Harnessing Peacocks
| Harnessing Peacocks | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Mary Wesley |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Vintage (2007 edition) |
| Publication date | 1985 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 263 |
| Preceded by | The Camomile Lawn |
| Followed by | The Vacillations of Poppy Carew |
Harnessing Peacocks is the third novel by Mary Wesley, published in 1985 when the author was 73 years old. In 1992 it was adapted for television .
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
Hebe lost her parents in an air crash when she was a baby and she was brought up by her grandparents. When she, to her surprise, learns that she is pregnant, her grandparents and older siblings arrange an abortion to eliminate the social nuisance. Hebe overhears their plans and flee her grandparents´ home for good.
Twelve years later Hebe is living alone in a small town in the West Country and her son, Silas, is attending a posh private school. To make a living Hebe is working as a cook for elderly ladies and supplements the income by sleeping with their sons and sons-in-law.
In the meantime forces are threatening her lucrative and well structured life. Silas's father (unknown to Hebe) is looking for her; Silas is on vacation with the sons of one of her clients; the local hatter falls in love with Hebe; Silas hates his school; one of her clients wants to marry her and begins stalking her and Hebe's grandparents get involved in a road accident.
[edit] List of Characters
- Hebe: 30, single mother of Silas. Fled home when she became pregnant. Works as a cook and part-time prostitute.
- Silas: Hebe's twelve years old son.
- Jim Huxtable: The (unknown) father of Silas. Keeps a combined coffee and antique shop.
- Hannah Somerton: One of Hebe's friends. Lives in the same street as Hebe.
- Giles: Hannah Somerton's son.
- Mungo Duff: One of Hebe's clients.
- Alison Duff: Married to Mungo.
- Alistair and Ian Duff: Mungo and Alison Duff's two sons.
- Lucy Duff: Mungo Duff's mother and one of Hebe's clients.
- (Aunt) Amy Tremayne: A friend of Hebe. Used to work for Hebe's grandparents, the Rutters. When Hebe fled home, Amy gave her shelter.
- Rory Grant: The local hatter. In love with Hebe.
- Miss Thomson: Lucy Duff's daily lady.
- Louisa Fox: One of Hebe's old lady clients. Rory Grants aunt.
- Bernard Quigley: A retired antique dealer and a hermit. A bit of a Don Juan in his youth. Used to date Amy Tremayne, Louisa Fox, Lucy Duff and Eileen Rutter - at the same time.
- Christopher and Eileen Rutter: Hebe's grandparents.
- Jennifer and Julian Reeves: Michael Reeves´ parents, well-off. Invites Silas to join them on their holidays.
- Michael Reeves: Attends the same school as Silas.
- Eli and Patsy Drew: American couple with whom Alison has an affair.
- George Scoop: Dentist. Is dating Hannah Somerton.
- Terry: One of Hebe's former and satisfied clients.
- Ann, Beata and Cara: Hebe's older sisters.
- Robert, Delian and Marcus: Hebe's brothers-in-law.
[edit] TV Adaption
Harnessing Peacocks was adapted for TV in 1992, directed by James Cellan Jones and starring Serena Scott Thomas as Hebe.
[edit] Themes
One of Wesley's major fictional themes is the affirmation of illegitimacy which appear repeatedly in her works. When Hebe becomes pregnant as a teenager her family arrange for her to have an abortion. However, Hebe wants to keep her baby and to do so she must flee her grandparents´ house, and her flight marks the definitive break with her family.
The heroines in Wesley's novels always have a complicated relationship with their families. The older generation will often appear class conscious and racist. When Hebe, to her surprise, learns that she is pregnant, her grandfather's reaction is: "Who is the man?... A long-haired layabout...Probably a Communist...Must have an abortion...Might be black".[1] Hebe's family is not concerned about her or the child she is expecting; what they are concerned about is the social embarrassment and nuisance a pregnancy will bring.
[edit] Possible Biographical References
Mary Wesley always rejected the suggestion of any connection between her own personal life and her fiction.[2] However, she identified the appalling grandparents in Harnessing Peacocks, who bully the pregnant Hebe, as the nearest she came to a portrait of her own parents in old age.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Mary Wesley, Harnessing Peacocks, Vintage, UK, 2007, ISBN 9780099501688, p. 16.
- ^ Patrick Marnham, Wild Mary - A Life of Mary Wesley, Vintage, UK, 2007, ISBN 9780099498179, p. 6.
- ^ Patrick Marnham, p. 252.
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