Barbara Comyns is such a special writer to me. I became aware of her through one of my favorite short story collections, The Doll’s Alphabet by Camilla Grudova. In the notes of this collection, Comyns’s novel Sisters by a River is listed as a book that inspired Grudova. However, the only Comyns book I could easily get my hands on at the time was The Juniper Tree, which absolutely blew me away. I still think about the devastating ending somewhat regularly.
Anyway, all this to say I am a huge Comyns fan, and an avid collector of various editions of her work. As Comyns makes no secret that her fascinating and sometimes harrowing novels are often semi-autobiographical, I had very high hopes for Avril Horner’s Comyns Biography, A Savage Innocence. I was not disappointed. This is a thorough, loving, and page-turning account of an underappreciated and complex woman.
Following Comyns from her humble beginnings, which induced in her a fear of poverty, Horner gracefully guides us through Comyns’ many careers, love interests, and homes (one takeaway from this book is that Comyns moved house A LOT). There is the heartbreaking and all-too-familiar story of a young woman finding herself in “the family way” with no support and certainly no way of acquiring a safe abortion. And the strange, codependent relationship she has with a woman whose husband Comyns had a brief affair with.
The saddest part for me was the self-doubt Comyns felt due to her lack of mainstream success; she was often unjustly dismissed by the mostly-male press. Her unique, insightful view of the horrors of domesticity were severely undervalued, and I’m so glad she is being recognized for the true talent she always was.
Avril Horner has clearly put so much work and dedication into this wonderful biography, and I am so grateful. Through letters, interviews, press cuttings, and many other sources, Horner gives readers a valuable insight into a true original.
Barbara Comyns: A Savage Innocence is out in March 2024. Go ahead and order it straight from the publisher.
Thank you so much to Manchester University Press for the review copy.
California Reading 