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| Plot Summary of A Spell of Winter |
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"Robert (Rob) and Catherine (Cathy) Allen have grown up in their grandfather's house in rural England in the early 1900's. Their father has been committed to an asylum and it has been years since anyone heard from their mother Cynthia who ran off to live in France along the coast of Brittany. The dysfunctional lives of the two young Allen's never heal from the scars of abandonment inflicted by their mother. The Allen house is old and decaying along with the tragic legacy of their family's tormented past. Cathy, young and beautiful at seventeen, is regularly having sexual relations with her brother Rob even while being courted by a wealthy middle aged neighbor named George Bullivant at his manor home Ash Court. The local spinster Miss Gallagher who was Cathy's tutor shows an unnatural attraction towards Cathy as well. Rob is halfheartedly courting Livvy, a pretty but frigid young woman.
Cathy becomes pregnant but only the long time family maid Kate knows. Rob suffers a serious injury to his leg while out riding the beautiful horse owned by Mr. Bullivant. Believing Miss Gallagher to be the cause of her unborn childs death, Cathy decides to rid herself of the bitter and petty affections of the old woman walking with her deep into the forest under the pretense of digging up plants. She threatens the older woman but never lands the shovel on its intended mark. Miss Gallagher's heart gives out and she collapses in the snow. Rob runs off along with Kate, first to Ireland then Canada. Cathy must carry on during wartime with little means to support the small household. Rob returns home but will be heading for France to fight in the war. Her grandfather's health eventually fails and Cathy must decide what to do with her young life."
David Fletcher, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of A Spell of Winter |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- depressed
Time/era of story
- 1900-1920's
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Kids growing up/acting up?
Yes
Family, struggle with
Yes
Struggle with:
- Father (or standin)
Kind of sex:
- incest
- abortion
Age group of kid(s) in story:
- high school
Something wrong upstairs/downstairs?
- mental illness
Parents/lack of parents problem?
- Momma gone
Loving/sexing?
- bun/oven
Taboo sex story?
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- unemployed
Age:
- a teen
Eccentric/Mental
Yes
Eccentric:
- mentally ill
- emotionally unstable
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- society
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 6 ()
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
- France
Forest?
Yes
Farm/Ranch?
Yes
Farm/Ranch:
- farm
- lot of descript of animal care
Misc setting
- moving train
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- explicit references to deaths
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- impregnation/reproduction
Unusual Style:
- a lot of flashback and forwards
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Helen Dunmore Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 David Fletcher
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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