Hatter's Castle [Paperback]

A.J. Cronin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2007

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Cronin Press (March 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1406766739
• ISBN-13: 978-1406766738
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,826,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my all-time favourites!, July 16, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Vernon, B.C. Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hatters Castle (Hardcover)

I STRONGLY disagree with the comment of the above person who gave this book only 2 stars. Hatter's Castle is an absolutely beautiful book - it was A.J. Cronin's first novel, and I feel it is one of his best. The characters are very strong and the plot is riveting, moving and gives many insights into the many facets of human nature. I can't say enough about this novel - I read it when I was in my early twenties and it was the first serious book I had ever read. It was the catalyst that started me on the road to becoming a lifelong, avid reader. All of A.J. Cronin's novels are excellent - they can be hard to find, but well worth the search!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's so sad it will make you laugh, August 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hatters Castle (Hardcover)

I have read all of A J Cronin's books, this one stuck in my mind because it was just so depressing. A lecture on the sin of pride, it is about a businessman (a hatter) who commits the cardinal sin of trying to better himself and be "in" with some very stern Scottish upper class people. He is of course a total tyrant to his family (mad old mother, downtrodden wife, two gormless daughters, and a feckless son). But of course things cannot go well for such a proud man, who will not accept rude customers, long opening hours, etc in his shop, or allow his daughters to receive visits from boys he thinks are not good enough for him. Therein lies his downfall!

Trains containing pregnant women's husbands drop off bridges in the middle of the night, businesses go bust, people go into debt, the man becomes a drunkard,etc etc. Every time you think that things cannot get worse for this unfortunate family something even more dreadful seems to happen.

As usual the characters are extremely one dimensional, but don't let this stop you reading the book if you have a nice cosy chair to curl up in, a warm fire, a box of chocolates and it's raining outside.

Cronin learns to get his melodramatic, pedagogic tendencies under control in his later works but frankly, I enjoyed this book simply because of these attributes. Talk about ramming a point home! It's a case of someone letting their imagination run wild, but at least it keeps the attention. Go on, give it a try. You'll be amazed at the destinies he thinks up for all of his unlovely characters.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Literary Masterpiece?, October 20, 2001

By 

Kim Pilcher (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hatters Castle (Hardcover)

How anyone could not appreciate this (in my opinion) literary masterpiece is beyond me. This book is filled with description, but far beyond that the strength of characters that A J Cronin depicts along with the pervadingly dark message to me makes compulsive reading. This was the first of Cronin's novels that I have read and most definately will not be the last.