Glittering Images by Susan Howatch

Many years ago I discovered Susan Howatch's excellent Starbridge Series of novels.  Six books which tell the story of the Church of England during the mid twentieth century (1937 - 1960's).  Each novel takes place in the fictional Cathedral town of Starbridge.  I read the first novel in the series Glittering Images published 1987 over 20 years ago and now having reread Glittering Images I continue to marvel at how good it is and this time I vow to complete the entire Starbridge Series.

When Glittering Images begins the year is 1937 and the House of Lords has taken up Mr. A. P. Herbert's Marriage Bill which seeks to extend the reasons for granting a divorce.  Only a year prior Edward VIII abdicated the English throne to marry the divorced Mrs Simpson.  The Anglican Church didn't come out well in the Abdication crisis and Dr. William Lang, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has been afraid to take a position for or against the Marriage Bill.  The fiery and charasmatic Bishop Alex Jardine of Starbridge believes the divorce laws should be more liberal and publicly criticizes Archbishop Lang for his silence.  Lang is furious and tells his young assistant, Reverened Dr Charles Ashworth:

"Jardine's attack was quite inexcusable ... after all I was in the most unenviable position.  I couldn't condone any relaxation of the divorce law; that would have been morally repugnant to me.  On the other hand if I had openly opposed all change there would have been much damaging criticism of the church ...Yet the Bishop of Starbridge has the insufferable insolence not only to accuse me of "sitting on the fence" -- what a vulgar phrase! -- but to advocate that multiple grounds for divorce are compatible with Christian teaching!  No doubt one shouldn't expect too much of someone who's clearly very far from being a gentleman, but Jardine has behaved with gross disloyalty to me personally and with gross indifference to the welfare of the Church".

The Archbishop of Canterbury also wonders why Bishop Jardine was so eager for the Marriage Bill to pass?  Rumors are that Bishop Jardine's marriage is not a happy one.  The Jardines have been employing for years a young attractive woman by the name of Lyle Christie who serves as Mrs Jardine's assistant but is something going on between Bishop Jardine and Miss Christie?  Are they having an affair?  Archbishop Lang sends Dr. Charles Ashworth, a rising young cleric in the Anglican Church, to Starbridge to find out (under the pretense of doing research for a book) if the rumors of an affair are true.

Dr. Ashworth upon arrival at Starbridge immediately becomes involved in the Jardine household which proves to be a big mistake.  He decides without even knowing if the rumors are true to rescue Miss Christie from the grip of Bishop Jardine.  Dr Ashworth decides this because after knowing Miss Christie for only three days that he is in love with her though she has given him no encouragement.  But another reason Dr. Ashworth needs the rumors to be true is because if behind the "glittering image" Bishop Jardine is in reality a flawed and sinful man then maybe Charles Ashworth can forgive himself for his own feelings of unworthiness to serve God, an unworthiness stemming from his childhood and the guilt he still feels over his wife's death seven years prior.  We learn early in the book that Dr. Ashworth though only 37 is a widower.  His wife was killed in a tragic auto accident.  She was pregnant with their first child.  Dr Ashworth has not remarried and though it appears that he has moved on, achieving great success as he rises high in the Anglican church he is a troubled man.  The trip to Starbridge will be a life changing experience for Dr Ashworth who narrates the book and all of the characters involved are in for a rude awakening.

I submit that if Jane Austen wrre alive she would enjoy the Starbridge Series and Anthony Trollope would have also recognized and appreciated these novels.  I realize that's high praise but Glittering Images warrants it and I am already looking forward to book two in the series, Glamerous Powers.