Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023)'s Reviews > Three Houses

Didn't love the "Three Houses" method of organization, it was clunky and off-putting. Thirkell writes like a dream when she gets on a roll, however, and I'm a fan of Burne-Jones, so all is forgiven. Enjoyed getting an inside view of Angela's grandfather's home - the Morris tapestries and chintzes, the murals - love it. The Pre-Raphaelites' foray into furniture design gets this review from the grandchildren - "They had been designed by my grandfather for the seats of knights at the Round Table in the tapestry which William Morris made...the chairs had actually been translated into wood by a skilful carpentering friend..some had round backs and some had square and there was little to choose from between them for sheer discomfort. The seats were very high off the ground with no depth from back to front, so that any knight who used them would have sat like a child with his feet dangling in the air, if indeed he managed to keep himself balanced on the exiguous seat at all. The arms of the chairs were too close together to allow anyone to use a fork and knife with any freedom and too high to get one's arms clear of them, and altogether a more unsuitable set of dining room chairs for a royal dining-room can hardly be imagined. If that is how Arthur's court was furnished it is quite enough to explain the eagerness of the knights to leave their seats and follow the quest of the Holy Grail..." Apparently there wasn't one piece of comfortable furniture in the house. Hilarious.

The very last section of the chapter "North End House" was my favorite. Thirkell is at the peak of her descriptive artistry as she describes a summer's day out, the "perambulators and nurses and children swept down the village street in a solid phalanx" on their way to the beach, with all the neighbors and stories that happen en route. Great writing.