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Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Popular Library (1985), 214 pages
Description
'He is, as Proust was before him, the great literary chronicler of his culture in his time.' GUARDIAN 'A Dance to the Music of Time' is universally acknowledged as one of the great works of English literature. Reissued now in this definitive edition, it stands ready to delight and entrance a new generation of readers. In this first volume, Nick Jenkins is introduced to the ebbs and flows of life at boarding school in the 1920s, spent in the company of his friends: Peter Templer, Charles Stringham, and Kenneth Widmerpool. Though their days are filled with visits from relatives and boyish pranks, usually at the expense of their housemaster Le Bas, a disastrous trip in Templer's car threatens their new friendship. As the school year comes to a close, the young men are faced with the prospects of adulthood, and with finding their place in the world.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member brenzi
This novella is the first episode in Powell's twelve volume magnus opus [A Dance to the Music of Time] and as such is fairly difficult to review. The way it ended left me knowing that the story would go on from there.
The writing is beautiful, poetic and absolutely flawless and drew me in from the
”For some reason, the sight of snow descending on fire always makes me think of the ancient world----legionaries in sheepskin warming themselves at a brazier; mountain altars where offerings glow between wintry pillars: centaurs with torches cantering beside a frozen sea---scattered, uncoordinated shapes from a fabulous past, infinitely removed from life; and yet bringing with them memories of things real and imagined. These classical projections, and something in the physical attitudes of the men themselves as they turned from the fire, suddenly suggested Poussin’s scene in which the Seasons, hand in hand and facing outward, tread in rhythm to the notes of the lyre that the winged and naked greybeard plays. The image of Time brought thoughts of mortality: of human beings, facing outward like the Seasons, moving hand in hand in intricate measure: stepping slowly, methodically, sometimes a trifle awkwardly, in evolutions that take recognizable shape: or breaking into meaningless gyrations, while partners disappear only to reappear again, once more giving pattern to the spectacle: unable to control the melody, unable, perhaps, to control the steps of the dance. (Page 2)
Each book represents one of the seasons and when the books are lined up next to each other they look like this:
But just reading that paragraph explains in great detail exactly what this series will be about. So far, four school chums in Britain, graduate and are ready to face either university or a career and we’re along for the ride as the 1920s fade and the 1930s introduce themselves to the world. I have a feeling it’s going to be quite a ride.
The writing is beautiful, poetic and absolutely flawless and drew me in from the
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first page. The opening page tells of some men, construction workers huddled around a small fire, trying to warm themselves in the frigid temperatures and it brings to mind the well-known painting that the books’ cover, and the stories inside, convey.”For some reason, the sight of snow descending on fire always makes me think of the ancient world----legionaries in sheepskin warming themselves at a brazier; mountain altars where offerings glow between wintry pillars: centaurs with torches cantering beside a frozen sea---scattered, uncoordinated shapes from a fabulous past, infinitely removed from life; and yet bringing with them memories of things real and imagined. These classical projections, and something in the physical attitudes of the men themselves as they turned from the fire, suddenly suggested Poussin’s scene in which the Seasons, hand in hand and facing outward, tread in rhythm to the notes of the lyre that the winged and naked greybeard plays. The image of Time brought thoughts of mortality: of human beings, facing outward like the Seasons, moving hand in hand in intricate measure: stepping slowly, methodically, sometimes a trifle awkwardly, in evolutions that take recognizable shape: or breaking into meaningless gyrations, while partners disappear only to reappear again, once more giving pattern to the spectacle: unable to control the melody, unable, perhaps, to control the steps of the dance. (Page 2)
Each book represents one of the seasons and when the books are lined up next to each other they look like this:
But just reading that paragraph explains in great detail exactly what this series will be about. So far, four school chums in Britain, graduate and are ready to face either university or a career and we’re along for the ride as the 1920s fade and the 1930s introduce themselves to the world. I have a feeling it’s going to be quite a ride.
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LibraryThing member JonRob
It's hard to review this book independently of the others in the "Music of Time" sequence. It's quite episodic, and this would be a weakness if it were a stand-alone novel, but as an introduction to the series it works very well, bringing sharply-focused pictures of recurring characters such as the
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narrator's Uncle Giles, Charles Stringham, Jean Templer and the egregious Widmerpool (not to mention the narrator himself). Some people may find the upper-middle-class background of most of the characters offputting, but it's not necessary to have attended a public school to enjoy the humour of such incidents as the row between the Scandinavians Orn and Lundquist over a tennis game. (Note for US readers: public school here means a big-league private school.) Show Less
LibraryThing member andrewloveday
The first volume in an epic saga of upper-middle class life in England from the 1920s onward. Powell's prose is sublime, his characterisation perfect. Art, culture and politics provide the background to many of the character's lives, but it's all about social interaction; these might be people you
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knew if you were more intelligent and wealthy. You'd have to be numb in the head to find this boring. Show Less
LibraryThing member CarltonC
Written in a very mannered style, but with such assurance and confidence, the opening book of the twelve book series, A Dance to the Music of Time, is a tour de force.
With the book split into four chapters, in the first we meet our English upper class narrator - Nicholas Jenkins - with his friends
The second chapter is set in London, when Jenkins visits the Templers meeting peter's sister Jean, whom he decides he loves.
In the third chapter, Jenkins stays at boarding house in France, rather like a finishing school to improve one's French, meeting Widmerpool again, who starts to show his ability in settling a dispute between other occupants of the house.
In the final chapter we see Jenkins at Oxford University, meeting Professor Sillery, who one is led to believe may have influence in the larger world, and also being visited by Petter Templer (who take him out in a new car with some London friends, but drives into a ditch ) and visiting Charles Stringham (briefly) in London.
I first read this 24 years ago and so with this reading I appreciate that I am at the beginning of a work that seeks to show the development and changing of characters over a long period of time. This novel therefore needs to be read as an introduction, setting out Jenkins education in a series of scenes and vignettes, as a prelude, building up Jenkins and his milieu in an impressionistic fashion.
As I said at the start, the writing is mannered and full of circumlocutions, being a story told as recollections by the narrator at some future time, with comments with the benefit of hindsight. Provided that you fall into the rhythm of the work and do not demand a plot that goes from A to B in a short time, this is a highly enjoyable, exquisitely written and amusing work. I benefited from allowing myself time to read it in reasonable sections at a time.
With the book split into four chapters, in the first we meet our English upper class narrator - Nicholas Jenkins - with his friends
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Peter Templer and Charles Stringham, at his public school (Eton, although it does not say) in the early 1920's. We also the meet strange character of the slightly older Widmerpool looming up out of the mist as he doggedly trains as a long distance runner.The second chapter is set in London, when Jenkins visits the Templers meeting peter's sister Jean, whom he decides he loves.
In the third chapter, Jenkins stays at boarding house in France, rather like a finishing school to improve one's French, meeting Widmerpool again, who starts to show his ability in settling a dispute between other occupants of the house.
In the final chapter we see Jenkins at Oxford University, meeting Professor Sillery, who one is led to believe may have influence in the larger world, and also being visited by Petter Templer (who take him out in a new car with some London friends, but drives into a ditch ) and visiting Charles Stringham (briefly) in London.
I first read this 24 years ago and so with this reading I appreciate that I am at the beginning of a work that seeks to show the development and changing of characters over a long period of time. This novel therefore needs to be read as an introduction, setting out Jenkins education in a series of scenes and vignettes, as a prelude, building up Jenkins and his milieu in an impressionistic fashion.
As I said at the start, the writing is mannered and full of circumlocutions, being a story told as recollections by the narrator at some future time, with comments with the benefit of hindsight. Provided that you fall into the rhythm of the work and do not demand a plot that goes from A to B in a short time, this is a highly enjoyable, exquisitely written and amusing work. I benefited from allowing myself time to read it in reasonable sections at a time.
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LibraryThing member devenish
I have long been intending to begin reading A Dance to the Music of Time series but have been rather daunted by the twelve volumes in front of me.
Having at last read this,the first in the series,I am now captivated and can't wait to read the next one.
It is at the unnamed Public school (Unnamed but
Having at last read this,the first in the series,I am now captivated and can't wait to read the next one.
It is at the unnamed Public school (Unnamed but
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obviously Eton) that we are first introduced to Jenkins the narrator. Several other eccentric characters appear notably Widmerpool and Stringham. This first book has been described as an introduction to the rest and I am sure this is no more than the truth. An enjoyable and amusing introduction to be sure. Show Less
LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
This is the opening volume in Anthony Powell's celebrated twelve novel, largely autobiographical sequence "A Dance to the Music of Time", recounted by Nicholas Jenkins, a barely disguised cipher for Powell himself.
Let me first declare an interest. I have read this sequence many times before, and
The first thing to say is that this is not a novel in which much actually happens, though the portrayals of characters and the observations of their interactions are acute and highly entertaining. "A Question of Upbringing" introduces us to Jenkins himself (though one of the most striking aspects of the whole sequence is how relatively little we ever seem to learn about Jenkins/Powell) along with several characters who will feature throughout the rest of the canon.
It opens in the early 1920s with Jenkins attending a school (clearly Eton, though never formally identified as such) where his closest confreres are Charles Stringham and Peter Templer, with whom Jenkins strikes up close bonds. Stringham, who comes from a wealthy but broken home, leaves the school early on in the book, going off to East Africa to spend some time with his estranged father. Jenkins and Templer remain at the school a bit longer until Templer also departs. Other notable characters to whom we are introduced in this section include Le Bas, a querulous yet also long-suffering schoolmaster with aesthetic aspirations, and Widmerpool, a slightly older pupil than Jenkins and his friends, who is notable principally for his lack of conformity.
As the story moves on we join Jenkins on a visit to Templer's home where he is introduced to Jean, Templer's sister, with whom he promptly falls in (unrequited) love and Sunny Farebrother, a seemingly down-at-heel ex-soldier who is trying to carve out a career in The City. After leaving Templer's home Jenkins spends a few weeks in France, ostensibly to learn the language, and re-encounters Widmerpool with whom he develops a stronger acquaintance than had been possible at school. Finally he moves on to Oxford where he studies history. Here we meet Sillery, a politically active don, Mark Members, a self-appointed aesthete, and Quiggin, a "professional" northerner with highy radical views. Stringham reappears, back from his Kenyan sojourn.
The summary above completely fails to do justice to the beauty of the writing (the first four pages are among the most marvellous excerpts of prose I have encountered), the acute observation of the interaction of people of different classes, and the muted humour. This novel also sets the slightly melancholic tone that underpins much of the sequence, though Powell never allows this to become oppressive. A beautiful opening to an engrossing sequence.
Let me first declare an interest. I have read this sequence many times before, and
Show More
have been writing (for what seems like several years) a detailed analysis of it and other "romans fleuves" (including Proust's "A la recherche du temps perdu", C. P. Snow's "Strangers and Brothers" and Simon Raven's "Alms for Oblivion"), so I am rather biased.The first thing to say is that this is not a novel in which much actually happens, though the portrayals of characters and the observations of their interactions are acute and highly entertaining. "A Question of Upbringing" introduces us to Jenkins himself (though one of the most striking aspects of the whole sequence is how relatively little we ever seem to learn about Jenkins/Powell) along with several characters who will feature throughout the rest of the canon.
It opens in the early 1920s with Jenkins attending a school (clearly Eton, though never formally identified as such) where his closest confreres are Charles Stringham and Peter Templer, with whom Jenkins strikes up close bonds. Stringham, who comes from a wealthy but broken home, leaves the school early on in the book, going off to East Africa to spend some time with his estranged father. Jenkins and Templer remain at the school a bit longer until Templer also departs. Other notable characters to whom we are introduced in this section include Le Bas, a querulous yet also long-suffering schoolmaster with aesthetic aspirations, and Widmerpool, a slightly older pupil than Jenkins and his friends, who is notable principally for his lack of conformity.
As the story moves on we join Jenkins on a visit to Templer's home where he is introduced to Jean, Templer's sister, with whom he promptly falls in (unrequited) love and Sunny Farebrother, a seemingly down-at-heel ex-soldier who is trying to carve out a career in The City. After leaving Templer's home Jenkins spends a few weeks in France, ostensibly to learn the language, and re-encounters Widmerpool with whom he develops a stronger acquaintance than had been possible at school. Finally he moves on to Oxford where he studies history. Here we meet Sillery, a politically active don, Mark Members, a self-appointed aesthete, and Quiggin, a "professional" northerner with highy radical views. Stringham reappears, back from his Kenyan sojourn.
The summary above completely fails to do justice to the beauty of the writing (the first four pages are among the most marvellous excerpts of prose I have encountered), the acute observation of the interaction of people of different classes, and the muted humour. This novel also sets the slightly melancholic tone that underpins much of the sequence, though Powell never allows this to become oppressive. A beautiful opening to an engrossing sequence.
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LibraryThing member jeffome
Perfectly enjoyable quick read. Had no idea what to expect as I started out with first volume in this 12-novel series, and i am pleasantly surprised at the ease of the language and the interest I kept in the story. Basically, we view a period of early adulthood through the eyes of a young man at
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private school progressing to university and witness his friendships grow, shift, evolve and alter. Our narrator is a relative normal guy that one can easily relate to and Ii enjoyed the constant parade of characters and experiences that continually are thrust his way forcing him to constantly have to adjust his opinions and attitudes in order to continue to survive......you know, the kind of crap that happens to me all the time!!! Lots of subtle humor and razor-sharp descriptions of people that made them very life-like in my mind.....good writing! I will eagerly look forward to the rest of this epic work. Show Less
LibraryThing member jmoncton
A Question of Upbringing is the first of 12 novels that make up Powell's opus A Dance to the Music of Time. The theme behind these books is the accidental nature of our relationships. The stories cover the lives of four main characters. In this first book, the setting is England in the 1920s, and
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the characters are still boys, in their final years of boarding school. The entire 12 books cover these same characters all the way through the 1970s as their lives drift apart and then come back together through fate and odd circumstance. This first story was light and witty and includes the usual pranks performed by school boys. The humor was subtle and the plot was very meandering. After finishing this first book, I realize that this is the type of book that just flows and doesn't really get from one place to the other. A good intro to the characters. Not sure if I'm up to 11 more novels like this, but an enjoyable read. Show Less
LibraryThing member stillatim
Powell's prose is, of course, a marvel, but what most surprised me on re-reading the first volume to DMT is how much of it I remember. I'm usually not very good at retaining the details of books for much more than a month or two, unless I've been writing about them; with QU, I remember pretty much
First, the 'musical' structure of the book gets off to a nice start. Although this should technically just be the first statement of the theme, QU has a mini-sonata form of its own, beginning with Widmerpool and Jenkins, ending with a second-hand report of Widmerpool and more Jenkins, with some variations in between. The obvious touchstones (positive or negative) are cheekily dealt with, too: the notably Forsytian Jenkins is connected to an actual line of Galsworthy, and there's a blatantly Proustian feel to chapter three (first love and its after-images, French country-house stylings).
I can also suggest that prospective readers of DMT read Carpenter's 'The Brideshead Generation,' which sets you up nicely for the school and university scenes here.
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everything, so adept is Powell at creating memorable and charming characters with just a few sentences. Nothing much 'happens' here, of course, which is hardly surprising, since not much happens in the first 8.25% of most novels, but Powell does lay substantial groundwork aside from the basics of his characters (particularly Widmerpool). First, the 'musical' structure of the book gets off to a nice start. Although this should technically just be the first statement of the theme, QU has a mini-sonata form of its own, beginning with Widmerpool and Jenkins, ending with a second-hand report of Widmerpool and more Jenkins, with some variations in between. The obvious touchstones (positive or negative) are cheekily dealt with, too: the notably Forsytian Jenkins is connected to an actual line of Galsworthy, and there's a blatantly Proustian feel to chapter three (first love and its after-images, French country-house stylings).
I can also suggest that prospective readers of DMT read Carpenter's 'The Brideshead Generation,' which sets you up nicely for the school and university scenes here.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
This is the opening volume in Anthony Powell's celebrated twelve novel, largely autobiographical sequence "A Dance to the Music of Time", recounted by Nicholas Jenkins, a barely disguised cipher for Powell himself.
Let me first declare an interest. I have read this sequence many times before, and
The first thing to say is that this is not a novel in which much actually happens, though the portrayals of characters and the observations of their interactions are acute and highly entertaining. "A Question of Upbringing" introduces us to Jenkins himself (though one of the most striking aspects of the whole sequence is how relatively little we ever seem to learn about Jenkins/Powell) along with several characters who will feature throughout the rest of the canon.
It opens in the early 1920s with Jenkins attending a school (clearly Eton, though never formally identified as such) where his closest confreres are Charles Stringham and Peter Templer, with whom Jenkins strikes up close bonds. Stringham, who comes from a wealthy but broken home, leaves the school early on in the book, going off to East Africa to spend some time with his estranged father. Jenkins and Templer remain at the school a bit longer until Templer also departs. Other notable characters to whom we are introduced in this section include Le Bas, a querulous yet also long-suffering schoolmaster with aesthetic aspirations, and Widmerpool, a slightly older pupil than Jenkins and his friends, who is notable principally for his lack of conformity.
As the story moves on we join Jenkins on a visit to Templer's home where he is introduced to Jean, Templer's sister, with whom he promptly falls in (unrequited) love and Sunny Farebrother, a seemingly down-at-heel ex-soldier who is trying to carve out a career in The City. After leaving Templer's home Jenkins spends a few weeks in France, ostensibly to learn the language, and re-encounters Widmerpool with whom he develops a stronger acquaintance than had been possible at school. Finally he moves on to Oxford where he studies history. Here we meet Sillery, a politically active don, Mark Members, a self-appointed aesthete, and Quiggin, a "professional" northerner with highy radical views. Stringham reappears, back from his Kenyan sojourn.
The summary above completely fails to do justice to the beauty of the writing (the first four pages are among the most marvellous excerpts of prose I have encountered), the acute observation of the interaction of people of different classes, and the muted humour. This novel also sets the slightly melancholic tone that underpins much of the sequence, though Powell never allows this to become oppressive. A beautiful opening to an engrossing sequence.
Let me first declare an interest. I have read this sequence many times before, and
Show More
have been writing (for what seems like several years) a detailed analysis of it and other "romans fleuves" (including Proust's "A la recherche du temps perdu", C. P. Snow's "Strangers and Brothers" and Simon Raven's "Alms for Oblivion"), so I am rather biased.The first thing to say is that this is not a novel in which much actually happens, though the portrayals of characters and the observations of their interactions are acute and highly entertaining. "A Question of Upbringing" introduces us to Jenkins himself (though one of the most striking aspects of the whole sequence is how relatively little we ever seem to learn about Jenkins/Powell) along with several characters who will feature throughout the rest of the canon.
It opens in the early 1920s with Jenkins attending a school (clearly Eton, though never formally identified as such) where his closest confreres are Charles Stringham and Peter Templer, with whom Jenkins strikes up close bonds. Stringham, who comes from a wealthy but broken home, leaves the school early on in the book, going off to East Africa to spend some time with his estranged father. Jenkins and Templer remain at the school a bit longer until Templer also departs. Other notable characters to whom we are introduced in this section include Le Bas, a querulous yet also long-suffering schoolmaster with aesthetic aspirations, and Widmerpool, a slightly older pupil than Jenkins and his friends, who is notable principally for his lack of conformity.
As the story moves on we join Jenkins on a visit to Templer's home where he is introduced to Jean, Templer's sister, with whom he promptly falls in (unrequited) love and Sunny Farebrother, a seemingly down-at-heel ex-soldier who is trying to carve out a career in The City. After leaving Templer's home Jenkins spends a few weeks in France, ostensibly to learn the language, and re-encounters Widmerpool with whom he develops a stronger acquaintance than had been possible at school. Finally he moves on to Oxford where he studies history. Here we meet Sillery, a politically active don, Mark Members, a self-appointed aesthete, and Quiggin, a "professional" northerner with highy radical views. Stringham reappears, back from his Kenyan sojourn.
The summary above completely fails to do justice to the beauty of the writing (the first four pages are among the most marvellous excerpts of prose I have encountered), the acute observation of the interaction of people of different classes, and the muted humour. This novel also sets the slightly melancholic tone that underpins much of the sequence, though Powell never allows this to become oppressive. A beautiful opening to an engrossing sequence.
Show Less
LibraryThing member krazykiwi
The first of Anthony Powell's epic 12 volume saga, this is a nice introduction, but little more. This first book focusses on our narrator, one Nick Jenkins, and his youthful adventures in a series of vignettes serving to introduce us to a host of characters, and their place in post WWI British
The writing is, befitting a classic, very good -a dry, sometimes bordering on sardonic style, with some simply gorgeous turns of phrase and even entire paragraphs.
As a standalone novel, it's not very strong. However, knowing there are 11 more novels to come, covering Nick's entire life, there is a very strong sense of all the pieces being set up on a board. I thought perhaps a chessboard, but it's more complex than even that really, more like watching a master set up one of those huge and intricate domino falls. It's mesmerising to watch, but it's only a precursor to the real action - and just because you can see the patterns already, doesn't mean that something surprising and wonderful won't happen when the dominoes begin to fall.
So 3 stars, because as much as I liked it, I didn't love it... but I have a feeling I will come to love this series as a whole. I also suspect, there is much richness and foreshadowing that would be found upon a re-read, once I've finished all 12 books. I have a feeling that after this book club read, one novel a month for all of 2016, I may very well be turning around and re-reading them all from the start again.
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society.The writing is, befitting a classic, very good -a dry, sometimes bordering on sardonic style, with some simply gorgeous turns of phrase and even entire paragraphs.
As a standalone novel, it's not very strong. However, knowing there are 11 more novels to come, covering Nick's entire life, there is a very strong sense of all the pieces being set up on a board. I thought perhaps a chessboard, but it's more complex than even that really, more like watching a master set up one of those huge and intricate domino falls. It's mesmerising to watch, but it's only a precursor to the real action - and just because you can see the patterns already, doesn't mean that something surprising and wonderful won't happen when the dominoes begin to fall.
So 3 stars, because as much as I liked it, I didn't love it... but I have a feeling I will come to love this series as a whole. I also suspect, there is much richness and foreshadowing that would be found upon a re-read, once I've finished all 12 books. I have a feeling that after this book club read, one novel a month for all of 2016, I may very well be turning around and re-reading them all from the start again.
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LibraryThing member DanielSTJ
This was literary poise with style. Not much happened, but it was delicately written with grace and abounding beauty.
LibraryThing member BooksForDinner
Very good. Starts a it abstract, but settles in quickly. Looking forward to living with these characters for a while. I know there are 12 of these, and I am destined to read them all. One thing, they all seem to be a manageable under-300-words in length.
LibraryThing member robfwalter
I found this book quite moving, especially the last chapter, which really brings to the surface some of the themes which underlie the whole book. The book is very well written, with a strong sense of style. Powell uses colons and semi-colons in a way that I have never seen before. I quite like his
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choices, though. Show Less
LibraryThing member beentsy
Some gorgeous turns of phrase in that beautiful understated British way.
'There was also the question of money - perhaps suggested by Widmerpool's talk on that subject - that mysterious entity, of which one had heard so much and so often without grasping more that its ownership was desirable and
'One feels awful if one drinks, and worse if one's sober.'
'There was also the question of money - perhaps suggested by Widmerpool's talk on that subject - that mysterious entity, of which one had heard so much and so often without grasping more that its ownership was desirable and
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its lack inconvenient.''One feels awful if one drinks, and worse if one's sober.'
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1951
Physical description
214 p.; 6.7 inches
ISBN
0445200103 / 9780445200104
Other editions
A Question of Upbringing: A Novel by Anthony Powell (Paperback)