Making the marriage work

I have been reading a trilogy of books by Arnold Bennet over the past couple of years. The first was Clayhanger about a young man growing up in the shadow of a formidable father (see my review here) and the second volume was Hilda Lessways which followed events in the life of the woman who eventually marries Edwin Clayhanger (see my review here). The final book in the trilogy These Twain takes place after the marriage of the two main characters and is about them trying to make their relationship work given all that has gone before.

This is not the best book of the three but it is a very interesting novel. Hilda has come into the relationship with a young son and a difficult past to overcome. She feels in a position of weakness but wants to change things and to assert herself with Edwin and with his family. Edwin tries to live a life suitable to his position as a thriving businessman but finds himself continually challenged by Hilda. All through the book you are not sure whether or not the marriage will survive. At times neither character is particularly likeable.

The book is set at the end of the nineteenth century at a time of great social change in England and this is reflected in the plot and narrative. The story follows other characters from the previous two books and the author shows how precarious middle class life is and how easy it is to make lasting mistakes. The author ties up the loose ends from the second book and a major character goes to jail – we get to see conditions in jail when a party visits Dartmoor. Edwin and Hilda want to make the family printing business more successful but they have different visions of the future.

I am glad that I read this book because the author finished off the trilogy well and I thought that his examination of a competitive marriage was interesting. Much to my surprise I have now discovered that there is a fourth book in what is always described as a trilogy which was written much later and follows Hilda’s son into WW1 – I have purchased this and will read it in due course.