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Starbridge #1
Glittering Images
Beneath the smooth surface of an Episcopal palace lurks the salacious breath of scandal. Charles Ashworth is sent to untangle the web of self-delusion and corruption only to become embroiled in a strange menage a trois that threatens to expose the secrets of his own past! In Glittering Images tension and drama combine in a compelling novel of people in high places, of desperate longings and the failure to resist them, of lies and evasions, of tarnished realities behind brilliant glittering images.
512 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
About the author
Susan Howatch
88 books540 followersSusan Howatch (b. 1940) is a British novelist who has penned bestselling mysteries, family sagas, and other novels. Howatch was born in Surrey, England. She began writing as a teen and published her first book when she moved to the United States in 1964. Howatch found global success first with her five sagas and then with her novels about the Church of England in the twentieth century. She has now returned to live in Surrey.
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November 13, 2023The first thing that I absolutely have to say about this book is that it has nothing to do with the Barbican development in central London. I needed to say that because for many years I thought that it did, and perhaps other lost souls are labouring under a similar delusion.
This is a spiritual Bildungsroman set in late 1930s southern England ranging from Cambridge to Chichester; centred on a not so young Church of England (C of E) clergyman who is asked to undertake a secret mission by the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Bishop of Chichester - think Under the Glacier, but without a tape recorder, buses, or spiral nebulae - the Bishop of Chichester's eyes glow amber when he hypnotises people, though that is not the cause of the secret mission, that is simply the normal kind of spiritual power that people may have and might abuse in this book. This mission is the surface of the novel but it brings about a spiritual crisis in the main character which is the meat of the story, this progresses a little like When Nietzsche Wept with the major difference that this book ends not in liberation but in more effective control - this is a novel set in late 1930s southern England and the stiff upper lip is 'a good thing', but control as the desired safe haven was for me the most interesting part of the story.
One might, naively, think that a spiritual bildungsroman might be a very interior novel, but no, for all that the narration is in the first person and that the narrative is very much concerned with the "glittering images" that people construct and project compared with the realities behind them, this is a remarkably superficial story in that everything is on the surface. The main character eventually confesses to having been in a terrible spiritual crisis - but I hadn't seen it, it was only after sleeping that I realised that this crisis was not expressed in thoughts or feelings by through the consumption of alcohol. Sadly one cannot draw a simple graph showing Spiritual state = to number of units of alcohol consumed because different kinds of alcohol have distinct spiritual qualities. So for example a glass of dry sherry, then a glass of claret with dinner (two if the claret is very good) followed by port is ok for a C of E clergyman, this indicates that he is in perfect spiritual health. Furthermore Brandy is fortifying and may even be administered by an Abbott while giving spiritual counselling in extreme circumstances, however a double whisky without soda is bad news, spiritually speaking.
The story progress as in the The big sleep by the main character meeting people in limited spaces and having a conversation with them. This is a bit like a clunky role playing game but is effective and compelling even without the guns that Chandler needs in his book. These are quite limited interactions until the middle of the book, once we are in the spiritual crisis, Howatch has these massive info-dumps as characters pour out their life stories. The reader appreciates her desire to provide perspective and understanding and can see how that mirrors the main characters improving spiritual health and ability to stand back rather than jumping into a whisky fuelled shouting match, but it felt a bit lumpy to read.
Other key texts here are The murder of roger ackroyd, for a reason that I can't mention because it would be a spoiler for both books, and possibly Ivanhoe and both are referenced in the story, the Christie story repeatedly.
Pleasingly this is a circular book, having travelled through his spiritual crisis the clergyman returns to where he was before, but views things (hopefully) from a more helpful perspective, and while about to replicate the circumstances of his parent's marriage, maybe he can do so with a bit of self-knowledge.
This novel might work best for you if you believe in the C of E (belief in God optional, or so I hear), have an anxious Christian (C of E) sexuality, think that smoking cigarettes while in clerical dress is an issue, but smoking while wearing ordinary clothes is fine.
The most amusing moment was a creaking corset, I am still trying to visualise its construction from aged wooden laths loosely pinned together and cunningly hinged, though to be fair this is from the perspective of the main character, it might be a bit much to call him misogynistic, he is certainly very aware and often critical of the appearance of women.
This is a spiritual Bildungsroman set in late 1930s southern England ranging from Cambridge to Chichester; centred on a not so young Church of England (C of E) clergyman who is asked to undertake a secret mission by the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Bishop of Chichester - think Under the Glacier, but without a tape recorder, buses, or spiral nebulae - the Bishop of Chichester's eyes glow amber when he hypnotises people, though that is not the cause of the secret mission, that is simply the normal kind of spiritual power that people may have and might abuse in this book. This mission is the surface of the novel but it brings about a spiritual crisis in the main character which is the meat of the story, this progresses a little like When Nietzsche Wept with the major difference that this book ends not in liberation but in more effective control - this is a novel set in late 1930s southern England and the stiff upper lip is 'a good thing', but control as the desired safe haven was for me the most interesting part of the story.
One might, naively, think that a spiritual bildungsroman might be a very interior novel, but no, for all that the narration is in the first person and that the narrative is very much concerned with the "glittering images" that people construct and project compared with the realities behind them, this is a remarkably superficial story in that everything is on the surface. The main character eventually confesses to having been in a terrible spiritual crisis - but I hadn't seen it, it was only after sleeping that I realised that this crisis was not expressed in thoughts or feelings by through the consumption of alcohol. Sadly one cannot draw a simple graph showing Spiritual state = to number of units of alcohol consumed because different kinds of alcohol have distinct spiritual qualities. So for example a glass of dry sherry, then a glass of claret with dinner (two if the claret is very good) followed by port is ok for a C of E clergyman, this indicates that he is in perfect spiritual health. Furthermore Brandy is fortifying and may even be administered by an Abbott while giving spiritual counselling in extreme circumstances, however a double whisky without soda is bad news, spiritually speaking.
The story progress as in the The big sleep by the main character meeting people in limited spaces and having a conversation with them. This is a bit like a clunky role playing game but is effective and compelling even without the guns that Chandler needs in his book. These are quite limited interactions until the middle of the book, once we are in the spiritual crisis, Howatch has these massive info-dumps as characters pour out their life stories. The reader appreciates her desire to provide perspective and understanding and can see how that mirrors the main characters improving spiritual health and ability to stand back rather than jumping into a whisky fuelled shouting match, but it felt a bit lumpy to read.
Other key texts here are The murder of roger ackroyd, for a reason that I can't mention because it would be a spoiler for both books, and possibly Ivanhoe and both are referenced in the story, the Christie story repeatedly.
Pleasingly this is a circular book, having travelled through his spiritual crisis the clergyman returns to where he was before, but views things (hopefully) from a more helpful perspective, and while about to replicate the circumstances of his parent's marriage, maybe he can do so with a bit of self-knowledge.
This novel might work best for you if you believe in the C of E (belief in God optional, or so I hear), have an anxious Christian (C of E) sexuality, think that smoking cigarettes while in clerical dress is an issue, but smoking while wearing ordinary clothes is fine.
The most amusing moment was a creaking corset, I am still trying to visualise its construction from aged wooden laths loosely pinned together and cunningly hinged, though to be fair this is from the perspective of the main character, it might be a bit much to call him misogynistic, he is certainly very aware and often critical of the appearance of women.
October 3, 2020
When I finish a book I use two criteria for my critique: my feelings and my thoughts.
#1 My Feelings:
Dr Moore said, in my freshman Old Testament class, that as we read the Bible, the Bible reads us. That is Glittering Images. This book rewards wounded reader. Howatch asks us to remove our masks before the Lord, like Moses’s sandals at the burning bush. I felt genuinely and physically uncomfortable with how much I could see myself in Charles — not so much in his sexual mishandlings, but in his honest desire to follow God, yet his absolutely ineptitude at doing so. I don’t think I’ll reread the book, but I will attempt to read the series.
#2 My Thoughts:
The first two acts are arresting and wonderful and beautifully miserable. I think Howatch writes psycho-analysis literature really, really well. If you’ve ever been in counseling, you will likely impose your therapist’s face onto Darrow, and you will cry (Just me...?). But! The finale of the book descends into an *almost* unbelievable level of melodrama. It by no means spoils the book, but it left a sour taste in my mouth, like cilantro after a good meal. Given that critique, I don’t know what I would suggest instead, other than, “Give us something else,” which is lazy and unhelpful. So it goes.
All my thoughts and feelings converge into this truth: Christians should read this book. Read Lewis and Tolkien for fantasy, but — for the love of God — read Howatch for the grit and gravel of the Christian life. She portrays us as we are, and we are better for having seen ourselves, warts and all, on the page.
#1 My Feelings:
Dr Moore said, in my freshman Old Testament class, that as we read the Bible, the Bible reads us. That is Glittering Images. This book rewards wounded reader. Howatch asks us to remove our masks before the Lord, like Moses’s sandals at the burning bush. I felt genuinely and physically uncomfortable with how much I could see myself in Charles — not so much in his sexual mishandlings, but in his honest desire to follow God, yet his absolutely ineptitude at doing so. I don’t think I’ll reread the book, but I will attempt to read the series.
#2 My Thoughts:
The first two acts are arresting and wonderful and beautifully miserable. I think Howatch writes psycho-analysis literature really, really well. If you’ve ever been in counseling, you will likely impose your therapist’s face onto Darrow, and you will cry (Just me...?). But! The finale of the book descends into an *almost* unbelievable level of melodrama. It by no means spoils the book, but it left a sour taste in my mouth, like cilantro after a good meal. Given that critique, I don’t know what I would suggest instead, other than, “Give us something else,” which is lazy and unhelpful. So it goes.
All my thoughts and feelings converge into this truth: Christians should read this book. Read Lewis and Tolkien for fantasy, but — for the love of God — read Howatch for the grit and gravel of the Christian life. She portrays us as we are, and we are better for having seen ourselves, warts and all, on the page.
August 28, 2015
This is not high literature. Howatch's Church of England series is really like romance novels for Anglicans. It's not that they lack sex-- there's plenty, mostly angsty, as you'd expect for a set of Anglo-Catholic classics. Rather, the narrative place of sex in a romance novel is taken by spiritual direction. You don't have fantasy lovers; you have psychic monks who can tell you exactly what's wrong with your relationship with God and your family, and what you need to do to fix it. Anyone who's had a real spiritual director-- or, worse, aspired to be one-- will find this fantasy irresistible, as I did.
Of the four I've completed, I still like this one best. Partly it's because its narrator is my favorite (he's a scholar-priest for heaven's sake). Partly, too, it's because the temporal setting of the later books is more familiar, so I can more easily see how Howatch is building her world out of tropes. (The swinging-Sixties fourth volume, "Scandalous Risks", is especially awful in this regard.)
Of the four I've completed, I still like this one best. Partly it's because its narrator is my favorite (he's a scholar-priest for heaven's sake). Partly, too, it's because the temporal setting of the later books is more familiar, so I can more easily see how Howatch is building her world out of tropes. (The swinging-Sixties fourth volume, "Scandalous Risks", is especially awful in this regard.)
January 16, 2008
This was my first Susan Howatch novel. I picked it up on the recommendation of several friends, as I was interested in reading some fiction with Christian themes. The book was quite enjoyable. For the first third, reading about an Anglican priest and his investigation of a prominent bishop was interesting but not engrossing. But then after some great twists the book suddenly became difficult to put down. I do have to say that I was caught off guard by how much sex played into the plot of the book, and there was at least one sexual episode that was described in surprising detail. At times I felt like I was reading a romance novel. (Maybe that's what this book is?) Additionally, Howatch seems to have a bizarre interpretation of spiritual phenomena: gifts of the Holy Spirit play a significant role in the story, but they are all mixed up with ideas of clairvoyance and hypnosis. Ironically, the demonic, then, is treated as ancient symbolism for modern psychological phenomena. I was never clear exactly what the rules were in the world Howatch was creating. In any case, her characters are interesting, and the psychological drama of their brokenness and healing is compelling. All in all, a great read if you don't mind the caveats.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 21, 2010
After 2 months, I've finally finished this book and have to say it wasn't great. I guess it was easy enough to read, but the situations played out a little too smoothly. The characters referred more than once to Freud and I couldn't help but think Ms Howatch had taken a psych 101 course and had turned one or two classic case studies into characters. The scenes were too pat - scripted is what I want to say but since this is a novel, I guess it is by definition scripted.
Also, the whole book, or 99% of it anyway, is dialogue. It's a series of overly-dramatic scenes where people act out and then disect it all later. Not enough inner thought for my taste.
I couldn't help but think this book relied pretty heavily on people being absurd and if any one of them would have stepped back and said "wait, this is ridiculuous" then everyone would have seen how stupid they were all acting and then the book would disintrigate. Which I guess is what happened, it just took 450 pages and a lot of words to say "this is ridiculuous".
There's no way to avoid my cynical nature here, but I also objected to everyone being noble and good by the end of the book. No one had bad motives, they were all just victims of their pasts (that Freudian childhood thing) and circumstances, and all it took was a wise monk to untangle the mess and - ta da - beautiful souls were set free. Hmmmmm.
Also, the whole book, or 99% of it anyway, is dialogue. It's a series of overly-dramatic scenes where people act out and then disect it all later. Not enough inner thought for my taste.
I couldn't help but think this book relied pretty heavily on people being absurd and if any one of them would have stepped back and said "wait, this is ridiculuous" then everyone would have seen how stupid they were all acting and then the book would disintrigate. Which I guess is what happened, it just took 450 pages and a lot of words to say "this is ridiculuous".
There's no way to avoid my cynical nature here, but I also objected to everyone being noble and good by the end of the book. No one had bad motives, they were all just victims of their pasts (that Freudian childhood thing) and circumstances, and all it took was a wise monk to untangle the mess and - ta da - beautiful souls were set free. Hmmmmm.
December 19, 2015
I remember reading 'Glittering Images' when it was first published and enjoying it so I decided to re-read the whole Starbridge series of which this is the first book. Charles Ashworth is sent by the Archbishop of Canterbury to, in effect, spy on Alex Jardine, the Bishop of Starbridge. Jardine is the Archbishop's outspoken enemy over a proposed Bill which is going through Parliament and which later became the Matrimonial Causes Act, and widened the grounds for divorce.
The Archbishop fears that Jardine's unconventional household may provide the material for a future scandal which could bring the Church into disrepute. Charles undertakes his commission with a certain amount of reluctance but with an eye to improving his standing with the Archbishop.
The few days spent with the Jardines and Mrs Jardine's companion, Miss Lyle Christie, are the catalyst which sees Charles' mental and spiritual equilibrium shatter and he must face his own demons before he can hope to achieve any sort of happiness.
This is a powerful novel about the way we all, to a certain extent live behind the glittering images which we erect to hide our own shortcomings even from ourselves. I think I got more out of this novel on second reading - partly because I am older and have more experience of life. It is a novel which makes you question your own life and how you relate to others as well as how you see yourself.
The book paints an interesting picture of the goings on in the higher echelons of the Church of England in 1937, only a couple of years before the outbreak of World War II. I found it a very worthwhile read and I am looking forward to reading the second one in the series.
The Archbishop fears that Jardine's unconventional household may provide the material for a future scandal which could bring the Church into disrepute. Charles undertakes his commission with a certain amount of reluctance but with an eye to improving his standing with the Archbishop.
The few days spent with the Jardines and Mrs Jardine's companion, Miss Lyle Christie, are the catalyst which sees Charles' mental and spiritual equilibrium shatter and he must face his own demons before he can hope to achieve any sort of happiness.
This is a powerful novel about the way we all, to a certain extent live behind the glittering images which we erect to hide our own shortcomings even from ourselves. I think I got more out of this novel on second reading - partly because I am older and have more experience of life. It is a novel which makes you question your own life and how you relate to others as well as how you see yourself.
The book paints an interesting picture of the goings on in the higher echelons of the Church of England in 1937, only a couple of years before the outbreak of World War II. I found it a very worthwhile read and I am looking forward to reading the second one in the series.
January 1, 2013
My edition of this book is so old it's not even pictured on any of those featured here on goodreads. I'm not sure when I first picked up a copy of this book or first read it. This is a booklady equivalent of junk reading. I first encountered dear sue when I lived in the UK in the early 80s. Fell in love with her technique of telling stories from first one perspective and then switching camera angles to a different character. It taught me the valuable lesson that while many may despise/like a person, there will also be select others who adore/disdain them. None of us are universally loved or hated. We all have fans and we all have foes and usually it has very little to do with what we do/are ... and everything to do with where the other person is.
Glittering Images is the first in the series of books about the legendary Starbridge (Salisbury) Cathedral and the Church of England. It traces a set of fictional characters from the 1930s on up to present day.
Glittering Images is the first in the series of books about the legendary Starbridge (Salisbury) Cathedral and the Church of England. It traces a set of fictional characters from the 1930s on up to present day.
July 10, 2007
Howatch wrote this long series of novels about clergy in the Church of England. They are heavy on theology and psychology - so I loved them, but you have to like that sort of thing. If you do, dive in. They're wonderful. Some are a bit kinky, too, particularly the final three that she wrote some years later than the original six. I found them all really interesting.
December 24, 2022
Trollope this is not. Exchanges melodrama and titillation for Trollope's insight in manners and motivations and morals. And for a novel purportedly about brilliant spiritual direction within the clerical fold, the moments rendered as most stirring and clarifying and converting sound indistinguishable from the alienist, the analyst, the confessional-as-couch. I know this isn't intended as a work of theology, but when you're comfortable name-dropping Nicaea and Barth and playing around with genuine theological controversy, and when the purpose of the book is to depict the deep movements of the soul in characters riven by sin and habits of vice and false presentations of the self and distance from God, I think it's fair to expect a bit more. Otherwise you're simply writing a novel of psychology and giving it a thin religious veneer. You're affirming that Christianity, that Christ, has nothing to offer. "Forgiveness" seems to be entirely forgiveness of the self here--no genuine confrontation with one's own sin, no genuine bearing of consequences (though, to give credit where due, Ashworth's conversion and spiritual exercises do blossom in kindness and forbearance with his parents). But on balance, forgiveness here is realizing that one is hurt or afraid, or someone else is hurt or afraid, and that, in fact, there's nothing to forgive, only to understand.
What is Christianity for these priests and those in their orbit? An exercise in power and protection and oratory and some amorphous "duty" which is never defined beyond one's one conscience. Notably absent? The work of Christ on behalf of sinners, the work of the Spirit in convicting and converting, the genuine proclamation of Scripture in moments of distress, the sense that our forgiveness of others depends entirely upon Christ's forgiveness of us.
Still, there were undoubtedly moments of real insight in the book, and the public/private personae motif is one we all share to some degree or another. God is very much interested in our real selves, even if I very much disagree that the "hidden, wounded self" is entirely the real one.
I reckon I enjoyed the book in the same way a lawyer enjoys a Grishham novel--a light entertainment set in a familiar world, by turns exhausting and outrageous in its mischaracterizations and misunderstandings.
What is Christianity for these priests and those in their orbit? An exercise in power and protection and oratory and some amorphous "duty" which is never defined beyond one's one conscience. Notably absent? The work of Christ on behalf of sinners, the work of the Spirit in convicting and converting, the genuine proclamation of Scripture in moments of distress, the sense that our forgiveness of others depends entirely upon Christ's forgiveness of us.
Still, there were undoubtedly moments of real insight in the book, and the public/private personae motif is one we all share to some degree or another. God is very much interested in our real selves, even if I very much disagree that the "hidden, wounded self" is entirely the real one.
I reckon I enjoyed the book in the same way a lawyer enjoys a Grishham novel--a light entertainment set in a familiar world, by turns exhausting and outrageous in its mischaracterizations and misunderstandings.
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April 16, 2024Theological therapeutic thriller vibes?? Truly gripping. I really need to discuss this with people so please read it. Thank you.
December 28, 2021
Glittering Images is the story of Charles Ashworth, a clergyman with the Church of England, who is sent to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Palace in 1928 to see if there are any skeletons in the Archbishop’s closet. Boy! Are there ever! Chales is a widower and when he meets Lyle Christiy at the Palace he falls instantly in love (lust?). He does his investigations of A. B. Jardine and also himself. He realizes he is the bastard son of a roughish doctor who got his mother pregnant and then deserted her as he was already married. He meets his real father. This story was mostly told through Charles prospective, but I think there was some of Lyle in there as well. I really liked Charles spiritual advisor, the monk who was married and in the navy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Shelved as 'not-going-to-finish'
June 9, 2023DNFing 34% in. I get that this is probably all leading up to the main character's big spiritual awakening but I've lost all respect for him and this isn't the right time to keep reading. A pity because I figured at the very least I'd get a good 1 star rant review out of this!
September 12, 2012
This was a tremendously satisfying book. It started light and Wodehousy, but quickly got deep and complex. There were a few moments of delighted realization as I, the reader, got to know what was going on. The book spoke to the kind of reality I live in, or wish I did.
I think my very favorite part of this book was its treatment of Christianity, Christians and the church. It is rare to find fiction that has a nuanced, compassionate view of any of these. But I found the book to be theologically compelling without being the slightest bit prudish or preachy. There were real Christians, driven by real faith and supported by a church that had some Really Good Ideas. I'm not sure I've ever encountered that done as well anywhere else.
I am a gulper of books. I can't help myself most of the time. But this is a sipping book - like a fine glass of wine.
Read if: you enjoy post-war-period English novels, you like a complex narrator, you would enjoy a nuanced view of Christianity, you like good books.
Avoid if: you cannot handle any sex scenes in your literature, you find books about the journey of the mind/spirit/soul boring and want more explosions, you are overly triggered by child loss.
I think my very favorite part of this book was its treatment of Christianity, Christians and the church. It is rare to find fiction that has a nuanced, compassionate view of any of these. But I found the book to be theologically compelling without being the slightest bit prudish or preachy. There were real Christians, driven by real faith and supported by a church that had some Really Good Ideas. I'm not sure I've ever encountered that done as well anywhere else.
I am a gulper of books. I can't help myself most of the time. But this is a sipping book - like a fine glass of wine.
Read if: you enjoy post-war-period English novels, you like a complex narrator, you would enjoy a nuanced view of Christianity, you like good books.
Avoid if: you cannot handle any sex scenes in your literature, you find books about the journey of the mind/spirit/soul boring and want more explosions, you are overly triggered by child loss.
February 4, 2015
On finishing this novel I thanked God that my life is, by comparison, so uncomplicated. This is a taut spiritual and psychological ecclesiastical thriller, of impressive angst. I lapped it up; this was a book that I resented putting down; instead delighting in new words (to me) such as ‘apostate’; so (sadly) useful in the Church of England nowadays, and being charmed by the thought of a door opened by “a butler “who looked like a character from a Trollope novel,” (no, not Joanna) which seemed just too good to be true; though mention, on page 5, of debate of AP Herbert MP’s “Marriage Bill, does date the action of the opening plot to 1937.
This book also introduced me to the curious concept of a spiritual director, a matter of a religious agony uncle. Ten years later it came as a real shock to me to hear a real life Anglican (mod.) friend of mine talking about how much she valued her discussions with her spiritual director. What had been fiction to me had become fact.
I am mystified as to why Susan Howatch’s Starbridge series and St Benet’s trilogy have neither yet been adapted for television or film.
This book also introduced me to the curious concept of a spiritual director, a matter of a religious agony uncle. Ten years later it came as a real shock to me to hear a real life Anglican (mod.) friend of mine talking about how much she valued her discussions with her spiritual director. What had been fiction to me had become fact.
I am mystified as to why Susan Howatch’s Starbridge series and St Benet’s trilogy have neither yet been adapted for television or film.
June 2, 2020
This was an odd book. It stars out with a prurient investigation into an Anglican Bishop's marriage, by an Anglican cleric. It then veers into a repentance narrative about the cleric wherein he interacts with an Anglican monk, who has a bit of the sight about him. Then, it veers, ever so slightly, to the Exorcist.
I liked parts, skimmed parts, and was perplexed by parts.
I liked parts, skimmed parts, and was perplexed by parts.
May 8, 2023
I've been entranced.
Reading this book, I joined Susan Howatch on the ledge of the human experience. Together, we investigated the detailed complexities within it. (Mind you, she did all the heavy lifting.) She offered me a chance to remain open-minded with my dichotomies. Only then am I able to find the mysteries beyond the mysteries in my life.
Reading this book, I joined Susan Howatch on the ledge of the human experience. Together, we investigated the detailed complexities within it. (Mind you, she did all the heavy lifting.) She offered me a chance to remain open-minded with my dichotomies. Only then am I able to find the mysteries beyond the mysteries in my life.
October 19, 2022
Equal parts appalling and heartbreaking, Glittering Images is a tour-de-force of backbreaking genre defiance. It's Christian from right around that pervasive "Jesus Movement," but it ain't your mom's Christian Inspiration from the likes of Beverly Lewis or Francine Rivers. There's real theology here right alongside a whole lot of ill-repressed eroticism. People are having real conversations about God in the same moment they are utterly failing to uphold the principles they say they believe. They're less hypocrites, though, than they are just people struggling every inch of the way toward "not my will but yours."
Narratively, the book is super plot-driven (falsely romantic but mysterious) (the most compelling developments are between the men) in the beginning and then diverges into the slow-paced retreat of a monastery, and kind of picks back up with plot at the end, but by then I was tired. I don't like these people. The character I like best is perhaps the "vilest" and most broken of them all. The last two pages are radiant and might make the two-thirds before it worth it, but the second two-thirds are a long-winded dialogue. This spiritual counseling dialogue is broken up in the last third with occasional action, but everyone does exactly what they already said they're going to do. No moments of humans surprising each other, themselves, or the reader.
The spiritual counsel is a useful soul-flaying operation for the characters and at least this reader, examining our hairy hearts, and truly, the insights are profound, but also sometimes trite and obvious. And to get every bit of backstory through dialogue—so. much. dialogue.—try a flashback every once in a while—is tiresome. How do these people remember every single thing another person says and when and how? Where's the fallibility of human memory?! Howatch does a decent job of compartmentalizing each speaker's experience so no one is omniscient, but, despite what they say, there's very little mystery of other people. We may not know all that anyone says or does, but the remaining questions don't leave to the imagination anything worth further contemplation.
Listen, I hate saying an author should have written a book other than the one she wrote, because Glittering Images must have been the book Howatch wanted and needed, but I would have preferred to *read* this story from Alex Jardine's perspective, *his* breakdown, and even better to have gotten it from the woman at the center of the tale, Lyle Christie. Charles Ashworth is uninterestingly insufferable. I was always eager to get him back to the palace and Cathedral.
Also, I wanted to start tearing out pages (but I borrowed the book, and I am a good book-borrower!) every time I read the phrase "glittering image." We get it! Say it once or twice and move on.
Stars are kinda meaningless here. I read with glee in a year when I've not read anything with glee. These characters moved me and outraged me. But I was also quite ready for the book to end and feel none of that lingering desire to stay with these people. Well, except Jardine, whose past and future I would keep reading for but pretty sure was never written.
Narratively, the book is super plot-driven (falsely romantic but mysterious) (the most compelling developments are between the men) in the beginning and then diverges into the slow-paced retreat of a monastery, and kind of picks back up with plot at the end, but by then I was tired. I don't like these people. The character I like best is perhaps the "vilest" and most broken of them all. The last two pages are radiant and might make the two-thirds before it worth it, but the second two-thirds are a long-winded dialogue. This spiritual counseling dialogue is broken up in the last third with occasional action, but everyone does exactly what they already said they're going to do. No moments of humans surprising each other, themselves, or the reader.
The spiritual counsel is a useful soul-flaying operation for the characters and at least this reader, examining our hairy hearts, and truly, the insights are profound, but also sometimes trite and obvious. And to get every bit of backstory through dialogue—so. much. dialogue.—try a flashback every once in a while—is tiresome. How do these people remember every single thing another person says and when and how? Where's the fallibility of human memory?! Howatch does a decent job of compartmentalizing each speaker's experience so no one is omniscient, but, despite what they say, there's very little mystery of other people. We may not know all that anyone says or does, but the remaining questions don't leave to the imagination anything worth further contemplation.
Listen, I hate saying an author should have written a book other than the one she wrote, because Glittering Images must have been the book Howatch wanted and needed, but I would have preferred to *read* this story from Alex Jardine's perspective, *his* breakdown, and even better to have gotten it from the woman at the center of the tale, Lyle Christie. Charles Ashworth is uninterestingly insufferable. I was always eager to get him back to the palace and Cathedral.
Also, I wanted to start tearing out pages (but I borrowed the book, and I am a good book-borrower!) every time I read the phrase "glittering image." We get it! Say it once or twice and move on.
Stars are kinda meaningless here. I read with glee in a year when I've not read anything with glee. These characters moved me and outraged me. But I was also quite ready for the book to end and feel none of that lingering desire to stay with these people. Well, except Jardine, whose past and future I would keep reading for but pretty sure was never written.
March 2, 2017
A fascinating historical novel.
June 16, 2022
While in many ways Glittering Images contains what I love in a novel--a strong sense of setting, psychological character studies, a sense of interior life, spirituality--I couldn't bring myself to care 400+ pages' worth about the sexual neuroses of middle-aged, middle-class English people. (I did make it through the whole book, but my enjoyment declined as soon as .) One character was disappointingly unexplored, compared to all of the other characters who received lengthy examinations: . That came across as more than a little sexist, since that character was thin from the start. The "spiritual direction" sessions, though the director in question deplored psychological counseling for not getting to the spiritual root of patients' problems, read like psychoanalysis sessions and not like spiritual direction sessions. Where was the prayer? The silence? The examination of interior movements? It was all analyzing childhood and the like. I just didn't find it accurate to the real experience of spiritual direction, and the shadow of pop-Freud loomed large.
I would be very interested in more by Howatch, as I enjoyed her writing style and know I can count on her for interesting and memorable characters, but this book was like a record with a pleasant enough song that played out and nobody took the needle off. She hammered home the "glittering images" metaphor harder than your neighbors' roofers at 8 AM on a Saturday morning. I did like the Ignatian spirituality representation, but it was too little, too late. Howatch writes family sagas (after Glittering Images I can see why) and I love those, but I am loath to continue this series. For all my love of churchy novels, I will scream if I have to read more of a 1970s writer's imaginings of the sexual hangups of late Victorians between the wars.
I would be very interested in more by Howatch, as I enjoyed her writing style and know I can count on her for interesting and memorable characters, but this book was like a record with a pleasant enough song that played out and nobody took the needle off. She hammered home the "glittering images" metaphor harder than your neighbors' roofers at 8 AM on a Saturday morning. I did like the Ignatian spirituality representation, but it was too little, too late. Howatch writes family sagas (after Glittering Images I can see why) and I love those, but I am loath to continue this series. For all my love of churchy novels, I will scream if I have to read more of a 1970s writer's imaginings of the sexual hangups of late Victorians between the wars.
July 18, 2009
I read this book/series many years ago. Distinct memories are hazy, but having read other reviews, the general story comes back. I do remember being intrigued by learning about the ecclesiastical structure of the Church of England. The practice of having a spiritual guide for their pastors was intriguing. The spiritual faith of the main characters and their journeys are what kept me reading throughout the series.
The device of the author to advance the story through characters that appear in differing amounts throughout the series was effective. This allows the reader to see the same situation through different "eyes" depending upon whose point of view the particular book is featuring. I seem to recall there was a character in one book that I did not particularly like, but when I read a subsequent book, the actions of that character became more clear and empathy was engendered. This taught me something about people's motives and how we can't know everything about someone's actions if we don't know the whole story.
These are well written books, but not for the faint of heart. They are long and they are involved and they are very thought provoking. Prepare to be challenged on many levels if you choose to read them.
January 11, 2015
Thanks goodness for Kindle Daily Deals! I had never even heard of Susan Howatch until I got this in my Kindle daily notices. I was intrigued by the books description and decided to purchase the book.
Well, that turned out to be a great day because even though there are hundreds of other books on my Kindle I quickly gravitated to Glittering Images. What a wonderful book this turned out to be with religious, psychological and personal twists and turns throughout the novel. Many others have written reviews on this book, so there is no need for me to echo their comments, but rather I write to praise an author I had never heard of until about a month ago and wonder why I had not heard of her prior to this. Being an avid reader I am always looking for new authors and new subjects to read about and Howatch is now on my list, and there are another 4 books on my Kindle with more to come whenever I can spot a price break!
Great book, wonderful topic and characters and I look forward to the 2nd book of this series.
Well, that turned out to be a great day because even though there are hundreds of other books on my Kindle I quickly gravitated to Glittering Images. What a wonderful book this turned out to be with religious, psychological and personal twists and turns throughout the novel. Many others have written reviews on this book, so there is no need for me to echo their comments, but rather I write to praise an author I had never heard of until about a month ago and wonder why I had not heard of her prior to this. Being an avid reader I am always looking for new authors and new subjects to read about and Howatch is now on my list, and there are another 4 books on my Kindle with more to come whenever I can spot a price break!
Great book, wonderful topic and characters and I look forward to the 2nd book of this series.
October 7, 2018
I have given 5 stars to a very few (maybe 5 or 6) books. I remembered reading this book several years ago and enjoying it, so I reread it this week. I don't know that I have ever enjoyed and admired an author's writing style, vocabulary, and careful story -plotting as much as I admire Ms Howatch's. I copied 5 full word-processing pages full of narrative and dialog that was either so inspiring in content or so clever in wording that I wanted to retain it for further consideration. I love to read a book that requires me to stop and think and review every few pages - this book did that. Five stars for writing style; Five stars for story-weaving; Five stars for engaging characters; Five stars for edifying content; and Five stars for mental stimulation.
February 12, 2008
Holy Cow! What a story Susan Howatch weaves. There's depth and twist after twist. I'm very glad that this is just the first book to a huge series. Unfortunately, with a baby, it's harder to find time to read an in depth book like this. These books are no quick read. They are, however, completely worth your time.
November 11, 2007
The first of the Church of England series that was, for me, life changing. This one begins in SH's former Gothic style, but her style develops considerably through the series to heart-stopping, page-turning psycho-spiritual thriller. The Wonder Worker series is a spin off of this series, and even more exciting, but not for the squeamish.
December 28, 2020
A beautiful depiction of brokenness and healing; I underlined so dang much. If we're talking plot, the first third is painful, the second third so redemptive, and the last third . . . eh, I could have done without it. This book is absolutely worth reading even if only for Charles's spiritual (and psychological) rehabilitation under the watchful and caring eye of Jon Darrow. Packed with memorable scenes, and it has piqued my interest enough for Glamorous Powers to make its way onto my Christmas list.
May 20, 2024
Just better with each reread.
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May 18, 2023This was so bizarre. But in a good way...I think? I don't even know what I think! So much of the plot was just so absurd and ridiculous. And yet once I finally got into it, I couldn't put it down. I especially found Darrow's counseling in the middle section to be profound and compelling.
May 26, 2014
This book was delightfully scandalous for 1930's England. The book centers on Charles Ashworth, a doctor of divinity who is commissioned by the Archbishop of Canterbury to investigate the Bishop of Starbridge's private and potentially scandal-filled life. The writing itself is quite beautiful, kind of like a thick brownie fresh from the oven (but with a few nuts in it). Although the book is set in some beautiful bits of England (Cambridge is one of my favorite places on earth), there aren't any unnecessarily long descriptions of the setting, which was refreshing. The story primarily unfolds through dialogue between characters, which is generally fast-paced, witty, and quite entertaining. The character development in this book is just outstanding. With each chapter just a little bit more about each person is revealed. The book is broken up into three parts. The first part of the book, entitled "The Mystery", is like a tarts and vicars party where the vicars are the tarts. Just what is going on in the Bishop of Starbridge's household? He has an interesting domestic situation; he lives with his wife and her young, attractive companion. What Dr. Ashworth is trying to find out (and the reader is dying to know) is whether or not everything is as it seems. And everything is investigated over what sounds like some really good wine.
The second part of the book, "The Mystery Beyond the Mystery" satisfied the Freudian part of my brain. This section is rather long, but it is a great back and forth between Dr. Ashworth and his new spiritual counselor, a monk called Jon Darrow. I don't really want to give anything away about this wonderful story, but suffice it to say, we learn a lot about what makes Dr. Ashworth tick.
The third part of the story, "The Calling", basically exists to wrap up any loose ends. And the ending is satisfying, indeed. But after closing the book, I was able to reflect on how this book really talks about the redemptive qualities of God and how anyone, even a member of the clergy, can find themselves mistaken about God and His truth. And even though some of the characters were kind of bizarre and did things even a 21st century girl like me thought scandalous, I still loved them all. I understood the driving forces behind all of their actions. And knowing them that completely, it was easy to love them all in spite of their mistakes. At the end of the day, this book reinforced my image of a loving God. Well-written and extremely entertaining. I highly recommend.
The second part of the book, "The Mystery Beyond the Mystery" satisfied the Freudian part of my brain. This section is rather long, but it is a great back and forth between Dr. Ashworth and his new spiritual counselor, a monk called Jon Darrow. I don't really want to give anything away about this wonderful story, but suffice it to say, we learn a lot about what makes Dr. Ashworth tick.
The third part of the story, "The Calling", basically exists to wrap up any loose ends. And the ending is satisfying, indeed. But after closing the book, I was able to reflect on how this book really talks about the redemptive qualities of God and how anyone, even a member of the clergy, can find themselves mistaken about God and His truth. And even though some of the characters were kind of bizarre and did things even a 21st century girl like me thought scandalous, I still loved them all. I understood the driving forces behind all of their actions. And knowing them that completely, it was easy to love them all in spite of their mistakes. At the end of the day, this book reinforced my image of a loving God. Well-written and extremely entertaining. I highly recommend.
August 7, 2013
I am struggling with out to rate this. 2 stars seems like too little, but I just cannot give this book 3 stars, which both surprises and saddens me. This is the second Susan Howatch book I have read, although it is actually the first in her Starbridge series. I read "Ultimate Prizes" (the third in series...although they can be read out of order) and LOVED it. In fact, after finishing I could not wait to read the others in this series and planned to read them all! I was especially excited for "Glittering Images", because the narrator, Dr. Charles Ashworth, was a brief but interesting character in "Ultimate Prizes", and I was anxious to read the story of his younger years. Howatch proved to be an insightful and captivating writer in "Ultimate Prizes", which might be some of the reason why I did not love this book, my expectations were too high. While there were definitely parts of the story that allowed glimpses of Howatch's beautiful writing, they were overshadowed by the ridiculous storyline that seemed to grow more and more unbelievable as the book went on.
Perhaps I would have liked this book better had I not read "Ultimate Prizes" first. In "Ultimate Prizes", Howatch's insight into morality, sin, repentance, forgiveness and ultimately, the atonement were so powerful and well written that in comparison, "Glittering Images", felt choppy and far too much like a psych textbook (think Freud). The spiritual depth felt forced and out of place.
I feel bad giving it such a low rating, but I just did not love this one. If I hadn't read and loved her other novel I would probably not continue reading this series, but for the sake of "Ultimate Prizes", I do plan to try again!
Perhaps I would have liked this book better had I not read "Ultimate Prizes" first. In "Ultimate Prizes", Howatch's insight into morality, sin, repentance, forgiveness and ultimately, the atonement were so powerful and well written that in comparison, "Glittering Images", felt choppy and far too much like a psych textbook (think Freud). The spiritual depth felt forced and out of place.
I feel bad giving it such a low rating, but I just did not love this one. If I hadn't read and loved her other novel I would probably not continue reading this series, but for the sake of "Ultimate Prizes", I do plan to try again!
May 31, 2021
A book that defies genres-part Christian living, part historical fiction, part trashy romance novel, part British mystery, part therapy on couch session-and all together a good read. The middle was a little slow and everything did wrap up a little too nice but it was nice to read a griping book with Christ-centered overtures.
Second reading-
Instead of trying to figure out the mystery, I was trying to remember it!
Still a great read. This time 12 years later, I didn't think the middle part was slow. If anything I thought the spiritual guidance wrapped up a little too easily. But it was still so good. So much insight into our Christian lives (but why do I need a book that borders on trashy in sections to remind me to think about how to respond to situations as a Christian? Fiction can be so good that way).
I'm looking forward to rereading the whole series!
Second reading-
Instead of trying to figure out the mystery, I was trying to remember it!
Still a great read. This time 12 years later, I didn't think the middle part was slow. If anything I thought the spiritual guidance wrapped up a little too easily. But it was still so good. So much insight into our Christian lives (but why do I need a book that borders on trashy in sections to remind me to think about how to respond to situations as a Christian? Fiction can be so good that way).
I'm looking forward to rereading the whole series!
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