Springcleaning – Book 8 “Letters from Constance” by Mary Hocking

I very much enjoy books which are told in diary form or as letters which is why I must have picked up Letters from Constance by Mary Hocking. This is a very battered Virago paperback which has been well read so I think that I must have got it very cheaply which is probably why I took a chance on it, as I had no previous knowledge of the author. I am so very glad that I did as this is a brilliant book which I found very moving.

Constance and her friend Sheila leave school just before WWII. Sheila is brilliant and obviously going to do well whereas Constance is pretty and lively and doesn’t want to study more. Constance writes to her friend all through the war and up to the 1990s except when they are together and this book is her letters with no replies – we are told how these have been destroyed.

Constance is obviously aware of the gulf between her and her friend and the book shows us how Sheila moves to a marvellous marriage and a life supporting her composer husband and Constance  produces one child after another and becomes immersed in family life. Constance struggles and Sheila seems to rise above everything but it soon becomes apparent that this is not the full truth and that things may not always be as they seem.

This book displays to the reader the changes in family life and the role of women during the period of the letters. It also connects with world events – Constance’s husband Fergus is from Ireland. All of this affects the families and the relationship between the two women and is reflected in the lives of their children. The writing, however, is not heavy and also shows us the funny side of families and the choices that have to be made.

I read this book in one day because I was captivated by it. I thought that it was clever but had real heart and I came to love Constance and her endless caring for people around her. I thought that the book reflected well the changing attitudes to women during the period without labouring the points.

I have a shelf of books I keep that I have particularly enjoyed and may wish to revisit at some time. I have added this book to it.