The man on the other side

In Short

Set in the aftermath of the Great War, this novel follows Ruth Seer, a middle-aged woman who uses her hard-won inheritance to purchase Thorpe Farm. As she tends the land, she begins to experience a profound, intuitive connection to the farm’s previous owner, a man killed in France. Through her quiet stewardship and an unlikely friendship with a neighbor, the narrative explores the persistence of memory and the possibility of communication across the veil of death. It is a meditative, pastoral work that lingers on the healing power of nature and the enduring weight of grief.

The Story

Ruth Seer arrives at Thorpe Farm in 1919, seeking the peace of the English countryside after a lifetime of hard work and loss. The farm—with its green fields, stream, and quiet potential—becomes her sanctuary. Soon after settling, she realizes she is not entirely alone. She experiences a "conscious and quiet" sense of telepathy, feeling the presence and preferences of the former owner, Dick Carey, who died at the Battle of Albert. While she initially keeps this to herself, she eventually shares her experience with Roger North, a man deeply mourning his friend Dick.

Roger is initially skeptical, grounding his reality in scientific materialist views, but he is drawn to Ruth’s sincerity and the peace she has cultivated on the land. Meanwhile, the social world surrounding the farm is marked by the tensions of the post-war era. Ruth hires a young, unmarried mother named Gladys Bone, whose infant, Bertram Aurelius, becomes a source of both joy and social disruption. As Ruth integrates into the community, she encounters the rigid, judgmental attitudes of local figures like Mrs. North and the opportunistic, crass behavior of a newcomer, Mr. Pithey.

The narrative deepens as Ruth’s mental connection to Dick Carey matures. She moves beyond mere telepathy, experiencing a "cosmic" realization of unity where the barriers of time and space dissolve. This spiritual awakening is tested when Violet, a woman shattered by the loss of her fiancé, Dick, falls into a state of intense, dark obsession. Violet’s trauma threatens to poison the atmosphere of the farm, manifesting as a psychic storm that Ruth feels as a tangible, looming danger.

Ruth meets this encroaching darkness not with fear, but with an act of profound compassion, transmuting the malevolent energy through her own inner strength. After a harrowing night of psychic struggle, the storm breaks, and the farm is restored to its natural, serene state. The story concludes on a note of gentle resolution. Violet begins to recover, and Roger North, having opened his mind to the intangible, experiences his own vision of Dick. He sees his friend waiting by the farm gate, hearing the familiar, living voice of his companion calling him forward. The farm remains a place where the living and the dead exist in a continuous, quiet communion, reconciled by love.

How It Unfolds

The arrival at sanctuary Ruth takes possession of Thorpe Farm, finding an immediate, deep harmony with the landscape. She begins to sense the lingering, benevolent influence of the man who created the home she now inhabits.

The threshold of belief Ruth confides her experiences of "telepathy" to Roger North, who is grieving the loss of his friend. Roger rejects the notion of communication with the dead, insisting that science holds no such evidence.

A community in flux The narrative shifts to the social pressures of post-war England, highlighting the contrast between the quiet farm life and the judgmental, rigid society of the local gentry. Ruth gains an unlikely companion in young Gladys Bone and her infant, further grounding her life in the rhythms of care.

The deepening of the mystery Violet, struggling with her own unresolved grief over Dick’s death, becomes a focus of concern for her family. Her presence at the farm initiates a period of psychological and spiritual tension that challenges Ruth’s stability.

The night of the storm A psychic crisis erupts at the farm, mirroring a violent, literal storm outside. Ruth engages in a profound battle of wills, ultimately finding a way to transmute the dark, destructive emotions into a state of peace.

The final communion The farm returns to its serene, productive state, and the barriers between worlds seem to thin. Roger finally experiences the contact he had previously dismissed, finding peace in the persistence of his friend's presence.

The People

Ruth Seer is a self-reliant woman who finds her true purpose in the physical labor and spiritual atmosphere of the farm. Her strength lies in her capacity for "pure friendliness" and her ability to view life as a "stupendous whole." Roger North, a man defined by his loss, begins as a skeptic tethered to the conventions of his class and scientific doubt; he ultimately finds redemption through his willingness to look beyond the visible. Violet, a woman hollowed out by her fiancé’s death, represents the destructive potential of unexpressed grief, acting as the catalyst for the book’s central psychic conflict. Gladys Bone, the young mother, brings a defiant, unashamed vitality to the farm, serving as a contrast to the rigid, judgmental social circles of the local gentry. These characters exist in a delicate tension, moving from isolation toward a shared understanding of their place in the cycle of life and death.

In Its Own Voice

"The love of the land, the joy of possession, the magic of the spring, they swept through her being like great clean winds."

Ruth reflects on the transformative experience of finally owning a home and a place of her own.

"My mind is in touch somehow with another mind. It is like a conscious and quiet effortless telepathy."

Ruth attempts to explain to Roger North the strange, non-verbal connection she feels with the former owner of the farm.

"He said—just as he used to, you know—'Come on, old Roger!'"

Roger describes his final, transcendent experience of hearing his dead friend’s voice across the boundary of death.

What It's Really About

At its core, the book examines the nature of grief and the persistence of love beyond the physical cessation of life. It argues that the "great crime" of the war did not merely destroy lives but created a widespread, lingering trauma that society attempted to suppress with rigid conventions and "party politics." The author posits that true communion—whether with the dead, the land, or other living souls—is only possible when one moves away from ego and toward a "cosmic" appreciation for all living things. It is a plea for the validity of the intangible, suggesting that the most vital realities are often those that cannot be measured by science or understood by the unimaginative.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy atmospheric, slow-paced fiction that focuses on the internal life will find much to admire here. The writing is evocative, particularly in its descriptions of the Sussex landscape, and it captures the specific, fragile mood of England in the immediate post-war years. Those interested in early 20th-century spiritualism and the lingering cultural effects of the Great War will find the book historically resonant.

However, prospective readers should be aware that the prose is period-specific, reflecting the social attitudes and class structures of the 1920s. Some readers may find the dialogue among the gentry characters, such as the Norths and their friends, to be insular or frustratingly self-absorbed. There is a distinct, sometimes jarring, contrast between the deep, lyrical passages regarding the farm and the more satirical, observational scenes of social posturing. The pacing is reflective rather than action-driven, demanding patience as the characters slowly navigate their psychological landscapes. If you appreciate a story that treats the "unseen" with as much weight as the mundane, and you are comfortable with a gentle, somewhat didactic tone, you will likely find this an affecting and thoughtful experience that stays with you like a quiet, persistent memory.