Thrumpton Hall (book)
Encyclopedia
Thrumpton Hall: A Memoir of Life in My Father’s House is a work published in 2007 by Miranda Seymour
.
The book describes, from the perspective of his alienated daughter, the life and times of the little-known George FitzRoy Seymour (1923–1994), proprietor of a declining English country estate (Thrumpton Hall
) in Nottinghamshire, and a self-absorbed husband and father with aristocratic pretensions (he is distantly related to one of the many illegitimate offspring of Charles II
). The book is primarily a memoir, judiciously narrated, yet with an undertone of daughterly displeasure that threatens, as the author knows, to overwhelm any hoped-for objectivity. It also uncovers biographical details that the author learns of only through having read her father’s diaries and having researched her family’s history by means of letters and other archival sources. In England, the book was published as In My Father’s House and subtitled Elegy for an Obsessive Love, a reference to George Seymour’s lifelong preoccupation with the grand house (originating in the sixteenth century) that he managed to inherit through his own designs, despite not being the son of the previous owner, Charles Byron (a descendant of Lord Byron and an uncle-by-marriage to George). The book, however, is anything but an elegy, and a sustained examination of George’s obsession with the house is but one part of the author’s concern.
The other part of Seymour's method involves the interrogation of the hated father and the detailing of his deleterious decisions and actions, as viewed more than a decade after his death. His character, that of a “priggish,” snobbish adolescent embarrassed by his parents, and a gently domineering father/husband too obviously desperate for a social status that he cannot achieve, is painted in exuberant English prose. Among George's quirks are a lifelong lack of friends, a serious devotion to letter-writing, an intense focus on the social graces and personal hygiene, an inability to appreciate the needs of other family members, and a tendency to aggrandize his own station in life. The chief quirk of Master George, however, is his abandonment, late in life, of most of his family duties, not to mention all upper-class appearances, as he takes to dressing up in leathers and touring country roads (often at night) on a motorcycle. In the process, he befriends, or rather falls in love with, an illiterate “lad” or two, principally a person named Robbie, whom George calls Tigger
after the Winnie-the-Pooh
character (to his own Christopher Robin
). No one else is amused, particularly when Robbie begins to displace others who are slated to inherit family property. Although this aspect of the story supplies a certain drama, there is no shortage of human drama and tension, of mortal helplessness and hubris, elsewhere in the book. Throughout, the voice of the author's mother provides a light counterpoint to Miranda Seymour's own observations and opinions.
Seymour was awarded the PEN/Ackerley Prize for her memoir in 2008.
Miranda Seymour
Miranda Jane Seymour is an English literary critic, novelist, and biographer.Miranda Seymour was two years old when her parents moved into Thrumpton Hall, the family's ancestral home in Nottinghamshire. This celebrated Jacobean mansion is on the south bank of the River Trent at the secluded...
.
The book describes, from the perspective of his alienated daughter, the life and times of the little-known George FitzRoy Seymour (1923–1994), proprietor of a declining English country estate (Thrumpton Hall
Thrumpton Hall
Thrumpton Hall is an English country house in the village of Thrumpton near Nottingham.-History:The mansion is on the site of an older house which was occupied by the Roman Catholic Powdrell family who were evicted following the Gunpowder Plot....
) in Nottinghamshire, and a self-absorbed husband and father with aristocratic pretensions (he is distantly related to one of the many illegitimate offspring of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
). The book is primarily a memoir, judiciously narrated, yet with an undertone of daughterly displeasure that threatens, as the author knows, to overwhelm any hoped-for objectivity. It also uncovers biographical details that the author learns of only through having read her father’s diaries and having researched her family’s history by means of letters and other archival sources. In England, the book was published as In My Father’s House and subtitled Elegy for an Obsessive Love, a reference to George Seymour’s lifelong preoccupation with the grand house (originating in the sixteenth century) that he managed to inherit through his own designs, despite not being the son of the previous owner, Charles Byron (a descendant of Lord Byron and an uncle-by-marriage to George). The book, however, is anything but an elegy, and a sustained examination of George’s obsession with the house is but one part of the author’s concern.
The other part of Seymour's method involves the interrogation of the hated father and the detailing of his deleterious decisions and actions, as viewed more than a decade after his death. His character, that of a “priggish,” snobbish adolescent embarrassed by his parents, and a gently domineering father/husband too obviously desperate for a social status that he cannot achieve, is painted in exuberant English prose. Among George's quirks are a lifelong lack of friends, a serious devotion to letter-writing, an intense focus on the social graces and personal hygiene, an inability to appreciate the needs of other family members, and a tendency to aggrandize his own station in life. The chief quirk of Master George, however, is his abandonment, late in life, of most of his family duties, not to mention all upper-class appearances, as he takes to dressing up in leathers and touring country roads (often at night) on a motorcycle. In the process, he befriends, or rather falls in love with, an illiterate “lad” or two, principally a person named Robbie, whom George calls Tigger
Tigger
Tigger is a fictional tiger-like character originally introduced in A. A. Milne's book The House at Pooh Corner. Like other Pooh characters, Tigger is based on one of Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed animals...
after the Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic bear created by A. A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh , and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner...
character (to his own Christopher Robin
Christopher Robin
Christopher Robin is a character created by A. A. Milne, appearing in his popular books of poetry and stories about Winnie-the-Pooh. He has subsequently appeared in Disney cartoons....
). No one else is amused, particularly when Robbie begins to displace others who are slated to inherit family property. Although this aspect of the story supplies a certain drama, there is no shortage of human drama and tension, of mortal helplessness and hubris, elsewhere in the book. Throughout, the voice of the author's mother provides a light counterpoint to Miranda Seymour's own observations and opinions.
Seymour was awarded the PEN/Ackerley Prize for her memoir in 2008.
External links
- Official homepage
- http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/stories/2007/1884759.htm Transcript of interview with Ramona KovalRamona KovalRamona Koval is an Australian broadcaster, writer and journalist.Her parents were Yiddish-speaking survivors of the Holocaust who arrived in Melbourne from Poland in 1950....
, The Book ShowThe Book ShowThe Book Show is an Australian ABC radio program for the discussion of everything relating to the written word. It is broadcast live around Australia on Radio National with a daily weekday morning show which is then replayed nightly and also has a Sunday evening show. The show is hosted by Ramona...
, ABC Radio National 1 April 2007 - 'The Knife by the Handle at Last' Tim ParksTim ParksTim Parks is a British novelist, translator and author.-Life:Tim Parks was born in Manchester in 1954, the son of a clergyman. He grew up in Finchley , London and was educated at Cambridge University and Harvard. He has lived near Verona in Italy since 1981...
review of Thrumpton Hall: A Memoir of Life in My Father's House from The New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of Books is a fortnightly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs. Published in New York City, it takes as its point of departure that the discussion of important books is itself an indispensable literary activity... - http://www.englishpen.org/prizes/ackerleyprize/ PEN/Ackerley Prize citation.