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National Library of Wales: A good selection of Hanley books, and an important collections of manuscripts and letters. Scottie and her husband are desperate to start a family but the emotional effects of failed IVF attempts have left Scottie exhausted and in need of a new beginning. Leaving her bewildered husband behind, Scottie travels to the remote island of St Hia to take part in the annual seal count and it is in this isolated place where Scottie starts to learn more about herself and the secrets of her past.
A majestic work of the imagination . . . I woke up thinking about it' ROSIE ANDREWS, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Leviathan An atmospheric tale shot through with folklore. Annie Kirby's writing shimmers as she weaves together the threads of Scottie's forgotten past and her journey to face a future where she won't be the mother she always hoped to be. Beautiful & hopeful Kate Sawyer, Costa-shortlised author of The Stranding A local character from Llanfechain was also the source of the central character, Rhys, in The Welsh Sonata (1954), which was Hanley’s first full-length novel with a Welsh setting. [56] This novel marks an important step forward in Hanley’s attempt to give form to his feelings about Wales. The Welsh Sonata is narrated from the perspective of Welsh characters, and Hanley occasional uses Welsh words, and he employs, at times, a poetic style. [57] But new arrival Scottie feels a pull she can't ignore. Because behind the curse is the legend of Thordis: a woman whose story feels eerily familiar. No one knows what became of her, but Scottie believes Thordis's fate may answer questions about her own past.
He uses both his earlier merchant navy experience, as well as the Blitz, in subsequent novels and short stories in the 1940s and 1950s. The Hanleys left Wales in July 1939 and led "an unsettled, almost nomadic existence" part of which was spent in London, and, while living in Chelsea, in August 1940 they "experienced the Blitz at first hand". [41] Finally, January 1941, they returned to Wales, taking up residence in Llanfechain, Powys. [42] In The Hollow Sea, Annie Kirby has taken the external societal shaming and internal lived reality of involuntarily childless women and transformed them into an extraordinarily lyrical story. This book insinuated itself into my soul like a poem; whilst taking my mind on a mythical, allegorical adventure that lingers in my subconscious like a painting. Whether you are a parent or non-parent, this extraordinary novel will drench you in beauty. I adored it. A real beauty. A magical story of one woman's infertility combined with a mythical sea world. Beautiful Beautifully written with a hint of mythology and well-drawn characters, this is a captivating story of love and loss that will stay with you An absolutely beautiful story of love, loss, family and motherhood. Told in interweaving strands, it follows the story of Scottie whose mysterious past haunts her, and whose own struggles to become a mother is slowly destroying her . . . I read this book in just two sittings, the lyrical prose pulled me in and held me captivated, and my heart wept and sang in equal measure. Truly stunning
For Forster, and Green; see Gibbs, p. 127; for T. E. Lawrence see Gibbs, p. 21; for Anthony Burgess "Introduction" to Boy. (OneWorlds Classics, 20.07), pp.i–vi. A very sensitive piece of writing, all wrapped up in the romance of small Scottish islands. The peace and isolation are indeed wonderful and so central to this novel. Folklore collides with modern day fact and knowledge, but it is beautiful. A gorgeous debut . Inner World of Miss Vaughn (drama, eventually became the novel, Another World). BBC TV, 1 April 1964. A real beauty. A magical story of one woman's infertility combined with a mythical sea world. Beautiful Laura Price, author of Single Bald FemaleJames Hanley consistently explored the lives of men and women in extremes, that is in dramatically precarious states of fear and isolation, which tend to lead to violence and madness. [13] A grim early example is in the novella The Last Voyage (1931). John Reilly is a fireman who is still working only because he has lied about his age, and now faces his last voyage. [14] Reilly although he is in his mid-sixties has a young family, and therefore the family will have to live on his inadequate pension. [15] In another sense this is Reilly's last voyage, because despairing as to the future he throws himself into the ship’s furnace: "Saw all his life illuminated in those flames. 'Not much for us. Sweat, sweat. Pay off. Sign on. Sweat, sweat. Pay off. Finish. Ah, well!’". [16] [17]
Paul Binding, "Man Against Fate", a review of James Hanley's Last Voyage and Other Stories. Times Literary Supplement, 5 December 1997, p. 21.In Boy (1931) young Fearon’s isolation and suffering arise because no one cares for him. The story of Boy is "sordid and horrible". [18] The young protagonist’s parents are only interested in the wages he can earn, and encourage him to leave school as soon as possible. [19] Likewise society is unconcerned about the harsh, unhealthy conditions he endures cleaning ships' boilers. Then, when he goes to sea, he is sexually abused by his fellow seamen. Finally, when young Fearon is dying in agony from a venereal disease caught in a Cairo brothel, his Captain smothers him. [20]
The story goes that, many years ago, the remote North Atlantic archipelago of St Hia was home to a monster. After several years trying to become a mother, Scottie has made the heart-breaking decision to leave her home and her husband in search of a fresh start. Upon her arrival on St Hia, the islanders warn her against asking questions about Thordis - but Scottie can't resist the mystery of what happened to the woman whose story became legend. One Way Only (drama: later became the novel Woman in the Sky). BBC Radio, Third Programme, 10 December 1967; CBC radio 8 December 1968.The Hollow Sea elegantly interweaves the stories of two women haunted by hope and loss. Eloquent and moving, with a touch of folklore, this is a beautiful, hopeful tale Heart-wrenching, haunting, and ultimately hopeful too. Extraordinary. Beautiful, thought-provoking and woven through with folklore and myth, a n utterly absorbing read that will touch your heart. Magnificent. Unforgettable. Fiercely original . . . a really powerful, provocative and original debut The Hollow Sea elegantly interweaves the stories of two women haunted by hope and loss. Eloquent and moving, with a touch of folklore, this is a beautiful, hopeful tale Elizabeth Lee, author of Cunning Women After seven stanzas in which he complains of the difficulty of making a beginning in poetry; confesses that his imagination is weakening; that the sad truth turns what was once romantic to burlesque ("And if I laugh at any mortal thing, / 'Tis that I may not weep" — St. 4); admits that some have accused him of designs against "the creed and morals of the land"; and claims that his only intention is to be merry, Byron reintroduces Haidée and Juan. They were not meant to grow old but were meant to die in happy springtime. Whom the gods love die young. They think not of time's ravages; they find fault only with the way it speeds away from them. Their existence is a perfect one. They are like children, or like a nymph and her beloved, and are not meant to fill a place in a real world. They are perfectly happy.
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