To the North was originally published in 1932, a time when few women writers were able to get the same fame and notoriety as their male counterparts. Elizabeth Bowen and To the North helped to change that. Bowen's fascinating life is reflected in the plot of To the North. It tells the story of two women in 1920s London who live together after one, Cecilia Summers, is widowed. The other is Emmeline, who is Cecilia's dead husband's sister. The two are drawn together because of the loss of a loved one, but they gradually become even more connected than they know. In their wisdom, though, they realize that the house the two share is built on proverbial quicksand. Eventually, Cecilia courts another man and is moving towards another marriage.
To the North was reasonably well-received at release. However, it has since fallen off the map and is no longer very widely read or exceptionally well-reviewed. Still, it will be remembered as one of Bowen's best books and an incredibly important book of the 1930s.
