The Friendly Young Ladies Paperback – May 13, 2003

This extraordinary novel is still ahead of its time in its deep understanding of the nature of sexuality as a constantly evolving expression of the animus and anima present in some degree in all human beings, a theme Renault explores in all her early books with perception and sensitivity unequalled by other writers of the 20th and 21st centuries.

A basic rule of language is that substantives (verbs and nouns) govern modifiers (adjectives and adverbs). Why then do so few stories about homosexual people--even in these supposedly more enlightened times--depict them as people first? It seems as though most writers about homosexuality think of Gays and Lesbians as a separate species from 'normal', heterosexual people. Bad enough that such an attitude comes from heterosexual writers, but one finds it among gay and Lesbian writers, which is even worseElise is a not-too-bright girl, nearly 18 but acting more like 14; nowadays she'd probably be classified as having some sort of mild learning disability. She lives in Cornwall with her rather odious parents; some years before her older sister Leonore ran away from home and her parents consider her dead--she is never mentioned. Elise finally gets fed up, goes through her mother's private papers and finds Leonore's address, and runs away from home.She finds Leonore living on a houseboat on the Thames, writing Western novels, living with a nurse turned medical illustrator. It is never said in so many words, but the two women are lovers.Good points--Renault depicts the two women as just that, two women. She isn't interested in the political, economic, legal, or spiritual implications of Lesbianism--merely two human beings who care for one another, have built a life together, and who just happen to be both women.Renault admits in her afterward that she wrote this as a reaction to Radclyffe Hall's infamous "The Well of Lonlness", which takes precisely the reverse tack. I am told by those who have read both that if one is familiar with "The Well" this is quite obvious, the way Renault sometimes parallel's Hall and sometimes inverts what Hall did. I've never read Hall, and have no desire to, and therefore cannot further comment on this point.Unfortunately, none of the other characters feel real. We are told what they are thinking and feeling, but we are never shown. This was an early effort of Renault's, and she hadn't mastered the rule of "show, don't tell." Elsie, especially, never really comes to life.Comparing this novel with Renault's mature work, especially "The Charioteer", one sees how far she came as a writer, and one also sees the seeds of her subsequent work.The two afterwards are, as another reviewer remarked, almost worth the price of the book. I especially liked Renault's remark about how explicit erotic writing is the literary equivalent of ketchup--covering the deficiencies of insipid writing, and desired only by people whose taste buds are anesthetized.

This book left me with to many questions, which may not be answerable but at least i can get them off my chest so i can move on to some other book from this era:1. why do both leo and helen seem to have no qualms about making out with the man elsie has a crush on?2. if she actually is a lesbian, why does leo seek out men so often?3. why does anyone want to have relations with peter? not only is he rather an ass, but he's also engaged.these are just a few of the issues i have with this book. unfortunately they strain credulity to the point that it's hard to enjoy the good writing .

I'm still not sure what the story was about. The reason for the actions of the players escaped me and I soldiered on to the end. Oh well!!

Those who have never discovered Mary Renault are in for a treat. While many are familiar with her classical Greek novels, she also wrote some wonderful novels set in the 1930s. This is one of them. For beautiful writing and in-depth character analysis, she is one of the best.

This book is a favorite of mine. Its charm comes from youthful energy and emotional excess. The autobiographical element may account for the vivid setting on the river and the behavior of some of the characters. They seem like real people whom the author cannot control. They may confuse or annoy her (and the reader), but they are alive.And then there is the love story. The friendship of two very likeable people unexpectedly intensifies, overwhelming both them and the reader. Very satisfying.Mary Renault surely polished her craft over a long successful career, but this youthful effort has a spirit and immediacy that has held up remarkably well and still gives me a great deal of pleasure.

A wordy novel that never came together, there was no purpose to this novel, no real character development, not a single thing to be learned and it was a colossal waste of time.