I discovered Margery Sharp through Jane of Beyond Eden Rock who, for the last few years, has been hosting an annual Margery Sharp Day on the author’s birthday. This year, Jane is doing something slightly different: she has put together a Birthday Book of Underappreciated Lady Authors to celebrate the work of some of her favourite writers throughout the year. Margery Sharp is first on the list and as I’ve enjoyed her books in the past, I wanted to join in.
Britannia Mews (1946) is my fourth Margery Sharp novel and probably my favourite so far. Beginning in the 1870s and taking us through to the 1940s, it follows the story of Adelaide Culver from childhood to old age. We first meet Adelaide as a curious ten-year-old exploring Britannia Mews, a London street inhabited by servants and coachmen – a street which is considered less than respectable and off limits to middle-class children like Adelaide. Returning to the Culver’s comfortable townhouse in nearby Albion Place, Adelaide has no idea that in just a few years’ time Britannia Mews will be her home.
It’s all cousin Alice’s fault; if she hadn’t been suffering from a cold and missed their drawing lesson, Adelaide would never have been left alone with their drawing master, Henry Lambert, and then he might never have told her that he loved her. But Alice does have a cold and Mr Lambert does declare his love for Adelaide – and Adelaide, despite knowing that her parents will disapprove, does agree to marry him.
Their marriage takes place on the day the rest of the Culver family move away to a lovely new house in the countryside. Adelaide, meanwhile, is moving into Mr Lambert’s rooms above a coach house in Britannia Mews. Estranged from her family, living in what is rapidly becoming a slum and finding that her new husband is not quite the person she thought he was, married life proves to be very challenging for Adelaide. When she finally has the opportunity to escape from Britannia Mews, however, she must decide whether she really wants to leave the street that has become her home.
Britannia Mews is very different from the other books I’ve read by Margery Sharp – The Nutmeg Tree, The Flowering Thorn and Cluny Brown. All three of those are lovely novels but they are much lighter in tone and, although Britannia Mews is not entirely without its moments of wit and humour, in general this is a darker and more serious story. I don’t want to give the impression that it’s a depressing one, though, because it isn’t. Yes, Adelaide’s life is difficult, at least at first, but it’s her own life – she has made her own choices and had to live with them, made her own mistakes and had to find her own solutions. Unlike her cousin Alice, who represents the ideal of what a Victorian woman should be, Adelaide is unconventional, independent and, by the time the twentieth century arrives, an inspiration to the younger generation.
One woman in particular who belongs to the younger generation is Dorothy – Dodo – Baker, daughter of Adelaide’s cousin Alice. Like Adelaide before her, Dodo feels stifled by the middle-class circles in which her parents move and she knows she wants something different out of life. Britannia Mews, which by the 1920s has become a lively and fashionable address, is, for Dodo as well as for Adelaide, a symbol of freedom and the opportunity to be who you want to be. The second half of the novel is very much Dodo’s story rather than Adelaide’s; it took me a while to adjust to the change of heroine but once I did I found Dodo just as interesting to read about. I enjoyed watching her get to know the Lamberts and waiting to see whether she would uncover the secret they had kept hidden for so many years.
Of course, the most important character of all is Britannia Mews itself, a street which seems to cast a spell over those who live there, pulling them back every time they might think about leaving. I loved reading about the changing nature of the street over the years and the people who inhabited it at various times in its history. I was also fascinated by the descriptions of the Puppet Theatre which Adelaide opens in one of the old coach-houses and the magnificent hand-made puppets created by Henry Lambert.
This was a wonderful choice of book to celebrate Margery Sharp’s birthday this year and I’m hoping to join in with some of Jane’s other Birthday Book authors in the months to come.
She Reads Novels 
This is the first book of hers that I didn’t finish, but reading your review and Jane’s convinces me that I need to give it another try.
I hope you have better luck with it next time, Lisa.
I like the sound of this novel, and your review paints a great picture of what the book is about. 🙂
It really is a wonderful book – I’m pleased you like the sound of it.
I read this a couple of years ago, really enjoyed it.
I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read so far by Margery Sharp, but I think this one is my favourite.
I always love stories about unconventional women. I think this should be my first Margery Sharp novel.
Adelaide is a great character. I think you might enjoy this book, but any of the four I’ve read would be a good place to start.
She is certainly underappreciated in our library system, the only adult books of hers they have are The Innocents and The Faithful Servants, which I’ve reserved. And, I’d forgotten she was the author of The Rescuers, which I loved as a child.
I don’t think my library has any of her books, which is disappointing. I’m glad you at least managed to find two – I don’t know anything about The Faithful Servants, but The Innocents sounds like a good one.
I’m so glad that you loved this book too, and you’ve captured it beautifully.
I think this was the perfect Margery Sharp book for me! I’m looking forward to reading some of the other authors on your list now, hopefully beginning with Dorothy Canfield Fisher.
I’m enjoying it too. I only have 50 pages to go so I just skim read your review. I’m sure I read some of her books in the 1970s but I can’t remember which ones now.
I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I’ll look forward to your thoughts. 🙂
This sounds so very different than the Sharp novels I have read so far (all very comedic and terrified of anything that could be considered sentimentality) yet even more fascinating because of that. What a varied author she was and how fun it is to discover her many facets!
After reading three other Margery Sharp novels I thought I knew what to expect, but this one was entirely different. She’s certainly a more varied author than I had thought she was.
Lovely review of a book I enjoyed very much, and you are right, it is very different to the other books you mention, and I thought the same about The Innocents (my contribution to Margery Sharp Day). On reflection, however, I think there are common themes about people finding their right place in the world and discovering a role that is right for them.
Yes, I think you’re right – that has been a theme of all four of the Margery Sharp books I’ve read so far. I’m looking forward to reading The Innocents as it’s one which sounds particularly appealing to me.
I’m fascinated by puppets so I loved the puppet theatre part. I really enjoyed this one last year and you make me want to read it all over again!
Yes, the details of the puppet theatre were fascinating. I think this is a book I’ll want to read again too.
Having read your review shortly after reading Jane’s, I’m convinced I would enjoy this book. I hope to make it my first foray into the world of Margery Sharp.
I think you would like this book, Sandra. It would probably be a good place for you to start with Margery Sharp – but I did enjoy all three of the others I’ve read too!
The second to the last paragraph intrigues me. I find it fascinating when a writer uses an area, in this case a street, as a character itself. I hope to read this book at some point this year.
Yes, Britannia Mews itself is a very important part of the story, not just because the characters live there, but because of what it represents and symbolises. I hope you do have an opportunity to read this book soon – I would love to know what you think of it. 🙂
Love that cover!
I like the cover too.
I was introduced to Margery Sharp and so many great but now almost lost authors thanks to Jane. I love Margery Sharp novels, but this one in particular is lying in my TBR like for two years now! Your review makes me want to pick up and read it asap…and maybe over this weekend I will. Wonderful review!
Jane has introduced me to some great authors too, including Margery Sharp. I hope you enjoy this one when you read it.
Jane’s review of this one and now yours – this is going to the top of my list of books to look out for and grab when I see them!
It’s definitely worth looking out for!