Precious Bane (Virago Modern Classics)

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Like Baldwin, I was transported by Webb’s novel, a love story about a young woman with a “hare-shotten lip” who learns to tell the time by watching the reflections in Sarn Mere, a lake so old that she wonders whether it belongs to someone’s dream. Partly, this is because of the quaint, endearing regional dialect that Webb faithfully reproduces, with colorful turns of phrase that fascinate. We understand that not everyone can donate right now, but if you can afford to contribute, we promise it will be put to good use.

Precious Bane (TV Movie 1989) - IMDb Precious Bane (TV Movie 1989) - IMDb

Prue works almost as hard as he does, but her focus is on helping others--always first to sacrifice herself for someone in need.There are numerous townspeople we come to know and there is the mother of Prue and Gideon, who only wants to be respected and some rest from her endless labors. Although her literary output was comparatively small she leaves a rich legacy of intense creativity and natural mysticism. I was a long time getting around to this novel, but now it's firmly settled in my reading psyche and won't be forgotten.

Biography - Mary Webb Society Biography - Mary Webb Society

I’m descended from farmers on both sides of my family, and although I’ve never experienced the toil of that life, it always resonates when I read about it. Today there is a Mary Webb Society which keeps her name alive, fostering interest in her works, her writing, and the landscape which inspired her. I think, times, that in our mortal language there are no words for the things that are of most account.

Her mother, Sarah Alice Scott was from an Edinburgh family reputedly connected with Sir Walter Scott. Beguildy - Owner of a neighboring farm, a man more committed to his wizardry and spells than to his fields and crops. This is such a beautifully written book that is so underrated and that could be because it is not well known.

Precious Bane - Mary Webb - Google Books Precious Bane - Mary Webb - Google Books

Paper cover is moderately rub worn and thumbed with noticeable shelf wear to edges and corners, creases to corners and spine. Also the evident contrast between brother and sister, between evil and goodness: Prue's silent acceptance and her brother's endless thirst to yield power; her ability to be at ease with herself in spite of her faults versus Gideon's incapacity to accept his position in the world; her humble ways, his capricious goals. The lilies on the mere are “like the raiment of those men who stood with Christ upon the mountain top”, floating as if Jesus, “walking upon the water, had laid them down with His cool hands”. Prudence’s defect forces her to develop an inner strength that supports her when she is betrayed both by her own brother and by the townspeople, who believe she is a witch. Published in 1924, this prize-winner requires patience with the 1880’s Shropshire dialect but it’s worth it because ‘Precious Bane’ contains all the components of a great novel - suspense, greed, lust, revenge, madness, beauty, kindness, determination, humor, love - it’s all here.

In this post-war period Mary was shocked by the poverty in London and started giving money away to those she felt were in urgent need. This is a harsh tale, in the style of Thomas Hardy or even George Eliot, you'll see the characters you so much come to care for struggle in an unfair and prejudiced world, and you'll suffer along with them. As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations there will be the unveiling of a blue plaque at Mary’s birthplace, Leighton Lodge, now a private family home. The novel was written while Faber was caring for his own wife, Eva, during her final months; he has described it as “like a goodbye to her”.