I’m very pleased that when I went to look for a book to read for Mary Hocking Reading Week I found ‘The Meeting Place’, her final novel, published in 1996. As I read I found much to love, much to admire, and a storyteller who had much to say.
The story opens as Clarice Mitchell, a sixty-nine year-old, retired head-teacher, was driving across country. to an isolated farmhouse where she was to rehearse a production of Pericles. She was thinking of the past, because, by chance, she was visiting the family home of her former head-mistress; the woman who had inspired her and made her want to become a teacher too.
Near her journey’s end, as the light faded, she was startled to see a woman in old -fashioned dress standing in open country, where there could surely be no reason for any woman to be.
“It was as if some unseen hand had thrown down an old painting in front of her; a woman standing in a rocky pool formed by a spring.”
But the woman disappears as suddenly as she appeared.
The next day, as two theatre companies rehearse in adjacent barns, Clarice sees another strange woman, in 15th century garb, pass through her rehearsal space. Others suggest that she was a member of the other theatre company, in her costume for their production of the crucible, but though Clarice nods in agreement she knows in her heart that she isn’t. And when she is troubled by dizzy spells she wonders if maybe the job she has taken on is too much for her.
She thinks more and more of the past, of difficulties she faced as a head teacher, of how they affected her relationships with the men in her life, and of how, maybe, she had been restricted because she was a woman.
She wonders about the women she saw, and their stories unfold alongside hers. One is set in the fifteen century, the other is set in the early years of the twentieth century, and though all three stories are distinctive they have similar themes, and they sit well together.
I wouldn’t call this a ghost story or a time-slip story though. It’s more subtle than that, and it’s a much more grown-up story than those descriptions suggest. I’d call it a story set in a place where there is much that is unchanged and timeless, and where the sensitive may perceive echoes of the past.
The smoothness and naturalness of Mary Hocking’s writing made it very easy to keep turning the pages. I’ve seen her compared with Elizabeth Taylor, and I can agree with that comparison, though I would say that Mary Hocking had a little more grit.
I saw a wonderful depth of understanding in all of the sides of the story, and an instinctive grasp of character. Clarice’s character was particularly well done. She was capable, she was intelligent, she was compassionate, and I really don’t think I have read a better portrayal of a woman of her age and generation.
My mother was a teacher of that same generation; she loved teaching and I can imagine them talking over the things that Clarice was remembering, because they were so very, very real.
The only slight weakness of this book, for me, was that the story was told at a certain distance. Mary Hocking presents her characters rather than engaging with them, and gives her writing a degree of coolness. I like a little more warmth, but she does so any things so very well that I will always pick up any of her books that I find.
The end of the story brought everything together, in a way that was sad but inevitable. I realised that it had been foreshadowed, but that I had been caught up with the story and the characters and those signs passed me by.
‘The Meeting Place’ is a wonderfully accomplished, intelligent novel; and I am sorry that it is out of print and that its author isn’t more widely recognised.
Fleur in her World 
This is one of the two of Mary Hockings I’ve read and both I really liked it and think it is a great pity her books are so hard to find. Glad you enjoyed it.
It is a pity, particularly this one which could be contemporary – the ‘present day’ story hasn’t dated at all.
Lovely review. I really like this book too it’s very thought-provoking and intelligent. I think Mary Hocking does stand coolly back from her characters sometimes.
Thank you. I agree – this is what I would call a ‘proper, grown-up novel’.
This sounds intriguing and very different from the Mary Hocking book I read, Good Daughters. I like the cover, too. I will be on the lookout!
It does seem to be different to the other books I’ve been reading about this week. I’d say that reflects a genuine interest in the world and the way it must have changed in her lifetime, as well as her skill as a writer.
I think the coolness is an abiding aspect of Hocking’s work, however we accept it in Taylor, Pym, etc. so it’s fine for her as far as I’m concerned, and I get the feeling you think so, too. What an interesting sounding book!
I call happily real authors who write with coolness, but I set the bar a little higher for them that I do for those who write with more warmth. Taylor and Pym are well clear of that bar and this book suggests that Hocking will be too.
This sounds really interesting. I hadn’t heard of Mary Hocking before.
It is. Mary Hocking does seem to have fallen out of the radar, but I’m glad she’s beginning to get a little more attention now.
I have really been enjoying reading the different posts on Mary Hocking, due to the reading week. I particularly like the sound of this book.
She does seem to be an interesting author with a diverse list of books. This one was very readable, it’s hardly dated at all, and I can certainly recommend it.
Fleur, again you introduce me to an author new to me………….investigations afoot! Thank you
Excellent – she is very obscure but if you follow the link to Ali she knows as much, and has read as much, as anybody.
Another author for me to explore – a lovely review that gives a real insight into the book and the writer.
Thank you – I’ve only read two books so far, but they were very different and very good, and I’m reading good reports about a few more.
This one does sound intriguing – I’ll look for a copy after I’ve finished the Fairley trilogy, but in the few weeks since I bought my books her work seems to be getting more expensive and more difficult to find. A side effect of increased interest in her work I suppose.
The increased interest is wonderful, but it makes it all the more sad that her books fell out of print so quickly. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for some reissues!
I would rather buy cheap second hand copies of Hocking’s work online.
Even if one of her books is re printed it will have a knock on effect for her other 23 novels.Then the prices will rocket up as they have been doing in the last 6 weeks.
That’s true, and I’d hope that one of the publishers who will publish a swathe of her books picks her up rather than a publisher who will add just the one to her list.
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I’d love to read this. Maybe I would miss the warmth as well but it doesn sound so intriguing. Lovely review.
It is an intriguing story and very well told. A little more warmth would have made it a book for me to cherish; as it stands it is a book that I appreciate and admire.