The Little Stranger

My partner read it to prep for the movie, and then she had me read it to prep for the movie. I got the Ginger tie-in paperback, of course.

And this is lovely gothic horror, but with far better characters. Dr Faraday is fairly standard and actually quite a kind doctor. But, given the time period, he's pretty damnably sexist, just like everyone else. One day, he's called up to Hundreds Hall to see to the Ayres family's only servant, a young maid who seems to be ailing.

And he ends up sticking around. And–though he's dense, and it takes him a while to get it–sort of falling for the daughter of the house, Caroline–intelligent, strong, “plain,” as they say, and to whom he would not normally be attracted. (Whatever, she's awesome.) He begins almost a friendship of sorts with the family, and then all hell breaks loose.

Strange things begin to happen; beginning with the weakest members of the house, each event is specifically tailored to each person, it seems. Faraday, the skeptic, tries to reason everything away, but he's not always successful.

Nor, despite the fact that nothing started until he came to the house, is he always there for the strange occurrences.

Faraday is close to the family, he's obsessed with the house, woos Caroline, and then everything falls apart.

Once could assume that Betty is the center of poltergeist activities. One could assume that the house is evil. One could assume that Faraday is the center of the strange events, whether by design or by accident. The finale seems to convince some readers of his guilt, of his psychotic capabilities. But there are hints, like in any good horror/gothic novel, that indicate supernatural elements are indeed afoot here. The book deals with sexism and classicism very blatantly, and everything is told from Faraday's unreliable perspective, certainly. But I don't necessarily think he's complicit in everything that happens in the house, and I certainly don't think he's had a psychotic episode. The house itself is so important, and his obsession so great, that it seems the house itself plays a vital role in each thing that happens from the moment he first steps through the doors as an adult.

This is a slow burn. It reminded me in style of Forster a bit, sort of a Merchant/Ivory thing. Which is good, because I was always a sucker for their period dramas. It's beautifully written, well told, ambiguous, and subtly chilling. I'm not quite certain how they've made it into a movie, but I am excited to see it.