Winter Sonata

by Edwards, Dorothy; Flay, Claire

• ISBN13: 9781906784294
• ISBN10: 1906784299
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-09-01
• Publisher: Honno Press

Summary

Arnold Nettle, a shy young telegraph clerk, arrives in an English village as summer fades, hoping that a season in the country will aid his frail disposition. Repulsed by the behavior of his working-class landlady and her brood, especially the bold and flirtatious Pauline, Nettle becomes enamored with Olivia Neran and her respectable middle-class family. But even this privileged home is not free from difficulty; Olivia is being suffocated by her role as a gentlewoman, while her sister Eleanor is confronted with the gender inequality that dominates her society. First published in 1928, this novel was celebrated especially for its unique device of structuring the work by imitating a musical form.

Author Biography

Dorothy Edwards was born and raised in Ogmore Vale, a small mining community in Mid Glamorgan, where her parents were teachers.  She spent most of her adult life in Rhiwbina, Cardiff, apart from a brief stint living in the attic room of author David Garnett's London flat. Edwards has in the past been more generally known for the tragic circumstances surrounding her suicide in 1934, rather than for the literary value of her work. Dr Claire Flay is an active researcher in the field of twentieth and twenty-first century literature. She has a PhD in English Literature from the University of Glamorgan. In addition to editing this novel, Flay has also written a biography of Dorothy Edwards (University of Wales Press, 2011). Currently based at the University of Glamorgan, where she coordinates the Women in Universities Mentoring Scheme (WUMS), a joint HEFCW and Higher Education Institution funded project that works across Wales.