I’ve been enjoying re-reading my books by Marcia Willett, particularly the ‘Chadwick’ series, which started with ‘Looking Forward’. I’ve just finished the second in the series, ‘Holding On’, and had forgotten how very engaging it is, with some extremely moving passages. I last read 'Holding On' in 2007, so it was more than time for a re-read.
It opens in the Summer of 1972. Fliss and Miles have been married for a couple of years, and she’s expecting her first baby. Miles, who works in the Navy, is about to be posted to Hong Kong, and while Fliss is quite excited at the idea, she’s also extremely nervous at the thought of giving birth in another country. And she knows she will miss her extended family, many of whom live at a huge rambling family mansion called ‘The Keep’.
Fliss’s grandmother, known as Freddy, is now 78. She’s still fit and active, but she’s slowing down. Fliss’s parents were killed in a coup when she was young, and Freddy brought her up, with her household help - Ellen and Fox - and a nanny, Caroline, who’s a bit younger. Fliss’s brother Mole is now a navy cadet, and her sister Susanna is soon to start at art college. But Fliss is very family-oriented, and Miles, who is rather older than she is, isn’t all that keen on the idea of becoming a father.
Fliss’s cousin Hal is married to Maria, who has always been quite possessive about him. But she’s starting to turn into a rather complaining, nagging wife who hates him being away. She’s a bit of a snob, too, and is under the impression that Hal is going to inherit The Keep one day. And she’s upset that Fliss is pregnant while she isn’t.
Then there’s Kit, Hal’s twin, who has been in a relationship with a likeable man called Jake for ten years. He’s asked her to marry him many times but she isn’t sure if she is really in love with him, and doesn’t want to be committed. She has a close friend and housemate known as Sin (Cynthia) who falls in and out of love regularly and also doesn’t necessarily want to get married.
All these people’s intertwining stories are told in the course of this book. Marcia Willett’s skill in characterisation applies to all her main characters, from small children to the elderly. And I feel almost as if I know them, so when there are poignant scenes, and inevitable losses I find my eyes filling with tears. The writing is excellent.
The action moves forward a few years after the first ten chapters or so, and we’re in 1976; Fliss and Miles returned from Hong Kong, with twins; Hal and Maria also have two sons, although she’s struggling to deal with the mess, noise and general disruption inherent in a baby and toddler. Mole qualifies and Susanna falls in love.
And then the story moves forward to 1980, and the last part is set in 1984. I recall finding these leaps a tad annoying when I first read the book, as I was caught up in the stories, and wanted to know what happened next. But Marcia Willett fills in the important gaps, with conversations and flashback daydreams, and it all works well.
I loved this book, it has everything I like in a story, including some low-key spiritual input mostly emanating from Freddy’s delightful brother-in-law Theo, who was a parson before he retired. There’s no bad language, no scenes of intimacy, no violence - just a well-told, beautifully structured family saga.
I’m already looking forward to reading the third in the series, but won’t do so immediately as I know it would be totally devastating to finish the series one after another; I love these people so much I like to spread them out a little, interspersed with other books.
Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys thoughtful women's fiction, but it's definitely best read after 'Looking Forward'.
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