Falling into Glory [Hardcover]

Robert Westall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1995

Seventeen year old Robbie has the world in his pocket, admired for both his athletic ability and his intellect. Then a beautiful teacher, a woman twice his age, begins to notice him for more than his mind, and Robbie follows a path that leads him to glimpse the difference between glory and honor.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in classic Westall country-the north of England, shortly after WWII-this atmospheric novel tackles fairly sophisticated subject matter: a 17-year-old's affair with a woman nearly twice his age. Swarthy, muscular Robbie Atkinson has become one of the school's most respected boys. Over the course of a few months, he attracts the interest of a teacher, beautiful Emma Harris, whose fiance was killed in the war. Though it starts out innocently enough, Robbie and Emma's friendship develops-in fits and starts-into a full-fledged love affair. Their efforts at concealment (along with their tender, sexually charged interludes) give the narrative plenty of zip. Further jolts to the adrenals are provided by Robbie's Machiavellian efforts to ensure a long-sought victory for the school rugby team, of which he is the unofficial leader. Peppered with colorful dialect, the first-person narrative authoritatively sweeps the reader along. An underlying theme-Robbie's identification with Heathcliff, that other dark and calculating northerner-rises masterfully to the surface in the novel's bittersweet conclusion. Ages 14-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 9^-12. Robbie, 17, is a ruggedly handsome bloke, an exceptional student, an excellent athlete, a prefect, in love with and loved by the beautiful young English teacher Emma Harris. Although full of Britishisms and saturated in 1950s English ambience, the novel transcends place to address universal adolescent issues: friends, future, family, and the inevitable first love. That this love happens to be a beautiful and popular teacher, a reciprocated love fraught with the danger of discovery, only adds to the book's intrigue. The couple's furtive, passionate love is juxtaposed with the chaos and brutality of both the game of rugby and the English school culture itself. Indeed, if there is a criticism, it is the stereotypical nature of the school scene--the self-absorbed academics, the hazing of the weak, the uncompromising, mean-spirited discipline. However, both Robbie and Emma are multidimensional characters whose love seems ill-fated, yet destined. Robbie struggles with a series of ethical dilemmas and is well aware of the difference between his normal relationship with schoolmate Joyce, a decoy he has carefully crafted, and the dark, surreptitious nature of his and Emma's passion. Emma, however, is no Mrs. Robinson. Her fiance{‚}having been killed in the war, she is full of longing and loneliness, trapped in a small town and career that offer few diversions. Westall doesn't allow this to fall into tragedy--sadness, perhaps, but not tragedy. Although some may complain that the ending is too pat, too tightly complete, it seems an appropriate, sort of 1950s, denouement that is somehow fitting for a posthumous release. Frances Bradburn

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 310 pages
• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux (J) (May 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374322562
• ISBN-13: 978-0374322564
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,908,012 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fall Into Glory As You Read This Novel!, August 15, 2000

By 

Miss Russell (NSW, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Falling into Glory (Hardcover)

'Falling Into Glory' is a poignant and sensitive love story. When the book was recommended to me, I was told it was the story of a teacher and student's forbidden love. I thought it would be about a depraved, lecherous old woman trying to seduce a young innocent, or a sleazy young boy trying to taste forbidden fruit. It was neither. The book is the sensitive and tender love story of a boy, nearing manhood. He is strong, intelligent, courageous and a loner, until he falls in love with his sweet teacher. Emma Harris realises that she could lose her job because of the relationship developing between herself and her pupil. However, she seems powerless to resist the lure of love. If you are beginning to feel cynical about love, then I highly recommend you read 'Falling Into Glory'.