Fenella is a young girl who travels across the sea with her grandmother, who is taking her to live with her and Fenella’s grandfather. And that’s pretty much it in way of “what happens”. The story starts as Fenella’s father accompanies them to the ship and ends when they reach the house of Fenella’s grandparents. To be honest, it’s not very exciting to read. The strength of the story lies in what is not being told, and in the undercurrents of Fenella’s perception of the unknown environment and of the great unknown which lies ahead. “On the land a white mist rose and fell. Now they could see quite plainly dark bush. Even the shapes of the umbrella ferns showed, and those strange silvery withered trees that are like skeletons…” The story subtly reflects Fenella’s childlike consciousness and emphasizes details that are otherwise quickly overlooked—a woman’s hat, the creak of the ship, the strangeness of the landscape. These sensory observations highlight Fenella’s insecurity, but also awareness, as she navigates a world that feels vast and incomprehensible.
First published in The Sphere, December 24th, 1921. Collected in The Garden Party and Other Stories, Constable, 1922
A Personal Anthology 