You probably know T. H. White for his collection of Arthurian stories, The Once and Future King. His book Mistress Masham’s Repose is less well-known, but it’s worth your while. I think I’ve read it three or four times!
The book follows the well-worn literary trope of the mistreated orphan. Even though there are a ridiculous number of orphans in British literature, many of the books and book series that fall into that category are quite good: think Jane Eyre, the Harry Potter series, and A Little Princess. I would add this book to that list.
Our orphan is Maria, a child of a once wealthy and powerful family. She lives in the ruins of her ancestral estate with her governess, Miss Brown, whom White describes as “cruel in a complicated way.”
For instance, when Maria’s last uncle had been alive, he had sometimes remembered to send the child a box of chocolates for Christmas. Miss Brown’s arrangements for any such parcel had usually been fixed in stages. First, Maria had not been allowed to open it when it came, “in case it had germs.” It had been sent down to the kitchen to be baked. Then Maria had been sent for, to the Northwest Drawing Room, in which Miss Brown resided, and the ruined parcel had been placed before her to be undone. The next step had been to claim that Maria had dirty hands, untruly, and to send her back to the kitchen, a ten minutes’ walk, to wash them. When she had got back at last, agog with expectation, and the poor melted chocolates had been unstuck from the brown paper, Miss Brown used to condemn them as improperly packed and throw them into the nearest lake with her own fair fingers “for fear they would make the child sick.”
On a day when Miss Brown is indisposed, Maria, playing pirate, wades ashore on Mistress Masham’s Repose, an island on her estate. There she makes a discovery: the island is inhabited by Lilliputians who were abducted and brought to England. When they escaped their captors, they managed to hide on the island until Maria found them.
Maria and the Lilliputians develop a complicated relationship. She loves them, but she is immature and has trouble relating to them as equals. White masterfully writes about the humanity of the Lilliputians without getting preachy or talking down to his audience. He also includes a great deal of humor, so things never get too heavy. This is the kind of book you might be tempted to read all Saturday afternoon, instead of taking care of those weekend chores you planned to knock off your list.
I almost hesitate to confess this, but in the interest of being honest with my readers, I will: I have never read The Once and Future King. That’s not because I’m not interested. I like Arthurian stories, and I love White’s writing; I just haven’t gotten to it yet. So I cannot compare Mistress Masham’s Repose to the author’s more famous work. I can assure you that it’s an excellent book. If you have children, get a copy and read it to them. If not… don’t let that stop you from treating yourself!