In my copy of And Now, Good-Bye by James Hilton, is written on the flyleaf in fine handwriting the name 'Gordon Sills, Bashaw' - dated at the bottom 10. 6. 44. How many others have held this book over the years? Or has it been sitting in his library, perhaps we are the only two who have read this copy?
Hilton writes somewhat sentimental novels of England. His classics include Lost Horizon (1933) which introduced the world to the name 'Shangri-La', and Goodbye Mr. Chips (1934), as well as the oscar-winning screenplay for Mrs. Miniver in 1942. My favourite of his, as well as the film version, is Random Harvest (1941).
And Now Good-Bye has the same tone as Harvest, and is about a gentle middle-aged minister named Reverend Howat Freemantle, his small village of Browdley, Lancashire in northern England and a life-changing event. It begins with a prologue detailing a violent train crash on a Saturday morning and his heroic efforts to save as many passengers as he can, returning to hospital, and then his family, a hero. For a while he is showered with praise and gifts.
The story starts four days earlier on the Monday with social rounds of his followers in the village, hearing their complaints, dealing with groups and the general life of a minister. Married with two grown children, he is content, if a little bored. Over the course of the week some interesting events involve him, such as the daughter of a local couple running away, a girl he was tutoring in German. The town gets wrapped up in gossip, and as he is travelling to London on Friday he decides to contact her and persuade her to return. His business in London is about a new church furnace and also to see a doctor about a nagging problem. A simple, entertaining story that slowly gains momentum, as we know there will be the heroic event at the end of these four days.
Friday brings good news about the furnace and his health, and he feels restored. He plans to take in a classic music concert after meeting young Elizabeth Garland. They meet in Charing Cross station and he is taken aback by her forthrightness and charm. She is leaving for Vienna in the morning and he sees he cannot change her mind. They agree to spend the evening together at dinner and the concert before going their separate ways, but it is not to be. The freedom of the night intoxicates Freemantle and they both let down their guard - he learns what his entire existence had missed, and he wasn't afraid. They decide to leave for Vienna together and begin their lives again together.
Hilton has created memorable characters and added a gaining pace that builds to an emotional finale.
I really enjoy his books for their simplicity and that extra twist of the heart that, even though you might see it coming, makes you enjoy the novel the whole way through.
If it was a film at the time, Ronald Colman would be great in it (as he was in Random Harvest), if it was cast now I picture Matthew Goode, and perhaps Naomi Watts as Elizabeth.
And Now Good-Bye was very satisfying. It showed the emotional inner life of a man whose parishioners and family see as strong ~ or more to the point, perhaps don't really see at all.
Tender and thoughtful, rising to an unexpected finale.
1931 / Hardcover / 278 pages
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