The Loving Spirit
The Loving Spirit was the first novel of Daphne du Maurier and was published in 1931 by William Heinemann. The book takes its name from a line in the poem "Self-Interrogation" by Emily Brontë. Daphne du Maurier began work on the book in October 1929 at Ferryside, the du Maurier's holiday home in Bodinnick, Cornwall. Ferryside is close to the harbour town of Polruan and opposite Fowey on the south coast of Cornwall. Synopsis The novel tells the story of the Coombe family over four generations starting with Janet Coombe, Joseph Coombe, Christopher Coombe and Jennifer Coombe. The book is based on real events and places, but names are changed and Plyn is an amalgam of Fowey and Polruan and the Slade family name becomes Coombe. The novel introduces Janet as a young woman who marries Thomas Coombe a ship builder in Plyn. They have several children and the boys follow their father into the family business with the exception of Philip who becomes a clerk at the local shipping office and Joseph, who like Janet, longs to go to sea. Philip features in all chapters of the book and is portrayed as a dark force, withdrawn and distant from the rest of the family. Fowey was a busy port at this time and Joseph serves his time on board a sea trading vessel. In time Joseph earns his master certificate and the family agree to build their own ship and name it the “Janet Coombe” which Joseph then captains. Tragedy strikes when Janet, who has a weak heart, passes away on the day of the ship launch. The book transitions to Joseph, who spends most of his time at sea, and later, marries Susan Collins. His ambition for his youngest son, Christopher, is for him to follow in his footsteps. These plans are thwarted when Christopher declares his hatred of the sea and a rift between father and son ensues. Christopher later abandons the Janet Coombe while it was offloading in London and Joseph, distraught by this news, refuses to have anything more to do with Christopher. A rivalry with his brother Philip is fuelled by their courting of the same girl following the death of Joseph’s wife Susan. Joseph wins the girl's hand, but gradually, as failing sight prevents him from going to sea, he broods, becomes mentally unstable and his young wife dies in childbirth. He hears his dead mother Janet calling him and they meet at the castle ruin on the cliff, when he returns his brother Philip has him committed to an asylum. Christopher returns to Cornwall with a wife and children, but his father Joseph has died at the time of his return. Christopher contacts his uncle Philip about the estate of his father and his shares in the ship. Philip, who has risen to the head position in the shipping business, advises there is nothing left and the shares were used to pay the costs of the asylum. Philip has little to do