So this month our LGBTQ+ book club book was 'Despised and Rejected' by Rose Allatini. I've been meaning try a Persephone book for a while (I've got three of them now) and this one sounded interesting, if potentially a bit depressing!
I usually try to be fairly spoiler free when writing about books, but here I don't think I can really say what I want to say without describing the plot, so if you do want to be surprised by this 100+ year old book, this is where you should stop reading.
First off, it's surprisingly light in some ways. It starts off with various characters staying at a hotel and the fun interactions between them.
The two main characters we meet are Antoinette and Dennis. I found Antoinette very relatable and just a tiny bit infuriating. She seems to be loved by all and has an enviable happy-go-lucky attitude (partly through her lack of convictions). But her attitudes to relationships are what I found so relatable, as she develops deep feelings quickly, feelings which are usually dispelled once she gets close to the person or feelings seem to be reciprocated.
Dennis is a much more quiet, introspective character, a talented musician and composer, but a disappointment to his father who wanted a 'sporty' son. Antoinette and Dennis recognise something 'other' in each other, although due to how subtly this is hinted at, it's difficult to say exactly how much they realise at this point, both about each other and about themselves. I have to admit, what drew me to this book was the idea of the two of them as friends and allies - other queer period books I've read either focus on gay men or lesbians and not much interaction between the two groups. I was looking forward to more focus on the importance of finding a friend and confidant, rather than a romantic partner.
While we learn more about Antoinette at the start, we learn more about Dennis from the letters he writes to Antoinette as he continues his walking holiday. As well as enthusiastically describing the things he sees, he also opens up about some formative experiences from his past, and his hopes that he will be able to share more with Antoinette in the future. Meanwhile Antoinette is more concerned with persuing Hester, a woman she met at the hotel. Hester, in contrast to Dennis, is distant and only sends little one-sentence replies to Antoinettes letters, but once she spends a day with Antoinette and opens up about herself, Antoinette very quickly loses interest. It is at the same time that Dennis meets Someone Else and his letters stop.
Dennis and Antoinette both have quite different attitudes to their own queerness. Although Antoinette knows she has strong feelings for other women, she doesn't feel that this makes her 'different' or is any cause for concern. Dennis may either be partly unaware or in denial about the exact nature of his difference (until he meets Alan), but he is keenly aware of being different and of all the negative implications of that difference.
And then the First World War begins.
The next part of the book mainly concerns Dennis and his conscientious objection to the war. As other characters (or their sons, fiancés, etc) sign up, talk of duty and honour, and the women involve themselves with 'war work', Dennis becomes more of an outcast. Antoinette also declines any suggestion of 'war work', although for her, at least initially, it's less of a moral issue. It doesn't interested her and so she doesn't do it.
At this point Dennis and Antoinette aren't really in contact, until Dennis moves to London to escape the pressure from his family and their countryside society. There are two main developments here.
This is where the book surprised me as Dennis, now more aware of himself than ever, begins to court Antoinette. They both attempt to make this work, to have a 'normal' relationship. Dennis seems more keen, partly because we see this section from Antoinette's point of view so her reluctance is clearer, but he is the one pushing for an engagement. However by the time she has decided it is 'the real thing', Dennis has come to the opposite conclusion. Or is Antoinette only drawn to people she can't have?
The other main plot in the later section is the introduction of the 'tea shop' regulars, a selection of artists, pacifists, bohemians and rebels. I find it a bit confusing when so many characters are introduced at once, but it does allow for a number of different anti-war (or anti-conscription) arguments to be made, as well as allowing for all different results. This crowd includes Alan, which causes more tension between Dennis and Antoinette.
I will say that my own thoughts on the matter hadn't gone much further than what I would have done in that situation (been a man of fighting age at that time - if we're imagining alternate circumstances that can easily include an alternate body). I suppose my views on it are similar to abortion - no one should have to do things with their body that they don't want to, and 'I don't want to' is a valid reason in itself. So it was interesting to hear how many different views and arguments were used, and how selfless a lot of them were. I had never considered, for instance, that 'non-combat' service could be seen as 'freeing someone else to die in your place' and still supporting 'the war machine'.
I am also aware that I come at this issue having been repeatedly told about how awful combat in both world wars was, whereas these people wouldn't have the years of war films, war poetry in school, etc. So while I can sit here and think about 'what I would have done', it's impossible to really know how I would have felt with the information at the time.
Apparently, while the queer themes were shocking at the time, what REALLY got the book into trouble was the pacifism.
After all this I don't quite know what to say about the ending. The teashop characters drift off one by one, whether conscripted, jailed or dead. Dennis spends one night with Alan before Alan is arrested, which is bittersweet as he realises he shouldn't have denied his feelings for so long when he could have had a little happiness. Happiness is certainly in short supply.
The book leaves Antoinette still drifting rather aimlessly, she is upset about Dennis going to prison, and over the fates of the others she has met through him, but I think by ending up in the role of jilted lover rather than friend, she's unable to offer him the support she perhaps could have done.
Despised and Rejected by Rose Allatini - reprinted by Persephone books.
My copy is the 'Persephone Grey' edition with its period endpaper design:
https://persephonebooks.co.uk/products/despised-and-rejected
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