Misfit's Reviews > Hungry Hill

"I have the silver, you have the land"

Du Maurier recounts the lives of several generations of the Brodrick family, landholders in Dunhaven Ireland starting in 1820 when "Copper John" Brodrick cements a deal to start a copper mine at the base of Hungry Hill. John's main priorities are the business and its profits, with little concern for the day to day welfare of the miners and their families - enflaming a long-standing family grudge that leads to a curse on the Brodrick family. The story of the family continues with subsequent generations as Copper John's sons and his grandsons battle to maintain the mines and the family fortune with the fluctuating price of copper and tin, along with their own personal and mental battles. The story finally culminates in 1920 as the last of the line John-Henry returns from the Great War in 1920 to reclaim the family estate and finds himself unwittingly involved in the Irish rebellion with unexpected consequences to him and the family home Clonmere.

Overall, this was quite a good read despite a stereotyped character or two (it was written in the 1940s) and a storyline a bit on the predictable side. While it might not appeal as much to those readers used to Du Maurier's usual fare, i.e. Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel, her writing is superb and understated as always and IMO raises this from a three to a four star read as the reader sees the viewpoint of both the Landholder and the difficulties of the Irish tenants. Still tops with me in multi-generational family sagas is Susan Howatch's Cashelmara- don't miss it.