A HOUSE DIVIDED

The last Tyneside romance by Dame Catherine Cookson (1906'98). In her final melodrama, Cookson seems to make peace with the class conflict that was the engine of most of her stories. It’s after WWII, and her officers and enlisted joes are evolving into one happy meritocracy, though not without trouble along with way. Upmarket Capt. Matthew Wallingham, 29, is blinded in Italy, after four tough years of service and having earned the respect and loyalty of his men. In the hospital he’s helped through a crisis by Liz ('Ducks') Ducksworth, a nurse he believes is a motherly 49. Actually Liz, a farmer’s daughter, is 24, and the two are reunited when Matthew begins a course in physiotherapy at the same hospital where Liz has taken a job. Matthew lives at the Beavors, near Newcastle, with his extended family: his father, a military man who has late in life developed multiple sclerosis; Peter, another of Cookson’s aristocratic servants whose intelligence and character gain them the status of friend; Matthew’s sad mother, who has a deeply affectionate if unconsummated relationship with Peter; Matthew’s jealous brother, Rodney, whom no one likes very much; and their lovable, crotchety grandmother, 'Granan,' whose powers have not been diminished with age. Add to the mix Jim, the lower-class man who becomes Matthew’s driver, friend, and helpmeet, and a houseful of jolly and well-adjusted family retainers, all of whom assist Matthew and Liz in sorting out their situation and fending off their enemies. Liz is assaulted by an old flame, and hateful Rodney tries to murder his brother. But the family ties the couple have forged'even the one with Flossie the dog'rescue them both. And since this is a romance, Matthew is hit on the head and regains his sight. 'Damned silly thing for me to bring up, class,' says Granan. Despite the sacharrine quality of this farewell, that was the least silly thing Cookson did.