Down and Out

I have tried to read Jean Rhys, notably 'Quartet,' as the idea of a beautiful,lonely talented,young woman leaving the heat of the Caribbean (Dominica) to come to cold,unfriendly Northern Europe appeals.However I was unfortunately put off from the start by having previously read 'Drawn from Life-a memoir' by Stella Bowen. Stella was living with the writer Ford Maddox Ford in Paris when Ford invited Jean Rhys to stay with them to enable her to write.However Jean Rhys repays their hospitality by beginning an affair with Ford.Stella,an artist spends most of her energy caring for Ford and their daughter,constantly uprooted-starting again, home making, supporting, with little money and little time left to paint.To add insult to injury,Jean Rhys then parodies the couple in 'Quartet'!

Having read ' Slipstream' the autobiography of writer Elizabeth Jane Howard I am reminded of how she takes care of Kingsely Amis in much the same way.

But,whilst browsing through 'The Secret Self-short stories by Women Vol 1' I was touched by 'Let them Call it Jazz' -a moving account of how Selina,newly arrived in London from the Caribbean,seeking work as a seamstress,poor and homeless ends up in Holloway prison through simply trying to survive and deal with her situation.I will now read more of Jean Rhys and have 'The Left Bank', 'Tigers are Better Looking' and 'Sleep it Off Lady' to look forward to!

Also recommended:

'Down & Out in Paris and London' by George Orwell (1933)

'The People of the Abyss' by Jack London (1903)-the author's experience of poverty in London's East End.

'A Child of the Jago' by Arthur Morrison (1896)-a novel based on the East End slum the Rookery.

'Behind the Shade' by Arthur Morisson- short story about a mother and daughter set in the East End.