Review: The Head of the House of Coombe

During my exploration of 50 lesser-known classics, I recently found myself captivated by The Head of the House of Coombe, a 1922 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. This is the story of Robin, a young English girl who emerges from an awful upbringing by a neglectful mother and abusive governess, embarking on a quest to discover her role in the world, while Lord Coombe, for reasons that are never clear, becomes Robin’s guardian.

As is the case with many classic tales, character development and profound arcs are notably absent among the cast, including Robin, although there is a hint of some sort of ‘come-to-Jesus moment for Lord Coombe’. As for Robin, she does undergo a maturation process and experiences unusual events, including a distressing encounter almost resulting in a sexual assault.

Most classics have a theme that is a criticism of some aspects of society. I’m not exactly certain of Burnett’s intended “moral” or theme here, but the story did keep my attention - I admit to putting many classics on the DNF pile - and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading books that don’t necessarily conform to the formulaic stories we so often see today.