posted on 09 Dec 2022

Devil by the Sea by Nina Bawden

I have to start this review by saying it’s one of the most difficult I’ve sat down to do. Devil by the Sea was first published in 1957 as an adult novel but the version I read was actually published in 1976 and was edited by Bawden for a young adult audience. I haven’t read the full adult version but I can only imagine that it is a dark and deeply disturbing tale because this version for younger readers is one of the most troublesome I’ve read given that has that has such a relatively young audience in mind. 

So why is it such a difficult read? Not because it’s badly written – quite the opposite – but because of the central themes it deals with. Hilary Bray is a nine year old child who is part of a disconnected, dysfunctional family full of petty jealousies, bitterness and spite. Hilary herself, frankly, is an unpleasant child who feels (perhaps rightly) unloved and desperately wants to be the centre of attention. She is constantly reflecting on the behaviour of her much older sister, Janet who is in a relationship with a posh, married man, and Peregrine, a younger brother who everyone thinks is saintly. Their parents, Alice and Charlie Bray are disconnected from each other and from their children – they seem to have fallen out of love with everyone.

When the book opens, Hilary and Peregrine are being, rather neglectfully, looked after by Janet at a seaside talent contest for children. Hilary finds herself sitting by an old man with sharp features and claw-like fingers who seems to be taking an unnatural interest in the pretty young girl, Poppet, who wins the contest. She watches as he manoeuvres to put himself in a position where he can whisk Poppet away – taking her by the hand and leading her off. What Hilary doesn’t know is that she’s just witnessed an abduction that will end in a terrible crime – instead she feels jealous of Poppet because she actually wanted the old man to be her special friend.

Hilary tells Peregrine was has happened and says that she thought that the man was probably Poppet’s uncle or some other relation but the perceptive young boy knows better and says:

"No he isn't. He's the devil. I saw his cloven hoof."

Despite this, the girl finds herself compelled to find the man, who she has discovered is known in the town as Dotty Jim, and become his friend. She knows he’s an outsider and instinctively feels that he must be the perfect friend for her. As it gradually becomes clear to the reader that Dotty Jim is the person behind the abduction and death of Poppet it also becomes clear that Hilary may well be the next in line.

Does anyone in the family care enough to see the threat and to save the nine-year-old from the clutches of Dotty Jim?

Well, obviously I’m not going to say how this plays out in case you want to read this for yourself. But if you do, prepare yourself for quite a difficult, emotional read.

I really can’t quite understand why either author or publisher felt this was a book that would be suited to a younger readership. It would have been a difficult enough read for an adult audience given the core themes of the book and the central story of child abduction. Given that I haven’t read the adult version I can’t say what revisions were made by the author but they don’t seem to have really changed the extraordinarily disturbing atmosphere of the book.

I’m not someone who thinks that children need to always be shielded from all the dark and disturbing issues that arise in the adult world but, equally, I don’t want young readers to be traumatised by their books. Bawden is a superb writer and that makes the reading experience even more compellingly vivid and threatening: I can’t help but feel that this novel could easily overwhelm a younger, less robust reader and that it would have been better left as a book for adults.

The children’s version is much easier to find than the original adult novel but it might be that one you’d be best of getting hold of.

 

Terry Potter

December 2022