According to Queeney

According to Queeney
Beryl Bainbridge's historical novel about the aging Samuel Johnson's relationship with the Thrale family could be a dry chronicle. Instead it's a witty depiction of life in eighteenth century England. Henry and Hester Thrale rescued Johnson, the literary giant, from the jaws of the black dog of depression. Did he love Hester? Bainbridge thinks he did. Hester nurses Johnson and pampers and cajoles him for 15 years although she herself lives a wretched existence with Henry, a lecherous philanderer and glutton who impregnates her 12 times (8 of the children die in infancy) and eventually eats himself to death. But, really, it's a very funny novel and skillfully written in the vernacular of the time and seen through the eyes of the Thrales' eldest daughter, Queeney, who grows up through the course of the novel. She views the adults around her with disdain and they do act awfully silly. The stories about Johnson's own home and the denizens who inhabit it are amusing. Their competition for his affection is a funny little sidebar to the novel. His kindness and understanding of the emotions of those unfortunates he adopts and provides for illustrates the depth of his character (he certainly treats his more privileged acquaintances with disrespect). There is a passage that describes what Mrs.Thrale's ailing mother, Mrs. Salusbury, sees as a snub by Dr. Johnson. While out walking with her family she becomes tired and sits on a bucket. Dr. Johnson happens along and, thinking that she is relieving herself, stumbles off awkwardly, trying to avoid causing her embarrassment. She can't fathom why he chooses to ignore her and suspects "that she was of no more interest to him than the stone urns set at frequent intervals along the way". It's a very funny moment. I read this book only because it got good reviews, in fact, Bainbridge was shortlisted for the Booker. I'm not a fan of historical fiction but this book made me laugh while I empathized with the tormented characters it portrays.