annethology
  • Home
    • About Annethology
    • About me >
      • A little more about me
    • About my books
    • Author talks
    • Contact me
    • Forthcoming events
    • World Mental Health Day
    • Privacy
    • Sign up for my newsletter
  • Sugar and Snails
    • Acknowledgements
    • Blog tour, Q&A's and feature articles >
      • Birthday blog tour
      • S&S on tour 2022
    • Early endorsements
    • Events >
      • Launch photos
      • Launch party videos
    • in pictures
    • Media
    • If you've read the book
    • Polari
    • Reading group questions
    • Reviews
    • In the media
  • Underneath
    • Endorsements and reviews
    • Launch party and events
    • Pictures
    • Questions for book groups
    • The stories underneath the novel
  • Matilda Windsor series
    • Matilda Windsor >
      • What readers say
      • For book groups
      • Interviews, articles and features
      • Matty on the move
      • Who were you in 1990?
      • Asylum lit
      • Matilda Windsor media
    • Stolen Summers >
      • Stolen Summers reviews
  • Short stories
    • Somebody’s Daughter
    • Becoming Someone (anthology) >
      • Becoming Someone (video readings)
      • Becoming Someone reviews
      • Becoming Someone online book chat
    • Print and downloads
    • Read it online
    • Quick reads
  • Free ebook
  • Annecdotal
    • Annecdotal blog
    • Annecdotal Press
    • Articles >
      • Print journalism
      • Where psychology meets fiction
    • Fictional therapists
    • Reading and reviews >
      • Reviews A to H
      • Reviews I to M
      • Reviews N to Z
      • Nonfiction
      • Themed quotes
      • Reading around the world
  • Shop
    • Inspired Quill (my publisher)
    • Bookshop.org (affiliate link)
    • Amazon UK
    • Amazon US
    • books2read

About the author and blogger ...

Anne Goodwin’s drive to understand what makes people tick led to a career in clinical psychology. That same curiosity now powers her fiction.
A prize-winning short-story writer, she has published three novels and a short story collection with small independent press, Inspired Quill. Her debut novel, Sugar and Snails, was shortlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize.
Away from her desk, Anne guides book-loving walkers through the Derbyshire landscape that inspired Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.
Subscribers to her newsletter can download a free e-book of award-winning short stories.

TELL ME MORE

After the Asylum: The Ballroom by Anna Hope & Song of the Sea Maid by Rebecca Mascull

11/2/2016

9 Comments

 
I’m delighted to showcase two second novels published this week (although Song of the Sea Maid has been out for a while in hardback) featuring feisty female characters. Both take a sideways look at history, with a focus on scientific thought either side of Darwin, and celebrate love against the odds. Both stories begin in an asylum (the first a psychiatric hospital, the second an orphanage) and take the reader on an engaging journey beyond its walls.
Picture
Picture
We discussed recently on Annecdotal how critics seem set against an angry female character. But Nora’s treatment is a walk in the park compared to that of Ella, a twenty-year-old Yorkshire mill worker in the early years of the last century. When, despairing after toiling in the pale light since the age of eight, the air cloudy with lint and clanking with the noise of the machinery, she breaks a window and runs outside, she’s sent to the asylum on the edge of the moor, with no idea when she’ll be let out. She is admitted by Charles (Dr Fuller to the inmates), whose enthusiasm for his work is filtered through his interest in eugenics and his love of music, which he plays at the Friday night dances. What surprises Ella, and might surprise readers without inside knowledge of these strange Victorian institutions, is that the hospital in which men and women are kept apart by high walls and barred windows, has a magnificent ballroom. It’s there she meets John, a “pauper” from Ireland with (to Dr Fuller’s way of thinking) an extreme reaction to the commonplace tragedy of the death of a child. The burgeoning romance between John and Ella forms the basis of the novel, along with Charles’s doomed attempt to distinguish himself through his work.

With my own
WINMP (Work In Not-Much Progress) also set in a long-stay psychiatric hospital (and also with three third-person point of view characters), although eighty years later, I was keen and anxious to read The Ballroom. There was an extra edge for me when I discovered that the asylum, although not named in the novel, is, in all probability one I’ve visited for meetings, now converted into luxury apartments. But in my not unbiased opinion, this is a lovely story of romance in unusual circumstances, as well as the complexities and contradictions that have characterised mental health care since time immemorial. I’d forgotten about the eugenics angle, and was unaware that the underground cells I read about in Playthings was a feature of English hospitals.

While it’s something of a cliché to portray the
staff as madder than the patients, this was extremely sensitively done, and the symbiotic relationship between them is something I’ve mentioned before. Even if you’re not interested in the history of psychiatric care, this novel is worth reading for the highly credible characterisation, with a fine balance of strengths and vulnerabilities in just about every one; for the sultry tension and claustrophobia of the summer heatwave; and for the sophisticated exploration of the dynamics of power. As someone who goes stir crazy if she can’t get out for a walk every couple of days, I strongly identified and empathised with Ella’s frustration as she slaves in the laundry while the men at least get to work outside. Although Charles is cast as the villain, I recognised his use and abuse of his work to avoid his own demons. Like the novel Goodhouse, while based on conditions that (fortunately) no longer exist, The Ballroom raises questions about the treatment of those who fail to conform to society’s norms. Thanks to Doubleday for my proof copy.


A girl, “more monkey than mankind” (p4), aged anything from three to six years, is brought to a London orphanage with nothing but the filthy rags she stands up in and a scrap of paper given to her by her brother before he was press-ganged into the Navy, and not even a name to call her own. Along with another three dozen foundlings, Dawnay Price, she comes to be known, is given a rudimentary education in numbers and letters, a basic diet of bread and cheese, and prepared for a life in service. When Dawnay steals quills and ink from her benefactor, and teaches herself to write while the other children are asleep, Matron fears she will be banished to the workhouse. But the determined child is rescued by Markham Woods, a bachelor with money to bestow on a deserving case, and assigned a tutor to develop her inquiring mind. At the age of fifteen, or thereabouts, she leaves the asylum to live at the house of her benefactor, where her education continues apace.

Dawnay refuses to be constrained by convention that deems that learning is harmful to women. In an age in which publishers are pilloried (literally, i.e. locked into a wooden framework and exposed to public abuse and ridicule) for printing material at odds with the message of the Bible, she dedicates herself to her research into the origins of life. As a “natural philosopher”, she says (p69):

science is a deity to me. There is no right or wrong when it comes to the truth; there is the fact and fiction, the truth and the error, and little else matters.

Soon her benefactor’s home proves too confining and Dawnay persuades him to let her set sail for Portugal, where she hopes to study the flora and fauna of the Faroe Islands. At the start of the journey, her strong opinions alienate her from the ship’s captain, until her bravery during a violent storm earns his respect, and more. Because of her, he tries a bit of science himself, improving the diet of the sailors to show that scurvy is not, as was previously assumed, due to the degeneracy of the lower classes, the result of idleness or a punishment from God (p99).

On the islands, Dawnay finds true joy in her discoveries, reminiscent of the Margaret Mead character in Lily King’s
Euphoria. Yet, in the second half of the eighteenth century, still a hundred years before Darwin, the public is not ready for her mind-blowing conclusions. Earthquake and war cannot distract her from her scientific endeavours, but what about love?

In Dawnay Price, Rebecca Mascull has created a heroic historical female character surpassing even Liza, the adventurer of her debut, The Visitors. You can read her reflections on the challenges of writing Song of the Sea Maid here. Thanks to Hodder Headline for my review copy.

If you enjoy historical novels with strong female characters, you might also like Elemental and, if you comment on my review before 16 February, you’re in with a chance of winning a free copy.
Thanks for reading. I'd love to know what you think. If you've enjoyed this post, you might like to sign up via the sidebar for regular email updates and/or my quarterly Newsletter.
9 Comments
Charli Mills
14/2/2016 11:26:28 pm

I feel like each book review this year is adding quickly to my TBR pile! Do you find yourself interested in second novels now that you are committed to yours? Eugenics is something I once stumbled upon while researching the Hub's family in Minnesota. He had a cousin several generations back who was committed to a reform school for girls (1920s). I was actually able to view her records from incarceration. She was a plucky thing, reminding me of these two female characters. It seems eugenics sought to curb rebellion in women casting it in other tones. I've often wondered if I'd do anything with that research. Maybe it will find its way to fiction. Enjoyed both your reviews!

Reply
Annecdotist
17/2/2016 12:03:11 pm

It's not a conscious effort, but I might indeed be gravitating towards second novels. I'm certainly interested in catching the follow-ups of the writers I've featured in my debut novelist's Q&A's.
How fascinating – and disturbing I imagine – to read those incarceration records, and look forward to seeing if it finds its way into your fiction. Women have been controlled in so many ways – I'm not sure I'd have survived.

Reply
Charli Mills
17/2/2016 10:57:41 pm

Kind of like being in a graduating class and following the careers of your fellows! As for those records, they were disturbing, yet eye-opening. Rich source of information. The court records included her statement to the police (she was arrested for hanging out with men of color in Minneapolis, 1920s). She claimed to be Spanish and that "her culture" saw no problem with loving any man! Poor girl, it didn't go well for her. They made certain "her kind" never reproduced. That's ultimate control.

Annecdotist
18/2/2016 07:00:53 pm

Gosh, yes, "hanging out with men of colour" as evidence of her degeneracy – scary stuff indeed! An example of how difficult it can be to change a culture when a woman is punished for the company she keeps.
I feel as if I'm following the fortunes of the class ahead of me at the moment with the second novels – in fact, I'm not sure who I perceive as being in my graduating class as those with the Big Publishers seem to be on a different level – perhaps these are the graduates from the elite universities!!!

Norah Colvin link
18/2/2016 11:58:47 am

I think I'd enjoy both these books, Anne. I certainly enjoyed both reviews. If I had time and had to choose I'd read Song of the Sea Maid first. I love hearing about the determination to learn against the odds. What wonderfully brave people have gone before to make life easier for us. We are truly indebted. This one might be fictional, but there are many who were real.

Reply
Annecdotist
18/2/2016 07:03:10 pm

Thanks, Norah, yes I think Rebecca Mascull is doing a great job in telling the kind of stories that have been lost from history – as you say a fictional character, but there were other enterprising female scientists in which she is based. If you're interested, there's quite a lot of stuff on her website.

Reply
Norah Colvin link
8/3/2016 11:28:14 am

Hi Anne,
I'm pleased I found my way back here to this post and to your suggestion about Rebecca Mascull's website. It does appear to be rich with wonders. Thanks.

Sarah
21/2/2016 12:16:09 am

These both look interesting. Where do you find such fascinating reads? Perhaps it's your reviews that make them seem so good. I'm always interested in asylum history. Sometimes it can get a bit much to handle but these both sound excellent.

Reply
Annecdotist
21/2/2016 05:27:42 pm

Ha, I guess I’m always on the lookout for novels I might enjoy, although I sometimes get it wrong – but then it’s great if readers connect with a book I didn’t rave about myself. But I enjoyed both of these. The asylum story is poignant but not too gruesome, but I’m still waiting to hear back from someone who worked in the hospital on which this is based to hear if he ever knew about the underground cellars. (He was there a little later than 1911 I hasten to add!)

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Free ebook: click the image to claim yours.
    Picture
    OUT NOW: The poignant prequel to Matilda Windsor Is Coming Home
    Picture
    Find a review
    Picture
    Fictional therapists
    Picture
    Picture
    About Anne Goodwin
    Picture
    My published books
    entertaining fiction about identity, mental health and social justice
    Picture
    My latest novel, published May 2021
    Picture
    My debut novel shortlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize
    Picture
    Picture
    My second novel published May 2017.
    Picture
    Short stories on the theme of identity published 2018
    Anne Goodwin's books on Goodreads
    Sugar and Snails Sugar and Snails
    reviews: 32
    ratings: 52 (avg rating 4.21)

    Underneath Underneath
    reviews: 24
    ratings: 60 (avg rating 3.17)

    Becoming Someone Becoming Someone
    reviews: 8
    ratings: 9 (avg rating 4.56)

    GUD: Greatest Uncommon Denominator, Issue 4 GUD: Greatest Uncommon Denominator, Issue 4
    reviews: 4
    ratings: 9 (avg rating 4.44)

    The Best of Fiction on the Web The Best of Fiction on the Web
    reviews: 3
    ratings: 3 (avg rating 4.67)

    2022 Reading Challenge

    2022 Reading Challenge
    Anne has read 2 books toward their goal of 100 books.
    hide
    2 of 100 (2%)
    view books
    Picture
    Annecdotal is where real life brushes up against the fictional.  
    Picture
    Annecdotist is the blogging persona of Anne Goodwin: 
    reader, writer,

    slug-slayer, tramper of moors, 
    recovering psychologist, 
    struggling soprano, 
    author of three fiction books.

    LATEST POSTS HERE
    I don't post to a schedule, but average  around ten reviews a month (see here for an alphabetical list), 
    some linked to a weekly flash fiction, plus posts on my WIPs and published books.  

    Your comments are welcome any time any where.

    Get new posts direct to your inbox ...

    Enter your email address:

    or click here …

    RSS Feed


    Picture

    Tweets by @Annecdotist
    Picture
    New short story, “My Dirty Weekend”
    Picture
    Let’s keep in touch – subscribe to my newsletter
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Popular posts

    • Compassion: something we all need
    • Do spoilers spoil?
    • How to create a convincing fictional therapist
    • Instructions for a novel
    • Looking at difference, embracing diversity
    • Never let me go: the dilemma of lending books
    • On loving, hating and writers’ block
      On Pop, Pirates and Plagiarism
    • READIN' for HER reviews
    • Relishing the cuts
    • The fast first draft
    • The tragedy of obedience
    • Writers and therapy: a love-hate relationship?

    Categories/Tags

    All
    Animals
    Annecdotist Hosts
    Annecdotist On Tour
    Articles
    Attachment Theory
    Author Interviews
    Becoming Someone
    Being A Writer
    Blogging
    Bodies
    Body
    Bookbirthday
    Books For Writers
    Bookshops
    CB Book Group
    Character
    Childhood
    Christmas
    Classics
    Climate Crisis
    Coming Of Age
    Counsellors Cafe
    Creative Writing Industry
    Creativity
    Cumbria
    Debut Novels
    Disability
    Editing
    Emotion
    Ethics
    Ethis
    Family
    Feedback And Critiques
    Fictional Psychologists & Therapists
    Food
    Friendship
    Futuristic
    Gender
    Genre
    Getting Published
    Giveaways
    Good Enough
    Grammar
    Gratitude
    Group/organisational Dynamics
    Hero’s Journey
    History
    Humour
    Identity
    Illness
    Independent Presses
    Institutions
    International Commemorative Day
    Jane Eyre
    Kidney Disease
    Language
    LGBTQ
    Libraries
    Live Events
    Lyrics For The Loved Ones
    Marketing
    Matilda Windsor
    Memoir
    Memory
    Mental Health
    Microfiction
    Motivation
    Music
    MW Prequel
    Names
    Narrative Voice
    Nature / Gardening
    Networking
    Newcastle
    Nonfiction
    Nottingham
    Novels
    Pandemic
    Peak District
    Perfect Match
    Poetry
    Point Of View
    Politics
    Politics Current Affairs
    Presentation
    Privacy
    Prizes
    Psychoanalytic Theory
    Psychology
    Psycholoists Write
    Psychotherapy
    Race
    Racism
    Rants
    Reading
    Real Vs Imaginary
    Religion
    Repetitive Strain Injury
    Research
    Reviewing
    Romance
    Satire
    Second Novels
    Settings
    Sex
    Shakespeare
    Short Stories General
    Short Stories My Published
    Short Stories Others'
    Siblings
    Snowflake
    Somebody's Daughter
    Stolen Summers
    Storytelling
    Structure
    Sugar And Snails
    Technology
    The
    The Guestlist
    Therapy
    TikTok
    TNTB
    Toiletday
    Tourism
    Toxic Positivity
    Transfiction
    Translation
    Trauma
    Unconscious
    Unconscious, The
    Underneath
    Voice Recognition Software
    War
    WaSBihC
    Weather
    Work
    Writing Process
    Writing Technique

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Picture
    BLOGGING COMMUNITIES
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from havens.michael34, romana klee, mrsdkrebs, Kyle Taylor, Dream It. Do It., adam & lucy, dluders, Joybot, Hammer51012, jorgempf, Sherif Salama, eyspahn, raniel diaz, E. E. Piphanies, scaredofbabies, Nomadic Lass, paulternate, Tony Fischer Photography, archer10 (Dennis), slightly everything, impbox, jonwick04, country_boy_shane, dok1, Out.of.Focus, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region, Elvert Barnes, guillenperez, Richard Perry, jamesnaruke, Juan Carlos Arniz Sanz, El Tuerto, kona99, maveric2003, !anaughty!, Patrick Denker, David Davies, hamilcar_south, idleformat, Dave Goodman, Sharon Mollerus, photosteve101, La Citta Vita, A Girl With Tea, striatic, carlosfpardo, Damork, Elvert Barnes, UNE Photos, jurvetson, quinn.anya, BChristensen93, Joelk75, ashesmonroe, albertogp123, >littleyiye<, mudgalbharat, Swami Stream, Dicemanic, lovelihood, anyjazz65, Tjeerd, albastrica mititica, jimmiehomeschoolmom