Tag Archives: Virago Press

Family Money by Nina Bawden – 20 Books of Summer 2023

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Family Money by Nina Bawden was first published in 1991 and was reprinted by Virago the following year. It’s one of my 20 Books of Summer.

Fanny Pye is an elderly widow who is getting used to her singleton life after her husband Daniel’s death. He had been rather overbearing and now her various family members are beginning to try to make decisions for her too. Fanny still lives in the family home in London, the value of the house has risen a lot over the years and some members of the family would like to be able to get their hands on some of the money from the sale of it. Fanny is very attached to Ivy her cleaning lady though, and doesn’t want to upset her life.

But Fanny’s own life is upset when she witnesses an act of road rage on her way home from a restaurant and she becomes a victim herself. In hospital her recovery only goes so far as her memory has been damaged and she’s confused. Her children think this is an opportunity for them to push the idea of Fanny moving to a smaller house, but Fanny would like to buy a small house for Ivy, one close to her daughter. As you can imagine that idea doesn’t go down well with some people who feel that their father’s money shouldn’t leave the family.

When Fanny’s memory begins to come back to her she’s filled with fear and a sense of danger, she doesn’t feel safe in her home any more.

The back blurb says:

Here, the tempo of a thriller is brilliantly linked with a wry examination of the manners and morals of an acquisitive society.

I enjoyed this one although for me the ending is somewhat disconcerting.

Tortoise by Candlelight by Nina Bawden – 20 Books of Summer

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Tortoise by Candlelight cover

Tortoise by Candlelight by Nina Bawden was first published in 1963 but my copy is a Virago reprint from 1989.

It’s the 1960s, Emmie Bean is 14 years old and she’s really in charge of her family which consists of her father, grandmother, older sister Alice and eight year old Oliver. Alice is determined to become a nurse and has to study, – when she’s not with her boyfriend, she seems happy to leave all the responibility to Emmie. Oliver has problems, he is happy to lie and steal and is very manipulative. Emmie is terrified that he’ll be caught stealing something, it’s just another of her many worries. The mother had been a well-known naturalist but she’s not around, in fact the children seem to think she is dead. As the father has a drink problem, he’s a journalist and claims he needs to go to pubs to get contacts, it’s Emmie who has to worry about providing school uniforms, life is tough and money very scarce. Then to make matters worse the grandmother’s age begins to tell on her. Emmie’s mother had encouraged her to start writing a diary/notebook and Emmie wonders if getting it published could be a way out of money problems.

Emmie has had to grow up fast but when new people arrive at a nearby house things change. Marjorie and Nick are a young married couple with no worries, Marjorie’s father is very wealthy and they’re financially secure, but are living a rather empty life with nothing to strive for. They become involved with the Bean family and Emmie is quite smitten by Nick. There’s a sadness to Nick and Marjorie and the Bean family seem to fill a void for a time.

This was an enjoyable read, but a difficult one to write about. I’ve read a few books by Nina Bawden, Carrie’s War is probably her best known book and I think I liked that one more than this one, but that may just have been because of my liking for a WW2 setting.

This book is one of my 20 Books of Summer.