In February the Bookworms group moved to a new venue at ‘Homestart South Leicestershire’ where we immediately felt at home.
Most people associate the author Hilary Mantel with her historical Wolf Hall trilogy, but this month one of her lesser known, earlier novels, ‘An Experiment in Love’, was our chosen read. The story centres around Carmel McBain and her school friend, Karina, who were both brought up in a small, run down northern town. Carmel has aspirations to succeed in life, even possibly becoming Prime Minister, and when both girls pass the exams for Holy Redeemer, a prestigious convent school, they find themselves mixing with girls from very different backgrounds. One of them, Julianne, a doctor’s daughter, becomes good friends with Carmel, but refers to Karina as “the peasant”.
All three girls move to London in 1970 to study at university and live in student accommodation at Tonbridge Hall. Here, Carmel distances herself from Karina and hopes for a new start. However, their first term learning to become independent young women is fraught with relationship issues, eating disorders and finally, tragedy. Ultimately, it’s a tale of unfulfillment. “We were to be useful to society. We would graduate, then marry, then be mothers, also nurses and teachers, brainy, dowdy, overstretched…”.
Hilary Mantel’s description of these girls entering womanhood is sharp, observant and often witty. She captures the late 1960s and early 70s perfectly with cultural references, prevalent attitudes and spiky dialogue. Those group members who think highly of the ‘Wolf Hall’ series were more critical of this book, while the few who had found her books about Thomas Cromwell a difficult read, preferred her writing style in ‘An Experiment in Love’. As always, we enjoy hearing a variety of viewpoints!
Louise Elsome
‘Bookworms’ Group Coordinator