Reading the 20th Century discussion

Welcome to our January 2024 buddy read of....



A Question of Upbringing

by

Anthony Powell



Each month throughout 2024 we will be reading and discussing the next of the 12 novels which form the A Dance to the Music of Time sequence..

Spring
A Question of Upbringing – (1951)
A Buyer's Market – (1952)
The Acceptance World – (1955)

Summer
At Lady Molly's – (1957)
Casanova's Chinese Restaurant – (1960)
The Kindly Ones – (1962)

Autumn
The Valley of Bones – (1964)
The Soldier's Art – (1966)
The Military Philosophers – (1968)

Winter
Books Do Furnish a Room – (1971)
Temporary Kings – (1973)
Hearing Secret Harmonies – (1975)



A Question of Upbringing by Anthony Powell

Published in 1951, it begins the story of a trio of boys, Nicholas Jenkins (the narrator), Charles Stringham, and Peter Templer, who are friends at a nameless school (based upon Powell's public school Eton College) and then move on to different paths. A fourth figure, Kenneth Widmerpool, stands slightly apart from them, poised for greatness.

The novel is concerned with the flow and transience of life and the play of time upon love and friendship. Another major theme introduced in A Question of Upbringing is the consequence of living by the will.

In presenting four very different characters - "the artist, the romantic, the cynic, and the man of will" - the author sets the scene for an extended exploration of what it means to grow and mature. The language of youth, deployed with precision, is used to depict the emergence of the boys into manhood in a period when memories of the Great War overshadow many of their elders.

The title of the book had its origin in an incident in which Powell was a passenger in a car driven by his friend, the Old Etonian screenwriter, Thomas Wilton ("Tommy") Phipps. Phipps and Powell found themselves driving straight towards an oncoming vehicle.

Powell later recorded, "Seizing the hand-brake as we sped towards what seemed imminent collision, Phipps muttered to himself, 'This is just going to be a question of upbringing.'

Underway with this one


I'd forgotten about the first sighting of Widmerpool and just how uncomplimentary it is

What a character



I found an illustration of Widmerpool (see below) and this quote is from the same page...

Dance is one of the best things written in English in the twentieth century. If you haven’t read it, you may find the first book rather episodic and wonder if you should continue, but for me it was the second in the sequence where I realized it was a work of genius. Half the book is devoted to an extraordinary night where the narrator goes a to a dinner party, then a ball (this is London in the 1920s), then meets an old friend from the first book and goes on to a wild party. Widmerpool is in both books.

I cannot recommend the series highly enough, though as Powell has narrator Nick Jenkins say, “I was impressed for the ten thousandth time by the fact that literature illuminates life only for those to whom books are a necessity. Books are unconvertible assets, to be passed on only to those who possess them already.”

https://www.miskatonic.org/2019/04/26...





Kenneth Widmerpool by Marc Boxer

I'm loving being back with these characters and it is interesting reading the book for the second time given my hazy recollections about how life plays out for them all

Do you think it's possible to read the second book without the first, Nigey? I ask because I'd like to give this sequence a try but the idea of posh schoolboys at Eton isn't calling to me in the slightest!

Roman Clodia wrote: "Do you think it's possible to read the second book without the first, Nigey? I ask because I'd like to give this sequence a try but the idea of posh schoolboys at Eton isn't calling to me in the sl..."

I had the same feeling but have decided to take an anthropological approach and get stuck in . Getting to grips with Eton culture might help me understand the antics of government , past and present . I've started listening to it on Audible , read by Simon Vance, just to get a feel for the accents. So far I'm enjoying it as we meet Widmerpool and his "not quiet right' coat , such petty snobbery being the stuff of class and tribalism . Widmerpool is an outsider but seems immune to criticism and is dogged and determined ( despite his lack of sporting talents he trains daily) . There's something relentless about him .

Nigeyb wrote: "Underway with this one


I'd forgotten about the first sighting of Widmerpool and just how uncomplimentary it is

What a character



I found an illustration of Widmerpool (see below) and this quot..."

Nigeyb wrote: "Welcome to our buddy read of....



A Question of Upbringing

by

Anthony Powell



Each month throughout 2024 we will be reading and discussing the next of the 12 novels..."


great cartoon Nigel . Thanks

Hester wrote: "Roman Clodia wrote: "Do you think it's possible to read the second book without the first, Nigey? I ask because I'd like to give this sequence a try but the idea of posh schoolboys at Eton isn't ca..."

I think the relationship dynamics in the early years are important to later character developments. Plus they might not all be bad, have a close friend who was at Eton who's lovely and works on lefty, environmental projects. Not at all Boris-like, but he did hate being at school there.

I thought you'd all say the first book is necessary to establish characters and relationships (and yes, of course, not every man who went to Eton can be pigeon -holed a certain way). I'm just never interested in childhoods and tend to skim the first chapters of biographies till the subject is about 18 - and becomes interesting!

Ok, I'll bite the bullet and dive in after Christmas.

You might be able to get away with skipping, I'm not the best person to comment, I'm very much a have-to watch/read-things-in-the-right-order person, lots of lists of book series and the order they were published in cluttering my notebooks.

Haha, you and Susan are far tidier then than me in your reading - I flitter around, skim and abandon, sometimes get bored and just go to the last couple of chapters to find out how the story ends!

Who else is planning to read Powell? Alwynne, are you re-reading?

I've dug out my copies and they're awaiting me. Looking forward to it. Finally feeling like reading again and have some time, so looking good.

My answer, it's not essential but I woud still read it if I were you. It's the weakest of the ten books but it does, as others have suggested, give helpful background and it's interesting to see how the characters evolve over time.

I must admit I am loving it but that it partly informed by the knowledge of what is to come.

I'd also add, and in common with the other 11 volumes, it's beautifully written and very well observed, so enjoyable on those terms too

I've started this... It's very Waugh's world, isn't it, but without the stylishness of Waugh's writing. I am struggling a little with the tone and am assuming this is Powell's tribe he's describing so fundamentally these are supposed to be 'people like us' - apart from Widmerpool, the man with the most outlandish name in fiction. Is it supposed to make us think of tadpoles and strange creatures in rock pools? I'm expecting him to be the thrusting man who is in government.

It's easy reading and Uncle Giles feels like he might have wandered in from Blandings!

I'm trying to pin down why this feels so much less modern than Proust, given that the premise is similar. The idea of classical images become the equivalent of the madeleine that prompts the recall of the past.

Perceptive as always RC.



Alas a lot of the classical allusions fly over my head

Re the curiously monikered Widmerpool, let’s just say he goes on quite the journey

I have a few thoughts about his symbolic role in the series but it’s far too soon for such ruminations

I'm sure Widmerpool's journey will be worth watching. I almost feel from this first chapter that he's being set up as the outsider who attains more power and position than his peers, a kind of version of the 'new man' leveraging all those social changes to come in the C20th - but given that he's at Eton, he appears to come from the same elite class anyway.

Does anyone know when the last book ends? 1970s? 1980s? So a sweep through a large part of the century.

The image of the dance where the same partners keep coming around strikes me as a very class-based concept: just looking at the government, they went to the same schools, university, worked for the same people even before Westminster and generally move in the same circles, even intermarrying. That's quite different from the friends and work colleagues I know.

I'm still not sure about the humour - I'm guessing I'm supposed to be amused at the (view spoiler)[ arrest of Le Bas (hide spoiler)] but I found the whole thing a bit ponderous and drawn out.

Roman Clodia wrote:



"Does anyone know when the last book ends? 1970s? 1980s? So a sweep through a large part of the century"


The final book Hearing Secret Harmonies (1975) takes place in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and makes references to hippies, the permissive society, Vietnam, and Enoch Powell, oh and a cult led by the memorable Scorpio Murtlock

Tell me you're not excited 🤠

Haha, I am excited! It was your description of the second book with the deb balls etc. that persuaded me to read this.

I'd say I'm neutral so far but always knew Eton boys was never going to make my A list ;)

Interesting to see that Powell catches up with himself so he's writing about the late 60s/early 70s from only a few years later.

I don't know if your spoiler is actually supposed to be amusing - it didn't make me laugh. It's quite cruel really and I think tells us quite a bit about Peter Stringham

Re class, it is unequivocally about English political, cultural and military life in the 20th century and tends to focus on the elite but I predict that will become less of an issue if you stick with the series.

There's around 50 major characters plus a few hundred others and so things also broaden out a bit.

I'm still struggling with the tone though: when Jenkins says Uncle Giles was making money in South Africa from gold mines, rather than diamonds, I can't help viewing that trade through modern post-apartheid eyes but I'm unclear as to what Powell's intention was when he was writing this, especially given British involvement in South Africa.

Similarly, when Uncle Giles says he likes the Germans: it's 1921 in the book, and 1950s when it was published, both periods being post-war and the latter knowing what is to come in the 1930s - so are we supposed to think of this as his misjudgement... or are we supposed to think of the royal family and their German heritage and a more enlightened view that doesn't condemn a whole nation for the war? Or even the way that many aristocratic/elite families were positive about Hitler?

I've just finished the first chapter so plenty of time to get a better handle on what Powell is intending to do here.

Nigeyb wrote: "... but I predict that will become less of an issue if you stick with the series."

I'm not tempted to skim yet so hopefully will make it to the end. I thought the books were chunkier than they actually are so one a month is a good schedule.

Uncle Giles is a misfit and a contrarian - as well as being a somewhat opaque character. I can't remember the extent to which he reappears but I can confirm characters can take quite a bit of time to reveal themselves so just go with it for now

Yes the books are not too long and very easy to read and, in my view, get better and better as the series progresses. This first one must put quite a few people off sticking with the series which is a great shame as it's flipping wonderful!

Roman Clodia wrote: "I've started this... It's very Waugh's world, isn't it, but without the stylishness of Waugh's writing. I am struggling a little with the tone and am assuming this is Powell's tribe he's describing..."

I know what you mean about the "people like us " assumption and i had the same thought about Trollope and Olivia Manning before I fell in love with the writing of both . So far I am liking the writing very much. Chapter One seems to consist of three set pieces all told in reflective detail where we get to learn about Widmerpool, an unreliable uncle and the cruel dynamics of the three friends . The moment when Widemerpool discloses the arrest of the housemaster , the smell of the liminal space and the cruel dismissal by Stringham was genius as it captured the nascent personalities of both .

It's interesting too to revisit the language of boarding school
( housemaster, chapel, tea , out of bounds ) as it reminds me of the Jennings and Derbyshire and Molsworth books I used to consume as a child as pure escape from my somewhat chaotic household.

Hester wrote: "It's interesting too to revisit the language of boarding school"

I haven't read Jennings or Molesworth but I was thinking how different the depiction is from all those boarding school series for girls that I loved as a child - they were already vintage then but I'm thinking of the chalet school, St Claire's and Malory Towers. Maybe part of the difference is that these were children's books?

It reminds me of Waugh too, mainly thinking of Decline and Fall

Good comparisons


I was, indeed am, a big fan of both Molesworth and Jennings

Actually I reread Down with Skool! a while ago, still good....


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


As a bit of light relief, and a trip down memory lane, I really enjoyed it. Genuinely funny, although perhaps you had to have enjoyed it as a child?


Also reread the first Jennings book - Jennings Goes to School - but with less success...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Thanks Nigey. I love the opening of this one, the images of the brazier and the snowy street are so striking and evocative. Also love the descriptions of Widmerpool, he does go into a little too much detail in the scenes surrounding the uncle I think. Also loved the idea of the 'venerable' school being down the road from a gasometer.

Thanks Alwynne - glad it's working for you so far


The gasometer is a great detail

How did I miss the gasometer (whatever that is)?!

The description of the Poussin sets out the vision for the series very well and clarifies expectations, I thought.

You're all tempting me, but I have so many other things on my list.

I may join in but follow along at a later and slower pace.

I wasn't sure but the books are shorter than I thought and the first one is easy reading so if they're all like this, I'll romp along each month.

Poussin - A Dance to the Music of Time....

Ben wrote:


"I may join in but follow along at a later and slower pace."

Very easy reading and plenty to enjoy and appreciate, listen to RC...

Roman Clodia wrote:

"I wasn't sure but the books are shorter than I thought and the first one is easy reading so if they're all like this, I'll romp along each month."

Not only are they all like this but they get really addictive. The cumulative effect is want makes this such a wonderful series.

Oh, I didn't notice we have mostly embarked on this one. I have re-read the first. I kind of love books about youth and have read so many about young men at public schools that I hardly think about it.

I am absolutely anal about series, as you know, RC! The main characters are introduced in this first book, so I think it is very important. Know the boy and you will know the man and all that...

I'm surprised at how few books I've read about boys at public school. I'm in the summer before university and am enjoying Jenkins staying with Templar's eccentric family.

It's very easy to just slip into the book, I found - not much plot but engaging and interesting and I'd predict I'm in for the long haul now :)

Roman Clodia wrote:


"I'd predict I'm in for the long haul now :)"

🙌🏻

Hurrah

They really do get better and better

Based on the comments so far, I will give this one a try.

Jenkins in France is a bit long-winded... but now Widmerpool is back on the scene my interest has revived.

Stephen wrote:


"Based on the comments so far, I will give this one a try."

Hurrah



Roman Clodia wrote:

"Jenkins in France is a bit long-winded... but now Widmerpool is back on the scene my interest has revived."

I like the whole France section

Widmerpool certainly livens things up as we discover more about him and what makes him tick

What a perfect name for that character. Slightly ridiculous and also the name of a place, although I am unsure where the author came across it.

Widmerpool is a place? It sounds to me like a made up name. I got a bit bored in France, especially all that stuff about the Scandinavians but things are good again now that Jenkins is at The University (as if there is nowhere other than Oxford!) Sillery is another eccentric who I like reading about.

Ah, you've overtaken me now RC

In Nottinghamshire apparently.

Nigeyb wrote: "Ah, you've overtaken me now RC"

I'm still finding it hard to judge where Powell stands on these characters: Jenkins is positioned as not quite of the group so he can observe and be a bit naive but the little I know of Powell doesn't really fit with that. We'll see.

Susan wrote: "In Nottinghamshire apparently."

Gosh.

Roman Clodia wrote:



"I'm still finding it hard to judge where Powell stands on these characters"

Bear in mind this is a very slow burn experience

I will be very interested to discover how your perceptions change over the course of the series

Yes, I'm pacing myself with the series given everything you and others have said, and am not jumping to judgy conclusions yet. I'm looking forward to the journey.

Roman Clodia- I really chuckled at your phrase, “judgy conclusions.” I know I’m guilty of that often.
.

Susan_MG wrote: "Roman Clodia- I really chuckled at your phrase, “judgy conclusions.” I know I’m guilty of that often.
."

Haha, we could form a group: Judgmentals Anonymous 😆