Philippa

I’m always so impressed by Mrs. Molesworth. Not so much by her fantasy-tinged stuff for younger readers — the same grounded-ness that makes her other books so good drags her down there. But her more realistic books — mostly the ones for older girls — are so smart in such a light-handed, careful way, and even when I think I’m expecting it, I’m always a little surprised. They’re didactic — they’re very straightforwardly about learning to exist as a woman in the world — but not in the pejorative sense. They feel like very kind and human instruction manuals. And I have a lot of affection for instruction manuals.

Philippa Raynsworth, Molesworth’s protagonist in Philippa, is a clear-headed, strong-willed girl in the nicest way possible. Her older sister Evelyn Headfort is lovely and charming, but a little nervous and easily led. So when Evelyn is invited to visit her husband’s relatives for the first time, and the Raynsworths can’t afford to send a maid with her, Philippa disguises herself and accompanies Evelyn to Wyverston, the Headfort estate.

This is a colossally reckless thing to do. One of the things I love about Mrs. Molesworth is that when her heroines have adventures, everyone around them is always like, “Excuse me, you did what?” Evelyn is easily bullied into letting Philippa come along, and Philippa really is helpful to her, but their parents are pretty upset, and Philippa herself soon realizes that this masquerade could have serious consequences.

Enter the Gresham cousins. Bernard is a wealthy, attractive young man who Philippa met at a cousin’s house, and who happens to be staying at Wyverston at the same time as Evelyn. Uglier, poorer dog-owner Michael travels to Wyverston in the same second-class train compartment as Philippa, and soon sees that there is a mystery about Mrs. Headfort’s maid. Either cousin could expose Philippa and destroy Evelyn and her husband’s relationship with the Wyverston Headforts — and permanently damage Philippa’s reputation. And if things weren’t complicated enough, Evelyn strongly suspects that Bernard Gresham was attracted to Philippa when he met her before.

But this is all very dramatic, and that’s not where Mrs. Molesworth lives. The masquerade is soon over, but Philippa still has to deal with the consequences, which include her shaken self-confidence, the strain of keeping a big secret, and the strong possibility that she’s going to have to meet some of the Wyverston guests again. Philippa is a girl who does the right thing, but sometimes it’s hard to figure out what that is, and even when her path is clear it’s not always a fun one to follow. Her experiences force her to grow up in a way that she might never have to if she wasn’t so sensitive and scrupulous.

I just…really think Mrs. Molesworth is great. She’s so restrained. There’s so much she doesn’t fully explain, and it’s all because she doesn’t really have to. I love an author who can leave things unsaid but understood. I’m mostly thinking of the romance plot here, and I probably shouldn’t be so wary of talking about it. It’s pretty clear who Philippa is going to end up with. But the way it plays out is satisfyingly slow, and so understated that the final part doesn’t even happen on-page. I don’t want to interfere with that slow unfolding, because I really do recommend Philippa. It’s not the best book ever, but I can’t think of a single thing that’s actively wrong with it.

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