WICKFORD POINT

by John P. Marquand ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 15, 1939

Another Panel in his New England portraits, to go along side of THE LATE GEORGE APLEY. This is, perhaps, not so original a book; there is less sense of actuality, more sense of plot. The emphasis lies this time, not on an individual primarily, but on a place which has an irresistible hold over all the members of a family, and brings them back and back again. The family could happen nowhere but in New England. There is again that sense of recognition which made ""George Apley"" a real person and recognizable as such to almost everyone who read of him. But the recognition in this new book is concerned with points of view, with the assurance that ""the Brills"" are above suspicion,beyond reproach, can go anywhere, know anyone, and do -- or not do --what they choose. Clothilde, spider in the center of the web, spins her threads charmingly and in deadly certainty. The story is told by Jim Calder, a cousin, just outside the charmed circle enough to see what goes on, and yet serving as an ever helpful need in time of trouble. An introverted study of the insidious disease of family worship, oblique in the telling, but gradually building beyond the central theme to a wider horizon. Interesting, clever, not so subtly cruel. A book that should reach a wider market on its own appeal than the defined circle of those who are New England or who boast an intimate knowledge of the hub of the universe.

Pub Date: March 15, 1939

ISBN: 0316836982

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1939

Categories: FICTION