The Child's Child

The Child's Child (2012) by Ruth Rendell writing as Barbara Vine. A fairly affecting novel about women's roles in society, in particular in their child-bearing role. In a novel-within-the-novel, a fifteen-year-old girl becomes pregnant during the early 20th century -- a time when such things just weren't done. To compound her misery, the father of her child refuses to marry her and doesn't acknowledge the child. In an interesting twist, her gay brother volunteers to move with her to a remote village and live with her as husband and wife, so that her shame can be concealed. Framing this tale is the story of a woman who lives in 2011 London, and is researching a PhD. thesis on unmarried mothers. It makes for an interesting, if not earth-shaking book. I certainly read it with interest, and it's an entertaining novel. The problem I had with it is that I lost track of the characters in the framing novel while I was reading the novel-within-a-novel. When they recurred at the end of the book, I was fairly lost. Altogether, a worthwhile read. Grade: B