A review by grubstlodger
The Beginning of Spring, by Penelope Fitzgerald

4.0

Recently, I went to the Russian Revolution exhibition at the British Library. One of the most interesting parts was how the Russian state tried to lurch into the twentieth century but was held back by it’s size and lack of will. This novel is set in Moscow as that old order is about to be violently wrenched apart and is about an expat English family which is (officially) torn in two.

Nellie, who we meet in flashback as an intelligent and sharp woman, leaves Moscow with the children but ships them back to Moscow before going back to England alone. Her husband, a small printshop owner and respected member of Moscow’s business community, wonders why she left but seems fatalistically resigned to it. He hires a quiet, self contained woman to look after the children and tries to keep his life going - even if that means coping with gun-toting students, drunk bear cubs and visits from the Okhrana.

Like the other Fitzgerald books I have read, this is more a question of characters, mood and place then story - but we do actually get answers in this book. We find out why Nellie left, we find out why the Russian empire wants to kick him out. As such, it’s one of her more complete narratives.

It is also a wonderful evocation of Russia from a privileged position at an interesting time. I love Uncle Charlie, in his gauche home-counties-ness and how he loved Russia for it’s servants and opulence. I liked the children, following Fitzgerald’s run of sharp, world-weary kids. Again, a very enjoyable work.