Monica Dickens - Fancy

Review by Maggie Perkovic on show 22nd July 2010
Linda very kindly let me do a 'Retro' book review this week and as a book by Monica Dickens called 'The Fancy' fell off a shelf one day I re-read it and found again what a good read it was.
She was the great grandaughter of charles Dickens and the same talent shows in all her books. The fancy was written in 1943 at the tail end of the was (yes, its the war again!) and tells the story of a munitions factory in London which I believe te author herself had a job though of course this is supposed to be fictional.
The main character is Edward Ledward, charge hand in the factory which means he supervises a bench load of women from all works of life with the ensuing problems that ensue.
Sheila has just left home and lives in a cousins flat up west where she is trying to break free from her posh parents and their stultefying life, she also embarks on her first love affair.
Diana is married and happy and carefree, she enchants everyone with no effort and seems to get enjoyment out of the world despite the shortages of food and so on at this time.
Paddy's husband is serving abroad and she admits they get on better that way. When he wins a medal and is coming home, she feels a hypocrite when the girls congratulate her when she dreads his return.
Madeline is the oldest lady, a widow with a son serving at the front, she lives in dread of hearing bad nes.
Kitty is a bouncing young lady engaged to be married and much cosseted by her doting mother.
Reenie is the 'thickie' of the group, she works on valves as they are less complicated!
Freda is the tough cookie who lives for her union meetings and has sympathy with the Russians 'up the workers' type.
Wendy the shyest of them all, workds hard but due to an overbearing father and down trodden mother is too nervous to take part in life very much.
The story features Edward and his consuming hobby, rabbits being bred for showing, and also for meat, rabbit being a great meal in the 40's hence the title 'Fancy', his life at the factory and home with his uncaring wife and awful in laws, his forming of the Fanciers club, with other like minded people and all the time the war is the back ground to what is happening.
I love the way she describes the people. For instance Edward was spare and sandy with the bony burning look that makes people rap their chests and say 'TB poor chap' but it was nothing like that. He simply happened to have deeply sunk eyes and jutting cheekbones and he never had enough fresh air.
Sheila was a pretty blonde with a retrousse nose and a dimple in her chin. Freda was very plain, masculine girl who prided herself on her strength. Kitty was a bonny girl who absolutely exudes energy and health.
Edward names his rabbits after his girls on the bench which is very amusing.
Older listeners will be familiar with Monica Dickens' writing as she said "I joined the jobs with no intention of writing about them but somehow the stories just evolved hence The Fancy, about the factory, One Pair of Hands, a domestic, One Pair of Feet, a nurse, and My Turn to Make the Tea, a junior reporter.
She wrote many others and her descriptions and story lines are all memorable and most enjoyable.
She was a worthy grandaughter to her famous ancestor Charles Dickens.
Review by Mags