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The Georges' Wife Elizabeth Jolley 9780140232554 Books

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The Georges' Wife Elizabeth Jolley 9780140232554 Books

Fiction is most compelling when it replicates the intrigues and uncertainties of life. Furthermore the best fiction springs from personal experience. In my opinion this is why Elizabeth Jolley, the author of “The Georges’ Wife” has become recognised as such a fine novelist. She writes fiction that is gripping, credible and relevant.

Even the curious title is deeply thought provoking. Vera never marries Mr George. The Church Bells of the very last chapter is a school-girl memory of the Sunday morning call to worship, not a belated formal celebration of a durable union between a man and a woman. In what sense could Vera have been wife to Mr George’s attentive sister? The very suggestion outrages conventional morality.

The George duo rescue her from homelessness and penury by granting her a secure position of paid servitude as their maid, denying her the honourable status and authority of wife even when Mr George grasps the opportunity to add sexual benefits to her unwritten job description as maid. He baulks at acknowledging this to his sister, even although she senses the change and is tearful the next morning after they first sleep together.

To what extent does Elizabeth Jolley betray in this book her inner feelings towards the already married Leonard Jolley to whom she became pregnant as a young trainee nurse during the difficult years of World War II? He was an older man, a sophisticated University graduate whose love of literature and music and similar conservative religious views won her heart. She was his nurse when he was treated for suspected tuberculosis of the hip which proved to be just a manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis.

Although charming and kind to her, he proved to be a duplicitous womanizer, a cad. Having had his fun he did not safe-guard her good name and support her adequately when she became pregnant. He brought her shame in the eyes of her Quaker family and nursing friends, ended her training, and forced her to seek menial tasks to survive.

To add insult to injury he self-righteously enlisted her help in not even informing his own family of his indiscretion. When he did act to resolve his dilemma it was deeply hurtful and difficult for his wife, and broke the trust of his doting four-year old daughter Susan. Leonard did secretly marry Elizabeth, and became increasingly dependent on her. They lived first in Scotland and in 1959, they migrated to Perth in Australia. Leonard passed away in 1994 the year after this book was first published in Australia.

Vera never complained of her unmarried lot with Mr George. She was grateful for the security and companionship her unusual liaison provided, but craved more. Undoubtedly it was why she turned to the intellectually stimulating but alarmingly poor friends Noel and Felicity who scavenged their coal supplies from a nearby slag heap, and were grateful when Vera brought them a cucumber she found which had fallen to the road from a passing vehicle. Tragically Noel contracted pulmonary tuberculosis, and passed on the germ to Vera.

To their credit the Georges supported Vera and her two girls during her illness, and afterwards when she studied Medicine, but was it the loving relationship it might have been?

Elizabeth’s own story, hinted at in the reminiscences of Vera, but recorded accurately in Brian Dibble’s detailed biography, is much more riveting for being true. Intelligent, and well-educated, Elizabeth was born of a good German-speaking family with deeply held Pacifist scruples. She felt acutely the cutting reproaches of her efficient but brusque mother while her tolerant and loving father was the inspiration for her own fortitude in coping with her marital difficulties.

I enjoyed reading "The Georges' Wife" and rate it as the best of her books that I have read thus far.


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The Georges' Wife Elizabeth Jolley 9780140232554 Books Reviews

The Georges Wife Reviewed by Arthur
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy
Elizabeth Jolley has produced an interesting tale of the human relation ship, from the imperfect love to the imperfect friends, most of which were made through chance meetings.
Based in a slightly pre-modern setting, The Georges' wife centres around a young woman named Vera, who has gone through many trials in her life including the ailment of TB, the pressures of family and that of relationships; Vera is at her trial's end and the story slowly begins at the ending.
The book is an interesting text to read which demands of the reader, this is no text to sit back on and relax, though it has helped me fall asleep many a time. The order of the book is anything but linear, the text jumps from one thing to the other and only serves to confuse the reader even more with its littering of quotes and references to famous works or composers or poets. Though this may serve to enhance the beauty of Jolleys style in this particular text, it felt more like a reference guide after a while with its incessant references to 4.12 of this or that and its littering of quotes in the German language, the occasional "eine bemerkung," placed in the text does not do any injustice but like the quotes, it felt overused and inappropriate. Besides having a complex layout and a confusing story with the constant scene jumping, there has to be some credit given to the use of description in the book. Jolley has the ability to accurately paint an image in the readers mind with her colourful, intelligent and sharp use of description, although that too weighted the story after a while. The reason behind this was that the book ended up having way too many descriptions in it, even in some of the most irelevant things, this did help to slow its pace down but with no story going on as it happened, nothing worth really reading about, the text had the effect of a sleeping drug, perfect to those with trouble getting a good nights rest.
Criticism aside, Jolley has managed to create some interesting and believable characters. Vera, the insecure and naive young adult, involved in many a relationship before Mr George, serving as a maid in the Georges household whilst studying Medicine, Mr George, a well travelled Middle aged man, Vera's mother who is a reserved and elegant person, concerned about the well being of her daughter to the point of questioning her about marriage, children and her friends, is unsure of her social position so takes on as acting refined, and Vera's friends, Felicity and Noel, who seem infected with life and the passion for it. The characters each contrast the other so well as to highlight each of their own personal attributes, their strengths and their flaws.
Being a keen reader of fantasy, The Georges Wife was a different type of book I must admit, it went to slow for my liking and seemed to deal to much in matters or situations which would be regarded as female, if anything else. Situations like sharing a baby round for nursing or issues of unwed mothers. Those things were written in the book discussed by women as a private issue and I found little relevance and I must admit, interest, to myself as a reader. The underlying themes throughout the book were that of relationships which is common to many of Jolley's works, the struggles and joys of friends, family and lovers.
I would recommend this book to any reader who likes an interesting relationship story if anything else and particularly to women. This does in no way mean men can not read it aswell. I would also recommend it to whoever likes a nice paced story, but if the readers interest lies in stories with exciting twists, or stories with a fast pace or choco block full of action, then they should avoid this book at all cost, this book would not be suitable unless insomnia is a problem to the reader.
Fiction is most compelling when it replicates the intrigues and uncertainties of life. Furthermore the best fiction springs from personal experience. In my opinion this is why Elizabeth Jolley, the author of “The Georges’ Wife” has become recognised as such a fine novelist. She writes fiction that is gripping, credible and relevant.

Even the curious title is deeply thought provoking. Vera never marries Mr George. The Church Bells of the very last chapter is a school-girl memory of the Sunday morning call to worship, not a belated formal celebration of a durable union between a man and a woman. In what sense could Vera have been wife to Mr George’s attentive sister? The very suggestion outrages conventional morality.

The George duo rescue her from homelessness and penury by granting her a secure position of paid servitude as their maid, denying her the honourable status and authority of wife even when Mr George grasps the opportunity to add sexual benefits to her unwritten job description as maid. He baulks at acknowledging this to his sister, even although she senses the change and is tearful the next morning after they first sleep together.

To what extent does Elizabeth Jolley betray in this book her inner feelings towards the already married Leonard Jolley to whom she became pregnant as a young trainee nurse during the difficult years of World War II? He was an older man, a sophisticated University graduate whose love of literature and music and similar conservative religious views won her heart. She was his nurse when he was treated for suspected tuberculosis of the hip which proved to be just a manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis.

Although charming and kind to her, he proved to be a duplicitous womanizer, a cad. Having had his fun he did not safe-guard her good name and support her adequately when she became pregnant. He brought her shame in the eyes of her Quaker family and nursing friends, ended her training, and forced her to seek menial tasks to survive.

To add insult to injury he self-righteously enlisted her help in not even informing his own family of his indiscretion. When he did act to resolve his dilemma it was deeply hurtful and difficult for his wife, and broke the trust of his doting four-year old daughter Susan. Leonard did secretly marry Elizabeth, and became increasingly dependent on her. They lived first in Scotland and in 1959, they migrated to Perth in Australia. Leonard passed away in 1994 the year after this book was first published in Australia.

Vera never complained of her unmarried lot with Mr George. She was grateful for the security and companionship her unusual liaison provided, but craved more. Undoubtedly it was why she turned to the intellectually stimulating but alarmingly poor friends Noel and Felicity who scavenged their coal supplies from a nearby slag heap, and were grateful when Vera brought them a cucumber she found which had fallen to the road from a passing vehicle. Tragically Noel contracted pulmonary tuberculosis, and passed on the germ to Vera.

To their credit the Georges supported Vera and her two girls during her illness, and afterwards when she studied Medicine, but was it the loving relationship it might have been?

Elizabeth’s own story, hinted at in the reminiscences of Vera, but recorded accurately in Brian Dibble’s detailed biography, is much more riveting for being true. Intelligent, and well-educated, Elizabeth was born of a good German-speaking family with deeply held Pacifist scruples. She felt acutely the cutting reproaches of her efficient but brusque mother while her tolerant and loving father was the inspiration for her own fortitude in coping with her marital difficulties.

I enjoyed reading "The Georges' Wife" and rate it as the best of her books that I have read thus far.