The Tortoise and the Hare Book

First published in 1954, this was the sixth, of twelve, novels written by Elizabeth Jenkins. She is somewhat forgotten now, with her books hard to get hold of and, I must admit, that I had not heard of her before. This novel was recommended by my friend, and fellow reviewer, Nigeyb, and I am pleased that he did so. It is, without doubt, a gem of a book and, undoubtedly, one to which I will return.

Evelyn Gresham is a fifty two year old barrister. Competent, successful and self-assured, he lives with younger wife, Imogen and their son, Gavin, in the country. Imogen is beautiful, sensitive and kind. She tends to defer to Evelyn and is somewhat downtrodden by both her husband and son. Her needs are always secondary, she does all she can to create an easy, and harmonious, life for Evelyn and, of course, he doesn't appreciate this one bit.

Gradually, Evelyn falls under the spell of country neighbour, Blanche Silcox. While Imogen is all dreamy introspection, Blanche likes to get out and do things. She strides around, shooting birds, catching fish, riding, hiking, running every local organisation and, as she is older, and definitely less attractive than Imogen, the danger is not, at first, scented. Before long, though, Blanche is everywhere. She will pick Evelyn up in her car (Imogen does not drive), capably discuss his cases with him (Imogen suffers while waiting for news), organises his - and Gavin's - life and insinuates herself into more and more of their lives, and Imogen's, marriage.

As well as the main characters, there are many other people who inhabit these pages; many of whom are in the unenviable position of having to pick sides. There are the local bohemian family, whose mother floats around, neglecting her children; including Gavin's friend, Tim, who witnesses much of what happens in the Gresham household. There is also Blanches's disagreeable stepsister, Marcia, Imogen's friend, Paul Nugent, also unhappily married (and more than a little in love with her), and her close female friend, Cecil; as well as Hunter, who is a friend to both Evelyn and Imogen.

This scenario does happen and people are left thinking, for example, Charles preferred Camilla to Diana, or John abandoned Cynthia, for Yoko, with varying degrees of shock, and surprise. Of course, attraction is not just physical and Blanche is both astute and determined. You feel she is a woman who has been overlooked, who suddenly blossoms under this new, female power. Where Jenkins is so clever is in showing that nowhere is the shock greater than with the woman whose husband looks elsewhere, and how it affects her self esteem. Imogen's wounded self-pride shocks, as Jenkins bares her soul, for us to see. However, the human heart is a resilient one and, as the title suggests, there may be a twist in who is, ultimately, the tortoise and who is the hare?