The Scent of Water

St Just Thursday Evening Reading Group 2nd May 2019.

The scent of water. Elizabeth Goudge.

This book made for an interesting discussion. There were varied views about it – some readers liked it, some did not, and most agreed that it was somewhat sentimental and very much 'of its time' (the 1940s). But most readers also agreed that the book dealt bravely with the issues of mental health, sexuality, and genteel poverty, and that the characters were extremely well drawn and the descriptions of nature very beautiful.

We talked about the genre of this book, which was decided as being 'middlebrow feminine', and about the fate of single women in this era, who had lost husbands or boyfriends in either World War, and who proceeded to make a niche for themselves in society on their own or with women friends, participating in the arts and becoming respected members of the community. We touched upon the class system of the time, how men held all the cards financially and domestically and were thus deferred to by women. Comparable authors were mentioned, Sybil Marshall and Barbara Pym, and also Rosemary Sutcliff who was a contemporary and a correspondent of Elizabeth Goudge. We discussed the theme of religion in the book, and the author's attitudes; and we spent some time talking about the various characters who came to life so well: Mrs Hepplewhite, who had adopted a new persona to match her husband's position in the village, but was more likeable as her own self, Dolly, when things went wrong; Charles, who was such an obvious villain; and Mary herself, who was so perceptive and likeable and kind to everybody.

Several readers felt that this book was refreshing in its innocence of outlook, and poignant in its heartfelt descriptions of people's feelings and problems. We concluded by deciding that the book was really about the characters 'finding themselves' – at least Mary, Charles and Dolly doing so – realising who they really were instead of playing parts or acting as society dictated. Whilst a fairly unfashionable author at the moment, we thought this title was well worth reading and contained a great deal more than it might first suggest.