As I mentioned in a recent post, I had a bit of bookish luck whilst on my travels to visit Family when I stumbled across a lovely old green Virago – “Clash” by Ellen Wilkinson, an author I’d only recently come across when I received a review copy of her newly reprinted British Library Crime Classic “The Division Bell Mystery”. Delving a little deeper has revealed that Wilkinson really *was* a fascinating woman.
Coming from a poor Manchester background, she nevertheless attended university, became a Communist and a trade unionist, joined the Labour Party, supported the 1926 General Strike, became Labour MP for Jarrow (and was therefore heavily involved in the iconic Jarrow March), visited Russia and war zones – well, that just scratches the surface. What an inspirational woman and what a life!
I’m currently reading “Clash” and finding it completely absorbing and, depressingly enough, still very relevant. The beliefs Wilkinson gives her protagonist Joan Craig are ones I can really empathise with, and the book is really compelling.Ahead of my full review of it, I wanted to share one particular quote which really stood out for me:
She was desperately tired, too tired even to make the effort to get back to Gordon Square. The thrills of the day, following a night on the train, had left her utterly exhausted. There came to her at that moment the queer clearness of vision that sometimes happens when the body falls asleep of itself. Through the chatter of the crowded restaurant she seemed to see England – the great steel towns of the north, the mining villages she knew so well, the little homes in which she had stayed during her organizing tours. Decent men and women working far too hard, crowded together in uncomfortable homes. Lack of obvious things like baths and hot water, lack of comforts, and, for at least five years, lack of food and warm clothes. What fine stuff they were, what excellent material out of which to build a fine race. And instead . . . muddle. Those men and women of the employing class meant well, no doubt, some of them, but, oh, their hauteur, their assumption that people, because they were manual workers, were of an inferior race! The unblushing lying to preserve a competitive system that the really intelligent among them knew was breaking down, the refusals to organize or to allow resources to be organized except on a basis that would yield excess profits to some one! They wanted inequality. They could not conceive a society without some one to bow before and others to cringe to them. The Socialist ideal of a commonwealth of equals “simple in their private lives and splendid in their public ways” made no appeal to the class that governed England in 1926. The bolder of them wanted a world in which they could gamble. The timid wanted security – Government bonds and six per cent.
So it rather seems that back in 1926 it was all about the few taking what they could from the many, and it’s shocking and saddening to find that nearly a century later little has changed. I find myself fascinated by Wilkinson and her writings, and I really do think I may head straight on to reading “The Division Bell Mystery” straight after this one!
Aug 22, 2018 @ 11:47:51
As you say, what changes?
Aug 22, 2018 @ 11:52:36
Not much alas – the rich are still getting richer…. :((
Aug 22, 2018 @ 12:06:31
Not an author I’m familiar with either, but she sounds very interesting. That’s quite a quote…
Aug 22, 2018 @ 12:20:09
It is! She was a fascinating woman, as a quick look at her Wikipedia page reveals, and you can’t help but feel that she poured a lot of herself into this book.
Aug 22, 2018 @ 13:39:31
I have The Division Bell Mystery and hadn’t connected it with Clash. I think I might have to read it soon too!
Aug 22, 2018 @ 13:43:58
“Division Bell” is a different kind of read, but a good one too. I only wish Wilkinson had written more, but I think her political life was always her priority.
Aug 22, 2018 @ 13:47:46
This is a book I’ve never come across but the passage you quote has me thinking that it must speak so well for that particular period of our history . A proper old-school Virago book and author!
Aug 22, 2018 @ 13:51:05
Very much so, and the kind of book I looked to Virago for in its early days. It really captures the period so well and I shall no doubt rave about it when I get my review together! 🙂
Aug 22, 2018 @ 15:12:58
Sounds like my country, too, these days. The last election certainly showed the rich are still running the world for themselves.
Aug 22, 2018 @ 16:00:08
Yup – it’s depressing how so little changes…
Aug 22, 2018 @ 15:25:16
I am not supposed to be buying books, but I shall have to seek out a copy of this. That quote is very telling, and yes, how can we have made such little progress in all that time.
Aug 22, 2018 @ 15:59:51
That paragraph really struck me, but I found I felt like quoting half the book actually. Not wanting to encourage bad habits, but I do recommend it… 😉
Aug 22, 2018 @ 20:01:50
This is one I snapped up at some point second-hand, only seeing the green spine and not really looking hard at it since, so I appreciate the glimpse through your reading experience. The quote does make it seem both relevant and engaging; isn’t it interesting how quickly one can get pulled into a character via a universal experience like tiredness!
Aug 22, 2018 @ 20:28:04
Well, you made the right choice grabbing it, because it’s not one I’ve come across before myself (and I *have* been Virago spotting for some years!) Joan is a very relatable character, and the book has a real immediacy – I hope you like it when you read it! 🙂
Aug 23, 2018 @ 22:30:04
I will have to read this one day. The quote is beautiful, and perfectly reflects the attitudes toward the working class. Right now I’m covering my eyes and pretending I didn’t read this, because I’m weeding my books. But if I see it at a bookstore I’m going to buy it!
Aug 24, 2018 @ 08:22:42
LOL! Sorry to be a bad influence, but this one is so good I want to spread the word! :)))
Aug 26, 2018 @ 19:48:05
Fascinating! I’ll be so interested to read your full review Kaggsy. As a staunch Leftie I’m sure I’ll be chasing after a copy 🙂
Aug 26, 2018 @ 20:18:21
As a fellow staunch Leftie I’m sure you’ll enjoy it! 🙂 Review will be up in a couple of days!