Crewe Train

The best thing about the Rose Macaulay novels for me is the depth of attention she gives to her characters, both in creating them and exploring them through the books. The central character here, Denham Dobie, is particularly prominent because she is a socially inept, utterly straightforward induvidualist against the background of a very worldly, cultured society, which she is abruptly thrown into on the death of her father. The author isn't afraid to point out her essentially self-absorbed character either. The plot of the novel is essentially to do with Denham and her cultured new relatives coming to terms with each other, but the author has some very painful and affecting things to say on the way on subjects like the relationship of love to induvidual freedom. The prose is as clean and clever as always, especially in contrast to that of some of the characters.