The Nutmeg Tree charts the fortunes of Julia, a middle aged former actress who retains her gleeful love of life and all it has to offer. Her enthusiasm and warmth has got her into trouble before in her youth, not least when she finds herself swiftly become pregnant, married and widowed in the space of a few months. Stifled by the kindness of her very proper and rather rich in-laws, she leaves her daughter Susan with them to be raised and returns to life and work in London. At the start of the novel, Julia has not seen her daughter for sixteen years until a letter arrives from Susan enlisting her mother’s help in persuading her grandparents to let her get married. Unable to resist this cry for help, the affectionate Julia immediately boards a boat for France, determined this time to be a proper mother. But old habits die hard and Julia’s exuberance will not be repressed, particularly when there are eligible gentlemen around.I could tell that I had picked just the right book as soon as I read the opening paragraph: "Julia, by marriage Mrs Packett, by courtesy Mrs Macdermot, lay in her bath singing the Marseillaise. Her fine robust contralto, however, was less resonant than usual; for on this particular summer morning the bathroom, in addition to the ordinary fittings, contained a lacquer coffee table, seven hatboxes, half a dinner service, a small grandfather clock, all Julia’s clothes, a single-bed mattress, thirty-five novelettes, three suitcases, and a copy of a Landseer stag. The customary echo was therefore lacking; and if the ceiling now and then trembled, it was not because of Julia’s song, but because the men from the Bayswater Hire Furniture Company had not yet finished removing the hired furniture."Julia is such a character it is impossible not to like her and enjoy reading about her exploits as she tries to appear respectable for the sake of her daughter. If just given the facts about her, she should be someone of whom the reader disapproves: she is far too free with her affections and abandons her young child out of boredom and frustration. Yet Sharp creates her in such a way that her great ability to give love suggests bounty and generosity rather than being a negative attribute, and there is no judgement at all on her decision to leave Susan with the Packetts. If anything, the reader is encouraged to sympathise with Julia’s feelings of being stifled and bored among her interfering but well-meaning in-laws. Her escapades never fail to entertain and bring a smile to my face.The other characters are all equally enjoyable. I particularly enjoyed the description of Susan’s grandmother: "It seemed to her more likely that her mother-in-law was of the type, not rare among Englishwomen, in whom full individuality only blossoms with age: one of those who, as sixty-one, suddenly startle their relatives by going up in aeroplanes or marrying their chauffeurs…"The story itself isn’t exactly full of surprises; you can tell from the tone of the writing that everything will work out for the best. Sometimes however, the journey is far more important than the destination, and I’ll happily travel along with Julia any day. Sir William talks about feeling a mixture of affection and amusement towards Julia, and that’s exactly how I felt towards The Nutmeg Tree.
I picked up this book in a free box at a yard sale in Griggs Park because the author wrote the Miss Bianca books, a series about a mouse spy that I loved when I was maybe ten. Miss Bianca was adventurous and clever and had a lushly round shape, all of which is also true of Julia, the heroine of this 1937 novel for grown-ups. At the outset Julia takes a boat to France to visit her long-lost daughter (conceived with a soldier during the Great War but apparently largely forgotten since), and on the way she meets a troupe of acrobats and ends up performing with them in Paris, wearing an ostrich-feather headdress. (Headwear seems to be highly significant throughout.) Once in France, Julia thinks, “Hey, I’m almost out of money, but five francs and some red lipstick should get me to a casino in Aix,” but instead of making her fortune there, of course, more antics ensue. And then more antics. And then more. Despite all the wild impetuosity, this book was strangely dull. Yet it was reprinted a gazillion times. My tiny pocketbook edition was published in 1942 and says on the first page, In order to cooperate with the government’s war effort, this book has been made in strict conformity with WPB regulation restricting the use of certain materials. I wish I knew what this meant; please tell me if you have a clue.
What do You think about The Nutmeg Tree (2015)?
This was a fun romp thru London and France. Nothing mind tingling or enlightening and actually a little risque for the time it was written.Story begins WWI and a chorus girl finds herself expecting, marries her soldier, he then dies and after the baby is born she leaves her with her husbands parents to raise. Twenty years later, the daughter summons her mother to France to Grandmother give approval for her own marriage. This is not a tear filled drama, mother is quite the character!Made into the movie Julia Misbehaves with Greer Garson, Walter Pigeon and Elizabeth Taylor.I found comic point - Julia is reading The Forsythe Saga by Galsworthy on a train to Provence. Garson was in both Nutmeg Tree movie and Forsythe Saga!
—Barbara VA
Originally reviewed at www.emeraldcitybookreview.comIn The Nutmeg Tree, our heroine is Julia Packett, a very different but equally idiosyncratic character. Summoned to the south of France by an impulsive message from the daughter she hasn't seen since infancy, who is seeking approval of her intended marriage, Julia immediately identifies the young man in question as a "wrong one," but how can she convince her besotted daughter? And how can a former showgirl pull off the role of a respectable member of a very proper family, when in fact she is nothing of the sort? Julia's "misbehavior" (leaving her daughter to be raised by the father's family, taking up with a series of male companions, and ending up having to sell off furniture to pay the rent) might not seem utterly damning today, but on the novel's publication in 1937 this lifestyle would have raised some eyebrows. Julia is portrayed with so much sympathy and humor, though, that we embrace her follies as part of her inimitable verve and zest for life. In her outer and inner battles, we root for her and forgive her many lapses, which if we are honest may remind us of our own efforts to "be good."But can Julia forgive herself? In contrast to Cluny Brown, whose youthful imperviousness to criticism is part of her charm, the more world-worn Julia is struggling toward a new level of self-knowledge. Because this is a comedy, this is symbolized by the possibility of union with a man who can complement and appreciate her. And because this is Margery Sharp, their story is told in a way that is both larger-than-life funny, and relevant to deeper human concerns. How can Julia "marry" the experience that has given her insight and compassion for other people (but left her a bit worse for wear), with what remains unspoiled in her, still worthy of love and honor? It's a question we all have to resolve in our own way -- though we may not all do it through dealings with acrobats met on trains.
—Lory Hess
The Nutmeg Tree is a fantastically light British social comedy from 1937. Theatrical and big-hearted Julia has been happily estranged from her daughter (the product of a WWI-era dalliance with a doomed soldier) for 20 years. Then she receives a letter asking for her assistance with her daughter Susan's pending engagement; Susan's very proper grandmother does not approve of the match! So Julia must journey to a tiny French village near Aix to re-connect with the rich side of the family and to meet this fellow who has captured her daughter's heart. This book is full of social satire, loving descriptions of fancy bathrooms and explicit details of fashion and millinery. The heroine is in constant danger of receiving dirty postcards from her old friend the acrobat. She also bilks a middle aged man out of a martini and 1000 francs at a casino. It's all very modern and freewheeling. I cannot understand why Ms. Sharpe's books are now all out of print. She seems to be the very fount from which chick lit sprang. If you can find this, you should totally read it.
—Autumn
