The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley

 

The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley.

This edition published 2nd June 2016 by Vintage. Originally published in 1984.

Audio book narrated by Carole Boyd.

From the cover of the book:

Escape to the Cornish cliffs in the dizzying heat of August 1939, where five cousins are making the most of the last summer of their youth.

Oliver is just back from the Spanish Civil War and world-weary at only nineteen. Calypso is gorgeous, utterly selfish and determined to marry for money. Polly and Walter, brother and sister, play their cards close to their chests. Then there's little Sophie, who nobody loves.

Soon the world will be swept into war again and the five cousins will enter a whirligig of sex, infidelity, love and loss, but for now they have one last, gaspingly hot summer at the house by the cliffs with the camomile lawn.

A beloved bestseller from an author ahead of her time, The Camomile Lawn is a waspishly witty, devil-may-care delight.

***********

August, 1939. Cousins Oliver, Calypso, Polly, and Walter arrive in Cornwall for a holiday at the house of their Aunt Helena and Uncle Richard, reuniting with their orphaned younger cousin, ten-year-old Sophy (who has been taken in by Richard and Helena).

They plan to make the most of heady summer days lounging on the cliff-top camomile lawn, swimming in the sea, and keeping their family traditions going, but the shadow of another world war hangs heavily over them. The last summer of their youth is nearly over, and change is on the way...

Mary Wesley's provocative coming-of-age-tale begins in Cornwall, with a summer holiday shrouded in family drama, and the fear of what the future holds. The five cousins, Oliver, Calypso, Polly, Walter and Sophy, and their aunt and uncle Helena and Richard are at the heart of the story, following their lives from this last fateful summer through the dramatic days of World War two in London and Cornwall. In a lovely twist, the text is also broken up with scenes from forty years later, when some of the family members reunite in Cornwall for a funeral, which cleverly drive the story along, and provide intriguing insight through the characters' reflections on the past.

From the outset, Welsey makes it clear that this is an upper middle class family rife with complex relationships. Oliver, depressed from seeing the ugly face of combat fighting in the Spanish Civil War, is desperately in love with the beautiful Calypso. Calypso, more than aware of her power over men and defiant in her affirmation that 'she does not know how to love', wants a rich husband, which Oliver is not. Level headed Polly (my favourite) and her brother Walter (also sweet on Calypso) have secret hopes and dreams of their own. Little Sophy, feels unwanted, longs to be grown-up, and is jealous of Calypso as she also loves Oliver. And Helena is chafing under the yoke of a boring second marriage to Richard, who treats her wealth and property as his own, has a ward she does not care for, and has a loathsome wooden leg that is just like a third person in their relationship. There is a lot going on this summer holiday - not to mention a shocking development in the life of poor, neglected Sophy. 

Along the way, Wesley gradually introduces a wider cast of characters who have significant parts to play in the proceedings: Jewish couple, charismatic musician Max and his anxious wife Monika, who have escaped from Austria, and whose son is in a concentration camp; the twin sons of the local rector, Paul and David, who are of a similar age to the grown-up cousins; Scottish landowner and MP Hector Grant, who becomes Calypso's husband; and a host of minor family members, friends and romantic partners.

As tense summer bleeds into war, Oliver joins the army, Walter the Royal Navy, and the twins the RAF. Everyone is worried for their safety, with good reason, cherishing the brief hours they spend together between postings. Polly joins the War Office, undertaking hush-hush military intelligence work, and an equally secretive love life. Calypso marries wealthy Hector, promising him an heir, while having the time of her life in Blitz-hit London. Sophy is sent away to school (which she hates), and is constantly trying to unburden herself of a secret that weighs heavily on her mind. Helena trails around the country with Max, who awakens desires she did not know she had when he becomes her lover, while he keeps up the country's spirits in a musical way (and those of his multiple paramours in a carnal way). And Richard and Monika fall into a curious domestic relationship of their own, back in Cornwall.

The threads of the novel weave in slow-burn style, punctuated with war-time and family dramas. Wesley does not shy away from the horrors, hardships, and tragedies that come with war, but this is far from a grim novel. There is a lot of bed-hopping that happens under the cover of the black-out as the characters discover who they are and what they want in a way that is completely new to them. There is so much fascinating story here about coming-of-age, lost innocence, and family ties, but it is Wesley's exploration of sex, relationships, and emotional liberation that forms the meat of the novel. Despite the war-time setting, the content sometimes feels like jolly-old, bonk-buster typical of the 1980's when the novel was written, however, the attitudes are very much of an earlier era, and sometimes troubling to modern sensibilities (particularly around sexual abuse and domestic violence).

This is a novel that has long been on my 'want to read' pile and I thoroughly enjoyed finally getting to grips with it. Wesley's writing is gorgeous. I loved the way she brings the past alive through the exploits of her characters, weaving a story full of emotion, wit, and subtle humour, and the evocative use of the camomile lawn is enchanting. The characters are definitely quirky bunch, with wayward ways, but many of them became like beloved, dysfunctional family members, and I really did not want to say good-bye to them when the poignant, tear-jerking ending rolled around. By the way, if audio books are your bag, the one narrated by Carole Boyd is a delight.

The Camomile Lawn is available to buy now in various formats.

About the author:

Mary Wesley was born near Windsor in 1912. Her education took her to the London School of Economics and during the War she worked in the War Office. She also worked part-time in the antiques trade. Mary Wesley lived in London, France, Italy, Germany and several places in the West Country. She used to comment that her 'chief claim to fame is arrested development, getting my first novel published at the age of seventy'. That first novel, Jumping the Queue, was followed by a subsequent nine bestsellers: The Camomile Lawn, Second Fiddle, Harnessing Peacocks, The Vacillations of Poppy Carew, Not That Sort of Girl, A Sensible Life, A Dubious Legacy, An Imaginative Experience and Part of the Furniture. Mary Wesley was awarded the CBE in the 1995 New Year's honour list and died in 2002.