A Helping Hand: Celia Dale

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A Helping Hand: Celia Dale

A Helping Hand: Celia Dale

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Not very much is known about the author Celia Dale except for a few scant details. Celia Dale was born in 1912 and she was daughter of the actor, James Dale and was married to the journalist and critic, Guy Ramsey until his death in 1959. She worked in Fleet Street and as a publishers adviser and book reviewer. Some of her books were dramatised on radio and TV. Dales first book appeared in 1943 but it was her later novels where she branched out in to the realms of psychological crime. In all, Dale produced thirteen novels and a collection of short stories. Middle-aged Josh and Maisie Evans lead an unremarkable, unassuming life. When Auntie Flo, who has lived with them for years, dies and leaves them her Estate, they head to Italy on holiday, to take in the sea air and let the sun soak into their bones. It’s there they meet Mrs Fingal. A wealthy widow, she lives with her grown-up niece Lena and it’s pretty clear that neither is happy with the situation. So when Josh and Maisie bond with Mrs Fingal, over ice-cream and gentle toddles, it’s only natural that they all decide she should must move in with them once home. It suits everyone. Another twisted tale from Celia Dale and one that I can’t help but think could’ve only come from someone writing in their later years. This feels like Dale reflecting on fears of the elderly, she herself was in her 70s when she wrote this, and it’s an effective one. The queen of suburban horror . . . a sharply observant writer with a great eye for detail, her accuracy, understanding and quiet wit made her writing a cut above the run-of-the-mill crime novel.’ The Times For those who think they’ve seen everything the crime genre has to offer, this is an example of how it can keep rewarding.

Both Celia Dale's parents were actors – her father was the noted stage and television actor James Dale (1887–1985), her mother Marguerite Adamson. [2] She was a cousin of the novelist Sarah Harrison. [3] She was married to the journalist and critic Guy Ramsey, until his death in 1959. [4] Work [ edit ] While Maisie proceeds to wear down Mrs Fingal by restricting her movements, Josh can be equally sinister in his own chilling way, neglecting his charge for other, more interesting activities. As such, Mrs Fingal is left feeling lonely and confused, declining mentally and physically under the Evanses’ ‘care’. Interests and obsessions 19th Century 19th century British literature 19th century French literature 19th century Russian Literature 20th century Britain 20th century British fiction 20th century literature aging american crime fiction american fiction american noir fiction Australian fiction Balzac best of year Biography British crime fiction British fiction British Library Crime Classics California classic noir comic fiction crime fiction dysfunctional families femme fatale French crime fiction French fiction French literature German literature german literature month Golden Age of detective fiction Hard Case Crime holiday Hollywood humour infidelity Irish fiction Italian crime fiction Kindle La Comédie Humaine London made into film Memoirs miserable marriages murder New York New York Review Books noir noir fiction non-fiction obsession Paris PI series Poisoned Pen Press Pushkin Press Pushkin Vertigo Quotes relationships romans durs Rougon-Macquart Russian literature Russian Revolution Scottish crime fiction Scottish fiction series detective series novel series PI short stories short story collection siblings Simenon unreliable narrator vintage crime writer's life WWII Zola Only Graziella, the innocent pregnant woman from Italy, can bring some light into this dingy, oppressively bland suburban setting. It's at times heavy handed, but it's not overwraught. Frankly, dear, I don’t. It would only unsettle her. She’s settled into our little home so well that I think it’s really only kind to leave her to her own little ways and routines. You know what old folk are, they get used to things being just as they like them, just as they’re used to. She’s as happy as a sandboy with me and Josh knowing just what she likes, and anything coming in new from the outside might only upset her again.’ (p. 118)By the end of the holiday, a plan is in place for Mrs Fingal to go and live with the Evanses – an arrangement that seems to suit everyone concerned. After all, with Maisie’s training in nursing, the Evanses are perfectly placed to accommodate Mrs F in their spare room – the one previously occupied by ‘Auntie’ Flo. Lena, for her part, is delighted to have an opportunity to offload her aunt onto someone else, leaving her free to focus on her work and entertaining men, while Mrs F can look forward to mild flirtations with Josh and some much-need company to stave off her loneliness. It’s the perfect solution all round, or so it appears on the surface… The scheme proves watertight, and the women frequent betting shops, libraries, bingo halls, supermarkets, the post office (on pension days) and park benches (in fine weather), marking out their next target. Beneath the suburban net-curtained world of genteel respectability, however, lurks the much darker and chilling terror of greed and exploitation - deadly currents that are masked by polite conversation and cups of tea. Maisie and Josh, the abusers, are both deeply unlikable, but Maisie's hard and no-nonsense approach to care and nursing is recognizeable and at times even feels right. Mrs Fingal, a wealthy widow, finds the couple a refreshing change to her resentful niece and their understanding and sympathy to her situation, her loneliness and need for companionship, makes them the perfect people to look after her. Moving in with them is the ideal solution - one that is satisfactory to all parties.

I thought I’d had my tea. When you didn’t come, I thought it must be night but then I heard voices and I thought it was strangers…’ I don't think the style is anything too special, but it's good and it works and honestly, that's the most important thing.Maisie:] ‘There’s not much to say. You get on with your life and leave the worrying to me – when there is any.’

A fascinating portrayal of dysfunctional relationship, resentments, greed and opportunities very sharply observed’ Paul Burke, Crime Time FM The main focus is on how these characters and a range of old ladies see the world. There was a lot of wisdom about the psychological effects of declining faculties and also about 20-something Janice's belated awakening to life. There's a subtext about how we all blind ourselves to things we're not ready to see.It’s a good thing really that Mrs. Fingal is not a particularly sympathetic character. Good for the reader that is. Maisie Evans, so experienced in the care of the elderly knows just what to do. … Maisie:] ‘What d’you have to go out for? Oh, look what you’ve done, spilled egg on my nice clean tray cloth!’ Celia Dale’s writing is quiet, clever, subtle – and terrifying. I can’t think of anyone whose stories of suspense I appreciate more.’ Ruth Rendell We are experiencing delays with deliveries to many countries, but in most cases local services have now resumed. For more details, please consult the latest information provided by Royal Mail's International Incident Bulletin.

Celia Dale died on 31 December 2011, just a couple of weeks before her 100th birthday. [8] Bibliography [ edit ] With her eye for moral bankruptcy and what lies beneath seemingly respectable façades, Dale creates a world that is uniquely, wonderfully horrifying.’ Spectator The queen of suburban horror . . . a sharply observant writer with a great eye for detail, her accuracy, understanding and quiet wit made her writing a cut above the run-of-the-mill crime novel.’ The Times The reader becomes complicit in the abuse, as Dale writes Cynthia, the victim, as a clingy, needy woman, who latches on to men and flirts. Beneath the suburban respectability of cups of tea and genteel chitchat, however, emerges a different tale: one of ruthless greed and exploitation, and suffocating, skin-crawling terror.

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Celia Dale died on the 31st December 2011, just short of her hundredth birthday. - Excerpted from FantasticFiction In summary, then, an icy, utterly terrifying domestic noir that will chill you to the bone. All the more haunting for its grounding in apparent normality – the flat, characterless feel of the suburban setting is brilliantly evoked. Ongoing Covid restrictions, reduced air and freight capacity, high volumes and winter weather conditions are all impacting transportation and local delivery across the globe. What ensues is a sinister tale of greed and misplaced trust, further complicated by a romantic entanglement gone awry.



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