''Constance,'' or ''Solitary Practices'' (1982) is the central volume of the five novels of

Lawrence Durrell Lawrence George Durrell (; 27 February 1912 – 7 November 1990) was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer. He was the eldest brother of naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell. Born in India to British colonial pare ...

's ''

The Avignon Quintet ''The Avignon Quintet'' is a five-volume series of novels by British writer Lawrence Durrell, published between 1974 and 1985. The novels are metafictional. He uses developments in experimental fiction that followed his ''The Alexandria Quartet'' ...

,'' published from 1974 to 1985. It was nominated for the

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...

in 1982. Involving some of the characters from the preceding ''Livia,'' the novel also introduces new ones. It is set before and during World War II, in France, Egypt, Poland and Switzerland.

Plot summary

The novel is set in the period from the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1939 with the

Nazi invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...

, to the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Its settings include

Avignon, France Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label= Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune had a ...

;

Geneva, Switzerland Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

; Poland, and Egypt. The first chapter continues in

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

, where the previous novel, '' Livia'' (1979), was set. It details Constance's blossoming relationship with her husband Sam. As the clouds of war loom, a group of Europeans is breaking up whose last summer together was explored in ''Livia.'' Novelist Aubrey Blanford takes a post in Egypt, kindly offered to him by Prince Hassad. During a visit there from Sam, now a soldier, a picnic trip ends in disaster as the party comes under friendly fire. Sam is killed and Blanford crippled in the attack. Constance moves to

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

in neutral Switzerland. There she learns of Sam's death. Eventually Constance decides to return to France, where the

Vichy regime Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

rules over Provence and the south of France after the Nazi defeat of the country and occupation of Paris and the north. She lives in the big house of Tu Duc, where Livia returns. Disfigured by the loss of an eye (the reasons for which are not given until ''Quinx,'' the last novel of the quintet), Livia commits

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. Constance returns to

, where she embarks on a passionate affair with the Prince's aide Sebastian Affad. Affad returns to Alexandria and to disgrace amongst his Gnostic sect for his adventure with Constance in Geneva. It is at this point in the book that Durrell begins to introduce 'fictional' characters from ''Monsieur'', the first in the quintent, including its author, the novelist Robin Sutcliffe, himself a fictional invention of Blanford's. Not only does Sutcliffe appear in 'real life', but so too does Bruce Drexel, another character from ''Monsieur''. Alongside this, a number of characters from ''

The Alexandria Quartet ''The Alexandria Quartet'' is a tetralogy of novels by British writer Lawrence Durrell, published between 1957 and 1960. A critical and commercial success, the first three books present three perspectives on a single set of events and characters ...

'' make 'cameo' appearances, including British Ambassador David Mountolive, intelligence officer Maskelyne, the gnostic Balthazar, the novelist Pursewarden and the dancer Melissa, who sleeps with Sebastian Affad and is rewarded with three cigars to gift her Jewish patron and lover.

Reception

The novel was short-listed for the 1982

. American critic John Leonard, writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

,'' was highly critical of Durrell's work in this novel and the previous two books of the Quintet so far: "For a novelist like Mr. Durrell, almost any idea is incapacitating, an excuse to abandon his lyric impulse and resort to old, lazy tricks, like one writer talking to another or confiding in his notebook or finding fragments of a third writer's diary. ... Three books into his Gnostic quincunx, one longs for either amnesia or the stake. Memory - 'a dog on your back gnawing at your eyeballs' - is Mr. Durrell's real subject, but so far, sad to report,

Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel '' In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous E ...

has nothing to worry about."John Leonard, "Books of the Times"
''New York Times,'' 2 December 1982; 1998; accessed 17 October 2016

References

External links

The International Lawrence Durrell Society
Official website of ILDS

{{Lawrence Durrell 1982 British novels Novels by Lawrence Durrell Novels set in Geneva Faber and Faber books