This Cold Country
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Known for her elegant prose and her keen eye for the nuances of class, Annabel Davis-Goff adds the lush immediacy of a Merchant-Ivory film to her compelling tale of a woman and a culture forever changed by World War II. Only three days after Daisy Creed weds Patrick Nugent, heir of an Anglo-Irish family, he leaves for the war. Having never met her husband's family, Daisy embarks for her new home, Dunmaine, in County Waterford. The family's affairs echo its estate: grand on the outside, decaying within. Left alone with Patrick's eccentric brother and silent grandmother, Daisy is determined to save Dunmaine and secure her place there. But before she can grasp the unspoken rules, she is unwillingly drawn into events that throw her determination off course. Daisy Creed is a resilient, courageous, altogether enterprising Everywoman of her time in this novel about a way of life and the war that precipitated its transformation.Publishers WeeklyDavis-Goff, author of The Dower House, a New York Times Notable Book, and Walled Gardens, a memoir, plumbs her Irish roots once more in this tale about a young English woman adjusting to new social, political and class demands when she moves to Ireland during World War II. A volunteer in England's Land Army, Daisy Creed works on a farm in Wales. Given the rare wartime occasion to meet an eligible bachelor, she quickly marries Patrick Nugent, a distant Anglo-Irish cousin of her employer. In a matter of days, Patrick is called on duty and Daisy joins Patrick's family in Ireland. Gothic touches abound; the Nugents are eccentrics, their home full of mysteries and reminders of better days. Daisy's new family includes Corisande, a spoiled beauty growing bitter as she approaches middle age without a suitor; her mild-mannered brother, Mickey, who silently puts up with all in exchange for solitude; a grandmother who may or may not be in a coma. All are residents of Dunmaine, the family's overgrown, undermanaged estate. Through Daisy's dogged questioning, Davis-Goff gets at the reasons and implications behind Ireland's WWII neutrality. Daisy's queries are answered mainly by Mickey: As soon as there were two religions, it was all over for Ireland. Up until then the conquerors and colonists became enthusiastically Irish in about five minutes. These conversational, encyclopedic passages fill in blanks for readers who don't know their Irish history, but water down the already thin story. Davis-Goff is a talented writer, however, and there is much to appreciate here in the way of elegant prose and careful characterizations. 4-city author tour. (May) Forecast: The Anglo-Irish world recently got an airing in the disappointing film version of Elizabeth Bowen's novel The Last September. The period and setting have undeniable appeal, and will help readers overlook the slow spots in Davis-Goff's otherwise well-crafted novel. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
