It was a great day for me when the British Library announced a new series - 20th Century British Women Writers. This promised to provide exactly the kind of books I enjoy most, and it hasn't disappointed - I've read and loved all of them (well, I wasn't crazy about Tea is So Intoxicating by Mary Essex, but I probably wasn't in the mood for that kind of humour). So I was delighted to be asked to participate in the blog tour for Mamma. I've avoided blog tours for a while, having twice agreed to one and found I hated the book, but I knew I was safe with this one. I'd heard of Diana Tutton and knew of her Guard Your Daughters - now published by Persephone - and read several reviews, but this would be a first for me. And of course I loved it.
You can read my full Shiny review here, but here's what I said in my opening paragraph:
[This] is the story of a woman who falls in love with her daughter’s husband. However, though I’m sure we all could picture the sort of sensational novel that could have had such a plot line, this is the most delicately nuanced account of a woman struggling with powerfully unexpected and confusing emotions. And, though this situation is obviously central, the novel is about far more than that. It’s about society in the 1950s: family relationships, the generation gap, class divisions, and sexual mores. It’s immensely readable and extremely enjoyable.
Diana Tutton wrote only three novels - the third one, The Young Ones (1959) is about brother and sister incest and sounds intriguing. She clearly enjoyed challenging subject matter and is an excellent writer. So do read Mamma!
