Sullington Windmills WI

On a lovely sunny morning, the Sullington Windmills WI book group gathered in the garden of a member’s neighbour to discuss Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence.

There was a fairly strong consensus that The Age of Innocence was not an easy read. For the majority of us it proved something of a slog, with the descriptions of New York’s 1870s society, its endless rules and its intricate social etiquette sometimes feeling rather hard going. A number of members admitted they had struggled to finish it, while one resourceful reader eventually resorted to watching the film instead! Others, however, enjoyed the novel considerably more, and interestingly, even some of those who found it a tiring read were glad that they had persevered.

The most interesting discussion centred on the characters, particularly May Welland. At first, May seems to be a rather insipid, conventional young woman. Yet, as the story progresses, another May emerges. Beneath the apparently innocent exterior is someone remarkably astute, who understands both Newland and the society in which they live far better than he realises. Her manipulation of events, bringing forward the wedding and, later, announcing her pregnancy at precisely the right moment, makes her much more complex than she first appears.

Ellen Olenska, meanwhile, seemed remarkably modern to us. She wants the freedom to divorce her husband and live independently, an astonishingly bold idea in the society into which she has returned. Her declaration, “I want to be free; I want to wipe out all the past,” could almost belong to a contemporary novel.

Her influence on Newland is enormous. Through Ellen, he begins to question the values of the world he has always accepted and to see that there are other ways of living beyond the narrow circle of New York society.

This is perhaps where the title of the novel becomes most ironic. There is very little real innocence in this novel. Everyone is watching everyone else, everyone knows the rules, and almost everyone is manipulating those rules while pretending not to. Wharton exposes a society where appearances matter more than truth and where scandal is often considered worse than unhappiness.

The book also made us wonder about Newland himself. Some members felt that he was weak. Is he genuinely a victim of society, or does he use society's rules as an excuse for not making difficult choices? He longs for Ellen and believes himself to be more enlightened than the people around him, yet when faced with the consequences of challenging convention, he ultimately falls back into the life expected of him.

The ending was described as disappointing by a few members. After all the anticipation surrounding Newland and Ellen, the final meeting, decades later, feels deliberately restrained. Some of us wanted more: more confrontation, more emotion, perhaps even a little more drama. It is a frustrating ending, but perhaps appropriate for a novel about the things society prevents us from saying and doing.

So, was The Age of Innocence worth the effort? The answer from our group was decidedly mixed. It was certainly not everyone's favourite read, and several members found it slow and difficult to get through. However, it generated plenty of conversation, particularly about marriage, freedom, social pressure and the deceptively complicated May Welland.

The next book to be read will be ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens.

This will be discussed on Thursday 8th October 2026.

Sullington Windmills WI members, friends and guests enjoyed a lively evening of skittles at The Spur in Slindon, raising funds for the Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW).

Four teams of seven took part, with each team playing four rounds. With ages ranging from 14 to 90, it was a wonderfully mixed group and everyone joined in with the competitive spirit of the evening.

The scores were particularly close, with just 10 points separating all four teams by the end of the competition. After four rounds, the winning team finished with an impressive 164 points.

Alongside the skittles, everyone enjoyed a tasty buffet and there was also a raffle, helping to add to the funds raised for ACWW. The evening provided a great opportunity for WI members and guests to get together, enjoy some friendly competition and support an important cause at the same time.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, with plenty of good company and some very respectable skittles scores.

Congratulations to the winning team, and thank you to everyone who took part and helped make the event such a success.

We raised a total of £176.00.

Our book club had a very mixed reaction to Broken Light by Joanne Harris, with the majority of the group not enjoying it. Those who disliked it found the story difficult to follow and, for some, rather depressing. The magical realism was not to everyone’s taste, and there was also criticism of the amount of discussion around menopause, as well as what some felt was an overly feminist or misandrist tone. Members who had read Joanne Harris before were particularly disappointed, as this was not the type of book they had expected from her.

Those who enjoyed the book appreciated its use of magical realism and its willingness to tackle some difficult and thought-provoking subjects, including menopause and the experience of ageing and becoming invisible, women’s anger and power, male violence and misogyny, abuse and the #MeToo movement. They particularly liked the descriptions of the emotions and physical experiences of menopause, the insights into female friendships, and the similarities to Stephen King’s Carrie. For these readers, the fantastical elements provided an interesting way of exploring some very real and uncomfortable issues.

Despite the divided opinions, everyone agreed that the book was very well written.

Overall, Broken Light certainly gave us plenty to discuss, with opinions ranging from strong dislike to genuine enjoyment. It is clearly a book that tackles big subjects and is likely to provoke a strong reaction, whether positive or negative.

One quote from the protagonist, Bernie Moon, that captures the book’s mix of humour, self-doubt and its focus on women’s experiences is:

“Some women have an inner goddess: I have my inner critic instead, who sounds something like my mother.”

The next book to be read will be 'The Age of Innocence' by Edith Wharton.

This will be discussed on Friday 11th September 2026.