Portrait of a lady

    Today's post on Cornflower is about the cover of this book, but here I'll try to do justice to what's inside.
    F. M. Mayor's The Third Miss Symons is an account of a woman's life from birth to death, given over a mere 140 pages. "Henrietta was the third daughter and fifth child of Mr. and Mrs. Symons, so that enthusiasm for babies had declined in both parents by the time she arrived", and that sad opening line sets the tone for what is to come, for a child whose life "attain[s] its zenith" at the age of five, for whom bad temper becomes a habit, for one who seeks only to be loved but who fails in the end to mean much to anyone.
   As a portrait of a late Victorian spinster, the 'surplus woman' who missed her chance and whose existence is essentially an aimless one, this is sharp and true and very affecting in the light it throws on the needlessness of its subject's situation. It shows the small turnings that Henrietta - like all of us - could have taken and did not, the slightest alterations of course which could have led to a happier outcome, and the dangers of a fixed, unyielding outlook and a spirit resigned to be displeased.
   It's a book of compassion, though Henrietta will vex and irritate the reader; it's an angular study of a woman whose sharp edges we want to soften, and it's an acute and clever disquisition on the subject of self-knowledge, too. Though apparently a lesser work than F. M. Mayor's 'masterpiece' The Rector's Daughter, this is very much worth reading.

    

Comments

[Carole]

Amazingly, I have this book, bought from a charity shop because I liked the cover (and the fact it is a Virago).
Your review has prompted me to read it next - thanks!

[Margaret Powling]

I would buy almost any VMC just for the covers! I've not read Mayor, but she is now on my List! I'm currently re-reading Mrs Miniver (as if I've not enough 'new' books to read, but every so often I like to indulge in an old favourite ... don't we all?)

[Natalie T.]

Thank you for this review. I've just ordered "The Third Miss Symons" because I know your recommendations are golden.

[Cornflower]

Thankyou, Natalie! I do hope you'll enjoy it.