The Well
by Elizabeth Jolley
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Miss Hester Harper, middle-aged and eccentric, brings Katherine into her emotionally impoverished life. Together they sew, cook gourmet dishes for two, run the farm, make music and throw dirty dishes down the well. One night, driving along the deserted track that leads to the farm, they run into a mysterious creature. They heave the body from the roo bar and dump it into the farm's deep well. But the voice of the injured intruder will not be stilled. Most disturbing of all, the closer show more Katherine is drawn to the edge of the well, the farther away she gets from Hester... show lessTags
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I picked up this paperback of The Well, solely because Jolley is my better half’s maiden name. It turned out to be a fortuitous choice. Elizabeth Jolley is an interesting person. She was born in England in 1923 into a strict German-speaking family and attended a Quaker boarding school. She became a nurse, married, and after having three children, they moved to Australia when she was 36. She wrote all her life, but it was not until she was in her 50s, did she gain widespread recognition. She wrote 15 novels, along with six plays, and several works of non-fiction. Elizabeth died in Australia in 2007.
A copy of one of her collections of short stories is in my library, but I read it so many years ago, I can barely remember any of them. show more Her novel, The Well, won her the prestigious Miles Franklin award. The novel is a humorous look at “memory, desire and loneliness,” according to the publisher’s note on the back cover.
Miss Hester Harper is a wealthy, lonely woman, who, on a shopping trip to town, brings home an orphan, Katherine, and the two become close friends. The tone of the novel is interesting from the first paragraph. Jolley writes, “One night Miss Hester Harper and Katherine are driving home from a celebration, a party at the hotel in town, to which Miss Harper has been an unwilling guest. Katherine had wanted very much to go to the party. She is under the spell of a succession of film stars, the present one being John Travolta. She tries to walk exactly as he walks. Having seen every one of his films several times she is able to imagine herself, when dancing, as his chosen perpetual partner. Miss Harper, unable to refuse Katherine Anything, has endured a long evening bearing at least two insults, one of these, because of the Peter Pan collar, laden with disturbing implication” (1). When they leave the party, Katherine, a week before her driving test, insists on driving. Hester is nervous, but she allows her to drive. While careening down a narrow, winding road, Hester begs her to slow down, and then she hits something in the road. The pair manages to drag the body to their isolated cottage, and dump it into an abandoned well.
Mr. Bird manages the farm for Hester, and he urges her to be more careful with her inheritance, but Katherine convinces her to go on one shopping spree after another. Hester keeps a huge portion of her money hidden in a sock drawer, much to Mr. Bird’s dismay. When they return from the well, she finds her house ransacked and the money gone.
The story takes a suspenseful and morbid turn as Katherine believes she is talking to the man at the bottom of the well. Hester never hears the man’s voice. Katherine is convinced he is her prince charming, come to take her away to a castle where she will live happily ever after. A reader can see many possible outcomes of this tale which bounces from suspense to humor, to the edge of pathos. Elizabeth Jolley’s novel, The Well, reminds me of Poe’s story, “The Tell-Tale Heart” with a generous scoop of humor. I do not know anything about any of her other novels, but I am going to delve into some soon. 5 stars.
--Jim, 5/28/16 show less
A copy of one of her collections of short stories is in my library, but I read it so many years ago, I can barely remember any of them. show more Her novel, The Well, won her the prestigious Miles Franklin award. The novel is a humorous look at “memory, desire and loneliness,” according to the publisher’s note on the back cover.
Miss Hester Harper is a wealthy, lonely woman, who, on a shopping trip to town, brings home an orphan, Katherine, and the two become close friends. The tone of the novel is interesting from the first paragraph. Jolley writes, “One night Miss Hester Harper and Katherine are driving home from a celebration, a party at the hotel in town, to which Miss Harper has been an unwilling guest. Katherine had wanted very much to go to the party. She is under the spell of a succession of film stars, the present one being John Travolta. She tries to walk exactly as he walks. Having seen every one of his films several times she is able to imagine herself, when dancing, as his chosen perpetual partner. Miss Harper, unable to refuse Katherine Anything, has endured a long evening bearing at least two insults, one of these, because of the Peter Pan collar, laden with disturbing implication” (1). When they leave the party, Katherine, a week before her driving test, insists on driving. Hester is nervous, but she allows her to drive. While careening down a narrow, winding road, Hester begs her to slow down, and then she hits something in the road. The pair manages to drag the body to their isolated cottage, and dump it into an abandoned well.
Mr. Bird manages the farm for Hester, and he urges her to be more careful with her inheritance, but Katherine convinces her to go on one shopping spree after another. Hester keeps a huge portion of her money hidden in a sock drawer, much to Mr. Bird’s dismay. When they return from the well, she finds her house ransacked and the money gone.
The story takes a suspenseful and morbid turn as Katherine believes she is talking to the man at the bottom of the well. Hester never hears the man’s voice. Katherine is convinced he is her prince charming, come to take her away to a castle where she will live happily ever after. A reader can see many possible outcomes of this tale which bounces from suspense to humor, to the edge of pathos. Elizabeth Jolley’s novel, The Well, reminds me of Poe’s story, “The Tell-Tale Heart” with a generous scoop of humor. I do not know anything about any of her other novels, but I am going to delve into some soon. 5 stars.
--Jim, 5/28/16 show less
Hester Harper lives on a large farm in Australia, having inherited her childhood home following her father's death. Her primary companion is Kathy, a young woman who came to live with Hester after leaving the local orphanage. The novel opens with an accident that occurs late at night, as Hester and Kathy are returning from a party. Their car strikes something, which they dispose of in the well. The novel then jumps back in time, building up to the night of the party such that when the accident is described a second time, it is with richer and more complete context.
Hester is ill-equipped to manage the farm, lacking the basic skills and knowledge and stubbornly clinging to outdated ideals. She has few personal relationships: she is show more friendly with the woman in who runs the town store, and civil with Mr. Bird, who manages the business aspects of the farm and serves as Hester's financial advisor. Her strongest bond is with Kathy. Hester and Kathy live a reclusive, isolated life but are prone to spend money recklessly on items with little practical use. Hester is a very lonely woman, a social outcast who resists change of any kind, and refuses to allow Kathy to experience adult independence. Kathy is naive and flighty, and appears to need Hester's steadying hand to keep her on track. For most of the novel, Kathy is anticipating a visit from an orphanage friend, Joanna, an event which Hester finds threatening.
Their relationship is further challenged after the accident when it appears the "creature" they struck may not be dead. Kathy claims to be in communication with something or someone in the well, and Hester refuses to acknowledge this possibility. Jolley builds the suspense while simultaneously bringing even greater depth to her main characters. The situation is resolved in a manner befitting the characters and the nature of their relationships: sad, imperfect, and left open to interpretation. I enjoy books with strong character development and The Well did not disappoint. show less
Hester is ill-equipped to manage the farm, lacking the basic skills and knowledge and stubbornly clinging to outdated ideals. She has few personal relationships: she is show more friendly with the woman in who runs the town store, and civil with Mr. Bird, who manages the business aspects of the farm and serves as Hester's financial advisor. Her strongest bond is with Kathy. Hester and Kathy live a reclusive, isolated life but are prone to spend money recklessly on items with little practical use. Hester is a very lonely woman, a social outcast who resists change of any kind, and refuses to allow Kathy to experience adult independence. Kathy is naive and flighty, and appears to need Hester's steadying hand to keep her on track. For most of the novel, Kathy is anticipating a visit from an orphanage friend, Joanna, an event which Hester finds threatening.
Their relationship is further challenged after the accident when it appears the "creature" they struck may not be dead. Kathy claims to be in communication with something or someone in the well, and Hester refuses to acknowledge this possibility. Jolley builds the suspense while simultaneously bringing even greater depth to her main characters. The situation is resolved in a manner befitting the characters and the nature of their relationships: sad, imperfect, and left open to interpretation. I enjoy books with strong character development and The Well did not disappoint. show less
So this is great up to a point…the point it finishes. I don’t really understand why writers are allowed to set up a terrific story which is truly hard to put down and then stop rather than end. I know that’s the modern thing to do, but all the same, does that make it art or a cop out? We all know that anything might happen in life. But I don’t see why it isn’t part of the duty of a story teller to tell the story. Not just the beginning and middle, but the end. The whole kit and caboodle.
I’m starting to wonder if it isn’t a critical aspect of the new genre ‘book club’. It’s something to talk about isn’t it? OMG, what did YOU think was going to happen next? Blah blah blah. But I don’t give a rat’s what my friends show more at ‘book club’ think about how it might have ended IF it had had a darned ending instead of just stopping. I want the author’s take on that. Instead she’s taken the easy way out.
Is that too much to ask? For a story to have an ending? Did it have an ending and I missed it? Opinions sought. show less
I’m starting to wonder if it isn’t a critical aspect of the new genre ‘book club’. It’s something to talk about isn’t it? OMG, what did YOU think was going to happen next? Blah blah blah. But I don’t give a rat’s what my friends show more at ‘book club’ think about how it might have ended IF it had had a darned ending instead of just stopping. I want the author’s take on that. Instead she’s taken the easy way out.
Is that too much to ask? For a story to have an ending? Did it have an ending and I missed it? Opinions sought. show less
So this is great up to a point…the point it finishes. I don’t really understand why writers are allowed to set up a terrific story which is truly hard to put down and then stop rather than end. I know that’s the modern thing to do, but all the same, does that make it art or a cop out? We all know that anything might happen in life. But I don’t see why it isn’t part of the duty of a story teller to tell the story. Not just the beginning and middle, but the end. The whole kit and caboodle.
I’m starting to wonder if it isn’t a critical aspect of the new genre ‘book club’. It’s something to talk about isn’t it? OMG, what did YOU think was going to happen next? Blah blah blah. But I don’t give a rat’s what my friends show more at ‘book club’ think about how it might have ended IF it had had a darned ending instead of just stopping. I want the author’s take on that. Instead she’s taken the easy way out.
Is that too much to ask? For a story to have an ending? Did it have an ending and I missed it? Opinions sought. show less
I’m starting to wonder if it isn’t a critical aspect of the new genre ‘book club’. It’s something to talk about isn’t it? OMG, what did YOU think was going to happen next? Blah blah blah. But I don’t give a rat’s what my friends show more at ‘book club’ think about how it might have ended IF it had had a darned ending instead of just stopping. I want the author’s take on that. Instead she’s taken the easy way out.
Is that too much to ask? For a story to have an ending? Did it have an ending and I missed it? Opinions sought. show less
So this is great up to a point…the point it finishes. I don’t really understand why writers are allowed to set up a terrific story which is truly hard to put down and then stop rather than end. I know that’s the modern thing to do, but all the same, does that make it art or a cop out? We all know that anything might happen in life. But I don’t see why it isn’t part of the duty of a story teller to tell the story. Not just the beginning and middle, but the end. The whole kit and caboodle.
I’m starting to wonder if it isn’t a critical aspect of the new genre ‘book club’. It’s something to talk about isn’t it? OMG, what did YOU think was going to happen next? Blah blah blah. But I don’t give a rat’s what my friends show more at ‘book club’ think about how it might have ended IF it had had a darned ending instead of just stopping. I want the author’s take on that. Instead she’s taken the easy way out.
Is that too much to ask? For a story to have an ending? Did it have an ending and I missed it? Opinions sought. show less
I’m starting to wonder if it isn’t a critical aspect of the new genre ‘book club’. It’s something to talk about isn’t it? OMG, what did YOU think was going to happen next? Blah blah blah. But I don’t give a rat’s what my friends show more at ‘book club’ think about how it might have ended IF it had had a darned ending instead of just stopping. I want the author’s take on that. Instead she’s taken the easy way out.
Is that too much to ask? For a story to have an ending? Did it have an ending and I missed it? Opinions sought. show less
Elizabeth Jolley (1923 - 2007) was an Australian writer. Born in Birmingham, she settled in Australia in the late 1950s. What Jolley has in common with Penelope Fitzgerald (1916 – 2000), is that both female authors started publishing at a relatively high age, in their early 50s. Although Elizabeth Jolley had written short stories in her twenties, her first book was published in 1976, when she was 53 years old. Penelope Fitzgerald published her first novel in 1977, at the age of 60.
The well, published in 1986, is a spooky novel. In atmosphere, it bears some resemblance to We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson (1916 – 1965), who was born in the same year as Fitzgerald, their age difference being only nine years.
The show more plot of The well is fairly easy to summarize, and it is no spoiler to describe the car accident that forms the basis for the story. In fact, the narrative structure of the novel almost foregrounds this event in a cinematographic way, i.e. just like a "spoiler". The novel opens with a description of the accident, and this fragment is later repeated. After the opening, the novel tracks back to the days before the accident.
Although the novel was written in the 1980s, and the presence of various clues also suggest that the story is set at that time, nonetheless, the story has a somewhat antiquated feel to it, possibly as a result of the rural setting in Australia. Hester is a middle-aged woman, who takes care of Katherine, who is a teenager. Hester has adopted Katherine, who is an orphan. Katherine has asked Hester to teach her how to drive, so that she can take the car and attend parties in the nearby town by herself. At the moment of the accident, the inexperienced Katherine was driving.
Hester's farm is located somewhat remotely, and can only be reached by taking a turn from the road, over a dirt road. On this dark road, the car hits something heavy, caught up on the roo bar. Only Hester gets out of the car, telling Katherine to drive slowly to the well. There, they drop the thing into the well.
It is never revealed what the car hit, but the strong suggestion is that they hit and killed a man. this suggestion is strengthened as they discover that money is missing, and a burglar, who has mysteriously disappeared is reported in the area. There are various complications, as Hester considers descending into the well, to retrieve the money, and possible gain of wealth in finding other spoils. (Literally) covering up the affair is not much of an option, because Hester has just sold the farm off.
Whatever happened is only known to Hester, but not made explicit. The event and the well subsequently drive Katherine mad with terror, a horror which seems beyond what could reasonably expected, perhaps because Hester has threatened her.
The novel develops various interesting psychological aspects. Clearly, part of the terror arises from the fear of what could have happened if the two women had been confronted by the male "intruder", a threat which is still perceived as they doubt whether or not the man died, or his ghost terrorizes them from the well. (Financial) dependence is an important motive in the novel, where the intruder alternatively stands for ruin and for profitable gain. There is an odd incongruency between the relation between the two women, both in age and gender roles, as they try to cope with the situation as it arises, and subsequently morphs. The horror of the novel goes far beyond the suggestion that the well acts as their subconscious.
Excellent reading. show less
The well, published in 1986, is a spooky novel. In atmosphere, it bears some resemblance to We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson (1916 – 1965), who was born in the same year as Fitzgerald, their age difference being only nine years.
The show more plot of The well is fairly easy to summarize, and it is no spoiler to describe the car accident that forms the basis for the story. In fact, the narrative structure of the novel almost foregrounds this event in a cinematographic way, i.e. just like a "spoiler". The novel opens with a description of the accident, and this fragment is later repeated. After the opening, the novel tracks back to the days before the accident.
Although the novel was written in the 1980s, and the presence of various clues also suggest that the story is set at that time, nonetheless, the story has a somewhat antiquated feel to it, possibly as a result of the rural setting in Australia. Hester is a middle-aged woman, who takes care of Katherine, who is a teenager. Hester has adopted Katherine, who is an orphan. Katherine has asked Hester to teach her how to drive, so that she can take the car and attend parties in the nearby town by herself. At the moment of the accident, the inexperienced Katherine was driving.
Hester's farm is located somewhat remotely, and can only be reached by taking a turn from the road, over a dirt road. On this dark road, the car hits something heavy, caught up on the roo bar. Only Hester gets out of the car, telling Katherine to drive slowly to the well. There, they drop the thing into the well.
It is never revealed what the car hit, but the strong suggestion is that they hit and killed a man. this suggestion is strengthened as they discover that money is missing, and a burglar, who has mysteriously disappeared is reported in the area. There are various complications, as Hester considers descending into the well, to retrieve the money, and possible gain of wealth in finding other spoils. (Literally) covering up the affair is not much of an option, because Hester has just sold the farm off.
Whatever happened is only known to Hester, but not made explicit. The event and the well subsequently drive Katherine mad with terror, a horror which seems beyond what could reasonably expected, perhaps because Hester has threatened her.
The novel develops various interesting psychological aspects. Clearly, part of the terror arises from the fear of what could have happened if the two women had been confronted by the male "intruder", a threat which is still perceived as they doubt whether or not the man died, or his ghost terrorizes them from the well. (Financial) dependence is an important motive in the novel, where the intruder alternatively stands for ruin and for profitable gain. There is an odd incongruency between the relation between the two women, both in age and gender roles, as they try to cope with the situation as it arises, and subsequently morphs. The horror of the novel goes far beyond the suggestion that the well acts as their subconscious.
Excellent reading. show less
This is one of the most compelling must-read-on-and-find-out-what-happens-next type of novels I have read in a long time. Couldn't leave it alone! A psychological 'did they do it?' - a deceptively simple story, about infinitely deep and complex people and situations - less was definitely more, in this case!
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Elizabeth Jolley was born Monica Elizabeth Knight in Birmingham, England on June 4, 1923. She was educated privately until age 11, when she was sent to Sibford School, a Quaker boarding school. At 17 she began training as nurse in London and was exposed firsthand to the horrors of World War II. She emigrated to Australia in 1959 with her husband show more and their three children. Before becoming a full-time author, she had numerous jobs including nursing, housecleaning, and farming. She published her first book of short stories, Five Acre Virgin and Other Stories, in 1976, and her first novel, Palomino, in 1980. Her other works included The Newspaper of Claremont Street, Mr. Scobie's Riddle, The Well, My Father's Moon, Miss Peabody's Inheritance, Foxybaby, and The Sugar Mother. She died on February 13, 2007 at the age of 83. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Awards
Work Relationships
Is abridged in
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Well
- Original publication date
- 1986
- People/Characters
- Hester Harper; Katherine ; Dobby Borden; Mr. Bird; Hilde Herzfeld
- Important places
- Australia
- Related movies
- The Well (1997 | IMDb)
- Epigraph
- 'What have you brought me Hester? What have you brought me from the shop?'
'I've brought Katherine, Father,' Miss Harper said. 'I've brought Katherine, but she's for me.' - Dedication
- For Leonard Jolley
- First words
- One night Miss Hester Harper and Katherine are driving home from a celebration, a party at the hotel in town, to which Miss Harper has been an unwilling guest.
- Quotations
- Looking across at him Hester could not help thinking of the fleshy shoulders of the mating bulls. Mr Borden gave the impression of setting about the male task of servicing frequently and thoroughly with a view to enriching h... (show all)is property with a number of sons.
It had always been her way to be aloof and withdrawn so that she, in a position of authority with a good head for crops and wool, was beyond gossip and criticism. She had with two words, she knew, made herself available for ... (show all)unlimited speculation.
People, Hester thought, who go to Church always want other people to go too. Vegetarians often tried to convert meat eaters. She supposed it was the same with marriage and childbirth. Women caught tried to ensure that othe... (show all)rs were similarly trapped. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)'Go on Miss Harper!' Dobby Borden says. 'Along this road, now tell us what happened.'
- Blurbers
- Coover, Robert
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Statistics
- Members
- 365
- Popularity
- 85,965
- Reviews
- 11
- Rating
- (3.35)
- Languages
- English, French, German, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 19
- ASINs
- 5
