The Return of the Soldier ~ Rebecca West

This very short novel is the story of an English soldier who is repatriated from the bloodlust of the French trenches during WWI because he has lost his short-term memory, presumably as a result of being ‘shell-shocked’ – the condition we now know as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Chris Baldry, handsome, personable and wealthy, is the soldier. His ‘madness’ took the form of returning his consciousness to the world he knew 15 years previously. Thus the army officials sent news of his illness to an old address instead of his current home, where his wife Kitty and cousin Jenny were only mildly concerned at not hearing from him for a fortnight.

Kitty’s careless snobbery is revealed when her housemaid announces the arrival of a woman who has news for them: condescending to speak to the stranger, Kitty reflects that her hair is ‘Last year’s fashion…but I fancy it’ll do for a person with that sort of address.’ The visitor, shabby and diffident in the affluent house, is Margaret Grey, bringing them the news that Chris is ill, not wounded but apparently confused because a War Office telegram and letter from Chris have been sent to an old address and he is begging to see Margaret, who reveals that she knew him 15 years previously. Kitty, scornful and certain the woman is trying somehow to get money from her, is rude and dismissive; Jenny however, senses the truth and is horrified by the insight into Kitty’s true nature.

When the story is confirmed and Chris is brought home, his loss of memory and complete lack of recognition of his wife, his alienation in the altered house, are excruciating to read. He does recognise Jenny, who of course he had known since childhood, and who senses the hopelessness of the situation for both disoriented husband and rejected wife. Chris is obsessed by only one thought-he must see Margaret. Kitty, brittle and suspicious with bewildered hurt, agrees to bring ‘that dowd’ to the house, noting bitterly that despite his amnesia, ‘He’s well enough to remember her all right’.

Thus Chris is reunited with Margaret, who had been the love of his life and a true kindred spirit. Far from being disillusioned by her age and the poverty wrought on her by sad circumstances, he is more in love with her than ever and they share the anguish of their parting over a petty quarrel all those years ago.

The story proceeds to unravel the true natures of all the characters involved, against the background of medical and psychological efforts to ‘cure’ Chris. Rather than war-induced amnesia, it gradually emerges that the cause may be more related to the social situation, including the death of Chris and Kitty’s infant son and Margaret’s life story.

On one level, this is a sadly familiar story of the effects of war; however, it seems to be a deeper examination of social mores and their imprisonment of individuals who defy the rules and want a different lifestyle. I was gripped from the start and read it in one night!

Author Rebecca West, born Cicily Isabel Fairfield in 1892, grew up with two sisters and their single mother, deserted by Cicily’s father at age 9. A hard struggle in those days, this background led her to be a feminist and Suffragette, and fierce political activist: she changed her name to Rebecca West to spare her family the social repercussions of her activism. She had a long affair with H.G. Wells, with whom she had a son.

I first became aware of her when, about to travel to Croatia, I read her massive history of Yugoslavia, ‘Black Lamb and Grey Falcon’, an amazingly comprehensive story of that country’s harsh past and dour culture.

HELEN          

The Dig Tree ~ Sarah Murgatroyd

Never has my imagination been so captivated reading a novel as it has been reading The Dig Tree.

Living in Australia I had of course heard of the names of Burke and Wills, I mean there is a Burke and Wills Hotel in Toowoomba!  I knew that they had been ill fated explorers in the 1800's but that was about it.

Finishing The Dig Tree today after hardly being able to put it down, I marvel at those early Europeans who risked their lives in pursuit of knowledge of Australia's interior.

The expedition lead by Burke, and his second Wills, was mismanaged from it's conception, to the returning of their bodies for burial.  Burke was only chosen because he happened to be a 'gentleman' (albeit an Irish one), and that was of prime importance for the Exploration Committee, it didn't matter that Burke couldn't even find his way home after a night at the pub.

Sarah Murgatroyd has written a very compelling story from start to finish, giving an incredible insight into what drove those men and how it all went horribly wrong.  When Burke and Wills left Melbourne, their supplies included an oak dining table and a bath tub!  Aboriginals they met along the way brought gifts of food, but the explorers deemed them a nuisance as they wanted gifts in return from their supplies - knives, oilcloth etc  On the return trip from the Gulf of Carpentaria Burke finally succeeded in scaring the natives off completely, and it was then that he and his remaining men realised the folly - they had to discard the supplies that could have been traded for food because they were too weak to carry them - and finally all but one starved to death surrounded by the bush food they did not know how to prepare properly.

Other explorers of the outback are mentioned in the novel too as this had been a race between the Australian colonies in the hope of opening up the interior for the Telegraph and claiming it for their own.  Names like the Stuart Highway, Leichhardt, Mitchell and Julia Creek all now have a special meaning to me, they will no longer be just the names of places where I freight our company's products.

This novel also gives you a reality check as to what the Europeans did to the Aboriginal tribes in Australia and how they suffered the loss of their native land to the white intruders.  You can't change the past but they were treated very badly indeed.

Coming from England I do feel the lack of real 'history' here compared to Europe, but having now read The Dig Tree I can appreciate that Australian's colonial history may only be recent, but it can be utterly fascinating.

Maxine