I do love re-reading Marcia Willett’s novels. Of them all - and there are many - my favourites remain the Chadwick saga series. These were originally a trilogy, but she has published a couple more about the family in more recent years. ‘Winning Through’ is the third Chadwick book, which I last read in 2008. As it was written as the last of a trilogy, it ties up a lot of loose ends from the earlier books ‘Looking Forward’ and ‘Holding On’, which I re-read and enjoyed towards the end of last year.
‘Winning Through’ begins in 1986. As with the other books, several chapters follow the lives of the Chadwick family over a few months, and then the action leaps forward another four years. I found it a rather confusing system when I first read the books, but nowadays I appreciate it. It means there are some things we learn about in retrospect, as the characters look back on the immediate past; but it means that time passes without every detail, and people grow up a little or mature in the intervening periods.
The book begins with reflection; Fliss, who is now in her early forties, is wondering what to do about her marriage. Her husband Miles, who is rather older than she is, has been working in Hong Kong. She moved back to the family home, unwilling to leave her family behind or to send their twins to boarding school at a young age. That happened at the end of the previous book, and clearly nothing much has changed. Fliss is very fond of Miles, but he wasn’t her first love. And she still doesn’t want to move away from England.
Fliss is advised by her great uncle Theo, the last of the older generation, and quite frail now. He’s full of wisdom, much of it gleaned from reading, and from his life as a minister. He sometimes feels incompetent to advise as he never married; yet his gentle strength and insights guide all his relatives, and many others besides. It’s clear that Theo is becoming frail - he is approaching ninety at the start of the book - but nobody can bear to think of losing him.
Meanwhile Fliss’s cousin Hal - her first and best love - is struggling in his marriage to Maria. Their son Jolyon is sensitive and very afraid that they will split up. Their son Edward, who is his mother’s favourite, is nervous and seems to be pulling away from the rest of the family. Hal has promised Jolyon that he will do all he can to keep his marriage alive, and he’s not one to go back on his promises.
Fliss’s younger sister Susanna is happily married to the bohemian Gus and they have two small children, with a third due to arrive soon. And their brother Mole, who works for the navy in submarines, is still quiet, unwilling to talk about his private life, occasionally plagued with terrible nightmares. He worries continually about his family and doesn’t feel able to commit to any of the young women he becomes involved with.
It’s a character-based novel, reflective at times, as each of them confronts new challenges, learns to relate better to others, makes decisions for better or for worse. There are some significant events in the novel, including one which I recalled all too clearly, a shocking tragedy towards the end of the third book. The first time I read it, I couldn’t believe something so terrible would come in a book like this, with no warning. And yet it feels right, leading to the final chapters where there’s new hope for the future.
I had forgotten almost all the rest of the story; perhaps it’s not particularly memorable, but that doesn’t matter. The people are warm, believable and thoughtful. There’s more of a Christian emphasis in this one than the other two, with many quotations from Scripture and poetry - but as they mostly come from Theo, or when thinking about him, they don’t feel intrusive or in any way preachy.
I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading this novel. I found parts of it extremely moving, and at times could barely put it down.
Very highly recommended, if you like thoughtful women’s fiction, but it’s definitely best to have read ‘Looking Forward’ and ‘Holding On’ before.
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