The Brontes Went to Woolworths

The Carne sisters, Deirdre, Katrine and Sheil have been making up stories since they were children. Now a journalist, Deirdre and her sisters still can't resist making up these stories, including their talking nursery doll Ironface and their imagined friendship with real Judge Toddington, whom the sisters affectionately call Toddy. The Carne sisters live in a bohemian house with their mother, who likes to join her daughters in their creative game and together, they often tell stories of people whom they never met, pretending to know them intimately. But when Deirdre meets Toddy's real wife one day, the Carne sisters are confronted with reality. Will this event now put an end to their childhood fantasies for ever? The Brontes Went to Woolworths was such a delightful book and I am so glad that I read it. I must admit that I had some difficulties when I first started reading it. I don't know what it was, but I found it hard to read on at first. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't really know what was real and what was not as I first began reading this book, but once I read a few pages, it got better and I could really enjoy this wonderful book. While reading The Brontes Went to Woolworths, I had to laugh many times, because the Carne sisters and their made-up stories were so hilarious! The characters in this book are all witty, charming and funny and you can't help but adore them. At times, I wished I could accompany the sisters on their journeys and adventures and while I read this book, I thought about how wonderful it must be to have sisters. I only have a brother, so I don't really know how it is to have sisters, but sometimes, I wish I had sisters, because I imagine that it must be great, especially having sisters while growing up. Sisters can share intimate details with each other, they can talk about their feelings, emotions and other personal things, because they go through the same changes and make similar experiences while growing up. And that's why I really loved this book so much! I liked how Rachel Ferguson depicted the Carne sisters and I loved the fact that they have such a special relationship. They care deeply for one another, protect and help each other whenever there is a problem; there's just such a deep affection between the sisters and they have such a strong bond, which I really admire. However, the Carne sisters are not the only likeable characters. The book is full of intelligent, amusing and engaging characters. Toddy, his wife Lady Mildred and Deirdre's mother are just a few of them and you will long to find out more about them with every page you read. While reading The Brontes Went to Woolworths, you will find yourself transported to a London full of creative people who are smart, eccentric and hilarious and you will want to read on forever as you will delight in exploring a different time and place. Although this book is very amusing, it is sad at the same time, at least that's what I found. As the story evolves, you

Set in 1930s London, this is the story of the Carnes family, three sisters who live with their widowed mother. The eldest, Dierdre, a journalist, is the narrator. Katrine is a struggling actress and Sheil is still in the schoolroom. They are not wealthy but of an educated class and the daughters of a "gentleman". The most striking their about them is the fantasy world that weaves in and out of their everyday lives. All the members of the family share imaginary friends based on dolls, toys, and sometimes real people they have briefly encountered. They have long, ongoing discussions of the daily doings of these people, discussing them as you would old friends with whom you are in daily contact. I found this very confusing to follow at first. Interspersed with this is a seance and ghostly visitors. During a vacation in Yorkshire, the Brontes make an appearance, although frankly, I had to read this portion twice to get what was happening. When her mother is called to jury duty, Dierdre is taken with the judge, Sir Herbert Toddington, and soon "Toddy" and his wife "Lady Mildred" have joined their fantasy world. But things begin to change when the family actually meets them. The story seems to shift at this point, moving at a quicker pace, and I found my interest growing. As their friendship with the Toddingtons develops, and the Brontes return with a disturbing result, the family has to look at the effect all of this is having on the youngest daughter. Although I was off to a shaky start at the beginning of the book, I found myself increasingly caught up in the story.

Reason for Reading: I've heard much praising of this book over the years. And lamenting as it seems it was a Virago Classic at one time but went out of print. I've always wanted to read it since I enjoy early 20th century literature. Summary: The Carnes, three daughters and a mother since the father died, are not a well-to-do family but they get by and do employ a governess for the youngest, while the two elder are both in their early twenties. Katrine is an aspiring actress attending Dramatic School and Deirdre is a working journalist who works on her book at home. The family has invented a whole passel of imaginary friends (often based on real life people) and guests who have become a part of their daily lives. They've invented complete fairy tales around these subjects and live quite an extraordinary and romantic life through them. When mother must go sit as a backup for jury duty they add Judge Toddington to their assemblage, calling him Toddy, and his wife and staff. But one day Deirdre is sent to cover a charity bazaar at which she meets the real Lady Toddington and is invited to her home for tea. Comments: This really is quite some book! First I'll admit that as it starts off I found myself very confused as to who was real and who was imaginary and just what the heck was going on. It all seemed rather strange to have twenty year olds living an imaginary life and I wondered what I had got myself into reading! Little by little over the first several chapters the method of the madness is revealed and everyone is sorted out for the reader. The governess, recently hired, is a drop of reason for the reader as she writes to her sister of the "weird" family and "weird" goings on. Eventually, the sisters' characters emerge and one is smitten with them and truly engaged with the farcical goings on. Once the Toddington's (the real ones) appear on the scene the tone of the book takes a new direction and while the imaginations continue to be farcical they also become a catharsis which I can't really talk about any more as it would give away what happens. And just how the Brontes figure into things not to mention ending up at Woolworths I'm not going to tell though I will mention one word ... seance. Truly a joy to read! The second half of the book is by far the better half and I was so taken with Toddy (Sir Toddington) and the narrator of the book Deirdre. A delight to read and at less than 200 pages a quick one at that. This is certainly something very different than what is written nowadays and I recommend for those looking for a trip back to the Bohemian British thirties.

As Miss Martin says about the Carne girls, this book is "v. weird." And yet, I loved it. Right from the very first paragraph, you know you're going to be in for quite a ride: "How I loathe that kind of novel which is about a lot of sister. It is usually called They Were Sisters, of Three-Not Out, and one spends one's entire time trying to sort them all, and muttering `Was it Isobel who drank, or Gertie? And which was it who ran away with the gigolo, Any or Pauline? And which of their separated husbands was Lionel, Isobel's or Amy's?'". How can you not continue reading, with an opening like that one? I'm glad to say that the rest of the book is just as witty and funny as that one bit is. The Brontes Went to Woolworths is told from the point of view of Deirdre, one of the Carne sisters. She's the journalist and novelist; Katrine is the drama school student; and Sheil (not short for Sheila) is still in the schoolroom with her governess, Miss Martin, who thinks the girls very strange. For the girls have a habit of making up stories, about real people they've never met. If they were small children, this wouldn't be unusual... except for the fact that the two eldest are in their twenties. Again, "v. weird." The latest subject of their fantasies is Justice Toddington and his wife Mildred. One day, Deirdre actually meets Mildred at a charity bazaar, and the Toddintons become embroiled in the fantasy. But as always, real life intercepts. In this book, as a reader (and outsider), you often feel like Miss Martin, who never quite knows what's going on, or what's real and what isn't. The girls frequently make fun of her, but I have to say that I completely empathize with her point of view--I'd get fed up with the Carnes' behavior, too! The book is a bit confusing at times, especially since Deirdre's narration is a bit ADD--he jumps all over the place in terms of what she talks about, sometimes within the same paragraph. But after a couple of chapters (and the chapters in this book are all very short), I got the hang of her style of talking. The Brontes Went to Woolworths is a catchy title, of course, but the Bronte bit doesn't appear until the very end of the book and seems to come from nowhere (as does most of the plot of this book). The Carnes live in a world that is completely disconnected to real life, and it makes this novel a bit hard to follow sometimes. But I think you have to take this book for what it is: a neat, yet surreal, little fantasy.

How many books have you read that feature a family who has imaginary friends that play the role of family members? In that sense, the family is wonderfully happy until their fantasies run head-on into reality. That crash has the same kind of anticipation of a romance but also the anticipation of being disillusioned. And yet this book is also remarkable for being able to step outside the happy company of the family to understand how they appear to outsiders.