Dick Young is at a turning point in his life. He has recently left his job at a London publishing firm and needs to decide what he wants from his future. He’s been offered another job in New York and his American wife Vita wants him to accept it, but Dick’s not so sure. When his friend Professor Magnus Lane invites him to stay at his farmhouse in Cornwall for the summer, he agrees, looking forward to a few days of peace before Vita and his two stepsons join him. But when Dick arrives at Kilmarth, Magnus convinces him to take part in a secret experiment: he has developed a new drug which allows the user to travel back in time – and he wants Dick to test it for him…
Choosing to begin 2011 with a book by one of my favourite authors was the right decision. The House on the Strand is a strange and unusual book which blends historical fiction, science fiction, time travel and psychology. I loved it! In fact, it might even make my best of 2011 list at the end of the year. Although Rebecca is still my favourite Daphne du Maurier book, this one ties with The Scapegoat as my second favourite. It actually has a very similar mood and feel to The Scapegoat even though the plots of the two books are entirely different. Both books have a male narrator and both have themes of identity and escaping from reality.
I enjoy reading about time travel and this book took a slightly different approach to the question of time travel than any other book I’ve read. Rather than physically going back in time, it’s only Dick’s mind that travels while his body stays in the present – and as you can imagine, this has some disastrous and embarrassing results. The 14th century world that Dick witnesses when under the influence of the drug seems completely vivid and real to him, yet he’s unable to interact with any of the people he meets. He feels a special connection with Roger Kylmerth, steward to the Champernoune family, and also with the beautiful Isolda Carminowe. As Dick’s fascination with Roger and Isolda grows, he spends more and more time in the past and becomes increasingly dependent on the drug.
Du Maurier wrote this book in the late 1960s when psychedelic drugs such as LSD were at the height of their popularity and the drug which Magnus invents seems to be very similar to what I’ve read about LSD. As Dick becomes psychologically addicted to the drug, he gradually grows more distant and withdrawn and his relationships with his family start to suffer. His life in the present is portrayed as dull and boring in comparison to the vivid events of the 14th century and when seen through Dick’s eyes, Vita and her two sons are unlikeable and obnoxious. To me though, they were normal, reasonable people who were trying to make sense of their husband and stepfather’s bizarre behaviour.
Despite my own interest in history and historical fiction, I didn’t find the 14th century subplot particularly compelling. The story wasn’t very strong and there were too many characters with similar names who all seemed to be married to their cousins, which made it very difficult to keep all the relationships straight. I was constantly turning to the family tree at the front of the book and still couldn’t remember who was who. My advice to anyone reading The House on the Strand would be not to worry too much about following the 14th century story. By far the most interesting part of the book is the part which takes place in the present.
There were only one or two other negative points. First of all, I was disappointed that we didn’t get to know Magnus better, as I thought he was potentially the most interesting character in the book. Secondly, du Maurier made a point of describing the landscape and the locations of the various 14th century farmsteads and manor houses in great detail. I know this was supposed to show us how the appearance of the landscape had changed over the centuries (which is quite important to the plot), but I found it confusing and even by referring to the map at the front of the book, I couldn’t seem to build a picture in my mind of what the area looked like. Apart from these minor complaints though, I loved this book.
I’ve now read around half of du Maurier’s books. The good news is that I still have the other half to look forward to!
She Reads Novels 
Having a perfect first book of the year is awesome! I have a feeling my first book of the year might end up on my best-of list too.
Yes, it was nice to start the year with such a great book! I’ve just finished reading Cutting for Stone and I think that one’s going to be one of my books of the year too!
I just finished Rebecca, my first DuMauier book and ADORED it. It captivated me from the moment I opened it. I must read more of her.
Rebecca is one of my all-time favourite books, Christina. I’m glad you loved it!
I offered this as one of the possibilities for a summer school I ran last year but there weren’t enough takers, which was a disappointment as I would have liked a good excuse to read it again. I’m just about to start organising this year’s school and your post has made me decide to try and float the ‘Now and Then’ theme again and see if there might be more enthusiasm for this August’s gathering.
That’s a shame, Annie – I hope you have better luck this year. I think it would be a good choice for a summer school.
That’s so funny: I read this a couple years ago and I was far more into the medieval plotline than the ‘modern’ one! 🙂 But we both love du Maurier, which is what matters. hehe
That’s interesting, Eva. I couldn’t really get into the medieval story at all, despite the fact that I love medieval history. But yes, the important thing is that we love du Maurier! 🙂
I have read about a quater of her books now but have yet to read this one, sounds like an interesting concept.
This is one of the best I’ve read so far. I highly recommend it if you like du Maurier!
Having read Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel I have The Flight of the Falcon on my shelf for 2011. This interesting review has made me curious about The House on the Strand. It would not have been a natural choice for me, although I love Du Maurier’s writing, because of the science fiction element. Now it’s one to consider.
It’s definitely worth considering this one! The science fiction element is just a tiny part of the story – I’d describe it more as a historical/psychological novel.
The Flight of the Falcon is one that I haven’t read. Hopefully I might get to it later in 2011.
Gosh, I have not read Rebecca or any other of her books. I know I am such an idiot for waiting this long. But I know I will be reading it very soon.
I have it! And i will remember this one and the other 2 you mention. I love all the elements that make this story great.
Don’t feel bad about it, Veens! There’s plenty of time. I hope you’ll like Rebecca – it’s a wonderful book. 🙂
I liked this book, but it definitely doesn’t stand out as a du Maurier favorite. I wholeheartedly agree that the most compelling part is what is going on in the present, rather than the time travel story.
I obviously enjoyed this one more than you did, then! It’s interesting that some of us preferred the 20th century storyline and others the 14th century one.
I have never read anything by DuMaurier, but I bought Rebecca a few months ago. It’s on my bedside waiting for the best moment to be read!!
If you’ve never read any du Maurier before, Rebecca is probably the best one to start with. I hope you find the right moment to read it!
I’m glad you liked this one! I enjoyed it quite a bit when I read it too.