Summary

Leadon Hill is an idyllic little village in the English countryside. However, underneath the beauty and charm of the little town, there is an abundance of ugliness and cruelty. Its inhabitants do not like change and they do not like outsiders. 

When a lovely English-Italian woman, Helen West, moves into town, the the majority of the residents have turned against her before she even unpacks her bags. Helen is as drawn to the beauty of the place, as she is confused by those who live there. She longs for realness, for discussions of arts and culture, philosophy and history, and what she finds are discussions about how hard it is to get good help. The more Helen does for the villagers, the deeper their enmity towards her. 

Although she has allies, Helen’s ability to succeed in the community remains in doubt.

My Thoughts

This is the first book I have read for the Classics Club Challenge, and I hope I will enjoy the others as much.

This was my first experience with Richmal Crompton, and I confess I expected sweetness and light. That is not what I found in this particular story. Instead, the author draws back the curtain on the insularity and demands for conformity at the heart of this village. Rather than an uplifting story of neighbors pulling together and supporting one another, this was a depressing story of bullying, xenophobia, classism, and poverty tucked into a lovely setting. While I liked this book, it was very sad and deeply frustrating.

Helen’s religion was honesty and compassion. She believes honesty should come before all else, and that if one is honest and kind, all other problems will melt away. That leaves her entirely vulnerable to those who wield Christianity as a weapon and who worship status above all. 

For a novel written in 1927, it felt modern in spite of its old-fashioned setting and social mores. There is at its core a longing for community. However, that community comes with a demand for conformity. Those on the inside of the community insist that if one wants to belong, one will hate whom we hate, and above all, one will not be different. Although written for adults, I feel it would certainly resonate with teens and pre-teens who are all too familiar with the kinds of bullying, pettiness, and peer pressure found in this story. 

The writing itself was beautiful. The word choice felt intentional, every sentence seemed to be filled with nuance. An intimate knowledge of people, and what makes them tick allowed the author to truly excel in creating vivid portraits of the characters.

I have some thoughts on the book that risk spoilers, so I will add them below the following quote from the story. If you wish to avoid possible spoilers, please stop reading here.

They were ignorant, stupid, evil, but they stood for something that is colossally powerful – for conformity, for convention, for the narrow hypocrisy that ever apes its neighbors. They had behind them the power of countless ages and of countless dim unthinking souls. None so bitter as these worshippers of the normal, none so eager to persecute those who strayed from their fold or had never belonged to it. There was no gainsaying their power.

My Thoughts – Possible Spoilers

There is no healing or redemption in this village, there is only escape. When Helen ultimately leaves the village, the cycle of cruelty among the village continues. Even those who had been Helen’s allies did nothing to stand up for her. I was crushed when Marcia, who had been Helen’s friend, wouldn’t even step in when her husband, John, began parroting the community’s lies. It was a very desolate conclusion.

Content Warnings

• sexual harassment

• misogyny

• bullying

• use of racial slurs for Romani and Indigenous people

About the Author

Richmal Crompton (1890-1969) is a well-beloved British author. Though best known for her Just William book series for children, she also composed over 40 novels for adults. She started her life as a teacher, but a disability she developed during a bout with polio caused her to resign her post and turn to writing.