Zennor in Darkness: From the Women’s Prize-Winning Author of A Spell of Winter

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Cornwall. Spring 1917. The never-ending, blood-draining war haunts the nation. Its tentacles of death and destruction have reached as far as Zennor beyond St Ives, on the very tip of Cornish coast. Fear and suspicion are never far from the surface – U-boats are a constant threat and the locals regard any strangers with unwelcoming dismay.

Zennor in Darkness opens in May 1917, when war has come to haunt 'the coastal village of Zennor; ships are being sunk by U-boats, strangers are treated with suspicion, and newspapers are full of spy stories.' It is into this environment that D.H. Lawrence and his German wife, Frieda, move, seeking a cheaper existence away from the controversy which his writing has caused in London. Also resident in the village, and living with her widowed father, is a young woman named Clare Coyne. She is a young artist, whom Lawrence and Frieda soon befriend. Helen Dunmore's 1993 novel Zennor in Darkness is set in and around the village in 1917 when D. H. Lawrence lived nearby. Zennor is also mentioned in the Ulysses Moore series of books, written by Pierdomenico Baccalario; in fact, near Zennor and St Ives there would be the mysterious hamlet of Kilmore Cove, the place where the series is mainly set.Will Fowler (2012). Allies at Dieppe: 4 Commando and the US Rangers: Operation Cauldron. Osprey Publishing. pp.Appendix 2. ISBN 978-1-78096-596-3. Helen Dunmore is underrated and NOT to be missed! I knew there was a reason I added her entire bibliography to my wish list months ago.

Special Operations Executive intelligence officer Vera Atkins was cremated after her death and the ashes scattered in the churchyard. Her memorial plaque, shared with her brother Guy, has the inscription: "Vera May Atkins, CBE Légion d'Honneur Croix de Guerre". [16] Culture and amenities [ edit ] Late Cornish language use [ edit ] We are introduced to Clare Coyne, a beautiful young woman who lives alone with her father and is close with nearby family, including her beloved cousin John William, whom just happens to be visiting home while on leave from the violent trenches. Adding spice to this ensemble is the character of author D.H. Lawrence and his bold German wife Frida, both of whom have settled in the village.

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I found it a rather uneven novel, brilliant and thoroughly engaging in parts but a little overly ambitious and even pretentious in others (it was Helen Dunmore's first novel). Basically, Zennor in Darkness is about Clare's interaction with her family, D.H. Lawrence, and all the other drama that goes hand in hand with war -- and coming of age. Helm, Sarah (May 2005). A Life in Secrets: The Story of Vera Atkins and the Lost Agents of SOE. London, UK: Little, Brown. p.440. ISBN 0-316-72497-1. Whilst the majority of the novel is told using the third person omniscient perspective, the use of diary entries written in Clare's voice are effective. Using this technique, Dunmore shows a more tender side of her, and it is also, of course, far more revealing than she is able to be in her public life. Snippets of first person perspective, and thoughts of individual characters, have been woven throughout. Sometimes asides are given, or reflections between snatches of dialogue. Separate characters are focused upon in individual chapters, and we are thus able to see the rich tapestry of those who live within Zennor, some of whom are real historical figures, and others of which have been imagined by Dunmore.

The novel's atmospheric setting and characters offer a unique insight into the psychological impact of fear and tragedy. All these different disciplines – fiction, poetry, short stories (she's published four collections to date), children's novels – do they come from the same place? "I see them as connected but different: I know this is a novel and this is a poem, or a short story. How and why I'm not sure, but it's always blindingly clear. Poetry is the most different, because poems use all the musical properties of language – but on the other hand, working as a poet has definitely helped me with the pacing in my novels. I'm very much one for the grip, the pull-through, that narrative energy and propulsion, and I think poetry teaches you about that." The British poet, novelist and children's writer, Helen Dunmore died of cancer at the age of 64 on 5th June 2017. Sad to say, I have only now come to her work with this, her very first novel, published in 1993.

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This leads in turn to their expulsion from Zennor by the authorities. Only Clare among the locals is sad to see them go. She is determined to follow the Lawrences out of Zennor, using her art as a means to escape. Pritchard, George. "The Mermaid of Zennor". Cornish Legends Saints, Mermaids & Phoenicians . Retrieved 14 June 2012. Zennor lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Almost a third of Cornwall has AONB designation, with similar status and protection as a National Park.

Poetry was very important to me from childhood. I began by listening to and learning by heart all kinds of rhymes and hymns and ballads, and then went on to make up my own poems, using the forms I’d heard. Writing these down came a little later.What I loved about the book: the place , of course; the way small town gossip ignites like a fire; the descriptions of the effects of the war on the returning soldiers and on the people left behind; the love and bond of family; and the fact that D.H. Lawrence and his German wife are incorporated into the story.