Collect Patience Presented By John Coates Issued As Textbook
most astonishing feature of this book is that it was written by a man not only does the story revolve entirely around the eponymous heroine, it is told entirely from a womans point of view emotionally, psychologically and physically.
A highly amusing bedroom farce, its also an engaging story of an almost impossibly naïve girl I call her that advisedly, even though she isyears old and seven years married who discovers how to become a woman.
And a highly successful one at that,
Once again, the Persephone people have unearthed a delightful little treasure bedtime reading in the best sense of that genre.
A reread for me now, I thought it even funnier than when I first read it, Oates managed to capture his female characters in a very realistic way, It discusses Patience's beliefs many times, but always in a lighthearted manner, The main character's optimism in all the situations made me smile, A heartwarming book which will make you have a giggling fit by times,
Do buy books at Persephone Books, They will have a hard time when Brexit hits, The story of a Proper Girl Improperly in Love as it was subtitled when it came out in America, the year after it was published in England, Patience is about the eponymous heroine,yearold Patience GathorneGalley who has three small daughters and is, she thinks, newly pregnant.
In the first chapter her brother, a devout Catholic whereas Patience is a rather unthinking Catholic, nevertheless she undeniably is one comes to tea to tell her that her husband Edward is being unfaithful.
Patience, who is perfectly happy with her husband, her children and her St Johns Wood life, is not too upset, in fact she is more curious than anything else because a her husband had never seemed inattentive, on the contrary, b she is mystified at the thought of another woman going to bed with Edward out of choice.
Fortuitously for this is a caper, a farce, a satire, something unreal which is why coincidence is allowable Patience meets Philip and upon going back with him to his room in Regents Park realises that through seven years of marriage she has never understood the meaning of married love, has never had a moment of sexual pleasure, has been cheated by her husband of true happiness.
This is what Tribune magazine told its readers, assuring them that there was no melodrama or pornography here.
Patience is a truly delightful, idyllic story of a simple souls discovery of the beauties of sexual love and her attempts to reconcile it with her mild Catholicism and her ardent maternal love.
I found this a little frustrating at the start as the main character Patience felt like a bit of a wet blanket, however she redeems herself as the book develops and she wakes up to real life.
I loved the
second half of the book when she takes control of her life, I was intrigued by this book, The summer before last, when I heard Nicola Beauman speak at my library, she mentioned that she was delighted she had found a comedy that would bring something new, something that she felt was missing from the Persephone list.
It was too early for her to share any of the details, but Im quite sure that this is it.
Its the story ofyearold Patience GathorneGalley, Shes a good Catholic girl, independently wealthy with a husband, Edward, and three little girls, Star, Sue and Sal.
But Patience is an innocent, hopelessly naive,
She relies on her siblings for advice, Lionel is a good devout Catholic, whose wifes desertion hasnt shaken his faith one iota, Helen, on the other hand, is a lapsed Catholic, living in sin with an Anglican solicitor,
Ah yes, SIN, That word is writ large in all their lives, Lionel takes the avoidance of sin terribly seriously, Helen is rather more sanguine, but she hasnt completely lost the values she was raised with, And Patience knew that it was a very bad thing that she really should avoid,
She really was that naive, a young woman passed directly from her parents to her husband with no chance at all to look at the world around her.
She was surprised when Lionel told her that Edward had a mistress, He was a good, reliable husband, and why ever would a woman want to go to bed with a man when it wasnt her marital duty
Yes, there was a story waiting to happen here.
And happen it did.
Patience met a man, Phillip. She fell in love. And in lust.
“She understood in a sort of flash of revelation almost everything Lionel had ever told her.
It really was different getting into bed with someone who wasnt your husband, And no wonder Lionel was so anxious no one should begin, because once having begun, and knowing how lovely it was, one would find it very difficult to stop.
”
When she confided in Helen her sister assured her that it wasnt just the fact that Phillip wasnt her husband that made the difference.
And then Patience knew that her future had to be spent with Phillip and her babies, But however could she disentangle herself from Edward and not fall into sin
Patiences attempts to do that, to reach her happy ending, make this a charming comedy of manners It sails along beautifully, with lovely dialogue batted back and forth by beautifully drawn characters.
I could see them and I could hear their voices, I could imagine actors on a stage having wonderful fun with this material too,
John Coates captures the feminine psyche extraordinarily well, I am inclined to believe that he was brought up with sisters, and that maybe he had a colourful aunt or two.
But thats just speculation, so lets just say he understands women,
He writes beautifully too, with a light touch, with a lovely turn of phrase, and with just the right amount of wit.
I found that I could even forgive Patiences habit of addressing everyone as dear!
Patiences faith, and the problems created by the differences between church and secular law, provided a serious thread that counterbalanced the comedy and the romance quite beautifully.
There were some very nice twists and turns along the way, Moments of comedy and moments of joy deftly handled, I turned the pages quickly and stayed up rather later than I had planned because I so wanted to know what was going to happen.
And yet my feelings were mixed, There were times when I found Patience irksome, It is one thing to be a simple soul, but even the simplest souls have some awareness, some concern for the feelings of others.
But Patience didnt. she was utterly oblivious, thinking only of what she wanted,
It was wonderful that her discovery of love and passion swept away everything, save her maternal love, but I found it hard to believe that any grown woman could be quite so insensitive to other peoples feelings.
Maybe that says more about me than the book, Ive often been told that Im too serious, and that I overthink things,
But Im afraid that near the end, when Patience said that she had grown up and all that it meant that she was more forceful in getting her own way I was bitterly disappointed.
I just needed some little acknowledgement that she might have been thoughtless, or some little sign that she had sympathy or understanding for others.
But it never came. And an afterword revealed that Patience never really grew up at all,
Seeing love conquer all was delightful, and the way that the story played out was a joy.
But, to me, this looks like a flawed gem, I saw the beauty and the flaws, but I suspect some will see only the beauty and others will see only the flaws.
Id like to read it again soon, because I dont rule out feeling differently on a different day, and Im going to be very, very curious to find out how other readers react when they meet Patience.
Patience is described by Persephone books as being “a sophisticated and delightful novel” it is also a gentle little comedy.
Im not sure I would use the word sophisticated myself but I do think there is a surprising sharpness to this novel which lies submerged beneath the gentle humour.
patiencePatience GathorneGalley is a perfect dutifuls wife, except for the fact she has only managed to produced three adorable little blonde haired girls, rather than the preferred son her husband so longs for.
It is hard for women today to conceive of a time when women went from their parents home to their husbands home, wholly naïve and almost totally unprepared.
For some women, maybe many women this was still the case as recently as thes.
Patience, an attractive twenty eight year old, has been married to a man in his forties for seven years as the novel opens, a marriage which was practically arranged for her by her mother.
Her knowledge and understanding of sex extends only to her dutiful, Catholic submission to her husband, which she uses to plan the meals for the following day.
Patience is a Catholic, her husband is not, Patience is true to her faith, she believes in Sin and hell and damnation, but in the way an unquestioning child might there is no fervour, no religious zeal.
Her brother Lionel a truly horrid man has enough religious zeal for both of them, he worries about Sin, sees it in everyone, he appears unconcerned that his own wife has chosen to retire permanently to a cloistered religious retreat, and no wonder! Patience and Lionels sister, Helen, is divorced, now married to an Anglican solicitor.
Lionel refers to Helens second husband as her paramour, Dear Patience and she is a dear although I may have wanted to shake her slightly once or twice divides her world into those she loves and the rest of the people who she likes.
Patience loves her sister, Helen, her darling babies Star, Sue and Sal, while her husband Edward it seems fits into the other group.
When Lionel almost gleefully tells Patience of the terrible Sin he has uncovered that he has seen her husband coming out of a hotel with another woman, her reaction is surprising.
Patience is puzzled why any woman would want to go to bed with Edward when she didnt have to.
Patience begins to hope that Edwards mystery woman might take over that side of things for her and leave her to peacefully adoring her babies.
However almost immediately, at a dinner party given by her sister and brotherinlaw Patience meets Philip, and falls madly in love, and in lust.
Patiences sexual awakening after seven years of marriage and three children is hilariously unlikely and yet the novel is so engaging and Patience herself so sweet that despite much tutting and head shaking and more than a wry smile or two I couldnt help but thoroughly enjoy it.
“She understood in a sort of flash of revelation almost everything Lionel had ever told her.
It really was different getting into bed with someone who wasnt your husband, And no wonder Lionel was so anxious no one should begin, because once having begun, and knowing how lovely it was, one would find it very difficult to stop.
”
I wasnt sure I quite believed the speed with which Patience fell for Philip the concert pianist, good and sweet though he undoubtedly is.
Within about three days Patience has slept with Philip several times and is considering whether she too can divorce her husband and live in Sin with another man.
However things take a surprising turn when Patience goes through her husbands desk looking for evidence of his affair.
Patience shows a staggering naivety in English marriage law, and what the state consider lawfully married as opposed to what the Church consider lawfully married.
Under gentle instruction by her sister and Solicitor brotherinlaw, Patience turns the tables on dear bottom patting Edward, allowing him to make all the mistakes she needs him to, in order to end their marriage legally.
Patience learns that she possesses an extraordinary power, that she had previously been unaware of, sex, All this is deliciously wicked, and it is no wonder the novel was banned in Ireland,
There is a slightly selfish naivety about Patience brought about by her childlike inability to recognise her responsibility to others.
She mostly only considers herself and her babies, she loves Philip but there seems only little understanding for the enormity of the upheaval to his life.
This novel certainly satirises dutiful, Catholic marriage, and the fact that this novel was written by a man was a constant surprise to me.
There were moments when the cynic in me wondered whether the character of a dutiful innocent young wife was merely a male fantasy of what one was but in the end decided that was rather unfair.
John Coates writing is deceptively sharp, with a surprisingly cynical twist right at the end which I rather appreciated.
The tone of the novel is a deceptively simple one Patiences voice is perfectly delightful, childlike whimsy.
Despite its few flaws I really thoroughly enjoyed this surprising little novel and I would really like to read more by this writer, I think he must have had more to say about the society in which he lived.
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