The Semi–attached Couple & The Semi–detached House Emily Eden

So much for the author, now what about the books? ‘The Semi-attached Couple’ was written around 1830 but not published until 1860, the year after ‘The Semi-detached house’ came out (slightly confusing). Both books feel very much of their time; in ‘The Semi-attached Couple’ it’s all horse drawn carriages and has an unmistakably Georgian feel (says she bought up on Georgette Heyer). Indeed more than anything else (and certainly more than an Austen feel) reading ‘The Semi-attached Couple’ felt like reading an early Heyer. For me that’s a good thing but I must admit that I was slightly surprised at how very fresh the writing seemed, but then I find myself saying that a lot so it’s undoubtedly as much to do with my perceptions of how an older book should read as it is to do with authorial style.

‘The Semi-attached Couple’ is the story of what should be a fairy tale marriage but somehow isn’t. The bride is young, lovely, and the indulged darling of her wealthy parents her husband to be is the catch of the season, the owner of fabulous wealth and the sort of looks normally thrown away on penniless younger sons, so what could possibly go wrong? Well all sorts of things it seems. The bride has been a sheltered pet all her life and at 18 is still all but a child, she isn’t ready to leave her home, hasn’t fallen entirely in love with her husband, is to inexperienced to express her fears and is frightened by her grooms passion for her. He in his turn becomes jealous of her families influence over her, is cast into despair by her lack of affection, and all too frequently allows his temper to get the better of him. This is the situation during their honeymoon when a large house party invites itself to share the couple’s home.

I’m reading Trollope’s ‘The Small House at Allington’ at the moment and finding some interesting parallels between the two books, if nothing else I’m forming a very definite impression of the house party as a hot bed of intrigue, gossip, and interference. I’m not giving much away when I say that ‘The Semi-attached Couple’ ends happily after all the complications and misunderstandings are smoothed out – the story itself is the weak part of the book. What makes the it are the details and the secondary characters who I think must have been based on people Eden knew; Lady Portmore who is by way of being the villainess of the piece makes me think she might have been based on Lady Caroline Lamb (although this is just a guess, and I might be miles off). There is a fascinating and funny account of an election and despite the happy endings some acerbic asides about marriage. Eden who was 30 when she wrote this book was jilted as a young woman, I wouldn’t describe her as bitter, but very clear sighted about both the advantages and disadvantages for a woman in swapping the position of daughter for wife. Eden herself became a sister.

In 'The Semi-detached House’ the newly married and pregnant Lady Chester is being installed in the suburbs whilst her husband makes a diplomatic expedition to Berlin. Blanche Chester is very young (18), highly strung, volatile, and very assured about her position in society. Her neighbours are a good solid suburban family who are slightly over awed by their grand new neighbours (although they initially think Lady Chester may be either a cast off wife or a discreetly installed mistress). Throughout the book the Chester household and manners are held up against the other grand occupants of the neighbourhood; Baron and Baroness Sampson, social climbers, new money, snobbish, and Jewish. I wondered for a while if it was their Jewishness which was a problem, but on the whole it’s not – although it may be that there is some small prejudice there – but it is much more that they are concerned only with facade and not at all with substance. Blanche who is the personification of egalitarian good will with her lower middle class neighbours is still savvy enough at 18 to instinctively avoid the Baroness’ overtures, but it’s the Sampson’s with all their faults and unpleasantness which make the story interesting adding some necessary shade to proceedings, that and Eden’s sense of humour which is an absolute delight.

Emily Eden

A while back Lyn at I Prefer Reading did a blog about book covers and I liked the look of an Emily Eden – ‘The Semi-attached Couple & The Semi-detached House’, a quick look online produced a longish excerpt (possibly the whole of ‘The Semi-attached Couple’ but I can’t find it now) and plenty of 1 pence copies on amazon so I ordered one. A few days later a very acceptable used copy (Virago – which was actually enough to make me buy it anyway) turned up at which point I realised I’d bought not one book but two in one (bargain).

Initial excitement was only slightly tempered by being informed by the back blurb that Eden was “A true if minor successor to Jane Austen...” (a damning phrase if ever there was one) and now I’m almost ashamed to admit that the book might have remained unread on the shelf for any length of time except for having that stinking cold which made something light and romantic seem appealing. I couldn’t have chosen better if I’d thought about it (which was lucky because I was well past being capable of thinking about it). I understand the Austen reference, it seems Eden (1797 – 1869) was a big fan, ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is mentioned in ‘The Semi-attached Couple’ and I’m guessing that she wrote it partly as a tribute.

There will be more about the actual books in the next few days (two books so it seems only reasonable to spin this out into a couple of posts) but at the moment I’m more fascinated by Emily herself, she seems to have been very well connected, independently wealthy or at least left very comfortably off, she travelled to India where she lived for 6 years with her brother, was a renowned political hostess (Whig), and the portrait of her that springs up on Google suggests that she was fashionably attractive. She wrote for fun rather than out of any necessity but did well out of her books and comes across as a warm, witty, intelligent, and acutely observant woman. My overall impression of both novels is one of light romance – more Georgette Heyer than Jane Austen, but (like Georgette Heyer who must certainly have known the Eden novels) with enough bite and satire to keep my attention from wandering.

The letters that Emily sent home to her sister from India have also been published by Virago, and I’m hopeful that the copy I ordered will hit my doorstep any day now as I’m nowhere near having had enough of her voice, I imagine too that the letters will have more of the acerbic wit and less of the fluffy romance and I can’t wait to read them. Much as I enjoy reading older books it’s not so very often that I wish I could meet the authors, but Emily Eden would be top of my guest list for that imaginary dinner party of people you’ve always wanted to find yourself in a room with.