A Game Of Snakes And Ladders

by Doris Langley Moore

A revised reprint of Doris Langley Moore's 1938 novel "They Knew Her When."

Genres: Fiction, British Literature, Modern Classics, 20th Century, Friendship

314 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1938

About the author

Doris Langley Moore OBE (1902–1989) also known as Doris Langley-Levy Moore, was one of the first important female fashion historians. She founded the Fashion Museum, Bath, (as The Museum of Costume) in 1963. She was also a well-respected Lord Byron scholar, and author of a 1940s ballet, The Quest. As a result of these wide-ranging interests, she had many connections within fashionable, intellectual, artistic and theatrical circles.

(wikipedia)

Reviews

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Lucy, in her laborious game of Snakes and Ladders, had made a great many moves to climb a very small ladder, and had now been swallowed by the snake which takes the player back to the beginning."

Lucy and Daisy were part of a touring acting company, but when the company move on, the two stay behind in Egypt, Daisy because she has met a man and wants to stay with him, Lucy because she became ill, and Daisy in a effort to help, gets her into a nursing home. Unfortunately, this leaves her heavily in debt to Daisy's partner and she becomes stuck there. Daisy, although I think she genuinely wanted to help at first, becomes a rather self-centered and deluded character who works to keep Lucy by her side in Egypt not wishing to be lonely and the pairs struggles to get on in life end up being like a game of Snakes and Ladders; (but then, what life isn't)?

A very satisfying read.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Lucy and Daisy, fellow actresses in a pre-WWII era acting troupe, who end up in Egypt under differing circumstances, and how their relationship develops and disintegrates over the course of 20 years. It's a psychologically astute study of the way self-interest, self-absorption, class consciousness, and the obfuscation of "social" discourse can disrupt communication, with often terrible results.

At first I was frustrated by the messy social interactions and crazy turns of luck (although I was still very absorbed: while reading of one particularly upsetting setback for Lucy, I missed my train stop). Part-way through the book, I realized that I've never played Snakes and Ladders, so I looked it up, and found that the narrative arc is very much developed along the lines of the game: progress alternating with setbacks. The game, as described by Wikipedia "was associated with traditional Hindu philosophy contrasting karma and kama, or destiny and desire. It emphasized destiny, as opposed to games...focused on life as a mixture of skill (free will) and luck."

Well, that explained a LOT. Once I understood the structure, and really settled into the story, I was hooked. This the second novel I've read by Doris Langley Moore, and I hope I can find more (they're all out of print--this one was written in 1938, and, I believe, revised in 1955).

I am grateful to have been led to the author by the Furrowed Middlebrow blog, and his analysis is very good:

http://furrowedmiddlebrow.blogspot.co...

[Catie · Rating 4 out of 5]

**4.5 Stars**
Neglected Books Yearly Readalong - January 2023

[CLM · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story about friendship and loyalty, set primarily in Egypt between the wars - my review:

http://perfectretort.blogspot.com/202...

[Merilee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very qualified recommendation: if you're an Anglophile who has a high tolerance for colonialism and "socially acceptable anti-Semitism" of the early 20th century, you may like this book. It's extremely dated.

Lucy and Daisy are British actresses touring Egypt after WWI, and they stay there - Daisy by choice and Lucy because of Daisy. The latter is a social climber who found her Jewish target and clung on with all she had, but wrecked Daisy's life in the process. Lucy stays there for many years trying to get back to England. Her adventures and eventual fate were totally unpredictable, and Daisy's callousness pretty shocking. There is a comeuppance at the end, and the blurb assures you it's worth it. I remain unconvinced.

There are some Austen-ish flourishes in the book, and a great deal about how unpleasant it is for Daisy to be saddled with a Jew (does he have be proud of his origins?) I wonder if Austen had been alive 130 years later, would she have written a book like this? Perhaps, but I hope not. Daisy did remind me a bit of Mary Crawford from "Mansfield Park" mixed with Nancy Steele from "Sense & Sensibility". On the whole, I enjoyed it, but could have done with less Daisy.

[Louise Culmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lucy and Daisy are actresses who are in Egypt with a touring company in 1919. Lucy falls ill with typhoid and when she recovers her theatrical company have left Egypt, and illness has caused her to lose her looks and her voice. Daisy meanwhile has become the mistress of a rich man. Financial difficulties cause Lucy to stay in Egypt much longer than she wishes to, and Daisy struggles to improve her social standing. Although the story was fairly entertaining, once Lucy and Daisy became separated it interested me less. I found the interaction between them the most interesting part of the book, and without that it fell a bit flat for me.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in conjunction with the Neglected Books Club and found it delightful. It is a slowly paced story of two former actresses and their up and down struggles in past WWI Egypt. It is leisurely paced and the author's luscious convoluted prose adds to ones reading enjoyment.

[Veronica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing that this did not live up to my last two utterly delightful and diverting experiences with this author. This book was tedious and the ending, though proclaimed to be happy by the author, was ultimately unsatisfactory.