The Shooting Party

I first became aware of this novel while watching the added features from the DVD. This author, Isabel Colegate, participated in an interview concerning her reactions to the film (1984 starring James Mason, Edward Fox and John Gielgud) in which she seemed to be very satisfied that the film had captured the essence and feeling of her novel. I had enjoyed the film so much it made me seek out the book and purchase it when I found it on Amazon.

The plot of the story has been fully discussed in other reviews and editorial comments. I knew I had enjoyed the film version but it was as nothing compared to the written word. Isabel Colgate is a new author for me but she has a wonderfully flowing and lyrical style of writing which kept me rivited to the story for its entirety. Another reviewer states that they did not believe the book took place in an atmosphere where the participants in the house party were aware that their lives were about to change. I strongly disagree with that statement. Yes, the sense of foreboding was felt more strongly by some characters than others, mostly among the male characters. But it is very plain throughout Sir Randolph Nettleby's thoughts and writings in his Game Book that he feels that change is coming, it is just over the horizon, and it is not going to be a change advantageous to himself nor the English rural way of life.

All of the characters are vividly and fully drawn in this gem of a novel. Even the most insignificant, little Flo Page who is sent to give a message to Tom Harker, is wonderfully alive in her role of sitting on the doorstep in the cold and dark, waiting for him to come home, until her lantern has used up almost all its fuel. No character was too insignificant for this author to use as an example of how different the layers of this society were. Cicely, grand-daughter to Sir Randolph, was constantly being chided by her mother for being too familiar with her maid, Ellen, and too interested in how her romance was progressing with John, a footman. Minnie Nettleby invited Charles Farquhar for the weekend, not because he was good at shooting, but because it was understood that Aline Hartlip was having an affair with him. It could even be said that the entire horrible incident which occurred was the fault of Gilbert Hartlip's wife. If she had not felt the need to practically goad him into unsportsman like behavior, it would have been just another shooting party like so many others.

Now for the uncomfortable part. I, personally, tend to humanize animals and other living creatures. My dogs are always called my babies and are treated like people. The hummingbirds, cardinals and gold finches are all given names (even though I can't tell them apart - logic doesn't matter here). You can see my point. I must say that this book does have an element in it which may cause discomfort to some readers. It is about excess in all walks of life during this time period. That excess extended to the killing of birds of all kinds for sport. After all, it is called The Shooting Party. I have to admit that I was uncomfortable thinking about the hundreds and hundreds of birds killed simply to provide sport and recreation for a group of men. I knew this was what it would be about when I began to read, but nothing prepared me for the feeling of wholesale slaughter and the total disregard for the lives of other living creatures which I found here. Granted the birds were used for food, but the ultimate reason for the party was to kill, to exhibit a proficiency in shooting and in helping your master shoot faster. This book is simply a portrait of what was a common occurance at these house parties, these things really happened. A film version can only go so far. This was way beyond what was portrayed in the movie and I began to have a real problem with reading about it.

Even saying these things, I still highly recommend this book. The snapshot of all these lives coming into such sharp focus with the pulling of the trigger one time too many was stark, vivid, and it made me uncomfortable. But it was a wonderfully told story.

I had heard about this book in the early 1980's and I was happy to find it in a second hand book shop (Charlie Byrnes in Galway, the best on the planet!) earlier this year.
The book is in the Gosforth Park territory, a weekend in a English great House during the Edwardian period, and purposely aims to be a microcosm of English society on the brink of the Great War.
The occasion is in weekend of shooting organised by Sir Randolph Nettleby and the story slowly unwinds, however with a certain tension as the author tells us at the outset that there will be an error of judgement which will result in a death. A significant amount of characters of all classes are gradually introduced, representing the various strands of English society at the time. The book is quite descriptive about the countryside, the heaviness of the clothes and the sheer logistics of organising the shooting of the various birds. I found the description of the shooting and the mounds of dead birds quite revolting, and its clear the author, without directly saying so, see this as a symbol of the barbarism which lurked under the genteel surface.
The tension was maintained through the various narratives, as the reader keeps wondering who will die and how. For most of the story I was convinced it was going to be a small boy, Nettleby's grandson, who had a pet duck which had wondered off.
I have two basic disappointments with the book, the most glaring was the characterisation - it seemed that each individual had to represent a type , the proprietor who valued tradition and frowned on competition among his guests, the loyal woodsman, the village boy who would come good through education, the poacher, the do-gooder who preaches animal rights, the adulterous ladies, the foreigner and the nouveau riche Jew. While each is brought to life, I felt the author started with the stereotype and tried to characterise it, in particular the foreigner - a Hungarian nobleman - has no redeeming features. The other disappointment was with the prose style - its quite densely descriptive, I found I had to read and re-read sections, to be sure I hadn't missed something.

Isabel Colgate has given us both a graceful and wonderfully written book about a way of English life (1913) that was on the verge of disappearing due to the coming of World War I. From a modern perspective, if a person wanted to know how England became the way it is presently, one must go back to that time between the Boer War and WWI and then take in the monumental changes caused by the First World War. What Isabel Colgate has accomplished so admirably in this modest sized book is to give us an insight into the social thinking and values that existed in the book's 1913 setting -- a shooting party at a country estate. A first-rate piece of writing and insight by an award winning author. Highly recommended.

(Also, this book was turned into a solid screenplay in 1983 and a first rate motion picture was produced of the same title. It had a stellar British cast and was, sadly, actor James Mason's last film. After seeing the finished movie in early 1985, Mr. Mason said it was one of the finest films he had the privilege of working on in his long career. The film is currently available on DVD in a nicely restored version. But do read the book!)

The people in this book come in three layers. We are mostly concerned about the top layer, including Sir Randolph Nettleby and his 1'000 acre estate, Lord Lilburn and his wife Olivia, Sir Ruben Hergesheimer, Count Tibor Rakassyi of Hungary, and so many, many more. They set the tone.
The lowest layer are the beaters for the shoot. They are farmers from the village. They are anonymous, and nobody talks to them. They are just the background noise. The exception is Tom Harker, occasional poacher.
In between those two layers are those who bow to the top and kick those below. For instance Glass, the head game keeper, and his son Dan. Or the maid Ellen.
And also somewhere in between is Cornelius Cardew. part preacher, compleat vegetarian, and convinced socialist. He seems too lightweight for an oracle, so his contribution to this novel is not quite clear.
But to come to the book: Mrs. Colegate has assembled a very large cast that fits into the Edwardian age. She gives us detailed biographies of each cast member and thus makes clear that they are not all the same. Mainly, some of the wives have their own private amusement with men not their husbands. Olivia holds hands with Lionel Stephens, while Arline Hartlip flirts with Charles Farquhar. Cicely, granddaughter of Minnie Nettleby, reaches for Count Rakassyi, but is still too young to do damage. Her brother Osbert meanders through the story with his pet duck. As we go along, the characters take on their own, distinct personality. Lionel Stephens rates the shoot as a competition. That is decidedly uncivilized, and Gilbert Hartlip hates him for it. The picture of this society fills in as we read along.
It has been said that the book describes the end of an era. I cannot find much indication of that. Also, everybody knew in October of 1913 that a major war was imminent, but this is not reflected. I believe it is too easy to use our knowledge of today to read something into that day before the Great War. Let us be honest and admit that the landed gentry is still with us, that they still have their shoots, and that their influence can still be felt. The more things change, the more they stay the same - as Voltaire said.
Nevertheless, it is an elegant and worthwhile book.
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i would like to thank reviewer mary whipple for pointing me in the direction of this fantastic book. it's a great old-fashion novel, full of complex and interesting characters, that paints a vivid picture of pre-world war I english society in a thoroughly entertaining story. isabel colegate's writing is dazzling to boot. upon finishing this book, i got on my computer and bought everything else that i could find by this author. if her other novels are even close to this good, that will have been money well spent.

I just adored this book, it takes me to another time and place. Something I just love in a book. I had seen the movie of this book years ago and just loved it. I love this book even more. It has wonderfully drawn charecters and places. I recommend this book highly.

This is the last hurrah of Edwardian England. At a shooting party at the estate of Sir Randolph Nettleby, rooms are allocated so that lovers rooms are discreetly close, and the rituals of what is the thing to do and what one wears for the occasion, are rigidly adhered to. The book is really a social commentary on the morals and mores of the English upper classes at that particular time in history, just a few short months before the beginning of WW1, and just prior to the events which will change their way of life forever. A counterpoint to the rustic idyll of a shooting party is an eccentric animal rights protestor who gate crashes the shoot and a local poacher who ends up being the unwitting victim of the macho exhibitionism of one of the shooters. It's a fascinating glimpse into the privileged world of the aristocracy before their world changed completely.

Such a classic!

A friend wanted this book for Christmas, and I wasn't sure I would be able to locate it in time. I was pleased to find it on Amazon and ordered it. It arrived very promptly and in excellent condition. My friend was very happy with it as a gift.