Undertow is the fifth novel from A. Hamilton Gibbs which follows Sounding (1925), Labels (1926), Harness (1928) and Chances (1930). A review at the time says 'His wide appeal has been due to qualities too seldom found in present day fiction - sincerity, idealism, and a poet's sense of the potential beauty that lies just beneath the surface of every day life.'
Undertow, written in 1932, tells of one Englishman's journey towards life and true romance before his youth slips away untasted.
Phillip Jocelyn, undermaster of Arts at an Uxminster University is well known to many but single, with entrenched habits such as billiards on Saturday and browsing the local bookstore. One day he asks the owner if he could display some of his sketches for sale in the window, and a few sell. When he meets the owner's daughter Millicent, he is shy but smitten. On her part, the plans to marry quickly go into motion. They agree he should take time off before the wedding for her to prepare the event. Reluctantly, he heads off to Normandy to sketch.
In Vence, he finds an old antique shop with a room to rent. Situated in the beautiful countryside, he paints and finds it easy to forget about university life. Slowly, he befriends the owner Jeanne and falls in love with her relaxed, open ways - he finds there is another way to live and love than the scheduled engagement he was in.
It's a simple story, filled with seeking and emotion - consuming passion over scheduled partnerships - as Phillip discovers what makes him happy, and how he can maintain his new found, free life in France. It's quite the 'woman's novel', interestingly told with a male lead instead. It would make quite a nice film starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Phillip, Carey Mulligan as Millicent and Juliette Binoche as Jeanne, a small film highlighting the beautiful scenery directed by Kenneth Branagh.
This is the kind of story I find reading James Hilton or W. Somerset Maugham. I'd say this is more simply written, but enjoyable - with a long-lasting echo.
1932 / Hardcover / 297 pages
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