Greenbanks by Dorothy Whipple

Persephone book No. 95

An early novel by Persephone's most popular author about an early 20th century family and, in particular, the relationship of the grandmother and granddaughter.

REVIEWS

"After reading my first Dorothy Whipple novel last summer, I instantly fell in love with her style of writing and wanted to read all her work. I can see why she is Persephone's best selling author.
Published in 1932, Greenbanks is Dorothy Whipple's third novel and tells the story of the Ashton family just before and after the First World War.
Greenbanks chronicles the Ashton's joys and sorrows: marital infidelity, illegitmate babies, divorce, autocratic parents and rebellious offspring.But the mainspring of the book is the lovely relationship between Louisa ( who was based on Dorothy's own grandmother) and her granddaughter Rachel.
Full of wonderful characters that will stay with you and Dorothy's great sense of humour, this is a wonderful read." - Goodreads reviewer

"What a wonderful and charming book this is. Written in 1932, Greenbanks tells the story of the Ashton family spanning from around 1910 to 1925. It is centered around the house, Greenbanks, in the Lancashire village of Elton, and revolves mainly around Louisa Ashton, Mother and Grandmother. Louisa has five (very different) children who have all started to make their own way in the world too and so Louisa dotes on her 4 year old Granddaughter, Rachel. Greenbanks may be a lovely, beautifully written book about a family in a grand old house but there is plenty of room for sibling rivalry, illegitimate births, divorce, tyranical fathers and heartache. In fact all these are done so well that I was in awe of how well Whipple understood human emotion such as depression, jealousy, shame and love." - Goodreads reviewer

PRODUCT DETAILS
Paperback with jacket 
Publisher: Persephone Books
ISBN: 978-1903155851
Pages: 387
Endpaper: A worsted cotton damask designed by Alec Hunter for St Edmundsbury Weavers, 1930.