The fierce dispute [Hardcover]

Helen Hooven Santmyer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1929

Returning to the setting of ". . . And Ladies of the Club," The Fierce Dispute is the deeply moving tale of three women born of different times, an uplifting drama redolent with fragrant and lingering memories. "Lyrical, highly descriptive . . ."--Nashville Tennessean. HC: St. Martin's.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The success of ". . . And Ladies of the Club" has prompted reissue of the author's earlier works. This novel, her second, was originally published in 1929and the years have not been kind. Dated in form and content, it is what was once called a "woman's book," but a contemporary audience will find its simple sentimentality tame. In the Ohio town familiar to readers of Santmyer's other works, a genteel matriarchy lives in a once magnificent, now dilapidated family manse behind a locked iron gate. The trio, consisting of the disapproving grandmother, Mrs. Baird, her shamed daughter Hilary and granddaughter Lucy Anne, live cut off from the rest of the community. The tension between mother and daughter for the child's spirit and affection propels the plot, which hinges on the mystery surrounding the child's father, a musician, and the rosewood piano in the attic. For all its gothic posing, dark glances and histrionic dialogue, this is a colorless novel in which the few psychological insights are not sufficient to invest the narrative with vitality or credibility.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 254 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company; Rare First edition (1929)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00088G0EO
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars What is this fierce dispute?, March 15, 2010

By 

Craig Rowland (Mississauga) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: FIERCE DISPUTE (Paperback)

The Fierce Dispute was Helen Hooven Santmyer's second novel, originally written in 1929. Following the success of "...And Ladies of the Club" it was reprinted in 1987. It was the only one of her four novels to take place in Xenia, Ohio by name. Her other novels take place in fictional Ohio towns modelled after Xenia. The Fierce Dispute tells the story of three generations of women who live a secluded life in a large house where nothing is ever cleaned and the grounds are overgrown. The grandmother, Margaret, looks after her granddaughter, Lucy Anne, and treats her like a daughter, even though Lucy Anne's own mother, Hilary, lives in the same house. Margaret grew to resent Hilary after she married Paolo, an Italian musician. She took Lucy Anne into her care in order to distance her from learning anything about her father after her parents split up.

In spite of the dramatic title, there is no "fierce dispute" in the novel. I was expecting something to develop to explain why the novel was entitled as such. There is not even any tension between mother and grandmother over the care of Lucy Anne; the girl's own mother seems to let the grandmother have her way with making decisions for her. The book got off to an interesting start as the description of the house and its inhabitants reminded me of the Maysles' "Grey Gardens", yet this interest did not last. Aside from a visit to an amusement park, where young Lucy Anne perceives merry-go-rounds and cotton candy for the first time, the storyline is boring. When Margaret dies, Santmyer spends five pages laying down the intricate details of her last will as it is read to her heirs. This is wholly unnecessary and ruins the end of the novel. As with Herbs and Apples, Santmyer's first novel from 1925, one can read the start of a great novelist who would take a half century to develop before producing her masterpiece "...And Ladies of the Club".

In order, my favourite Santmyer books were "...And Ladies of the Club", Ohio Town, Farewell, Summer, The Fierce Dispute and Herbs and Apples.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the author's best work., May 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: FIERCE DISPUTE (Paperback)

Helen Hooven Santmyer is one of my favorite authors. Although, "The Fierce Dispute" is not one of my favorites. The characters are beautifully written and are easy to visualize. However, the end of the book left me dissatisfied and wanting more. The plot is good, but it is just not as endearing as some of the author's other novels.