All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West begins with the death of Lord Slane, former viceroy of India and prime minister of Great Britain. He leaves behind his six grown children and his eighty-eight-year-old widow.
"...and the problem of her future lay heavy upon her sons and daughters. Of course, she would not question the wisdom of any arrangements they might choose to make. Mother had no will of her own; all her life long, gracious and gentle, she had been wholly submissive--an appendage....That she might have ideas which she kept to herself never entered into their estimate. They anticipated no trouble with their mother."But Lady Slane surprises her children. Instead of dutifully accepting their plans for her, Lady Slane sells her house, moves to Hampstead, forbids her grandchildren and great-grandchildren to come visit her, and makes friends with a few eccentrics. Lady Slane's small rebellions, and her children's indignant reactions to them, made me smile. Only her youngest daughter, Edith, cheers her on. I found myself cheering her on, too. This is how Lady Slane defends her newfound freedom to her children:
"If one is not to please oneself in old age, when is one to please oneself? There is so little time left."Written in 1931, All Passion Spent is one of those quiet, character-driven novels that is contemplative and melancholy at times, and unexpectedly humorous at others. Some of Lady Slane's reminiscences about her younger self, and the dreams she had of being an artist that she gave up when she married, made me a little sad. But I was glad she managed to steal a little happiness for herself at the end of her life.
"How oddly it had come about, that the whole of her life should have fallen away from her--her activities, her children, and Henry--and should have been so completely replaced in this little interlude before the end by a new existence so satisfyingly populated! 'Perhaps,' she said aloud, 'one always gets what one wants in the end.'"Only 167 pages long, this is a charming little read. I admired Sackville-West's writing except for one thing: her overly long paragraphs. Many were a page and a half long! And that did slow down the narrative for me. Overall, though, I liked this one. It's a little bittersweet and sad, but not depressing. And I liked the characters. Best of all? It fills my Classic By a Woman Author category in Karen's Back to the Classics Reading Challenge.
Happy Reading!
I think I'd like this one--Yay for Lady Shane! And good for Edith providing support! I'd like to know more about Vita, her gardens, and the Bloomsbury Group.
ReplyDeleteI'd really like to read more about Vita, too! :)
DeleteLady Slane sounds like a great character. And the premise sounds interesting too despite it's a little sad.
ReplyDeleteI liked Lady Slane. :)
DeleteHey, congratulations on ticking of yet another title for the Back to the Classics Challenge! I've heard so much about Vita Sackville-West but never read anything yet. She is one of those authors that were it not for wonderful book bloggers, I would NEVER have come across her.
ReplyDeleteI ran across her name a lot when I was reading about Virginia Woolf, but it's taken me until now and this challenge to actually read a book by her. That's the great thing about reading challenges--I end up reading books I wouldn't have otherwise. :)
DeleteThis does sound like fun--I've never read anything by Sackville-West, but I've been meaning to...
ReplyDeleteThis is the first book by her that I've ever read. :)
DeleteCongratulations Lark on completing another category in the Back to the Classics Challenge. I still have a few books to go and I recently learned I don't have to stick to the original list I came up with at beginning of the year so that gives me some comfort. All Passion Spent sounds really good and I would like to read something Vita wrote because her books overshadowed by Virginia Woolf's.
ReplyDeleteIt's always nice when you can change your mind! And you're right, Vita's work, and her life, is overshadowed by Woolf's. In fact, I first heard about Vita when I was reading a biography of Virginia. Otherwise, I doubt I would ever have heard of her.
DeleteThis sounds like a lovely read. Glad to hear you enjoyed it. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ashley! :)
DeleteSo glad you enjoyed this one. I read it many years ago and loved it. Probably would be good for a re-read.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot to like about this one. :)
DeleteEnjoyed your review—sounds like just the kind of book I like, and short to boot.
ReplyDelete:D I like that it was short, too!
DeleteLonger paragraphs like that slow me down as well. However, it sounds like you still really enjoyed this one.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't think a paragraph and a page should ever equate. ;)
DeleteI really like the sound of this. I haven't heard of this author or book before, but I am always on the look out for classics to try.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first book of hers that I've ever read, but I'd like to try The Edwardians next. :)
DeleteIt definitely sounds bittersweet but also sounds like it's got a lot to offer. I'm glad she found some happiness towards the end of her life. That second quote really seems to capture that feeling so well.
ReplyDeleteBittersweet is the best description I can think of for this book. But then a lot of classics are like that. :)
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