Photo de l'auteur

Alice Wilson Fox (1863–1943)

Auteur de A Dangerous Inheritance, or, Sydney's Fortune

10+ oeuvres 14 utilisateurs 7 critiques 1 Favoris

A propos de l'auteur

Comprend les noms: Mrs. Wilson Fox, Alice Wilson-fox

Œuvres de Alice Wilson Fox

Oeuvres associées

Lewis Carroll: Interviews and Recollections (1989) — Contributeur — 8 exemplaires

Étiqueté

Partage des connaissances

Nom canonique
Fox, Alice Wilson
Autres noms
Alice Theodora Raikes (maiden name)
Date de naissance
1863
Date de décès
1943
Sexe
female
Nationalité
England
UK
Pays (pour la carte)
UK
Professions
Children's Author
Novelist
Biographer
Relations
Carroll, Lewis (cousin)
Courte biographie
The daughter of Conservative politician and MP Henry Cecil Raikes, Alice Theodora Raikes was born in 1863, and was married to barrister William Arthur Wilson-Fox in 1889. She published novels, stories, and tracts from 1905, including juvenile novels such as Hearts and Coronets (1910) and A Regular Madam (1912). She was a distant connection of Charles Dodgson, otherwise known as Lewis Carroll, and had a youthful encounter with the famous author in which she was subjected to a "mirror test," an experience that is sometimes cited as one inspiration for Carroll's Through the Looking Glass. Wilson-Fox died in 1943. (sources: Edwardian Fiction: An Oxford Companion / Lives of Victorian Literary Figures / Lewis Carroll: Interviews and Recollections)

Membres

Critiques

Miss Charmian Euphemia Mulgrove, known as "Chum" to her friends, was the daughter of a prosperous British businessman, and lived a comfortable life at Randall Court, the Tudor manor house her father had purchased from its aristocratic owner, Sir Guy. This same gentleman, in love with Charmian, had proposed marriage, but Chum was ambivalent about the idea. Then the storm of World War I broke upon them, and Charmian found her life quite changed. Guy was sent to fight in France, while Charmian became a chauffeuse, driving for a general at the War Office, and finding homes for Belgian refugees on her father's estate. During the winter of 1916/17, she too was sent to France, where she drove for the C.F.P.S. (the fictitious "Comforts for Private Soldiers" unit). Here she met the obnoxious American, Irene Langhorne, an early volunteer in the conflict, despite her nation's non-entry in the war, as well as the half-English Frenchman, René, Vicomte de Beaupré. What followed was a season of hardship and extraordinary experiences for Charmian, who wrote letters for men who had lost limbs, delivered supplies to troops in need, and even rescued an injured soldier, while under fire from the air. Throughout it all she was torn between Sir Guy and the Vicomte de Beaupré, both of whom had proposed. Would she learn her own heart, surrounded by all of this madness, and if she did, would her knowledge come too late...?

Having greatly enjoyed a number of Alice Wilson Fox's novels for children - Hearts and Coronets, A Dangerous Inheritance, The General's Choice - I was quite excited to pick up Charmian: Chauffeuse, which I would describe as an early twentieth-century young adult novel, and which I finally managed to track down in the rare book room of the university where I was studying at the time. Unfortunately, despite my predisposition to like it, given its interesting subject matter (a young woman driver during WWI!), and my fondness for some of its author's other work, I was mostly disappointed. I didn't find its eponymous heroine particularly appealing, in her own right, and I found the depiction of some of the other characters off-putting. One sometimes encounters a certain kind of sneering anti-Americanism in vintage British fiction, and while it usually doesn't bother me that much, the depiction of the figure of Irene here - the lampooning of her accent, Charmian's conclusion that she (and Americans in general) were "vulgar-minded" - was rather unpleasant. I suspect that my negative reaction was owing less to any extremity on Wilson Fox's part, when it comes to this theme - Charmian even concludes, toward the end of the book, that Irene wasn't "a bad-hearted little soul" - and more to it being so wholly unexpected, given the absence of such a feeling in the author's earlier A Dangerous Inheritance (1910), which featured an American heiress living with a British vicar's family. It's tempting to think that the difference in feeling between the two books, when it comes to the American characters, was owing to some sort of resentment on the part of Wilson Fox, to America's late entry into WWI, but it's impossible to really say.

However that may be, given my feeling of distaste at those moments involving Irene, and my general lack of emotional involvement in Charmian's story, despite finding the narrative engaging enough, I can't say I enjoyed this one as much as some of Wilson Fox's others. I subsequently had a similarly conflicted/indifferent reaction to the author's adult romance, Love in the Balance, which makes me wonder whether I simply prefer her children's fare to that she wrote for adults and older teens. In sum: this is one I would really only recommend to Alice Wilson Fox completists (are there any, besides myself?), and readers interested in British vintage fiction set during the First World War.
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Signalé
AbigailAdams26 | Apr 7, 2020 |
Eighteen-year-old Lesley Davenant, an orphaned heiress, finds she must decide between two suitors in this early twentieth-century English romance by Alice Wilson Fox, whose other work consists largely of children's novels such as Hearts and Coronets and A Dangerous Inheritance. Taken under the wing of her aunt, Lady Davenant, Lesley is introduced to baronet Sir John Crauford, whose mother is one of Lady Davenant's oldest friends. Soon winning over the reserved sportsman with her sunny, friendly ways, Lesley also catches the eye of his half-Italian cousin, Claude Crauford. Both men propose to her, but Lesley asks them to wait, as she is not sure of her mind. The solidly worthy John makes her feel comfortable and safe, but the handsome, musical Claude suits her idea of the romantic hero. In the meantime, melodramatic incidents abound, as a murder attempt is made upon John by a former servant of Claude's, and a trip to Sicily leads to members of the group being kidnapped by the Mafia. Not unexpectedly, when danger threatens, each suitor's true character is revealed, and Lesley realizes which has truly captured her heart.

There are no surprises here, as Wilson Fox leaves the reader in no doubt as to Claude's character flaws, even going so far as to comment on her heroine's naiveté in the narrative, drawing the readers' attention to their own superior understanding of what is transpiring, and hinting at the eventual (and inevitable) outcome of the love triangle. Unfortunately, Claude's flaws - he is indolent, weak in moral character, prone to resentment - are laid at the door of his half-Italian parentage, in ways that put me in mind of L.M. Montgomery's Kilmeny of the Orchard, published just one year before Love in the Balance, in 1910. That story too had a character whose Italian heritage was something of a taint, something that made him not quite the equal of the Anglo-Canadian characters. Of course, with Alice Wilson Fox, it is not merely merely a question of ethnicity, but also of class, as Claude's mother was an opera singer. There is a suggestion that noble Italians are more acceptable - towards the end of the novel, there is a hint that the Crauford daughter, Vivien, might marry an Italian prince - but Claude's mother, as the reader is often reminded by both narrator and characters, was one of the sweaty masses. This sort of classism can also be found in the scenes involving the poachers who are foiled toward the beginning of the novel, as Sir John, in a classic case of blaming outside agitators for class unrest, accuses a London Cockney of coming down to the country and "stirring things up" with the locals. Anyone who has read the author's children's novels will know that class is an important issue in her work, but it seems particularly prominent here, often in ways that seem ugly or ludicrous. At one point the narrator informs the reader that the company at Lady Davenant's house was "irreproachable," with names to be found in Debrett or Burke (reference works documenting titled families in the UK).

Long out-of-print and difficult to track down, Love In the Balance is a book I might never have encountered, were I not interested in the author's children's novels. I found it fascinating, in some ways - it opens a window into ethnic and class prejudice in early twentieth-century England - but cannot really recommend it to a general readership. The central plot line is never that engrossing, precisely because the author signals well ahead of time how it will all work out, and the characters never really involve the reader in their world. I'm glad I've had a chance to read it, along with Alice Wilson Fox's other romance for young adult readers, Charmian: Chauffeuse, but think the author is best remembered for her children's books.
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Signalé
AbigailAdams26 | Nov 29, 2014 |
Late this past summer I happened upon an obscure, long out-of-print children's novel, entitled Hearts and Coronets, and, being intrigued by the name, which reminded me of the classic film, Kind Hearts and Coronets, and thinking the cover rather pretty, I picked it up on a whim. How glad I am that I did! Not only did I enjoy a charming story, but I discovered an early twentieth-century author, previously unknown to me, whose work falls into the realm of sentimental girls' fiction - a genre I find quite interesting. Since then, I have read and enjoyed Alice Wilson Fox's A Dangerous Inheritance, as well as this, The General's Choice.

It is the story of two young cousins, Dorothy Wyndham and Mollie (Mariam) Willoughby, who journey into Cumberland to visit their irascible old grandfather, General Stuart. Estranged from both his daughters, who married against his wishes, the old general had never met any of his grandchildren. But with the tragic death of his only son in the Boer War, the general found himself without an heir, and determined that one of the girls would inherit his vast estates. They, of course, knew nothing of this, and arrive with the idea of spending an extended holiday with the grandfather they never knew...

The general premise, outlined above, is quite promising, but although it begins well enough, The General's Choice wasn't as satisfying as Wilson Fox's other novels. I liked the two main characters, but the author's class biases - evident in her other books as well - are here too pronounced to ignore. The sub-plot involving the social-climbing Miss Stanley felt somewhat crudely drawn, and the inclusion of the "feckless gypsy boy in the woods" just made me roll my eyes. The resolution of the general's dilemma was a little too pat, and was an unpleasant reminder of how very patriarchal the ideas of property and inheritance were at that time.

I wish that I could locate a bibliography of Wilson Fox's work, as many of her books are undated, making it difficult for me to determine their order of publication. If I had to guess, I would say that The General's Choice is the earliest of the three titles I have read thus far. At 128 pages, it is significantly shorter than the other two, and also seems somewhat less sophisticated in style. The third-person narrator frequently summarizes the action, rather than letting it unfold, and the characters sometimes seem to speak in overly expository prose, rather than in more natural dialogue.

But for all its obvious stylistic short-comings, and rather jarring plot elements, I nevertheless enjoyed The General's Choice. Its is an excellent example of the highly sentimental, overtly moralistic fiction being written for girls in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and although I would not recommend it to children today, the scholar researching that period and genre will find much to fascinate her.
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1 voter
Signalé
AbigailAdams26 | Jul 5, 2013 |
Alice Wilson Fox, about whom I can discover nothing, appears to have been one of those early twentieth century authors of sentimental girls' fiction who slipped quietly into obscurity, never to be noticed again. I had certainly never heard of her, and might not have discovered her work, if a copy of her Hearts and Coronets had not come my way. I am so glad that it did, as her books incorporate some of the classic children's literature themes from that era into well-written, entertaining stories. I have been reminded, in the course of my reading, of the work of Louisa May Alcott and Frances Hodgson Burnett, as well as more recent authors like Joan Aiken.

A Dangerous Inheritance tells the story of Sydney Stonyman, a young American heiress who is left to the guardianship of an Englishman, Mr. Geoffrey Drury, when her father dies. Suspecting Sydney's ne'er-do-well uncle of foul play, Drury removed her to England, and placed her in the home of country vicar, Mr. Thorne, and his large family. Slowly emerging from her cocoon, and putting off her more unsociable ways, Sydney finally began to act like a young girl her age. But a series of "accidents" and near-catastrophes seemed to haunt her, until finally, while exploring a ruined tower with Edmund Thorne while on a seaside holiday, Sydney was kidnapped...

I enjoyed A Dangerous Inheritance immensely, and was amused by its combination of Gothic and sentimental motifs. The "wicked uncle" is something of a stock character, to be found in many, many works, including Georgette Heyer's satire of the character in her novel Sylvester. The scenes in which Sydney finds herself in Bristol reminded me strongly of Joan Aiken's novels, particularly the latter half of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and Midnight Is a Place, in which former children of privilege must fend for themselves among the industrial poor. On the other hand, Sydney's unsociable, un-childlike disposition at the beginning of the story reminded me strongly of Mary Lennox in Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, just as her "tour" to reward the people who helped her reminded me of Sara Crewe in A Little Princess. Finally, the portions of the story which occurred on the farm in Wales were very interesting, primarily because Wilson Fox uses quite a bit of Welsh, which she then translates for the benefit of the reader.
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Signalé
AbigailAdams26 | 1 autre critique | Jul 3, 2013 |

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Statistiques

Œuvres
10
Aussi par
1
Membres
14
Popularité
#739,559
Évaluation
3.1
Critiques
7
Favoris
1