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Available
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Publication
Persephone Books Ltd (2006), Paperback, 336 pages
Description
Meet the Stevens family, as they prepare to embark on their yearly holiday to the coast of England. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens first made the trip to Bognor Regis on their honeymoon, and the tradition has continued ever since. They stay in the same guest house and follow the same carefully honed schedule--now accompanied by their three children, twenty-year-old Mary, seventeen-year-old Dick, and little brother Ernie. Arriving in Bognor they head to Seaview, the guesthouse where they stay every year. It's a bit shabbier than it once was--the landlord has died and his wife is struggling as the number of guests dwindles every year. But the family finds bliss in booking a slightly bigger cabana, with a balcony, and in their rediscovery of the familiar places they visit every year. Mr. Stevens goes on his annual walk across the downs, reflecting on his life, his worries and disappointments, and returns refreshed. Mrs. Stevens treasures an hour spent sitting alone with her medicinal glass of port. Mary has her first small taste of romance. And Dick pulls himself out of the malaise he's sunk into since graduation, resolving to work towards a new career. The Stevenses savor every moment of their holiday, aware that things may not be the same next year.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member souloftherose
The Fortnight in September is a story about "about simple, uncomplicated people doing normal things." as the author himself described it in his autobiography. We follow the Stevens family on their annual fortnight's holiday to Bognor Regis in the 1930s. This fortnight in Bognor is an annual ritual,
There are some changes this year, however. The two eldest children, Mary and Dick, now have jobs and income of their own and have contributed some of their money towards the cost of the holiday meaning the Stevens can rent one of the large beach huts to change in and sit on the veranda when on the beach. The lady who runs Seaview, the house they always stay in, is getting rather elderly and struggling to cope and the Stevens start to notice how run down Seaview is becoming. There's a sense that this may be the last family holiday they have all together at this house so there is a sense of impending change throughout the book and also a sense of nostalgia towards the many years they've enjoyed this holiday together. But there's also a sense of hope as Dick Stevens thinks about his future career and what he wants to do with his life, Mary Stevens falls in love for the first time and even Mr Stevens is able to come to terms with some past disappointments.
"The man on his holidays becomes the man he might have been, the man he could have been, had things worked out a little differently. All men are equal on their holidays: all are free to dream their castles without thought of expense, or skill of architect. Dreams based upon such delicate fabric must be nursed with reverence and held away from the crude light of tomorrow week."
There are some wonderful moments of quiet humour, such as Mr Stevens reaction to the holiday photos when developed, or the description of the large, soulless holiday house one of Mr Stevens' clients has had built for him and his wife which they had wanted to be a seaside house despite the fact that 'the sound of the sea got on Mrs. Montgomery's nerves'.
The story ends as the Stevens say goodbye to Bognor and Seaview at the end of their fortnight there and I was very sorry to leave them. This isn't the sort of story where much happens but it is a wonderful observation of the hopes and dreams of ordinary people. Recommended.
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starting with the evening before going away, the journey to Bognor by train, their stay in the same house in Bognor every year and even including the amount of food and drink they buy which has been calculated to a nicety based on how much they required in previous years.There are some changes this year, however. The two eldest children, Mary and Dick, now have jobs and income of their own and have contributed some of their money towards the cost of the holiday meaning the Stevens can rent one of the large beach huts to change in and sit on the veranda when on the beach. The lady who runs Seaview, the house they always stay in, is getting rather elderly and struggling to cope and the Stevens start to notice how run down Seaview is becoming. There's a sense that this may be the last family holiday they have all together at this house so there is a sense of impending change throughout the book and also a sense of nostalgia towards the many years they've enjoyed this holiday together. But there's also a sense of hope as Dick Stevens thinks about his future career and what he wants to do with his life, Mary Stevens falls in love for the first time and even Mr Stevens is able to come to terms with some past disappointments.
"The man on his holidays becomes the man he might have been, the man he could have been, had things worked out a little differently. All men are equal on their holidays: all are free to dream their castles without thought of expense, or skill of architect. Dreams based upon such delicate fabric must be nursed with reverence and held away from the crude light of tomorrow week."
There are some wonderful moments of quiet humour, such as Mr Stevens reaction to the holiday photos when developed, or the description of the large, soulless holiday house one of Mr Stevens' clients has had built for him and his wife which they had wanted to be a seaside house despite the fact that 'the sound of the sea got on Mrs. Montgomery's nerves'.
The story ends as the Stevens say goodbye to Bognor and Seaview at the end of their fortnight there and I was very sorry to leave them. This isn't the sort of story where much happens but it is a wonderful observation of the hopes and dreams of ordinary people. Recommended.
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LibraryThing member MariaAlhambra
A wonderful and surprising discovery from Persephone Books, it is the story of a family from south London on holiday in Bognor, which sometimes seems like the 'Diary of a nobody' filtered through the avant-garde. Sheriff excels at the description of everyday minutiae (in that aspects the book
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somehow reminds me of Georges Perec) and uses visual imagery to convey feeling and character with great subtlety (eg, the younger child's excited vision of the debris by the railway line, the daughter's confusion and nervousness in her first date suddenly relieved by the vision of china souvenirs in a shop window, the father's memories trigerred by the shape of a tree). The artistry of Sherriff 's detailed vision trascends what could have been a pedestrian and cliched story, and offers a subtle vision of family life and the passage of time. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kasthu
“But over all lay a spirit of joyful, unrestrained freedom. There were no servants—no masters: no clerks—no managers—just men and women whose common profession was Holidaymaker.”
Every September the Stevenses—a working-class family from the outskirts of London—take a fortnight holiday
There is a feeling, however, that this holiday will be their last as a family—the two oldest, Dick and Mary, have left school and may easily have made plans to vacation with friends instead; and Mrs. Stevens doesn’t particularly care for Bognor. As such there is a feeling of nostalgia about this novel; it seems as though the Stevenses are trying to capture the essence of a time gone by while still grappling with the reality of their lives. The holiday takes place in September, a slightly-off season for holidaying, so there’s a feeling of deflation and sadness after the summer weather. The only member of the family who seems innocent to this is the youngest member of the family, Ernie, aged 10. Meanwhile, the two eldest are struggling with becoming adults. So there’s an undertone of depression to the book, which also captures the “normalcy” of an annual family holiday.
Because the trip to Bognor is an event, it’s treated as such; the Stevenses even have a Going Away Eve, along with all the little rituals that attend to preparing for a holiday. There is always the feeling of expectancy the day before or the day tht you take a break from the routine of life, and this novel captured that feeling perfectly. The author got the idea for the book while he was on vacation in Bognor. While people-watching, Sherriff decided to take one of the families he saw and imagine what their lives might be like. In the excerpt of the author’s autobiography, reprinted the Persephone edition, Sherriff wrote, “I wanted to write about simple, uncomplicated people doing normal things.” It’s for that reason that the book is so good.
Every September the Stevenses—a working-class family from the outskirts of London—take a fortnight holiday
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to Bognor, a town by the sea. On the surface this is a typical tale of holidaying—but there is so much more to this novel than there appears.There is a feeling, however, that this holiday will be their last as a family—the two oldest, Dick and Mary, have left school and may easily have made plans to vacation with friends instead; and Mrs. Stevens doesn’t particularly care for Bognor. As such there is a feeling of nostalgia about this novel; it seems as though the Stevenses are trying to capture the essence of a time gone by while still grappling with the reality of their lives. The holiday takes place in September, a slightly-off season for holidaying, so there’s a feeling of deflation and sadness after the summer weather. The only member of the family who seems innocent to this is the youngest member of the family, Ernie, aged 10. Meanwhile, the two eldest are struggling with becoming adults. So there’s an undertone of depression to the book, which also captures the “normalcy” of an annual family holiday.
Because the trip to Bognor is an event, it’s treated as such; the Stevenses even have a Going Away Eve, along with all the little rituals that attend to preparing for a holiday. There is always the feeling of expectancy the day before or the day tht you take a break from the routine of life, and this novel captured that feeling perfectly. The author got the idea for the book while he was on vacation in Bognor. While people-watching, Sherriff decided to take one of the families he saw and imagine what their lives might be like. In the excerpt of the author’s autobiography, reprinted the Persephone edition, Sherriff wrote, “I wanted to write about simple, uncomplicated people doing normal things.” It’s for that reason that the book is so good.
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LibraryThing member SandDune
The Fortnight in September tells the story of the Stevens' family's annual summer holiday in Bognor Regis around 1930, probably the heyday of the traditional British seaside holiday. Mr and Mrs Stevens have been going to the same guesthouse in Bognor Regis for two weeks in September every year
What R.C.Sherriff does beautifully is to capture to perfection the whole idea of a holiday:
'The man on his holidays becomes the man he might have been, the man he could have been, had things worked out differently. All men are equal on their holidays: all are free to dream their castles without thought of expense, or skill of architect.'
And what he also captured beautifully were the worries and disappointments lurking underneath the surface of even a seemingly idyllic holiday: Mr Stevens brooding on his disappointments at work; Mrs Stevens hiding the fact that she found the sea terrifying and would actually prefer to be at home; and Dick's unhappiness in the job that his father is so proud of having found for him. Only the youngest child, Ernie, is untouched by the worries of the adult world. And even the guesthouse in which they stay, 'Seaview', has grown old along with its landlady, so that not even the rose-tinted glasses with which it is viewed by the Stevens can hide its gradual decline into dilapidation.
What is also lovely in this book is the period detail of the holidays of that era, something which particularly interests me having grown up in an old holiday resort myself. I was amazed that Mrs Stevens was expected to shop every day for the groceries that were cooked by their landlady. And I found even the little details of their journey fascinating. So overall a good read.
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since their marriage, but what seems an unchanging ritual is on the brink of ending, as their two grown-up children talk of spending their holidays with friends. The Stevens are a very ordinary and quiet family, there are no dramas and very little happens, but the book is a satisfying read none the less. What R.C.Sherriff does beautifully is to capture to perfection the whole idea of a holiday:
'The man on his holidays becomes the man he might have been, the man he could have been, had things worked out differently. All men are equal on their holidays: all are free to dream their castles without thought of expense, or skill of architect.'
And what he also captured beautifully were the worries and disappointments lurking underneath the surface of even a seemingly idyllic holiday: Mr Stevens brooding on his disappointments at work; Mrs Stevens hiding the fact that she found the sea terrifying and would actually prefer to be at home; and Dick's unhappiness in the job that his father is so proud of having found for him. Only the youngest child, Ernie, is untouched by the worries of the adult world. And even the guesthouse in which they stay, 'Seaview', has grown old along with its landlady, so that not even the rose-tinted glasses with which it is viewed by the Stevens can hide its gradual decline into dilapidation.
What is also lovely in this book is the period detail of the holidays of that era, something which particularly interests me having grown up in an old holiday resort myself. I was amazed that Mrs Stevens was expected to shop every day for the groceries that were cooked by their landlady. And I found even the little details of their journey fascinating. So overall a good read.
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LibraryThing member Sarahsponda
Like Seinfeld, it is "about nothing" except day-to-day trivialities. Amusing, gentle, quiet, lovely, etc.
LibraryThing member VioletBramble
The Stevens family takes a yearly fortnight holiday in the seaside town of Bognor. Mr Stevens is a clerk in Dulwich. Mrs Stevens is a friendless housewife. They have three children. Mary and Dick are young adults who both work and will soon be out on their own. Eric is still in school. During their
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holidays they always stay at "Seaview", a house which has seen better days, but which they continue to return to out of loyalty to the owner and family tradition. Even on holiday they stick to a strict schedule of activities and meals -- they plan their food down to the precise number of bottles of ginger beer or glasses of port. Nothing much happens in this book; the family goes swimming, to the arcade, to listen to the band and for walks on the beach. Mr Stevens, Mrs Stevens and Mary each have clandestine activities. The sense that this is the last time the Stevens will make this trip as a family, although unspoken, is the emotional thread that runs through the story. Recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member eglinton
Humdrum plotting, modest story: family goes to the seaside. There are interesting touches, revealing of domestic life in the 30s, and one does appreciate the spirit of joyful unrestrained freedom (p108) - away from the regular class distinctions and the tediums of work and daily cares. But the
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characterisation is unexceptional, rather humdrum too. The father, the main focus, is dutiful and a touch solemn, ready to disapprove. And indeed, alongside the satisfactions of orderliness, and knowing one’s place, generally endorsed in the book, come, all too often, the pursed lips of restraint or disapproval. There are a few snatched moments of thrill, but mainly it’s continuity and familiarity in the story. No big drama, few surprises, more or less how this family likes its holidays to proceed. Show Less
LibraryThing member japaul22
Another Persephone title, and much in the same style as others I've read. Having read about 8 now, I'm seeing that they tend to publish quiet, family-centered novels that often have drama simmering quietly under the surface.
This novel is about a middle class family who vacations to the British
I liked this quiet book. But at the same time, I was waiting all the way through for things to come to a head or for some real conversations to happen and they didn't. I suppose that is true to life, but it didn't make for a particularly interesting book. Still, at this time of year, with all the bustle of the holidays, I enjoy a quiet book. This fit the bill.
This novel is about a middle class family who vacations to the British
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seaside town of Bognor every September. This year feels a little different because the children are older - the oldest two basically adults - and things seem to be shifting. They all realize that the boarding house they always stay in is looking more and more run down. We get a glimpse into each family member's internal thoughts; this isn't the sort of family that would share these thoughts out loud. I liked this quiet book. But at the same time, I was waiting all the way through for things to come to a head or for some real conversations to happen and they didn't. I suppose that is true to life, but it didn't make for a particularly interesting book. Still, at this time of year, with all the bustle of the holidays, I enjoy a quiet book. This fit the bill.
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LibraryThing member JulieStielstra
After being enraptured by Sherriff's The Hopkins Manuscript, this was certainly a change of pace. If nothing else, Sherriff has shown us he can write a tight, emotional, human drama (Journey's End), a big science fiction setpiece (Hopkins), and now this: a gentle, quotidian, nostalgic little
An ordinary, middle-class family of five in 1931 England: the Stevenses: father, mother, and their three children: young adults Dick and Mary, and rowdy ten-year-old Ernie, are preparing for their annual two-week trip to the seaside. They always go there and nowhere else. They always stay at the same boardinghouse. Even the day of packing and preparation is ritualized, scripted according to Mr. Stevens's "Marching Orders." And it is filled with a lovely anticipation pleasurable in itself, as exciting as Christmas Eve, where divergence from hallowed traditions would take some the of the heart out of it. There is a frisson of tension even over the change of train at Clapham Junction: will they make the change? Will they find seats together? Who might sit with them? Even though of course it all comes right.
These tiny dramas unspool throughout this gentle story. Mr Stevens relishes his long solo walks on the downs, savors the feel of an open collar, stout walking shoes, and a companionable pipe in the local pub. The family gathers in their bathing cabin (they splurge on one with with a balcony!) to watch the sea and the people. They play games in the arcade, listen to the band. Mary has a desultory flirtation with a young man, which (of course) goes nowhere. An elegiac tone creeps in here and there: the children are growing up. There is a hint that this could be the last of these time-honored holidays. Ernie may build the last of the Stevens sand castles; Dick may go off with some friends next year. Mrs Stevens notes with a pang that the boardinghouse is looking shabby; the ingratiating landlady has aged, looks ill and anxious. And Mrs Stevens, a shy, rather simple woman (whose husband occasionally notices her dropped h's with mild irritation) actually doesn't even like the sea. Her favorite part of every day is her quiet hour in the evening, alone while the others are out and about, with her needlework and a glass of port (for her health), the bottle carefully measured out to last the whole fortnight. Some readers criticize Sherriff's depiction of her as rather empty and inattentive, but I wonder if that was his point: that's the role women had, or at least that was her role in that family in that time - overlooked, unattended, unimportant to the people she devoted her life to. She's the one, after all, who notices the strain the landlady is under as her customers are trickling away: older, alone, and struggling.
That's pretty much it. One family, one seaside holiday, one little stream of beloved activities to be cherished, looked forward to, enjoyed, clung to and - ultimately - to be lost. It doesn't seem like much, but beautifully observed, generously respected, it should stir some memories of beloved family traditions in many readers.
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celebration of life's simple pleasures. Author Kazuo Ishiguro, writer I admire greatly, describes it as a "delicate" exploration of "the beautiful dignity to be found in everyday living."An ordinary, middle-class family of five in 1931 England: the Stevenses: father, mother, and their three children: young adults Dick and Mary, and rowdy ten-year-old Ernie, are preparing for their annual two-week trip to the seaside. They always go there and nowhere else. They always stay at the same boardinghouse. Even the day of packing and preparation is ritualized, scripted according to Mr. Stevens's "Marching Orders." And it is filled with a lovely anticipation pleasurable in itself, as exciting as Christmas Eve, where divergence from hallowed traditions would take some the of the heart out of it. There is a frisson of tension even over the change of train at Clapham Junction: will they make the change? Will they find seats together? Who might sit with them? Even though of course it all comes right.
These tiny dramas unspool throughout this gentle story. Mr Stevens relishes his long solo walks on the downs, savors the feel of an open collar, stout walking shoes, and a companionable pipe in the local pub. The family gathers in their bathing cabin (they splurge on one with with a balcony!) to watch the sea and the people. They play games in the arcade, listen to the band. Mary has a desultory flirtation with a young man, which (of course) goes nowhere. An elegiac tone creeps in here and there: the children are growing up. There is a hint that this could be the last of these time-honored holidays. Ernie may build the last of the Stevens sand castles; Dick may go off with some friends next year. Mrs Stevens notes with a pang that the boardinghouse is looking shabby; the ingratiating landlady has aged, looks ill and anxious. And Mrs Stevens, a shy, rather simple woman (whose husband occasionally notices her dropped h's with mild irritation) actually doesn't even like the sea. Her favorite part of every day is her quiet hour in the evening, alone while the others are out and about, with her needlework and a glass of port (for her health), the bottle carefully measured out to last the whole fortnight. Some readers criticize Sherriff's depiction of her as rather empty and inattentive, but I wonder if that was his point: that's the role women had, or at least that was her role in that family in that time - overlooked, unattended, unimportant to the people she devoted her life to. She's the one, after all, who notices the strain the landlady is under as her customers are trickling away: older, alone, and struggling.
That's pretty much it. One family, one seaside holiday, one little stream of beloved activities to be cherished, looked forward to, enjoyed, clung to and - ultimately - to be lost. It doesn't seem like much, but beautifully observed, generously respected, it should stir some memories of beloved family traditions in many readers.
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LibraryThing member nx74defiant
Beautiful, quiet little story of a family's two week vacation on the seaside. They go to the beach and do very normal things. Each family member has their point of view shown.
Language
Original publication date
1931
Physical description
336 p.
ISBN
1903155576 / 9781903155578