Stephen McKenna (1) (1888–1967)
Författare till Sonia: Between Two Worlds
För andra författare vid namn Stephen McKenna, se särskiljningssidan.
Om författaren
Foto taget av: Cut down scan of back cover of Penguin No.703. Attributed to 'Bassano'.
Serier
Verk av Stephen McKenna
Ninety-six hours' leave 2 exemplar
Soliloquy 1 exemplar
Den hemliga segern 1 exemplar
Vindication;: A novel, 1 exemplar
Magic Quest 1 exemplar
To-morrow and to-morrow; a novel 1 exemplar
Pearl Wedding 1 exemplar
Associerade verk
Rosemary — Bidragsgivare — 1 exemplar
Taggad
Allmänna fakta
- Födelsedag
- 1888-02-27
- Avled
- 1967-09-26
- Kön
- male
- Nationalitet
- UK
- Födelseort
- Beckenham, Kent, England, UK
- Utbildning
- Westminster School, London
Oxford University (Christ Church) - Yrken
- Civil servant
Medlemmar
Recensioner
Listor
Priser
Du skulle kanske också gilla
Associerade författare
Statistik
- Verk
- 17
- Även av
- 1
- Medlemmar
- 51
- Popularitet
- #311,767
- Betyg
- 4.2
- Recensioner
- 2
- ISBN
- 29
Barbara's reputation has proceeded her to London with great attention to the upper reaches of society during the years before the First World War. Barbara first gains noteriety by being in a plane crash (surviving) because she persuaded the pilot to take her up. Next she is involved in an auto crash (chauffeur is killed) due to her persuading a friend to take the the car (chauffeur is bribed) without permission. The incident all but ruins her place in society but she bounces back by playing up to the drama and tragedy of the thing in the Illustrated Paper. Next she is present at a seance escorted by the same friend of the car crash, where one member of the group drops dead during a session with the Medium. Three strikes--but Barbara is not out!
She spurns all proposals of marriage opting to wait for the man who cares nothing for her (!)---a situation which looks impossible in the crowds of egible and smitten London bachelors. Eventually her hope turns up in the character of George Waring, a stiff, humorless, conservative barrister. Here is one fellow who not only doesn't care about her but goes to great lengths to avoid her. She sets out, successfully, to catch him through various subtrifuges. He eventually pursues her--which brings Barbara to a personal crisis of identity. Just who and what is she? The personalities of both Barbara and George are scrutinized and eventually pegged by readers as war looms and the two main characters struggle to connect. The ending is far from satisfactory but then this is the first installment in McKenna's trilogy, The Sensationalists).
Although McKenna has fallen out of favor with most readers today, his depiction of the life of innocent frivolity in London-before-the Great War, has considerable charm. Whether intentional or not, McKenna's subtexts in this novel call out to 21st century readers e.g. Barbara's loss of a female sibling=wildness, anorexia, and self-loathing; Barbara's relationship with her father=conquering a suitor who initially cares nothing for her, etc. all told with wide-eyed innocence.… (mer)