Priorsford by O Douglas
(aka Anna Buchan)
[excerpt] [A Boxing Day party, aimed primarily at children]
Mirren Strang's party began on the doorstep, where to the
children's delight, the hanging lamp had become a presentiment of the Man in
the Moon. When the front door opened all was gaiety: a log fire burned in the
black and white hall: the big blue jars on the oak chest were filled with what
Alison called 'magic lanterns,' two handsome cats, Crian and Kitty by name,
boasted scarlet bows.
The tea-table, glittering with icicles, might have come out
of the Snow Queen's palace: snowballs lay at each plate: an enormous iced cake
was guarded by scarlet-clad soldiers: the children ate and stared, stared and
ate, bereft of speech. The hostess in a bright red dress seemed everywhere at
the same moment...
After tea they played such games as: Oranges and Lemons,
Have you any Bread and Wine?, Musical Chairs…
Jean looked at the absorbed face of her hostess as she
helped Peter to explode a firework, described as a 'parlour bomb,' and laughed.
'I don't think she'd call it a trouble,' she said. 'At this moment Mirren's
about Peter's age, and enjoying everything as much as he is. . . . It's such a
pretty party.'
comments: Posts earlier this year explain how I ended up reading all available O Douglas books, torn between annoyance and admiration. As tosh comfort reads (not necessarily a criticism around here) they are very high on the list.
Priorsford honestly shows signs
of running out of steam, but still has its moments, such as the children’s
Christmas party here. Mirren Strang is something of a Mary-Sue character – a
popular novelist whom literary critics might disdain, but, plainly, a very
good party hostess.
And there are some excellent moments here: my favourite
line (possibly in the whole Douglas oeuvre) comes from a young woman called
Rosalind:
'And the house is simply full of Old Masters.'
'How nice,' said Rosalind mechanically, then she added: 'No, I don't think really it would be a bit nice. Old Masters are better in public galleries: you can keep away from them there.'
And there is an early, and neat, description of what we
might nowadays call ‘a frenemy’:
“When I’m away from Betty I like the thought of her, but I haven't been with her five minutes before she says something that makes me absolutely loathe her"
There is amateur dramatics, and the Rural Institutes, which we have noted before as a feature of Scottish life at the time. Everything you need and want from an O Douglas book.
That party scene is excellent, Moira. And tosh or not, sometimes a comfort read is just the thing. I like that sly wit in the bits you've shared, too. I'm glad you reminded us of Douglas.
ReplyDeleteAs you have picked out the best bits for us, Moira, I don't feel I need go to the trouble of actually read this ! I suspect that for me annoyance might outweigh admiration. Chrissie
ReplyDeleteI liked the O Douglas books I have read. I think I would have enjoyed Scottish life of this era, assuming I was born into a family of means, but would have suffered without a 21st century dentist and ophthalmologist.
ReplyDeleteI learned about Boxing Day from White Boots/Skating Shoes, still one of my favorite Streatfeilds.
Just found a paperback copy of After the Last Dance for $6 so I think that will be my Boxing Day gift to myself (also a lot of half-price wrapping paper, which is almost as great a weakness as buying myself books - or is it a strength?).
Constance