A Helping Hand: Celia Dale

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I found Sheep's Clothing a far better and more subtle novel and depiction of quiet crime but this novel delivers the groundwork.

With Maisie’s background in nursing, the couple like to offer ‘a helping hand’ here and there, acting as caretakers to people in need, especially those with no relatives or other support.During their break, Maisie and Josh attach themselves to another pair of British holidaymakers – the elderly widow Cynthia Fingal and her rather selfish niece, Lena. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.

Hmm, I think comparing anything to Shirley Jackson sets a certain precedent, and whilst this was definitely similar in ways it didn’t quite deliver on the delicious sinister energy I was hoping for (though it was sinister but not quite with the same vibes! While the usual elements of a standard crime story will not be found in this novel, what happens here certainly falls within the realm of the genre, and given that this book was written in the 1960s, it remains extremely pertinent in our contemporary world which makes what happens even more frightening. Even after finishing the book, you find yourself smiling, but also feeling uneasy with what you just read. Post navigation ← The Mookse and the Gripes Podcast – Episode 37: Hotel Novels Simple Passion by Annie Ernaux (tr. Originally published in the 1960s "A Helping Hand" was recently reprinted by the publisher and I can see why, as this novel reads like it could have been written yesterday.Josh and Mai are having a holiday to get over the recent death of Auntie Flo who lived with them, and who left them everything in her will. I was delighted to see it popping up in your weekend miscellany the other day as it’s such a great book. After all, with Maisie’s training in nursing, the Evanses are perfectly placed to accommodate Mrs F in their spare room – the one previously occupied by ‘Auntie’ Flo. The comparison to Shirley Jackson and Roald Dahl is spot on: a creepy suburban horror story, not about ghosts or anything supernatural, but about some cruel yet ordinary humans. Nasty, twisted slice of suburban horror; the horrors lurking beneath a veneer of average suburban living, the evils and subterfuge of marriage, the sickening creepiness of middle-aged men.

It all starts well, in high summer, but as the winter draws on the widow loses all agency and ends up being kept in bed all day, unable to do anything for herself. What Dale does so well here is to subtly reveal to the reader the true malice behind the Evanses’ actions. I really enjoyed the story that is on its face rather benign, following a middle aged English couple and their elderly house guest, but what at first seems ordinary turns quietly horrific as Celia Dale unmasks what is really going on in this quiet suburban home. It’s a little like a form of sleep paralysis when your mind starts to wake from a dream but you can’t move your body because it’s still in sleep mode.It’s an icily compelling tale of greed and deception, stealthily executed amidst carefully orchestrated conversations and endless cups of tea. She presents a suburban setting, seemingly ordinary and mundane, but the tension builds, the sense of unease is soon apparent, but it’s all done with subtlety. Shirley Jackson’s The Road Through the Wall is a great example of this, as is Patricia Highsmith’s Deep Water.