Odette by Ronald Firbank
I’ve written about author Ronald Firbank before on the Ramblings, covering two entertaining volumes brought out by independent publisher Michael Walmer – “Inclinations” and “Vainglory“. These witty and original works were Firbank’s first two novels, and now Mike has produced a lovely reprint of Firbank’s early, first published work – and a very different type of story it is too.
Subtitled “A Fairy Tale for Weary People”, “Odette” is a short story which tells of the titular character’s encounter with reality and how it changes her. Odette lives life in a kind of fairy-tale setting; comfortably settled with her widowed aunt, her nurse and an aged butler in an old château in France, she spends her times in dreaming of religious encounters with saints. The visits of the local Curé fuel her imagination and she becomes determined to emulate Bernadette, who saw the Virgin Mary in the mountains.
So Odette sneaks out of the house one night, setting off on what she hopes will be a holy adventure. However, what she encounters is as far from the Virgin Mary as you can get, and Odette’s meeting with reality will not only change her, but also have an effect on the real world.
“Odette” is an affecting little work which stays in the mind despite being only 44 pages long. Odette lives in a gilded cage, and her encounter with reality could have been much harsher than the one which Firbank gifts her. As it is, he seems to believe in the power of good to influence those who’ve gone astray, and there is a strong religious element; certainly, Odette’s innate goodness shines through, and although after her encounter there is a sense that she has grown up and her worldview has been forever changed, there is also the feeling that she will continue along a righteous path and try to bring happiness throughout her life.
Interestingly, according to Wikipedia, “Odette” was published when Firbank was just 19, just before he attended Cambridge, and his novels came some 10 years later – which would explain the dramatic difference in style! The book is beautifully produced – a hardback with lovely illustrations by Albert Buhrer which are in the style of Aubrey Beardsley, and the cover also features one of his images.
So another intriguing reissue from Mike Walmer, and one which shows Firbank in a very different light to his later more camp and snarky books. Ronald Firbank died young when he was just 40, of a lung disease which had dogged him most of his life; and I can’t help wishing that he’d lived longer and been able to write more. If you haven’t yet read any of his work, “Odette” certainly might be a gentler way to start with Ronald Firbank, who definitely deserves to be more widely read nowadays!
Many thanks to Mike Walmer for kindly providing the review copy – much appreciated!
MarinaSofia
Aug 17, 2017 @ 08:10:38
This sounds charming – as someone who wanted to become a nun at the age of 13 or so, it sounds like the perfect read.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Aug 17, 2017 @ 09:33:01
I imagine it would ring several bells, then, with that background! 🙂
MarinaSofia
Aug 17, 2017 @ 09:43:46
Now considering becoming a Buddhist nun as a retirement plan… 😉
kaggsysbookishramblings
Aug 17, 2017 @ 10:31:36
Sounds like a sensible move…. 😉
Tina
Aug 17, 2017 @ 09:12:19
I thought of the film ODETTE with Anna Neagle–nothing to do with this book?
kaggsysbookishramblings
Aug 17, 2017 @ 09:32:42
Not at all – the subject matter couldn’t be more different!
heavenali
Aug 17, 2017 @ 10:19:23
This sounds like a charming little tale, and very much like the look of that prettily produced little hardback.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Aug 17, 2017 @ 10:31:18
It’s a lovely object in its own right – I do like a pretty book! 🙂
Jane @ Beyond Eden Rock
Aug 17, 2017 @ 11:35:04
That subtitle is wonderfully appealing, and it must have been interesting to read a much earlier work after reading much later books. I’m wondering now how Firbank and Augustus John crossed paths.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Aug 17, 2017 @ 12:21:16
It was, and very much in constrast to his later books. John seems to have done frontispieces for some of Firbank’s books but I’ve no idea how they met!
Mike Walmer
Aug 17, 2017 @ 15:00:03
Hi Karen and Jane, Have just consulted Miriam Benkovitz’s biography, and Augustus John is first mentioned in connection with a very bohemian set who dined at a restaurant called the Eiffel Tower in Percy Street, Soho during the first years of the war. Nancy Cunard, Duff Cooper, Wyndham Lewis, Michael Arlen, Walter Sickert, Delius were all regulars. Thanks so much for covering this, Karen, and really glad you liked its spirit…
kaggsysbookishramblings
Aug 17, 2017 @ 18:44:01
Thanks Mike – very interesting! And I liked the story very much – a little gem!
Jonathan
Aug 17, 2017 @ 13:12:50
I read some of Firbank’s plays years ago but wasn’t that impressed. I wonder if his novels would be better.
I love the subtitle of this one.
kaggsysbookishramblings
Aug 17, 2017 @ 14:01:11
I don’t know what his plays are like, but his later novels are very individual. An acquired taste, I suppose, but I enjoyed them and think they’re worth seeking out.
BookerTalk
Aug 17, 2017 @ 21:30:26
He was only 19 when he wrote this – he was more mature than most 19 year old boys I knew in that case..
kaggsysbookishramblings
Aug 18, 2017 @ 10:31:55
I know! They obviously made them differently in those days….
madamebibilophile
Aug 19, 2017 @ 21:31:16
Fascinating review of an intriguing story! Lovely edition too 🙂
Kat
Aug 20, 2017 @ 18:40:52
Karen, this sounds very good! I bought a book of Firbank’s novellas in London a year or two ago, and, as is the fate of many of my books, it has stood on the shelf ever since. Let us hope I get to it soon, because if I don’t read all my English books, how can I ever vacation in a city again?
kaggsysbookishramblings
Aug 20, 2017 @ 18:44:47
Exactly! And you certainly need an excuse to visit London again! :))