Carrie's War by Nina Bawden

First published: 1973

Type of work: Historical fiction

Themes: Coming-of-age and war

Time of work: 1939

Recommended Ages: 10-13

Locale: The home of Samuel and Louise Evans, Wales

Principal Characters:

• Caroline “Carrie” Wendy Willow, an eleven-year-old girl who has been evacuated from London
• Nicholas “Nick” Peter Willow, her brother, an outspoken ten-year-old who has been evacuated with her
• Samuel Isaac Evans, the strictly religious, penny-pinching store owner with whom the Willow children live
• “Auntie” Lou, his sister, a timid but kindhearted woman
• Dilys Gotobed, Mr. Evans’ invalid sister
• Hepzibah Green, the housekeeper for Mr. Evans’ invalid sister, a compassionate and knowledgeable woman
• Johnny Gotobed, the slightly mentally retarded distant cousin of Dilys and Isaac Evans
• Albert Sandwich, the thirteen-year-old evacuee who stays with Hepzibah Green, an intellectual, friendly young man

The Story

Eleven-year-old Carrie and her ten-year-old brother, Nick, are evacuated from World War II London to a Welsh coal-mining town. There, Carrie must learn to cope with new surroundings and people different from those in her family. When she returns thirty years later, as a widow and mother of four, she must come to terms with her past.

When Carrie and Nick arrive in Wales, they are unprepared for the home of Mr. Evans and his sister, whom they call “Auntie Lou.” He is strict Chapel and will tolerate little from either the children or his sister. A hard and stingy man, he makes everyone walk on the sides of the stairs so the new carpet will not wear out. Auntie Lou is the antithesis of her brother: She is gentle and kind but unable and unwilling to stand up to her brother. Consequently, she lives her life in fear of her brother’s temper. This is a complete change of life for Nick and Carrie, who came from a loving—if slightly dusty—home. Carrie is especially sensitive to this and constantly cautions Nick to be careful.

Another change in their lives occurs when they are sent to fetch the Christmas goose from Druid’s Bottom, the home of Hepzibah Green, Mr. Johnny Gotobed, and Dilys Gotobed, Mr. Evans’ invalid sister. Here they find a loving home filled with unusual people, including Albert Sandwich, a fellow evacuee.

During this visit, Carrie and Nick are told the legend of a skull that has been in the family for many years. According to the legend, the skull was that of a young African boy who had been brought to Wales as a slave. When the boy became homesick, the family promised to send him back to Africa. Before this could be done, however, he died of a fever. The boy viewed this as a breach of promise and before dying placed a curse on the house: He instructed the family to bury him, but when his flesh had rotted they had to remove his skull and keep it in the house. If they failed to do this, the walls of their house would crumble. Albert contends that the skull could never be that of a young boy; Carrie scolds him for spoiling the story.

When they return to the Evans’, Carrie soon discovers that Mr. Evans is jealous of both Hepzibah and the good time they had with her. It is Mr. Evans’ intention that Carrie spy on the household for him, in order to determine whether Hepzibah is wasting his sister’s money.

Carrie soon meets the mysterious Dilys Gotobed. She was cut off from the family when she married Mr. Gotobed, the mine owner, whose father Mr. Evans blamed for his own father’s death. Mrs. Gotobed is waiting to die. Carrie proclaims that she is not afraid of Mr. Evans; Mrs. Gotobed gives Carrie a message to give him after her death: She always remembered that he was her brother, and asks him to understand that her decision to leave the property to Hepzibah was based on obligation, and not done to spite him.

Following Mrs. Gotobed’s death, Carrie delivers her message. She expects Mr. Evans to be glad that his sister remembered him; however, the reaction is quite different. He is enraged because he believes Hepzibah has exerted undue influence upon his sister and because he will not inherit the property. Unfortunately, even though Mrs. Gotobed spoke of a will that would leave her property to Hepzibah, no will can be found. Mr. Evans gives Hepzibah and Johnny one month to move. This action by Mr. Evans causes Carrie to feel a considerable amount of guilt. She believes that if she had not gone to Mr. Evans with the message from Mrs. Gotobed, the situation might somehow be different. At this point in the story, Carrie and Nick’s mother sends word that she will be renting a cottage in Glasgow and that they are to join her in two weeks.

On their last day in Wales, the children are treated to a special picnic with the Evanses and a farewell tea at Druid’s Bottom. It is at the latter event that Carrie commits the action that will haunt her for thirty years. In order to save the house from Mr. Evans, she throws the African boy’s skull into the horse pond, hoping to invoke the age-old curse. The next day, as Carrie and Nick leave on the train, they see Druid’s Bottom in flames.

When Carrie returns with her children thirty years later, it is with a sense of dread. For thirty years she has carried the guilt of causing the deaths of three people. The reader discovers, instead, that Hepzibah and Mr. Johnny are fine and that Albert is due for a weekend visit. Although the ending is somewhat conventional, it does provide a separation of myth from reality.

Context

Carrie’s War is seen as a transitional novel, marking Bawden’s emergence as a major writer of children’s fiction. She presents the children in a realistic manner, as evidenced by the scene in which Nick steals ginger biscuits from Mr. Evans’ store. Although some of the characters are exaggerated for effect, the general circumstances are realistic—two very scared children are placed in a situation in which many adults would find it difficult to cope.

This novel is part of a genre of war fiction in which the experiences are relayed from an adolescent point of view. Other novels include Noel Streatfeild’s When the Siren Wailed (1974) and L. M. Montgomery’s World War I novel, Rilla of Ingleside (1921). Carrie’s War has less to do with the effects of the war than other novels of the same genre, yet it is a valuable novel of its kind. In fact, the detachment from the war may actually be more realistic for a child of Carrie’s age.