“I have cursed your father tonight, and your brother, and now I curse you, John Brodrick,” he cried, “and not only you, but your sons after you, and your grandsons, and may your wealth bring them nothing but despair and desolation and evil, until the last of them stands humble and ashamed amongst the ruins of it, with the Donovans back again in Clonmere on the land that belongs to them.”
Hungry Hill is the story of five generations of the Brodricks, a family of rich landowners who live at Clonmere Castle in Ireland. It begins in 1820 when ‘Copper John’ Brodrick decides to open a copper mine on Hungry Hill, land which once belonged to the Donovan family, who have been feuding with the Brodricks for many years. As soon as Morty Donovan hears about the new mine he becomes determined to destroy it and places a curse on Copper John and his descendants.
Hungry Hill, as you can probably tell from the brief summary I’ve given, is a very dark and depressing novel. Its pages are filled with deaths, accidents, illnesses and every sort of bad luck you could imagine. As we move down through the generations we meet characters such as the lazy, irresponsible ‘Greyhound John’, wild and beautiful Fanny-Rosa Flower and spoiled, selfish Johnnie, and we watch as they suffer one tragedy after another, sometimes not entirely undeserved.
It’s not unusual for a du Maurier book to be dark and depressing, but this one is particularly relentless in its portrayal of utter misery, unhappiness and despair. It’s true that most of the characters are very flawed and often bring their misfortunes on themselves (I disliked a few of them so much I wasn’t sorry at all when they came to an unpleasant end!) but it was still frustrating and painful to see them making such huge mistakes. There are also some good, decent people who become caught up in the Brodricks’ web of disaster and it’s very sad to see them suffering too.
Although this is historical fiction, the story has that strangely timeless feel that so many of du Maurier’s books have. We know that it’s the nineteenth century (dates are given in the section headings) but the historical events of the time don’t play any significant part in the novel; the potato famine, the Crimean War and other important events are barely mentioned or alluded to at all. Similarly, although it’s not difficult to work out that the book is set in Ireland, I don’t think the name ‘Ireland’ is ever specifically used – there are just vague references to ‘this country’ or ‘over the water’. This story of a cursed family could almost have been set in any time and any place. And maybe that is the point, because the themes of the novel are universal: coping with the loss of a parent or a spouse, addictions to gambling or alcohol, unemployment and poverty, and whether we have the right to spoil natural beauty in the name of progress.
This is not one of my favourite du Maurier novels and I can’t imagine that I would want to read it again – once was enough for me – but I still enjoyed it (if enjoyed is the right word for such a bleak and unhappy story). I would recommend it not just to du Maurier fans but also to anyone looking for a good, well written family saga similar to Susan Howatch’s Penmarric or Cashelmara.
She Reads Novels 
Hi I am discovering your blog and the first article of you I find is about Daphne Du Maurier who is one of my favorite writer and now, I will be completely less credible when I will say that I never heard of this one! I write it down now on my wish list. Because although you say it wasn’t one of your favorite, it makes me very curious as I don’t know this one. Thank you!
She’s one of my favourite writers too. I hope you enjoy this one!
Not sure a depressing family saga is quite my thing but you have reminded me I definitely need to read more of du Maurier’s novels very soon!
I’ll look forward to seeing which one you choose to read next. Her books are all very different and not usually as depressing as this one!
Eeek! This one sounds brutal!
It is! Not a good book to read if you’re feeling miserable.
I thought I’d read pretty much everything du Maurier wrote, but this is one that has slipped through the net. From what you say about it I don’t think I shall be rushing out to get a copy. I went through my du Maurier phase many years ago and when I went back to her for a summer school two years back I found I’d lost my taste for her style. Maybe I’m just getting old and crabby:-)
I liked it, despite it being so dark and bleak, but it’s not one of her best books so I don’t think you’ve missed much by not reading it.
Sounds like the perfect setting for me! Thanks for reviewing it, otherwise I would have not heard of it. I think most of Du Maurier books live under Rebecca’s shadow (yes, I agree it’s a wonderful novel) and unless you do some research, it is difficult to find her other great works.
I hadn’t heard of this one until recently either. It definitely seems to be one of her least well known books. I’ve read most of her novels now and I don’t think any of them are as good as Rebecca, though they are all worth reading.
I’ve started this one a couple of times but didn’t get very far, and I’m a real du Maurier fan, maybe I should persevere with it. Rebecca is my favourite.
Rebecca is my favourite too, followed by The Scapegoat and The House on the Strand.