Note: Jane Gardam is the only woman in history to have been WINNER of two Whitbread Awards for Best Novel of the Year.
Edward: “I think she may accept me. Seems quite fond of me. She hasn’t actually said–”
Albert: “I’m glad that she seems fond of you. It is the usual thing.”
Edward: “And I’m really very fond of her.”
Albert: “You haven’t slept with her then?”
Edward: “No. No, of course not. She’s a lady. And I want to marry her.”
Esteemed novelist Jane Gardam follows up on the success of Old Filth, her highly successful 2005 novel about the life of Sir Edward Feathers, with the companion story of Sir Edward’s wife, Betty. Each novel benefits from the other, the sum being 
significantly greater than the combination of the parts. Together they are a stunning study of a marriage–not ideal, but “workable.” Old Filth recreates the marriage from the point of view of Sir Edward, whose extreme insecurity and fear of being left alone inspire the reader’s empathy, even as s/he may want to throttle the man for not paying attention or refusing to take a stand!
Feathers grew up unloved in Malaysia, where his father was stationed. A Raj orphan by the age of six, he was sent back to England, to be brought up by the sadistic Ma and Pa Dibbs in Wales, after which he went on to school in England, began a law career, and lived up to the old adage: “Failed in London, Tried Hong Kong,” hence his nickname of “Filth.” He never knew what it was like to be loved and cherished for being who he was, and he always felt that he was an “outsider.” His one condition to Betty when he proposes is that she never leave him.
Betty, someone we really see for the first time in this novel, is also a product of the same time, place, and class. Living in Hong Kong, she sees Edward as “So pure…[though] there’s something missing.” More importantly, however, she believes, “He’s very nice. And he needs me.” Her friends all argue against her engagement to him, and even Betty has some doubts. After considering the possibilities of pure passion with someone more exciting, she finally concludes that marriage to Edward “will not be romantic, but who wan
ts that?”, a compromise which she believes will result in an overall improvement in her life.
Though neither Edward nor Betty is “in love” when they get married, they manage to form a good relationship and strong bond, considering the limitations of each. Betty demands a great deal of freedom within the marriage to pursue interests of her own, and Edward is so busy with his career that he hardly misses her–or the opportunities for happiness that have vanished from their lives with her absences and his compulsive working.
Though this novel focuses on Betty, Gardam also uses the novel to provide more insights into Edward. At the end of Old Filth, Edward describes himself as someone who has never known love, but we see here that, in fact, he has known love, at least to the extent that he can ever know love, considering his limitations. The parallels between the end of the British Empire, with its withdrawal from Hong Kong, and issues in the marriage between Edward and Betty are obvious, with the novel’s old-fashioned style consistent with the attitudes of Betty and Edward.
The sophisticated and subtle style of Old Filth, appropriate for a novel about Edward, yields in this novel to a more down-to-earth and overtly emotional style, more typical of Betty, with coincidence and romantic intervention playing a part. Edward is often priggish; Betty doe
s not hesitate to tell him to “stuff it.” Edward’s friend Albert Ross, jokingly referred to throughout the novel as “Albatross,” symbolizes Edward’s guilt (or insecurity) and his inability to love fully, and the reader is constantly reminded of a line from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,”–”Alone, alone, alone on a wide, wide sea/,” which could be Edward’s mantra. The use of signs, portents, and the supernatural broaden the scope, while Betty’s firm grounding in reality puts these other-worldly motifs into perspective. The often hilarious (and ironic) dialogue combines with a wry satiric sense to produce a perfect conclusion, one which is everything this novel deserves. Gardam’s brilliance is best seen if this novel is read following Old Filth, a novel which, itself, becomes more “human” if it is read as the prequel to The Man with the Wooden Hat.
Notes: The photo of the author is by Bruno Vincent and appears on www.freshfiction.com.
The photo of this Dorset Village epitomizes the place where Edward Feathers and Betty spend their final years, the imaginary Dorset village of St. Ague. It appears in an article entitled, “County Dorset: Far from the Stress of Modern Life,” on www.sfgate.com
This past month Publishers Weekly had a full-page feature article about Gardam, now eighty-one, and her career as a writer, which just keeps getting better and better. www.publishersweekly.com
Also by Gardam: OLD FILTH, THE QUEEN OF THE TAMBOURINE, THE PEOPLE OF PRIVILEGE HILL
