreading the project over the full twelve months it meant that there was plenty of time to read and enjoy each book and near what others had to say before moving on to the next on the list. This planned but leisurely approach worked very well and ensured there was sustained interest without any sense of pressure and for slow readers like myself, this is invaluable; long, wordy descriptions which are common features in so many of Dickens’ stories and which otherwise might be skimmed-over, can be given the attention they deserve and be all the more enjoyable for it. And so overall, it’s been a very positive experience and I’m glad to have taken part.
It would have made a fitting finale to the celebrations if the recently published Havisham had come up to expectation but, unfortunately, I found it very disappointing. Trailed as “intriguing” and “compelling” and described as a “masterly tribute”, I was very much looking forward to reading it but having now read the book I fail to recognize any of the above description. Quite the contrary. Apart from the opening section which was promising, neither plot nor characters had much credibility. The central figure was barely believable and made an unreliable narrator; a lot of the dialogue didn’t ring true; the frequent introduction of lines of poetry was an irritation. It was all very contrived and I doubt Charles Dickens would have approved this Havisham hijack.
Rosalind’s review
Frame set himself a difficult task writing a prequel to Great Expectations_. Following in the footsteps of such a master, I suppose that the only thing to do is to abandon all attempts to emulate Dickens’ style. However, in my opinion, Frame’s writing is simplistic and pedestrian, relying on first-person narrative from Miss Havisham’s point of view, in which self-consciously archaic vocabulary is juxtaposed with modern idiom e.g. p.288 “We entwined our arms” next to “she failed to do the obvious”. There are also chunks of description of clothing, which appear to have been copied from websites devoted to historical clothing. The descriptions of sex are cringeworthy and there are confusing jumps in setting and plot. There are a lot of "_By coincidence" s.
While the first part of the novel could be considered quite interesting about the brewery in the same vein as a Catherine Cookson novel, the rest is reminiscent at times of Mills and Boon e.g. p. 293 Miss Havisham remembering her lover, Compeyson: “The exact hue of his eyes, their cerulean blueness…His chin had shown a small cleft…” And why does he have Catherine Havisham going back to work after being jilted; having “the modiste” (heavens!) remake the wedding gown anew so she can change it; and having a bath from time to time?
Please! No more!
Get involved
Read all our Dickens Champions’ blogs here.
Did you challenge yourself to reading a Dickens’ novel last year? If so, we’d love to hear from you, email us or post a comment below and tell us how you got on.
