I always admire an author who can come to writing later in life and then produce a fine and in some cases exemplary body of work in a quick short spurt. It makes me think there is still hope for me yet, that I've got years of creativity (not in writing mind you) ahead of me. Canadian author Ethel Wilson didn't publish her first book until she was sixty. Her work spanned a mere fourteen years, though she lived until she was almost ninety-three. She reminds me of one of my favorite writers, Mary Wesley, who didn't publish her first adult novel until she was 71!
Swamp Angel was published in 1954 and concerns a woman who walks away from an unhappy marriage and reinvents herself. I seem to be reading lots of quiet, introspective stories lately, and Swamp Angel fits neatly into that category. Like the lake where Maggie Lloyd ultimately finds a home and work, this is a story that runs deeper than the pristine surface hints. It's not the plot that is so difficult to explain, but I must admit the interpretation of it (and the symbolic elements) have perplexed me just a little. Easily another book for the reread pile.
Although Maggie prefers to go by her former married name, Lloyd, at the beginning of the story she is preparing for the moment when she will leave the home of Eddie Vardoe, a man she married out of pity. She lost her first husband in the war and then subsequently her parents and child. She endures humiliations and resentments at the hands of Vardoe and decides to slip away--the farther away the better. When she should be drying the dinner dishes she walks out of the back door and to a waiting cab leaving Eddie sitting sourly at the table reading his evening paper.
From Vancouver she travels to Three Loon Lake, a fishing lodge, where she'll act as cook and housekeeper. The Gunnarson family has fallen on hard times. Haldar had aspirations to make the lodge a success but a car accident proved a setback. His wife Vera would prefer to live in the city and forgo running a lodge altogether, yet she jealously guards her role there and finds it maddening how easily Maggie has settled in and takes control of things with admirable results. She both wants Maggie out and wants her to succeed (so she won't have to do the work herself).
The Swamp Angel refers to a gun that Maggie's friend Nell Severance is often seen swinging about. It had been part of a circus juggling act of Nell's and now Eddie eyes it with dark thoughts on how he might use it for revenge. Both Nell and Maggie intervene in situations that might have had disastrous results. Nell steps in and stops Eddie from an act of violence. And despite her own emotionally fragile state, it's Maggie who comforts and supports Vera when she breaks down under the stresses of her own perceived problems.
Nearly every character in Swamp Angel is interesting and well defined, though I liked Maggie best. She's compassionate and nurturing yet strong and with an independent spirit. I have to say I never thought I'd be all that interested in reading about fly fishing, but much like Ethel Wilson (who was an expert fly fisherwoman), Maggie is happiest in the solitude she finds when fishing. Particularly attractive in this story were the rugged descriptions of British Columbia.
Swamp Angel was both easy to read yet still a challenge (if that makes sense?). I'm drawn to Wilson's work and like the complexity, so I'll be exploring it more. I read a rather fanciful short story by her a couple of years ago, and now I have a copy (though not the Persephone edition I'm afraid) of Hetty Dorval lined up to read. Hetty Dorval was Wilson's first book and I'll be curious to see how it compares. (And am maybe a little hopeful that there won't be the same sort of symbolism to try and sort out). Has anyone read Hetty Dorval? Or any of Wilson's other works?