Hatter's Castle

Even though the book is from the thirties (the 1930!) it carries an everlasting message to the reader: arrogance goes before a fall! Synopsis: James Brodie, a simple hatter, living in the Scottish town of Levenport, rules his home with an iron fist and iron will. Everyone subdues to his command - yet every time someone from his family tries to rebel, they are digging their own grave. Brodie is an archtype of a late 19th century smalltown house tyrant, living in his very own pathetic mind castle, fighting the outisde world for some reason the reader never fully understands. As his wife lies in her deathbed we get a glimpse og Brodie as a young man who once knew how to love, later on in the story his love for the housekeeper Nancy is merely a twisted shape of love for himself. Throughout three parts of the entire novel the reader witnesses the cracking up of James Brodie, his family, his busines, his home and his life. Just when it can't go any worse for the Hatter, it does. Cronin uses his words very well; in the beginning the reader will get choked by Brodies choice of language when talking to other people, later in the story Brodies foul menaces become trivia of his former self. Cronin has writtin a superb tragedy, nothing less.

How anyone could not appreciate this (in my opinion) literary masterpiece is beyond me. This book is filled with description, but far beyond that the strength of characters that A J Cronin depicts along with the pervadingly dark message to me makes compulsive reading. This was the first of Cronin's novels that I have read and most definately will not be the last.

This is truly a great book, it is true to life also, you peoplethat don't realize that, must have been raised in a bubble.My husbandis now reading the book and cannot put in down, do yourself a favourand buy this book, you will not be sorry. I have read ten Cronin books this one is the best yet! END

I have read all of A J Cronin's books, this one stuck in my mind because it was just so depressing. A lecture on the sin of pride, it is about a businessman (a hatter) who commits the cardinal sin of trying to better himself and be "in" with some very stern Scottish upper class people. He is of course a total tyrant to his family (mad old mother, downtrodden wife, two gormless daughters, and a feckless son). But of course things cannot go well for such a proud man, who will not accept rude customers, long opening hours, etc in his shop, or allow his daughters to receive visits from boys he thinks are not good enough for him. Therein lies his downfall!Trains containing pregnant women's husbands drop off bridges in the middle of the night, businesses go bust, people go into debt, the man becomes a drunkard,etc etc. Every time you think that things cannot get worse for this unfortunate family something even more dreadful seems to happen.As usual the characters are extremely one dimensional, but don't let this stop you reading the book if you have a nice cosy chair to curl up in, a warm fire, a box of chocolates and it's raining outside.Cronin learns to get his melodramatic, pedagogic tendencies under control in his later works but frankly, I enjoyed this book simply because of these attributes. Talk about ramming a point home! It's a case of someone letting their imagination run wild, but at least it keeps the attention. Go on, give it a try. You'll be amazed at the destinies he thinks up for all of his unlovely characters.

I STRONGLY disagree with the comment of the above person who gave this book only 2 stars. Hatter's Castle is an absolutely beautiful book - it was A.J. Cronin's first novel, and I feel it is one of his best. The characters are very strong and the plot is riveting, moving and gives many insights into the many facets of human nature. I can't say enough about this novel - I read it when I was in my early twenties and it was the first serious book I had ever read. It was the catalyst that started me on the road to becoming a lifelong, avid reader. All of A.J. Cronin's novels are excellent - they can be hard to find, but well worth the search!