Postwar protagonists grapple with demons

In post-First World War Britain, shell-shocked veterans struggled to find their place in a rapidly changing society. In her novel Amanda, American author H.S. Cross explores the stormy relationship between one such veteran and an Irish woman wanting to leave her past behind.

Amanda is Cross’ third novel, and she draws on her personal experience of living in England, Ireland and Scotland to add authenticity to her story. Cross’ writing has a slow-paced lyrical quality that is compelling as the story builds.

The title of Cross’ book refers to the name Marion McDonagh gives herself and shares with her lover Jamie, who uses the alias Jasper. Marion’s deceased husband’s surname was Laighléis, but she thinks of him as being named Lovelace. Many of the book’s characters have nicknames, and this informal fluidity reflects Britain’s quickly evolving and modernizing society of the late 1920s.

Marion works as a nanny for two children, and keeps them entertained by spinning tales of fantasy and intrigue, partly based on Irish folklore. She keeps her personal history a secret from her employers and friends.

One reason for her secrecy: the brutal murder that ended her abusive husband’s life and forced her to flee to England.

She also keeps what she calls the “Talkers” in her mind a secret, although she has seizures when their voices can’t be silenced. She’s terrified of being placed in an asylum and never released.

Jamie struggles with his own demons after returning from the battlefields of Europe. His lungs are scarred by mustard gas after miraculously surviving the gas attack that kills all his comrades. He questions why he was the sole survivor. “Why had the breeze blown the gas away, sparing only him?” He is later sent to a German prison camp, then nearly dies of the Spanish flu. Soon after arriving home, he has a mental breakdown that lands him in hospital. Like Marion, he keeps his mental frailty a secret.

Another of Jamie’s secrets he calls the Business, after discovering the covert world of homoerotic encounters with like-minded men. The physical punishment he receives and delivers somehow helps him to retain his normal functioning.

Jamie first meets Marion in a dingy bar where she’s on stage reciting poetry. He tries to impress her with his writing, deciding to write about the Business as a work of fiction. He’s amazed when she readily accepts what many would view as his sexually perverse experiences, and they begin a correspondence that reinforces their developing relationship.

After spending idyllic weeks together, Jamie is shattered when Marion suddenly vanishes for a year. A mutual friend finally tells him that she’s back in London, but he’s afraid to approach her immediately as he fears rejection. Instead, he mails short notes addressed to her to all the post offices close to Marion’s employers’ home, and eventually she receives one. Her reply isn’t encouraging, but Jamie persists in trying to rekindle their loving relationship.

In Amanda, Cross manages to blend history and romance in an entertaining manner. Her characters are hampered by the restrictions of post-Edwardian society as well as their own emotional burdens, but struggle to build a future together.

Andrea Geary is a freelance writer in Selkirk.