Book Review : A Clergyman’s Daughter

A Clergyman’s Daughter is the second novel and third book by George Orwell.

Dorothy Hare is the Clergyman’s Daughter of the title. She lives in rural Suffolk, looks after her father, and gets involved in parish matters. One day she is pounced upon by a character called Mr Warburton near the church. He tries to kiss her but she rejects his advances. They may have been seen by the village gossip…

The next time Dorothy becomes aware of her surroundings, it’s eight days later and she’s in Kent and falls in with other down and outs who are going hop picking. Dorothy picks hops for a few weeks, but this is seasonal work and she’s soon down and out in London. She lives on the streets and in bedsits, all the time wondering whether her father has sent her money but not wanting to go back to Suffolk.

She is rescued by the butler of Mr Warburton and gets a job as a schoolmistress with a Mrs Creevy. This is an uneasy relationship and Creevy becomes irate when some non-Conformist parents become upset with what Dorothy is teaching their children. More arithmetic, less world maps is one complaint.

Eventually, Mrs Creevy sacks Dorothy but Mr Warburton is again on hand to rescue Dorothy, though she won’t marry him, and she returns to rural Suffolk where her father acts as though she’s been away for the weekend and not several months.

All very interesting…