Scarlet Feather (by Maeve Binchy)

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In my gradual re-read of the novels by the late Maeve Binchy, roughly in chronological order of publication, I reached ‘Scarlet Feather’. My edition is a hardback with just under 500 pages, so I was a little daunted when I decided to read it at quite a busy time of year.  I last read it in 2017. 

However, as with many of this author’s books, particularly the later ones, I was quickly drawn into the story, felt empathy with some of the characters, and eager to know what was going to happen. I had recalled a few significant incidents from the plot, but not the majority and I thoroughly enjoyed it once again. As with many of Maeve Binchy’s novels, it’s set in Dublin. 

The two main characters in this book are Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather, good friends who met on a catering course some years earlier. Both have a passion for cooking, and have set up a business together. Cathy is married to a lawyer called Neil, and Tom lives with the very beautiful Marcella. The four sometimes get together socially; both Neil and Marcella are interested in the business (known as ‘Scarlet Feather’). Neil sometimes offers legal advice, Marcella is happy to help out in the kitchen. 

Cathy is from a working-class background, with several brothers and a sister who went to work in the United States some years earlier. Her father, known as Muttie, is out of work and addicted to betting on horses, although he does sometimes win. Cathy’s mother Lizzie works hard as a cleaner, and is usually quite cheerful. She used to work for Neil’s mother Hannah, and Hannah has never approved of their marriage as she’s quite a snob. 

However Hannah’s brother-in-law is a dodgy person who often disappears, and his wife becomes drunk and very vague. They have a young adult son called Walter who is always trying to find ways to make money without doing any work, and they have nine-year-old twins called Maud and Simon. I liked the twins so much! They’re a strange mixture of naivety and confidence, taking many things rather literally. They’ve been left to run wild and tend to race around and break things; but they also feel deeply unloved and unwanted at times. The twins provide some humour in the book; they are gifted at asking inappropriate questions with terrible timing. But they also lead to much of the poignancy. 

Then there’s Cathy’s aunt Geraldine (Lizzie’s sister) who lives in a luxury flat and has relationships with a series of married men. There’s James, who is involved in the purchase of new premises for Cathy and Tom’s business, and who wants to take cooking lessons as well as working as their accountant. And various other characters. 

The novel takes place over the course of a year. We meet most of the cast on New Year’s Eve. Cathy is working hard to provide food for a party held at Neil’s parents’ home. She won’t be paid, or even appreciated since she and Hannah do not get along. But she hopes that some of the guests might be so impressed with the food that they book Scarlet Feather for some other function. Tom is at a different function with Marcella. Other people are pinpointed around the locality; it’s a good way to introduce them. I found the number a bit overwhelming at first and made notes in the front of the book, but it is quickly clear who the main and most interesting ones are, and easy enough to distinguish them.

Maud and Simon are the catalyst for many of the events that take place, starting when they arrive at the party in a taxi, saying they have been left on their own and have nowhere else to go. But Hannah doesn’t want them either, and her husband Jock, their uncle, is rather vague, so he leaps at the idea that Cathy and Neil might take them in.  Neil is less happy…

The book charts the highs and lows of Scarlet Feather over the course if the year, including one shocking incident that almost destroys them. It also looks at relationships, and what happens when a couple starts pulling in different directions. Tom doesn’t like Marcella modelling scanty lingerie, but her dream has always been to be a model. Neil crusades for the homeless, and campaigns for justice for refugees, but gets so caught up in his good works that he has little time for Cathy. And he sees her business as insignificant, irrelevant. It’s quite thought-provoking seeing the two viewpoints, which are very well portrayed.

The most moving sections involve Maud and Simon, who have learned already when to speak up about their problems, and when it’s probably better to stay silent. They’re not good at keeping secrets, and they worry, sometimes, that they are being a nuisance. And there are some thought-provoking questions (and another minor storyline involving someone else) about whether children are better off with caring foster parents or neglectful blood relatives. 

The last chapters and the ending are somewhat bittersweet; I had forgotten what happened, but perhaps it was inevitable. I know I was very sorry when I reached the end of the book the first time, as so many things seemed to be left open. I’m relieved to know, now, that several of the characters re-appear (albeit in more minor roles) in subsequent novels. 

I’m very glad I read ‘Scarlet Feather’ again, and already look forward to re-reading it in another decade or so.

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