The Warden

Finished The Warden by Anthony Trollope, the first book in his Chronicles of Barsetshire. This is a quiet book. It begins the series of novels based on the church politics of Barchester. There are characters with droll names like Sir Abraham Haphazard, a noted barrister and Mr. Quiverful of Puddingdale, who has twelve children to support. I was expecting this book to be rather dry, but it was a pleasant, amusing read.

Cheri

Finished Cheri by Colette. I decided not to read the sequel The Last of Cheri because it is rather dark by comparison. I apparently read both of these books in a Women's Lit class as an undergrad, but did not remember much about them. The prose is sultry, as is the plot. It is also rather beautifully written. A film version of the two books will be released next month.

Now in November

Finished Now in November by Josephine Johnson. It won the Pulitzer in 1935. This was Johnson's first novel. She was twenty-four when it was published. Set during the Depression it tells the story of a family's struggles to live with each other and to keep the farm they've put so much of themselves into.

Three sisters, Kerrin, Marget (the narrator) and Merle work alongside their mother performing the womanly tasks that are expected of them. Kerrin, the oldest, longs to work with her father on the land, but he thinks girls are too stupid and feeble to do so.

The novel is short, but spans ten years in the lives of the family on their farm. Towards the end of the decade Grant, the son of a neighbor, comes to live with them and help out. Kerrin, ever restless and rebellious, is distracted by him, as she would be by anyone new. Marget is quietly and desperately in love with him, but he himself is partial to Merle, who enjoys challenging him verbally, but has no interest in him as a mate.

Drought and tragedy take their toll on everyone, Kerrin in particular. At the beginning of the novel she is wild and untamed, much like Hans Christian Anderson's character of the Robber Girl in The Snow Queen. She teaches herself to throw a knife, wanders the woods alone most nights, sleeps in the barn and eats alone, like a starved animal. She becomes progressively unbalanced and in the end commits suicide. While horrible, this is almost a relief to her family who each felt that there was no place in the world for Kerrin and her odd ways.

The prose is spare, taught, poetic and bleak. The reader floats dreamlike through the days of drought and despair. Though I haven't read it yet, I think the impact of this book was perhaps overshadowed by Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath which won five years later.

Heaven to Betsy

Finished Heaven to Betsy, Maud Hart Lovelace's fifth book in the series. Betsy and Tacy are now freshmen in high school. Many changes take place this year. Betsy's family moves to a new, larger home. They also acquire house help, a woman named Anna, who comes to live with them. The move away from Hill Street is sad for Betsy since she will no longer be right across the street from Tacy. The new house is lovely though. Betsy has her own room and makes new friends nearby. They become "The Crowd." Betsy quickly merges Tacy into The Crowd and they have many adventures and social activities. Boys become a major topic in this book. Betsy spends a lot of time on her personal appearance. She begins rolling her hair at night on curlers (magic wavers) that Anna has given her. She develops a crush on a new boy named Tony, but steps aside when she realizes that her friend Bonnie likes him too. We also meet Joe Willard, whose character was based on Maude's own husband, Delos Lovelace. The social negotiations between boys and girls are very carefully drawn here. Betsy has numerous learning experiences as a result of them. The prose has again matured to match the age of the characters. This was a very pleasant, comfortable read.

The Scarlet Pimpernel

Finished The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. I missed reading this book in eighth grade English class because I switched schools in November of 1977 and the class at the new school had just finished reading it. It's great fun. This was the precursor to later superheros in disguise stories. The cleverness of the disguises often reminded me of Sherlock Holmes. It's a gripping adventure as well as a romance. I really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to watching the 1934 film adaptation starring Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon this weekend.

The Christmas Anna Angel

Finished The Christmas Anna Angel written by Ruth Sawyer and illustrated by Kate Seredy. It won the Caldecott Honor Medal in 1945. Set in Hungary it is the story of a little girl who longs for the decorative Christmas cakes that they used to have before the wars came. The story is very original and the illustrations are lovely.

Ruth Sawyer won the Newbery Medal in 1937 for Roller Skates. Kate Seredy won the Newbery Honor Medal in 1936 for The Good Master and then the Newbery Medal in 1938 for The White Stag.

Yonie Wondernose

Finished Yonie Wondernose by Marguerite de Angeli. It won the Caldecott Honor Medal in 1945. Yonie is an overly curious, seven year old Amish boy. His parents leave him at home with his grandmother and sister, so he is to be the man of the house while they are away. He has many responsibilities on the farm and sometimes has trouble staying focused because of his curiosity. This is a lovely book with fun illustrations.

de Angeli won the Caldecott Honor Medal in 1955 for Book of Nursery and Mother Goose Rhymes. She also won the Newbery Medal in 1950 for The Door in the Wall and the Newbery Honor Medal in 1957 for Black Fox of Lorne.

An American Tragedy

Finished An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreisser, finally. I have been reading this book, bit by bit, since last July. In a sense it is a masterpiece of American literature, capturing time and place with tremendous attention to detail. Dreisser gives us every thought, breath and motivation of every character in the book. This can be pretty daunting. On the other hand, there were moments when as the reader I was so far inside a character's head that I was able to recollect similar thoughts of my own and it was a bit unnerving.

Queen Lucia

Finished Queen Lucia by E. F. Benson. This is the first of Benson's six Mapp and Lucia books. Set in England in the 1920s Queen Lucia is about Mrs. Lucas, local diva, who runs the social and cultural life of her village. The book is amusing for a bit, but becomes somewhat tiresome (or "tarsome" as the character Georgie would say) since there are no actually likable characters. The introduction in the edition I read compared these books to the works of Nancy Mitford, but personally I find Mitford far more clever and amusing.

My Mother's House and Sido

Finished My Mother's House and Sido two books published in one volume, by Collette. These are both reminiscences of Collette's childhood and her charming mother. They are written with vivid, loving detail and at times seem almost dream-like. While reading these I was reminded of Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales, but the nostalgia here is more for a person than a time and place. A lovely read, but especially appropriate for vacation.

The Trumpeter of Krakow

Finished The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly. It won the Newbery Medal in 1929. Set in 1400s Poland, this is an adventure book which dabbles in alchemy. I found it a bit dull, but I think that's just because it's not my cup of tea.

Harriet the Spy

Finished Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. This is one of the books from my childhood that I am a bit embarrassed to admit I've never read before. Published in 1964, it is the story of an 11 year old girl who wants to be a writer some day. Her nanny, Ole Golly, encourages her to write down all her observations of the world in a notebook. This becomes Harriet's main focus in life, spying and recording what she sees and thinks. She is brutally honest in what she writes.

Harriet is very reliant on Ole Golly for consistency, comfort and understanding. Eventually Ole Golly leaves to get married. She feels that Harriet is old enough to get along without her. The transition is very difficult. To complicate this Harriet loses her notebook of observations. It is found by her classmates who read its contents out loud. Harriet's friends and classmates then ostracize her. Her reactions to this seem childish, but, then again, she is a child. I think in some ways, when Ole Golly suddenly leaves, Harriet regresses a bit. Change is hard on children of any age. Harriet was used to confiding in Ole Golly. She does not confide in her parents. Thus she attempts to face everything alone.

Harriet's parents, not knowing what is going on, see her grades suffer and her moods swing. They take her notebook away from her and send her to a shrink. They also contact Ole Golly who sends Harriet a very firm, but wise letter. In it she says that if Harriet's notebook were to fall into the wrong hands there are two things she will have to do, apologize and lie, "Little lies that make people feel better are not bad, like thanking someone for a meal they made even if you hated it. But to yourself, you must always tell the truth."

I wasn't that keen on this book at first. It seemed harsh, particularly Harriet's observations of people. It grew on me though. There is a very interesting article about Harriet on NPR's website entitled Unapologetically Harriet, the Misfit Spy.

A Month in the Country

Finished A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr. This is a novella set in England in 1920. A veteran of World War I travels North to uncover a centuries old mural in a church. His wife has left him and he is suffering from shell shock. He lives in the loft of the church, trying to keep mostly to himself, but the people of the village are intrigued by him and draw him out. In uncovering the mural he also solves a local mystery.

This is a very quiet book. At times it reminded me of The Go-Between, Cold Comfort Farm and even Atonement. A swift and comfortable read.

In the Forest

Finished In the Forest by Marie Hall Ets. It won the Caldecott Honor Medal in 1945. It is the story of a boy who walks through the forest blowing his horn and the various animals who join him on his walk. The illustrations are done in charcoal and have a lovely soft feeling to them. A few of the drawings reminded me of Where the Wild Things Are in terms of composition. A nice little picture book.

Marie Hall Ets won the the Caldecott Medal in 1960 for Nine Day's to Christmas. She won the Caldecott Honor Medal many other times for Mr. T. W. Anthony Woo (1952), Play with Me (1956), Mr. Penny's Race Horse (1957) and Just Me (1966).

Lamb in His Bosom

Finished Lamb in His Bosom by Caroline Miller. It won the Pulitzer in 1934. This was Miller's first novel and a bestseller at the time it was published. It's the story of a family living the the back woods of Georgia during the decades leading up to the Civil War. In many ways it reminded me of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House in the Big Woods, only written for an adult audience. Everything is explained in terms of how everyday items, like candles and clothes, are made from scratch. The characters are engaging and endearing. The prose is so beautifully written, so poetic, that at times it took my breath away. It was also interesting to consider how far removed the characters in this book were from the issues that lead up to the Civil War.