Uncle Tom's Cabin III

Eva begs her father to give Tom his freedom, and he agrees to do it. He knows his child is dying. After her death, he tells Tom that he will set him free, but he is a dilatory man. He writes to the Shelbys, but then before he can go ahead with the legal business, he gets involved in a brawl in a cafe. He tries to stop two men fighting and gets stabbed. He dies, and Marie decides to sell up the house and her slaves and go back to her father's house. Ophelia agrees to talk to her, about setting Tom free, as St Clare had intended, but she tells Tom she does not think she will be able to influence the selfish woman. Marie is harsh with her slaves and goes ahead with selling them, refusing to consider making Tom free. This time he is sold down South to a Yankee man called Simon Legree. He owns a farm and he thinks that as Tom seems honest and good at managing a farm, he will make use of his skills. But Tom refuses to be harsh with his fellow slaves and Legree develops a hatred of him. St Clare's letter goes to the Shelby family, but Mr Shelby has suddenly been taken ill and dies. Mrs Shelby and her son George are busy with Mr Shelby's death and the legal business of taking over the farm and the letter gets neglected. When it is read, George says he will go down south and try and find his old friend. But by the time this happens, Tom has been sold and is in the ownership of Legree and can't be found. In the meantime, Eliza and her son have travelled to Canada and been reunited with her husband George Harris. Tom is worked very hard on Legree's farm, as are all the slaves. He tries to help the weaker ones and continues to read his bible and pray. Legree has a couple of slaves who are his overseers and he uses them to join in his drinking bouts and to punish the rest of the slaves. A new girl slave has come to the farm with Tom and Legree wants her for his mistress but she refuses. Cassy, an older woman who was Legree's mistress tells her and Tom that she will help her to get away. Legree becomes increasingly mad..... when the 2 women disappear.

Uncle Tom's Cabin II

Ophelia is a typical New Englander, hard working, efficient, and good hearted. She does not approve of slavery, but when St Clare takes her home, and greets his slaves, he realises that she does not really like black people. She is shocked that he and Eva kiss and shake hands with the rest of the household. Tom settles into his new home, and is there especially to look after Eva. He is not happy though and wishes he could go back to Kentucky, to his wife and children. Back at the Shelby household, Mrs Shelby tries to persuade her husband to try and find Tom and buy him back and he says he can't afford it. Chloe, Tom's wife, is a very good cook, and she suggests that Mrs Shelby should hire her out to a confectioner in another town, and they can use the money she earns to buy Tom. Mrs Shelby knows it will take a long time before Chloe can earn enough money but she agrees. Tom tries to write a letter to Chloe but he can't write properly so Mr St Clare offers to write for him. Eva's health begins to decline. She is consumptive. She is only a little child, but she suffers from seeing the way that black people are treated.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Uncle Tom's Cabin opens in a farm in Kentucky, where Tom is a slave who is married with several children. Mrs Shelby the mistress of the farm, hates slavery... but her husband owns several slaves. He finds himself in financial trouble and decides that he has to sell some of his slaves. Tom is a sensible man and a good farm manager, and there is a young woman who has a small child, Harry... and Shelby sells them to a slave dealer. Mrs Shelby is horrified and tells Tom that as soon as they can, they will buy him back. Tom is a Christian and is resigned to whatever happens to him. But Eliza, the mother of the little boy, tells him that she cannot let her son be sold down South, and she is going to run away. Her husband, an intelligent man called George, has a cruel master and he has talked of running away to Canada. Tom tells his wife that he supports Eliza escaping, as it is natural for a mother to want to save her children. She flees with Harry, and manages to cross an ice bound river and make her way to a Quaker settlement. The Quakers dont believe in slavery so they are willing to hide her and help her to go North. Tom is taken away on a journey down the river, to New Orleans. On the boat, there is a little girl called Eva, who is travelling with her father and her father's cousin Ophelia, from the North. Eva takes a fancy to Tom, and asks her father to buy him. Mr St Clare does not like slavery but he is an indolent man and has never made the effort to free his slaves. His wife Marie, is a cold silly selfish woman and she is hard on her slaves. St Clare tries to mitigate her harshness and he agrees to buy Tom. He has become worried about his house and his daughter. Marie does nothing about the house and is lazy. He is concerned that Eva who is in delicate health, needs a mother figure, so he has brought his cousin Ophelia from New England to manage his house.

Uncle Tom's Cabin By Harriet Beecher Stowe

Just been re reading this book about slavery in the USA, before the Civil War. Mrs Stowe was a member of a very religious family who were active in helping slaves. She was accused of getting things wrong about the South but she proved in the Key To Uncle Tom's Cabin that the brutalities of slavery depicted were absolutely true. Will write some more later....

The Kitten Lady

I like to mention Hannah Shaw, known on the Internet as The Kitten Lady. She rescues all sorts of animals and teaches people how to look after them. But her main focus is on kittens because they are so vulnerable. She teaches classes on kitten care, and writes children's books about animals. She runs a charity, the Orphan Kitten club, which helps to rescue kittens who are born outside or abandoned or ill treated. She can be found on social media, with videos about her various little cats. She sponsors Trap, Neuter Return, where people trap outdoor cats, have them spayed and then return them to their home areas. She also takes in kittens who have health problems and dedicates herself to trying to help them to get better or at least to improve. She has 2 adult cats who came in as fosters, one (Chou Chou) had a severe cleft palate and could not eat so she tube fed him till he was big enough to have surgery. The other, Ferguson, had a kidney disease but he has lived now for 5 years and is in reasonably good health.

Barbara Pym

Barbara Pym was a well known writer - she was born in 1913 and died in 1980. As she grew older her novels did not do so well. They were deemed old fashioned and she had difficulty getting published. She did not publish anything from the early 60s until 1977, but she continued to write. She got a degree at Oxford in English, in the 1930s. She visited Germany quite often, then and was intially attracted by the novelty of Nazism. She fell in love with a young Nazi, but she afterwards realised that fascism was evil and recanted her sympathy. However, her family became uneasy at her frequent visits to Germany as it was becoming clear that Hitler had to be stopped and that in due course, Britain would be at war with the German state. She joined the Womens naval service during the war, and worked at censoring letters. After the war, she took a post in the International African Institution and became an editor of their scholarly magazine about Africa and anthropology. She worked there till her retirement. She never married or had children, but she had several affairs. Her relationships with men seemed to go wrong...and in her fiction, she tends to portray men as arrogant and selfish. Her lovers tended to be unkind to her after a while and the affairs fizzled out. She lived with her sister Hilary in Queen's Park, London. In 1977, she was mentioned by 2 writers, Lord David Cecil and Philip Larkin as a very under rated writer. This sparked off new interest in her works and she published a new novel Quartet in Autumn. In the 1970's, she developed breast cancer and then stomach cancer. She died in 1980. Her works are now quite popular, and she was one of the first writers to create sympathetic gay characters.

Elizabeth Goudge 1900-84

Elizabeth Goudge was a prolific novelist, of the 20th century. She wrote children's books, romances, historical novels, and religious works. She was born in Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city where her father worked in the Theological college. Her mother was from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. One of her earlier books was set in Guernsey. She wrote several books set in Wells, using a fictional name for the city. She was an Anglican, and religion is shown in many of her stories. After her father's death she looked after her mother. She found it stressful, combining housekeeping with writing. She never married, and moved to Oxfordshire in later years, living with her sister. She died there in 1984. I hope to write more about her works in a later blog.

Scarlet Feather Part VI

Cathy feels very guilty that she allowed her being so busy to distract her from keeping an eye on the children. When she talks to them, she finds out that they innocently gave Walter the signing in codes for getting into their kitchen.. and when the police investigate they find that he was the one who burgled the place and stole her few valuable bits of silver. The insurance company now has no excuse for not paying out, as this was not an inside job. Muttie puts on an accumulator bet on the horses at a race meeting, which means that if the horses he picked all win, he will win a very substantial amount of money. The family watch the races and nearly have heart attacks, and in the end, Muttie's horses all come in first and he wins a handsome pay off. They will have a comfortable sum for their old age, and Simon and Maud will have an income from their parents' house. Tom has grown tired of his relationship with Marcella. She tells him she went to London to pursue her dream, of being a model, and ended up being expected to do glamour modelling. He realises that she and he are too different to work out and they split up. He can see how fed up Cathy is with the selfish Neil and she and her husband separate. Clearly, Tom and Cathy will end up together. Walter flees to England. His family are now disgusted with him. But Simon and Maud are happy to be living with Muttie and Lizzie. Tom and Cathy collect the insurance and start afresh with the business.

Scarlet Feather V

When the children disappear, there is a hue and cry. Then Muttie remembers how he had promised them to take them to the races and they find the 2 children and Hooves. It's very clear that their parents are simply not ever going to look after them properly. Walter has also disappeared and there is evidence that he has stolen some things. Cathy is getting fed up with Neil. He tells her he loves her but he doesn't want her to have the baby. She is very upset, and then, working very hard, she has a miscarriage. Neil veers back and forth, wanting her to get over the miscarriage but also not sure if perhaps he should agree to them having a baby. Cathy realises how selfish he is, and partly blames him also for pushing for Simon and Maud to go back to their parents, which has caused them to run away. It's decided that for the time being, Simon and Maud will live with Muttie and Lizzie, and they are delighted. But the family realise that the Mitchell parents are completely useless and it wasnt right to send the twins back to them. It's decided that the house should be sold, and the money used to provide a living for the children, firstly. Kay looks likely to be in hospital most of the time. Kenneth looks like he's going to flee to England...

Scarlet Feather IV

Cathy and Tom work very hard, to try and earn enough money to replace their kitchen. Cathy has discovered that she's pregnant but when she tells Neil, he says he doesn't think their lifestyle is suitable for children. They are both working so hard, he may decide to go and work abroad. He hints that she should have an abortion. Tom finds that his girlfriend, Marcella, is concentrating more and more on trying to start a modelling career. Some of his friends tell him that there is no way that Marcella can become a model. It is a career for the young and she's already 25. She goes to England to see if she can find work and Tom is miserable but he feels their relationship is over. The business' accountant, James, tries to get the insurance company to pay up. Muttie and Lizzie both miss the twins and Muttie goes to see them, but their parents are so snobbish and unpleasant he is hurt and feels it might be best not to try and go to their house. But Cathy is aware that they are not being looked after. Muttie sends a £5 note to the children, so that they can come and visit him, but Walter sees the letter first, and destroys it, taking the money for himself. Neil's father, who employs Walter in his legal firm, is fed up with his nephew's laziness and he suspects him of dishonesty. His brother is clearly not taking much care of Simon and Maud and Kay, his wife, is in and out of hospital again. Simon and Maud had hoped that Muttie would take them to a horse racing fixture, as he had promised to do. When they dont hear from him, they feel afraid that he doesn't like them any more. But they decide to take Hooves, the dog that Muttie bought for them, and go to the races on their own.

Scarlet Feather III

Simon and Maud are nervy and odd children, having been brought up so badly by their parents. Cathy feels that Neil is wrong to believe that they would be better off with their own family, as they were clearly improving under the guidance of Muttie and Lizzie. She is starting to get a bit fed up with Neil's concentration on his left wing social causes and feels that he does not really understand people very well and cares more for "the underdog" than for his own family. He also thrown 2 bits of news at her, which upset her very much. One is that he doesn't want children. He thinks they are too busy to look after a family, and that he prefers to devote his time to his work. Cathy is very worried as she has a suspicion that she might be pregnant. He also tells her that he has been considered for a job with an international organisation to help refugees and might be working in Brussels or Africa. The twins ask Cathy if they can do some work for her, to earn a bit more pocket money. She is not sure they will be much good but lets them work at polishing up her silverware. They are thrilled, and are keen to tell their brother Walter all about it. He is rather sneery about them doing anything.. or getting a job from Cathy, whom he regards as little more than a waitress. But he then realises that the naive children might do him a good turn. He needles them and they tell him that Cathy has a lot of valuable stuff in her kitchen and she has a security system for keeping it safe. He prods them into letting him know how to get past the security... Meanwhile, Muttie goes to see the kids at their home, and their father is snobby and does not want him calling. Walter decides to go to Cathy's business kitchen and steal anything valuable as he has gambling and other debts. When he gets in, using the passwords, he finds that Tom and Cathy don't really have much that is valuable but he needs money badly so he decides to take whatever he can sell. In his anger that the kitchen silverware is not worth very much, he breaks many of the other things like plates and glassware and leaves a horrible mess. Then he makes off with the silver stuff. Cathy is distraught when she sees that her kitchen has been virtually destroyed, and she and Tom find that it will take a lot of money to replace everything that was stolen or broken. However, when she looks into claiming on the insurance, she finds that the police think it might be an inside job and therefore the insurance company may not pay up. She and Tom start to work incredibly hard, working in a small kitchen and taking any job they can find. She can't understand how the police think its an inside job but they point out that there was no sign of forced entry.

James Joyce

I'm reading about James Joyce, who is Ireland's premier novelist. He was born to a middle class Irish Catholic family, in 1882. He was sent to a good school, run by the Jesuit order, which was academically good, and also appealed to the better off Catholics for educating their sons. Joyce's father was very bad at making a living and their finances were very uncertain. Joyce loved and hated Dublin. He found late Victorian Ireland stifling, and narrow, especially because of the influence of the Catholic Church, which he rejected. He wanted to write modernist fiction, and to live a free life. He was aware of technological developments which changed life for most people. He was also interested in pscychology which was a new discipline at the time. His novel Ulysses is written in a stream of consciousness format, following the internal monologue of the main character, a Dublin Jew called Leopold Bloom. Other novelists also wrote in this format at the time including Dorothy Richardson and Virginia Woolf. Joyce met a girl called Nora Barnacle, in Dublin, on 16th June, 1904. She was a simple country girl working as a maid. He fell in love with her and they became sexually involved. He did not want to marry; he wanted to live a freer life than was possible at the time.. in a conservative provincial city like Dublin. To live with a lover was difficult in England and impossible in Ireland. The couple left Ireland and went to live in Europe, in different countries, where Joyce taught English and did clerical jobs, to make a living and worked at his great novel, Ulysses. Nora understood very little of his writing.

Scarlet Feather II

Just when Cathy and Tom are getting a kitchen to work from and starting off the business, Cathy gets some financial backing from her aunt Geraldine. Geraldine is her mother's sister, who has gotten out of poverty and set up her own business. She is single and has a lot of admirers. Then, Neil's family have a crisis. Jock Mitchell, Neil's father, has a brother (Walter's father) who is a failure at business and always in financial trouble. His wife Kay is very neurotic and she drinks. The couple have two other children who are a lot younger than Walter. Simon and Maud are twins and still school children. Kay is a neglectful mother because of her "nerves" and drinking. Kenneth, the father is not much better. Kay ends up in hospital because of her drinking, and the children are sent to Jock Mitchell's house as there's noone to look after them. They are rather bratty because their parents have never cared much for them. Hannah Mitchell has them to stay for a couple of days and they steal food and leave a bath running so that the ceiling collapses. She is not particularly maternal so she passes the kids on to Cathy after the bathroom disaster. Cathy tries to look after them but she is very busy, and her parents Maurice and Lizzie Scarlet offer to help. Strangely, the children in spite of their bad behaviour, take a liking to the older Scarlets, and begin to improve...Muttie (Maurice) tells them about betting on the horses, which is his passion. But he insists they do their homework and help in the house. Cathy can see that they are improving, and is pleased and begins to like them. She can see that their parents are terrible and have let them grow up wild. But Neil feels as a lawyer with left wing views, that children should be with their blood parents. He tries to work at getting Kenneth and Kay to take on their responsibilities and look after Simon and Maud. After a couple of months, he succeeds in working out a new arrangement with the parents, but Cathy does not believe they will stick to their promises to provide the kids with pocket money, feed them properly, and let them go to see Muttie and Lizzie once a week. Simon and Maud are upset at being moved back home, and have little faith in their parents. They are also afraid that they have done something wrong to upset Muttie and Lizzie, and that the Scarlets no longer like them or want them to visit.

Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy

I just came across a copy of Maeve Binchy's last full scale novel, the other day. The title refers to the surnames of the lead characters, Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather. They are both chefs and have just started to run a catering business in Dublin. Cathy's family are not well off. Her father is a bit of a lazy chap who has rarely worked, due to a "bad back". He likes to gamble. Her mother is a shy woman who has worked as a cleaner all her life, to bring in an income. She feels inferior to the families she works for. Lizzie, the mother, has worked for many years for the parents of Neil, and Hannah, Neil's mother is a bully and a snob and treats her badly. To make matters worse, Neil, who is a young barrister, falls in love with Cathy and they plan to marry. He is passionate about helping the underdog and fighting for human rights. Cathy wants to run her own business. They get married and Hannah is absolutely furious at her son marrying her maid's daughter. She thinks that Cathy is marrying him for his money and puts her down all the time. Cathy pairs up with Tom, another catering student, who is in love with Marcella, a beauty therapist who wants to be a model. They start the business, doing a party for Hannah and Neil's father Jock. Walter, Neil's brother occasionally works for them as a waiter but he is lazy and dubiously honest and Cathy wishes she could get rid of him. End Part I.

Shel Silverstein

Having learned of the death of Dennis Locorriere, a few months ago, I find myself remembering the songs of Shel Silverstein. He was a comedy genius, who wrote sentimental stories for children... and also wrote racy and suggestive lyrics for songs and was a friend of Hugh Hefner. Dr Hook started off by performing a lot of his songs and it was only later that they began to do love ballads which were more commercially successful. Shel did an album of his own comedy songs, with Dr Hook backing him. One of my favourites is "Polly in a Porny", about a man who takes out a girl who is very prim and proper. Then he goes to a porn cinema to watch a movie.. and he sees Polly, taking part in the film with a pony. Another is called "Stacy Brown got two".. about a man with 2 penises. Another is titled, "Ever since my Masochistic baby went and left me, I got nothing to hit but the wall". Shel's most famous comic song is probably the Johnny Cash hit, A Boy named Sue. Shel wrote it as a poem and Johnny liked it, so he told his band, at a concert that he was going to sing it and they should follow his tune. He didn't even know the words, but he had a great hit with it. Its about a young man whose father "went and named me Sue" so he was teased all through his childhood. He goes in search of him, and finds him at a bar dealing stud, and challenges him. They have a fight, but his father tells him that he only named him Sue because he wanted to make him tough... and all ends happily. Another very popular song was Freaking at the Freakers Ball", which is about a dance for sexually weird people. The FBI attend and are dancing with the junkies, gay men and lesbians boogie together, sadists and masochists do the same...singing "Please hit me, and I'll hit you." Another song I like is "A Front Row seat to hear old Johnny sing". It's a comic song about a redneck guy who has only wanted a few simple things out of life, including "A TV set and a truck and a wife".. and the big one was "a front row seat" to hear Johnny Cash. So he drives to Nashville and tries to get a ticket. He keeps being moved around to different places and finally he gets to the Opry, and is told that the show is booked up, and he will have to wait for months. One of the staff says "We've been booked up for months and months, and this poor insane fella wants, a Front row seat to hear old Johnny sing." The guy gets angry and draws his gun and shoots - and he winds up in jail. And Lo and behold, the prisoners have a show, and it's Johnny Cash.. so he finally has his front row seat to hear him.

Henry James

Im hoping to read some more American classic novels, some of which I have not looked at for years. One of the best known American authors is Henry James who was born in New York in 1843. His family were very rich on both sides, and his father was a gentleman of leisure. They were of Scottish and Irish descent. The family travelled to Europe when Henry was a child and he was educated by a tutor. They returned to America, but Henry had a bad back which meant he was unfit for service in the American Civil war. He studied law for a time but his chief interest was in literature and he mixed with writers and artists. His brother William studied medicine and became a psychologist. Henry went to Paris in the 1870s and stayed in Europe for most of the next 30 years. He spent time in England where he made friends and wrote his first novels. Now settled in Europe he was influenced by French writers such as Zola. His books tended to be about the conflict between the naive and innocent Americans, and the more subtle and often decadent Europeans. The Portrait of a Lady is about a naive American girl Isabel, who marries a European nobleman and finds that he does not love her. More Will Follow.

K names

K is not the most popular letter for names, though there are many names that are spelled with a C or a K. Katherine is one of them. Another is Kara/Cara. There are a few Bible names, such as Keziah. It means Cassia, the name of a tree and was the name of a daughter of Job. It was popiular in the Puritan era as it was a bible name. Two names have become very popular in the later 20th century, Kelly and Kerry. Both can be used for boys or girls but are more popular now as girls names. Kerry is a place name in Ireland. Kevin is a very popular name not just in Ireland. It means handsome or fair. Kelvin is the name of a Scottish river. It was taken as a title by a 19th century scientist and became quite popular as a given name. Kimberley is also a title in the British nobility and has been very popular as a name for girls. It has also been used for boys. Karen is also a very popular name, it is a Danish version of Katherine, and became well liked in the USA from the 1940's. It is also popular in England.

V names

V is a slightly more popular letter for starting a name.. than the ones like X Y and Z. Vera used to be quite well liked, and it means truth. Verity also means truth, and was quite popular among the Puritans, who liked to give "virtue names" personifying the Christian virtues. Vanessa was a name invented by the writer Jonathan Swift, who used it for his woman friend Esther Vanhomrigh. He took the Van from her surname and Essa from Esther. It is still quite well used. Valeria is a Latinate name which means healthy and nowadays it is usually given as Valerie. It can be shortened to Val. Valentine can be used for men or women, it also means strong and healthy. It is the name of a saint. It was the name taken by the life partner of the novelist, Sylvia Townsend Warner, who wrote Lolly Willows. Her companion was born Mary Mcrory but took the name Valentine Ackland. Veronica means True Image, and is traditionally said to be the name of the woman who wiped Christ's face on his way to Calvary. Verena is a Swiss name of unclear meaning. It was used by Henry James in his novel The Bostonians. Vivian is a name which can be used for boys or girls. It means alive. It is mostly known as a girl's name nowadays. Variations are Vivien or Vivienne. Viola means violet and has been well liked since it appeared as the heroine of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Vincent means Conquering and is quite popular for boys, especially in Catholic cultures.

Willa Cather

Willa was born in 1873 in Virginia, but her parents moved out west when she was a child. She grew up in the West, in the Great Plains.. Nebraska. Her family tried farming but her father gave up after a while and moved to a nearby town, and opened an insurance business. Willa was boyish and for a time called herself William. She was keen to go to University... but originally she wanted to study science, and become a surgeon. She began to write and when she graduated (after taking an Arts degree), she spent some time teaching. She was a successful teacher, but she eventually moved to New York to pursue her writing career. She wrote about the life on the Frontier, where many Swedish and German immigrants moved out to start farming on free land. She lived with a woman friend, Edith Lewis. One of her early novels was O Pioneers, about a girl called Alexandra, who takes over her father's land when he dies, and buys up more land.. Times are hard and most of the immigrants know little about farming. So they leave and sell their land, and Alexandra shrewdly buys it up. More Will Follow.

U names

U is also a letter which isn't very popular for names. One female name that was fairly popular in bygone days, beginning with U, was Ursula. It means "she bear" and was the name of a medieval saint. Una is an Irish name, meaning lamb... and was also quite popular in the past. Another rarely used name is Unity. It means oneness, but it is not popular, especially as it was the name of the fascist supporter and society girl, Unity Mitford. Another Irish name is Ulick, which is a variant of Uilliam, the Irish form of William. A name very rarely used is Ulric, which means Wolf rule. There is a feminine version, Ulrica.

The Kitten lady

I like to mention Hannah Shaw, the Kitten Lady, now and then to let people know of the wonderful work she does. She rescues all sorts of animals, but kittens are her special focus. You can find her on social media.

Dolly Parton

Dolly died the other day, of cancer at the age of 80. She lost her husband Carl, a year or so ago. Her health has been declining but she still had projects she wanted to pursue. She was a wonderful person and a loss to country music. She was buried by her husband in a simple private ceremony.

Patricia Avis, 1928-77

I've just come across a novel by a former mistress of the poet Philip Larkin. Her name was Patricia Avis. She was born in South Africa, in 1928 to a Dutch father and an Irish mother. She grew up in London and her father who was very well off, sent her to college. She studied medicine but when she qualified she never worked as a doctor. She married a lecturer, Colin Strang, and moved to Belfast where he had a job. She met Philip Larkin, who was a librarian at the University there, and they had an affair. They were in love for a time and she became pregnant but miscarried. Her marriage to Colin Strang did not last long.. she had other lovers, and left Strang. She wanted to be a writer and she wrote poems and edited magazines. But her novel writing was not all that successful. She married an Anglo Irish poet Richard Murphy in the 1950's, and they lived in Ireland. She did a lot of reading, especially of French literature, and tried to form a social circle of writers and intellectuals in Ireland. She and Murphy had a daughter and she then got a divorce, leaving her child with her father. She settled in Dublin and wrote a novel Playing the Harlot about her university days and friends... but her publisher felt it was too critical of the writers that they both knew. She became addicted to alcohol and went on trying to write. But her one novel is rather rambling and does not seem to have a point. She committed suicide in 1977.

Q Names

Q is one of the rarest letters for starting a name. There are almost none! One relatively well known name is Quentin which means fifth. In Roman naming practice, children were often named by their birth order, Primo or Prima for a first son or daughter, Secundo or Secunda for a second.. etc. These names are still occasionally used in Italy. Quintana is very rarely used but it is a rough female equivalent for Quintus or Quentin. Queenie is another name, a bit more commonly used. It was a nickname for girls named Victoria, during her long reign... and it can also be a nickname for Regina, which means queen. It has now gone out of fashion. In America, the name Quinn has become more popular for boys. It is not a Latinate name, but Irish. It comes from the surname O'Cuan, which means descendant of Conn. Quincy is another American name for boys. One of the early presidents was John Quincy Adams, named after a town from which his ancestors came.

W Names

W is not the most popular letter for a name, but there are some. William is a very well known name.. The name is a combination of the German words for Will and Helmet. Walter is old fashioned but used to be well used. There are not that many women's names beginning with W. The female forms of William are the Germanic Wilhelmina, and Williamina. But they are not all that popular. They sound rather masculine. The name can be abbreviated to Willa, or Billie.. or Mina. The American author Willa Cather's real name was Willella. Wallis is an unusual name, a feminine version of Wallace. It is of course the name of Wallis Simpson who married the Duke of Windsor. Wendy is a name invented by JM Barrie the playwright, due to a little girl he knew calling him her "Frendy Wendy"... It's old fashioned now but used to be very popular. Wanda means wand... again, its old fashioned nowadays. Winifred was a very popular name in the 20th century but has gone out of favour now. It is the name of a Welsh saint. Willow is a "nature" name, the name of a tree and is mostly a girl's name. Willoughby, a related name, is more of a boys name, and it is the surname of the charming rake Mr Willoughby in Austen's novel. Winona is an American Indian name, and fairly popular in America.

X names

There are not many X names, so I've just mentioned a couple. Xanthe (pronounced Zanthee) means yellow and is very occasionally used. Another is Xena which means stranger. An occasionally used name is Xander, which is a shortened version of Alexander. In recent years a minor British Royal, Alexander Earl of Ulster, has had a son who is named Xan.. an abbreviation of his father's name. Probably the best known X name is Xavier, which is the name of a Spanish saint, Francis Xavier. It is often used by Roman Catholics in honour of the saint. The female version of it is Xaviere, or Xaviera.

Rhys Bowen

I am reading the most recent Georgiana books by Rhys Bowen at present. They are a pleasant light read. We Three Queens is set in 1936 after the death of George V... Georgie is asked to hide Mrs Simpson in her country house, while Edward VIII tries to persuade the Prime minister and church to agree to his marrying Wallis. She has now had her first baby, James Albert, and is happy staying at home and looking after the child herself. But her former stepfather, Sir Hubert, arrives at the house with a bunch of actors and film people, who are using the house for background shots for a movie about Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon. One of the child actors goes missing and the leading lady of the film is killed. Mrs Simpson disappears. Georgie must solve the mystery. The book ends with Edward VIII abdicating...

Tensions Part III

Julian realises that Mark and Pauline are growing close to each other. Mark has asked her to help him with his estate work and she seems happy to do this. Gossip starts to fly around about them being in love. Lady Rossiter continues to make little digs about the friendship. Eventually, it begins to look like there really is something between them and people tend to blame Pauline for it. An idea arises of setting up new branches of the commercial college in England and possibly abroad. Julian finds that Pauline wants to give in her notice because she knows that she is being branded a scarlet woman and there is no future in her friendship with Mark. She says she can find another job. Lady Rossiter is triumphant that she has driven the girl out. Then Mr Fuller, one of the senior managers of the college reveals that he has asked Pauline to marry him and she has agreed. He is a good decent man and will look after her. So Julian feels it is best for her to go and marry him, and she will be safe and happier.

Tensions Part II

Miss Marchrose arrives at the college and Sir Julian takes a liking to her. She is pretty, and pleasant. Lady Rossiter keeps making digs at her. After a month or so it becomes clear that Mark very much likes Miss Marchrose and she seems good at her job and friendly to him. His children remain awful brats. Lady Rossiter continues to niggle.. They find that Pauline is indeed the woman who broke off her engagement to Clarence. She tells Sir Julian that her family were left badly off, and she went to train as a secretary and found it difficult to adjust to life as an office worker. The other girls thought she was snobbish and that she was a lavish spender. She found herself being very lonely. When she met up with her own richer relatives, they introduced her to Clarence. He seemed to like her and she was flattered because she did not seem to attract young men. She was not sure if she really cared deeply for him however, and when he was injured, she felt that she could not sincerely offer him her support as his wife. So she broke off the engagement. Sir Julian did not think highly of Clarence and he understands that Pauline had good reasons for breaking off her engagement. He quite likes her and is annoyed by his wife insinuating that she is an immoral woman.

Tensions by EM Delafield Part I

This is a fairly short novel by Delafield, largely about the power of gossip. It starts with our being introduced to Sir Julian Rossiter and his wife Edna. He is a country gentleman and she is a stupid, selfish woman who thinks that she is wonderful. Like some of Delafield's male characters, she is constantly talking about herself and how democratic she is. Her husband has an interest in a Commercial college on his land, which trains young people to type, do shorthand, and learn about running a business or working in one. Sir Julian has an estate manager, Mark Easter who is a good friend of his. Lady Rossitter considers it her duty to "help" Mark and makes a fuss of him. He has a problem in that he is married, with 2 young children, and his wife has had to be put in a home for alcoholics.. so he is married but not married. The two children are brats and Lady Rossiter can't stand them but they are always coming over to her house. Mark is too busy to look after them much and has to rely on his housekeeper Sarah. The action starts when Sir Julian raises the issue of having a new female superintendant for the college. Lady Rossitter says that she knew of a girl with the same name, Pauline Marchrose, who was engaged to a cousin of hers. He was in an accident and for a time it looked like he would be semi paralysed. His fiancee threw him over. Clarence, the young man, recovered and has married, but Lady Rossitter continues to harp on how dreadful the girl was, to break her engagement. Sir Julian says that they don't know if she is the girl, and anyway it's none of their business. He is indifferent to his wife, but he is rather annoyed at her going on about this issue.

Anglican women novelists

Im reading a selection of essays on Anglican women novelists. Hope to blog about it later. One of the earliest of them is Charlotte Bronte. Others include the children's writer Noel Streatfeild, Rose Macaulay, who wrote Towers of Trebizond, Charlotte Yonge, who is a famous Anglo Catholic writer, and also the crime writer PD James. I've read most of PD James' novels, which are detective stories, which often revolve around a church or religious order. James was a conservative minded writer and sympathetic to Anglicanism. My old favourite Dorothy Sayers is in there, as she wrote about religious themes and was a lay theologian. Her detective stories occasionally touch on religious issues.. her lady detective Miss Climpson is a High Church Anglican. Barbara Pym is well known for writing about "churchy ladies" who hang around the church and the vicar and do all the little jobs that help out in the church. Another one, whom I dont know well, is Elizabeth Goudge who was from the Channel Islands. I know a little about Evelyn Underhill, who wrote studies of mysticism in religion.. but I did not know she was a novelist as well. Ive read a couple of books by Monica Furlong, who wrote works on religious issues, including a biography of St Therese Martin. More will follow.

Tolka Row

Tolka Row was the first "soap" put out by RTE, the Irish Tv station in the 1960s. Like Coronation Street, it was about a working class community and was set in North Dublin. The Tolka is a small river that runs in the area. It had an early acting role for the well known actress, Brenda Fricker. It was written by Maura Laverty, who was a journalist and novelist. She wrote plays about working class Dublin and the serial grew out of the plays. She sympathised with the poor and was a very talented writer. I can remember it from childhood... but a few years later, RTE moved on to a rural "soap", called The Riordans. Tolka Row only ran for a few years, but the Riordans was more long lasting. I think the tapes of it have vanished as the station did not keep them, and often taped over them. I have also been reading Laverty's plays which were set in working class Dublin. Maura was a cookery writer as well, and in her research for her cookery books, she found more and more evidence of the terrible poverty of many Dublin people. She joined a left wing political party, Clann na Poblachta, which had some success in the 1940s and 50s...and campaigned for working class Dublin people to have better housing, food and medical care. One of her early plays is about a family that live in a Dublin slum. The mother tries to look after her small daughter Chrissie and her sister's illegitmate child Kevin.. but her older son Lar is a gambler and they are desperately poor. There are new houses and flats being built by the Government but there are not enough of them. Chrissie loves her little cousin Kevin, and tries to give him little treats, though her family don't have enough money for essentials. Other relatives refuse to take him into their homes as he is an illegitimate child. One of the nuns who supply the family with a meal a day, gives Chrissie a loan of a can to carry back her food to the family but she sells the can to get a little money to buy Kevin some chocolate. She sells it to a nasty woman who begs for a living and drinks. Then, the money she has got to buy the chocolate is stolen. Eventually, Chrissie confesses to her nun what she did, and the nun forgives her. She tells her she will give her a job doling out the food, when she is old enough to work. Kevin gets a place in a fairly decent orphanage...

Gillian Bradshaw novels

Im reading a new novel by Gillian Bradshaw. I've read most of her books set in classical times and her Arthur trilogy... I haven't read her novels set in scientific life as yet. But there are two about the Civil war, focussing on Lucy, a young woman who sympathises with the Roundheads. She has a printing press and produces leaflets and papers supporting the anti Cavalier side. I hope to blog about the books soon

Jimmy O'Dea and Maureen Potter

I have just been reading a biography of Jimmy O'Dea, who was a comedian and actor in Ireland, during the 20th century. When I was a kid, my parents would take me every year to the Christmas pantomime, in the Gaiety Theatre. It was great fun, and the star of the show was Maureen Potter, who had worked with Jimmy. He created a "dame" character, Mrs Mulligan, who was an old Dublin woman who sold vegetables at a street stall. He was very funny and topical as was Maureen Potter. We didn't get to the theatre much but my parents liked the comedy of the pantomime. As I grew older I began to go to the serious theatre, and dabbled in acting. But my first experiences were at those Christmas pantos. Jimmy died in 1964 and Maureen died some years ago.

Frances Hodgson Burnett 1849-1924

Burnett was a well known writer in the Victorian age, whose books for children became best sellers. She was born in Manchester to a business family. In her childhood, the family lost money, after the death of her father. They moved to America, to Tennesee. She liked writing and began to earn some money writing stories... She loved flowers and that led, later to her book The Secret Garden. She grew up partly in Manchester, but had relatives in America who took her in when her family lost its money. Then her uncle's business in Tennessee failed and she was forced to rely on her own resources. She married Swan Burnett, who was training as a doctor, when she was just 22. They spent a couple of years in Paris, where Swan completed his studies. They had two sons, Lionel and Vyvyan, whom she loved and dressed in fancy clothes. They returned to America, and Swan began to make a fair living as a doctor, but they had money problems and Frances continued to write, and earned quite well, but her husband resented her being more successful than him. Tensions built up in her marriage, and she became exhausted with looking after her children, writing and being a literary hostess. In 1884 she wrote her most successful novel, which was Little Lord Fauntleroy, about a child who turns out to be the son of an English lord... While some critics mocked the work, especially the bits about young Cedric wearing velvet suits and having long curls, it sold very well and she was comfortably off. But her elder son Lionel died of TB and her marriage was on a downward slide. She lived partly in England and partly back in America. She and Swan divorced in 1898 - on grounds of desertion by her husband.. but it was a mutual decision. She had met an actor, Stephen Townsend and in her house in England, she moved him in, calling him her secretary. There was gossip about this, and she then married him. But he was much younger than her, and it was clear that he had married her for her money. She soon discovered that the marriage was a big mistake. They did not divorce but it was not at all happy. Another of her better known novels was Sara Crew, also known as The Little Princess. It is a story about a young girl whose father has to go away, and he puts her in a girls' school. Sara then learns that her father has died, and she is left very poor. Her headmistress keeps her but makes her take on the duties of a servant. Sara retains her dignity and shows that she is a "little princess" in character.

Publishing stories - Update

Due to illness I've had to stop publishing my stories at present. I'll update in case people would like to read some of them. Still ill....

Roman Bride

Its a short story, by Nadine Sutton available on Amazon. A story of a British soldier, part of King Arthur's band, who marries a Roman lady. She finds that one of the women in the Fort seems to be chasing her husband.

Roman Bride a story by Nadine Sutton

This story is available on Amazon... I may publish some more in due course but Im not in great health. Hope some people will like my historical romances. I've enjoyed writing in different eras.

The Kitten lady and her kittens

Hannah is busy with Kitten Season and looking after tiny cats who need care and love. People can help by fostering little kittens till they are old enough to go to a forever home.

Roman Bride By Nadine Sutton.. a short novella.

A story I've republished, which is available on Amazon. Its a short romantic story set in the time of King Arthur, about a British soldier who marries Flavia, a Romano British lady.. who is not sure she wants to be married to a British man. She finds that a lady of Arthur's court seems to have an interest in her husband. Available on Amazon by Nadine Sutton.

Deepening Stream Part II

Matey and Adrian have a daughter Priscilla (called Petella) a year after their marriage and then a son. Matey's sister Priscilla comes to stay to see her new niece, and seems to settle into the dull but pleasant life of the Forts and their friends. She does not seem to be bothered that it is provincial and "small towny", now. She gets involved with Peter Russell, a neighbour in their town who is a very quiet dull shadowy man. His wife died leaving him with several small daughters who need a mother. Priscilla decides to marry him and look after the children, though it seems that she does not want sex or more children, but is happy to have a life taking care of Peter and his children. Matey is also happy with her life. Francis, their brother, has married. He and his wife have a baby daughter but the child dies a few days after birth and he is very upset. War breaks out in Europe, the First World War, and Matey hears news from her French and Belgian friends. She is horrified by the barbarity of war, in the 20th century and upsets herself a lot thinking about it. She becomes irritated by the way that her friends in her small town America home seem indifferent to the war. Adrian, though he has a Quaker background, is very ambivalent. He starts to think that although he is too much of a Quaker to fight, he should on moral grounds get involved with the war and try to help the French. Francis tells him there's nothing he can do and that he should not neglect his own children when he cannot make a difference in Europe. But Matey is also upset and wants to do something to help. She and Adrian take their two small children and sail to France. They spend the war years in France, with Adrian working driving an ambulance, and Matey doing social work, helping refugees to get whatever assistance is available.. and their own children go to school there. Matey works very hard, but Adrian is very ambivalent. He wants to help the French, but he feels unhappy about being part of the war machine and feels that war is brutal and evil and he can't seem to see that sometimes it is necessary. Matey decides to spend the money she inherited from her great aunt, helping people in France. She meets her brother, at the end of the war, and is upset to find that he is pleased that he and other Americans have made money out of the war.

The Deepening Stream by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

This is a semi autobiographical novel by Fisher. The heroine is "Matey" (real name Penelope) Gilbert. She is the daughter of an American academic and his wife, who spend their lives moving around from one American university to another. They have a very unsettled life. She has a brother Francis and a sister Priscilla. She sees little of her other relatives, who mostly live in small communities in America and some of whom are Quakers. Her father periodically gets some time off and usually travels to France or somewhere in Europe to continue his studies.. and so Matey get a wider education than she would in the USA. Her parents dont seem to be very happily married and often quarrel and snipe at each other. It creates more tension in her home. In her teens, Matey's father takes ill suddenly and dies, and her mother is clearly very grieved. She then gets into religion, becoming a High Church Episcopalian. She slips away from her children and gets involved in an orphanage run by an Episopalian charity. Penelope feels a bit alienated from her own family and has no other close friends. She goes to college and begins to teach French, as does Priscilla. When she is in her early 20's, she learns that a distant relative "Aunt Connie" left her some money years ago and now it has grown to a reasonably large sum. She goes to meet the Forts, who are managing the money for her, and Adrian Fort, the son, who is a distant cousin, falls in love with her. Matey is unsure about love as she has not had much emotion in her own family but she begins to become attracted to him. They get engaged. Her brother and sister don't approve. They think the Forts are not rich or grand people and have a "small town" mentality. Priscilla suggests that she and Matey could live together. Francis, who is now a lawyer, is very snobbish about Adrian and also suggests that Matey should break off her engagment. But she decides to go on and marry Adrian, as she is growing to love him. They marry sooner than originally planned and go to Europe for a honeymoon. Adrian has spent some time studying art, in France but gave up because he recognised that he did not have much talent and decided to help run the family bank. But he likes visiting France and is pleased to meet the Vinets who were friends of Matey's when she visited Europe as a young girl. He and Matey are settling into married life.. and seem quite happy. More follows!

Roman Bride Update

I always wanted to write a "King Arthur" story, and so I wrote this one a few years ago. It is set in Camlann, King Arthur's fortress. It is the story of Flavia, a Roman lady, who is married off to Peredur, one of Arthur's men. They dont know each other, and they come from different cultures but they learn about each other and grow together. Flavia is worried because her new husband seems friendly with a British noblewoman, Angharhad, who seems hostile to her. But she learns to fit in at Arthur's court and to become a part of Camlann life. Due to continuing ill health Im not able to publish the story, at present. I'll let readers know if it will appear again.

Publishing

I've re published one of my novellas, set in Roman-Celtic Britain. I may re publish a few more, if I get some interest in them. I have a novella set in Edwardian England, and another is set in France, in the Napoleonic wars. They are romances but I've tried to throw in a bit of history. It may take a few weeks as Im not in good health but I hope that some of my readers will enjoy them.

Roman Bride by Nadine Sutton

This is a short story which is available on Amazon. It's set in Romano Celtic Britain and has an Arthurian theme. It is about a love story between a British soldier who is part of Arthur's army.. and a Roman lady who marries him. I hope some of my readers will enjoy it.

Roman Bride

My story Roman Bride is available on Amazon. It is a romance of a British soldier, who follows the Emperor Arthur, and a Roman-British lady, who is given to him in marriage. Hope it will please some of my readers. https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=roman+bride+sutton&crid=2QXTW9CUTIRD9&sprefix=roman+bride+sutton%2Caps%2C205&ref=nb_sb_noss

Kitten Lady

Its kitten season and Hannah is looking after very tiny kittens, some of whom are premature. You can follow her on social media. Hannah's work involves fostering kittens, and encouraging people to take in kittens and to trap wild cats and have them spayed or neutered.. so that the population of feral kittens will go down. she also teaches classes in kitten care and looks after other animals - goats, pigs, dogs etc - that she has rescued. Her videos include information on kitten and pet care and the little animals are very cute and lovable... She has cats of her own, who live with her permanently, including Ferguson an orange cat, and Chouchou who is a Persian who had a very severe cleft palate....

Dorothy Canfield Fisher Novelist and Educator.

Im hoping to write a blog on Fisher's writing soon. She is an American author, born in 1879, in Lawrence, Kansas. Her father was a history professor and her mother was an artist. She was a prolific writer who also was involved in educational reform and in war relief work in Europe. She studied at the University of Kansas. She also studied languages in Paris. In 1907, she married John Redwood Fisher. During the War, she went with him to France and became involved in war work. After the war, she went on writing and also got involved in promoting the Montessori Method of education for young children. She was greatly admired in America, as an educational reformer and writer. Some time ago, I read one of her best known novels, The Home Maker. It is set in America, about a husband and wife, who swap roles. The husband is injured in an accident and confined to bed. His wife, who has never enjoyed housework and is impatient with her children, takes on a sales job, and finds she is very good at it. At home, her husband starts to manage the house and take care of the children and he enjoys it a lot, and the children are happier. But as he recovers, he realises that he would prefer to stay home and let his wife earn a living, which she really enjoys. But he knows that society would not accept this division of labour, of him being the housekeeper and child carer and his wife earning their money. He consults his doctor. The doctor agrees with him, and makes out that the husband is still injured and will never be much better, so he has an excuse for staying home and being a house husband.. and his wife does well at her job. I hope to blog some more about her later. I'm just starting to read one of her novels, based on her own life. It's called The Deepening Stream. Fisher had written a children's book (Understood Betsy) which was about the Montessori system of teaching. Her later novel also gives some information on Montessori, and is partly about her own war work in France.

warning to social Climbers by Benedict Brooke

As Jeremy reached the mountain top- He said “At last I can relax” "I must inform the office, By email, phone, and fax” “Must let them know that I’ve achieved My ultimate final goal” “No not slamming the markets Or selling my bloody soul Or being a bear, a slag or some such Or playing the Stock Exchange But I’ve given up my position And conquered a mountain range Reinstatement and promotion Senior manager, at least For I was conquering Everest, While they were on the piste Five hundred K, a company car A Merc or maybe a Jaguar Executive Box at sporting Events Henley, champagne, hospitality tents A flat down in Chelsea, a girlfriend called Shona Invited to Wembley, guest of the owner I’ll buy up Man U, run my own racehorse And hope for a gong from Elizabeth, of course Imagine their faces when I meet the queen I’ll stand there, polite, aloof and serene" And with that, the smug bastard fell down a ravine.

Consequences Part VI

Alex goes to town to meet her brother and he questions her about what has happened. She feels she can't explain why she left the house to find lodgings... and can't explain that her lodgings are shabby and in a very poor area. He asks why the servants weren't paid, and she finally manages to tell him it's because she had used up the money. She says that she thought he could just write another cheque and he is appalled and accuses her of embezzling the money. She really can't understand why it is a problem. She has not handled money in years. She dimly realises that it was wrong to take the money Cedric gave her for the servants' pay, and to use it herself, but she does not see why. Cedric is torn between serious disapproval and feeling sorry for her, when she is so helpless and unaware. Alex feels that it's another indication that she is a bad person and deserves punishment and hellfire. He tells her that they will forget about it, and when Pamela gets married, she will make over her money to Alex. She goes back to her lodgings and broods, and comes to the conclusion that if she's so bad, she is destined for hell anyway.. if there is a hell. So she decides to commit suicide. She goes to the Ponds on Hampstead Heath and nerves herself to end it all. She works herself up to find enough courage to finish her life.. and steps into the pond, having put stones in her pockets. She drowns. Her family are sad but not desperately upset. They don't understand the problems that she has carried all her life or what drove her to this final event. Her younger sister feels that she had nothing to live for. Barbara remembers how pretty the young Alex was.

Consequences Part V

Cedric tells Alex that because she was settled in the convent, their father did not leave her anything much in his Will. He left most of his money to his sons. For his daughters, he left a portion of money to be divided between Pamela and Barbara, but to Alex, he only left a small annuity of £50 a year. That was paid directly to the convent. He believed - not unnaturally - that the convent would keep Alex for life.. and she did not need any capital. However Alex has no real idea of money - in the convent, the basics were provided for her... so she does not realise how precarious things are now. Barbara needs the money she got from her father, as she was left so badly off. Pamela is young and will probably marry well, but Cedric feels he can't advise his sister to give up her money unless she has a rich husband, and she has not got one, as yet. Alex is very upset that her family seem to be making such an issue about her income, because it means very little to her. Cedric tells her he will help her out, a bit, but she will have to wait till Pamela gets engaged, and can give up some of her portion, to have a settled income, however small. He feels he's not being unreasonable to tell Alex that Pamela MAY be provided for by a rich husband but for the present, she needs the money that her father has left her. Alex gets even more upset when she overhears Violet who has been very kind to her, say things that insinuate that she is only being nice for Cedric's sake. She has been staying with Violet and now, she feels uneasy doing this. When Violet and Cedric plan to go away to the country for August, Alex asks if she could stay at their house while she tries to make plans. Violet agrees as there will be a couple of servants still keeping an eye on the house... Cedric tells her that he will give her some money for herself, which she'll need -and also a cheque to pay the board wages to the servants at the end of the month. He and Violet go away and Alex stays, but she then finds that the convent want repayment for the money they spent on sending her back to London. Worried and not sure what to do, she decides that she has to pay them.. so she uses her little bit of money from Cedric. But that still leaves her short. Foolishly, she thinks it would be all right to use the money for the servants' wages for herself. She has decided to stop living in the family's homes and find some cheap lodgings. She finds a room in a lodging house, and dips into the servants' wages to pay for it. She thinks it's no harm as Cedric can just write another cheque for them. She is hurt at having overheard Violet and now believes that Violet was not really kind because she liked her... She was just showing kindliness for her husband's sake. She moves into the lodging house near Hampstead. It is shabby but the landlady is nice to her. Then Cedric learns from his servants that they haven't been paid. He hurries back to London to see what has happened.

Consequences Part IV

Alex finds that her hysterical fits and her insistence that she wants to leave religous life does not go down well. The nuns are shocked and angry. She is sent to consult a priest and he is very unsympathetic, telling her that she is very wrong to want to leave her convent. Delafield gives a harsh portrait of the religious in general, and particularly of the Irish priest who advises Alex. He is crude and unpleasant. He is very rough with her, saying that her family won't want her. Her siblings are married or leading their own lives. They will not be willing to take her back. Alex is hurt by all this and it reinforces her conviction that she is a bad person whom nobody could love or respect. But the nuns and priests can't believe that anyone could want to leave, once they have become professed religious. The priest, as a concession, suggests that she could transfer to another convent or another order, but she says she does not want that. She knows she cannot live in the way religious are supposed to live, not having any special people or any personal love in her life. He says that even if she does go ahead and apply to be released from her vows, it will take a long time and may not even happen. She says that she can't go on. If they won't let her go willingly, she will just leave. He reminds her that she won't be wanted by her own family. She continues to insist and in the end, she is sent to the order's convent in Rome, to be near the Vatican while her case is being processed. It becomes clear that in spite of the priest's negativity, she is going to get her release, though it may take time. She finds that the Roman nuns are cold to her as well, as it is the ultimate sin to want to be released from your vows. She is hurt and even more lonely, and she becomes ill, with throat abscesses, which weaken her. She writes to her family, who are amazed that she now wants to give up the life of a nun. They say that she will always be welcome at home, but it's clear they have no real understanding of what she has gone through. They dont know why she is now looking for laicisation. After several months, she is allowed to leave. The order pays for her to go back to England, but makes it clear she will have to pay the money back. She is also told that the church will not sanction her getting married. She feels this does not hurt her, as she has no interest in marriage. Her family do not refuse to take her in, so she decides to go to Barbara - who now lives in a small house in Hampstead... Her brother Cedric has married a well to do young woman, Violet, and they have one child. He is comfortably off now and happy in his marriage. Alex, having lived in a limited enclosed life for 10 years, is shattered by the journey back to London. She knows nothing of money, or how London has changed. When she get to the city, she decides to get a cab to Hampstead, to Barbara's house, but she does not have enough money for the fare. Barbara is not unwelcoming but she's a little annoyed that she has to pay some of Alex's cab fare and that her sister did not think of getting a bus or underground. In a day or so, she suggests that they go to town to see Cedric and his wife, and have a talk about her finances. Her youngest sister, Pamela, is "out" and lives with Cedric. Barbara lends Alex a little money to pay for some new clothes, but Alex has no idea how she is going to repay her.

Diana III

Diana and Jan get married and she decides that she wants to use her money to set up a home for children whose lives have been destroyed by war. Jan feels that her good side is now coming out more. He is fed up with the war and wishes it were over. Diana is eager to have another baby, though she loves her daughter Yvonne. She wants a son by Jan, but she has to tell him that it seems unlikely that she will manage it. She tells him that when she asked him to come to France with her on the mission to get Yves' papers, she was pregnant by one of her lovers. She felt that she could not go on with dangerous war work, in such a condition, so she hastily arranged an abortion. It didn't go well and her womb was damaged. Jan knows little of female reproduction and is shocked. He had guessed at the time he met her that Diana was pregnant, and then on a second meeting, she did not seem to be pregnant. Diana tells him she could try to have an operation to fix her womb, but she also has a bad heart. She has had heart trouble before and the adventures in France have added to the strain on her heart. So having a gynaecological operation might kill her. They embark on their mission to France, and this time Diana is injured. He gets her back safe to England but the strain on her heart is now a serious issue. She has to have several operations and it's clear that she will not live for long. He and Yvonne look after her and she finally dies, adjuring John not to give up on life because she is gone. He has agreed to use the land they have bought to make a refuge for war children... and in her memory he decides to go on with that....

Consequences III

Ten years pass, and we learn that Alex is now a nun (Sister Alexandra) in the convent in Belgium. But she is still not very happy. She had found a refuge in the London convent, and was accepted as a postulant. She hasn't got any real skills to use in her work. She does a bit of teaching but one of her little pupils gets a crush on her and the nuns are nervous about this sort of thing. Alex still loves Mother Gertrude, who is now a senior nun in the Liege convent, but she is getting worn out. Her initial feeling that she has found a refuge in the convent begins to ebb away. She has been struggling for years to persuade herself that she has a vocation and that she is in the right place, but she is running out of energy. She is often ill. But she felt when she came to stay at the convent that she had no real option but to go into the order. Her family didn't want her, and the upper class world didn't want her. Mother Gertrude and the convent seemed to be the only people who cared for her or wanted to give her a place in life. In the past years, things have changed a lot in England. Her parents are both dead. Her brother Cedric has married. So has Barbara. She married a young artist who went to South Africa during the Boer war and became ill and died. He left her very badly off. Alex feels lost. Her family keep in touch but she has no real connexion with them. Her youngest sister, Pamela, is now growing up and ready to take her place in society. She then learns that Mother Gertrude has been transferred to a convent in South America and will be leaving soon. Mother Gertrude believes she did the right thing in encouraging Alex to become a nun, but now she finds out her mistake. When she hears that her idol is going to be sent far away, probably for life, Sister Alexandra becomes hysterical. Gertrude is severe with her and tells her that she is very wrong to think like this.. She has a vocation and she must obey her religious superiors. She cannot attach herself to an individual or love someone more than God. Alex has always thought of herself as "bad" so these unkind words from Gertrude drive her to despair. It seems to confirm that she is a bad person and that Mother Gertrude never cared for her. She breaks down completely. Mother Gertrude leaves and Alex, after some more hysterical fits, tells the senior nuns that she has decided she can't stay in the convent.

Consequences II

Noel Cardew is a little like Monica's admirer in Thank Heaven Fasting.. The young man in Thank Heaven, called Carol, was very vain and tiresome. Monica put up with him because she had no other prospects of a husband. However, Alex begins to find Noel increasingly annoying. Her parents let them get engaged, privately, but do not announce it. They are unsure about the romance but they realise Alex is not likely to have a lot of admirers. But within a few weeks, Alex feels she can't live with Noel's lack of any real affection for her any longer or his ceaseless boasting. She bravely breaks off the engagement. Her parents are horrified. They think that she will not have many more chances of getting married and that if news gets out that she jilted Noel, she will ruin her chances altogether. Alex is very upset, but feels she had no option. Her parents continue to take her into society but she dislikes it more and more and she does not have any suitors. Barbara, the next girl, is now over her accident, when she fell off the "tightrope". The Clare parents had decided to send her to a friend in France to learn about society. Barbara took to life in France very well and soon became very sophisticated and fashionable. After a year or so, she returns. She is only 17, but she seems experienced enough to find her way in Society. She tells Alex that she has had an admirer in France who writes her love letters. Alex starts to get very jealous of her younger sister. Barbara decides to make her come out early, when she is just 17. It is the Diamond Jubilee year, and the family go to various events. One day, Alex is coming home from one such event, with only her maid as chaperone. She is tired and hot, and the maid, who is a Catholic, suggests that they go to a nearby church to rest for a little. It is a church belonging to the Order where Alex went to school. They now have a house and church in London. It is a Belgian order and Alex has had nothing to do with them since she left school. She agrees to walk to the church and rest up. When she gets there, she does feel a little happier. She wonders if perhaps she can pray for something good, and her prayer will be answered. In the church, she is waiting for her maid to find a cab, and she finds to her shock that there is a nun in the chapel. It is Mother Gertrude, one of the senior nuns. Gertrude sees how unhappy Alex is, as they talk, and she begins to persuade her to turn to religious life. Over the next months, she visits the church often and develops a crush on Mother Gertrude. Gertrude believes that Alex has a vocation and encourages her to think so too. The Clares are not happy with her for becoming so religious. Arguments break out in the house. Barbara's French beau lets her down. She had thought he was going to propose and he marries his cousin in France. She is in a bad mood. Alex withdraws more from society. There is more tension. Another row escalates. Her father tells her that if she can't be happy with her own family and the upper class way of life, she can leave. Her mother reminds her that the family are not very rich, and that the house and most of their money is left to their 2 sons, so she and her sisters won't be very well off, if they do not marry. Feeling pressurised and unwanted, Alex decides to leave. She contacts Mother Gertrude, who invites her to come and stay at the convent and she goes.

Consequences by EM Delafield

This is one of Delafield's best known works. It is set in the late Victorian era - at the time when she herself was growing up. The work has been described by critic Nicola Beauman as a very angry book. It seems as if Delafield was rebelling about the way she and other Victorian girls were brought up. She also felt anger at the way she had been treated when she went into a convent as a young girl. She put up with harshness as a young nun, but when her younger sister Yoe began to think of going into a convent too, she felt she could not bear for her beloved sister to be as harshly treated. She finally left the convent. Her heroine is a girl called Alexandra Clare. She is a neurotic and unhappy girl, whose father is a well to do gentleman, Sir Francis Clare. He is a Roman Catholic, but her mother Isabel is not much interested in religion. Their children are brought up strictly, however and Alex is not very happy all through her childhood. Her parents criticise her all the time. She does not get on well with her siblings, and she is not liked by her hyper critical Nanny. She believes that when she is grown up, she will be a success "like people in books". But for the present, she indulges in passions for friends, whom she admires extravagantly. Her parents don't like her emotional nature or the people she chooses to adore. As a young girl, she tries to dominate her younger siblings, but tends to end up in scrapes. The most serious is when she bullies her younger sister Barbara into playing "tightropes" with her. Barbara does not want to play, but Alex gets her to stand on a makeshift tightrope, and she falls, hurting her back. Her parents are angry at her "nearly killing Barbara" and send her away to a convent school as a punishment. She is not religious then, and does not like the school in Belgium. She spends a few years there, and during her time, she "falls" for an older girl, Queenie, whom she adores. Queenie is not interested in Alex. She is preoccupied with coming out in society. She is friendly to Alex but it's clear that she does not want to be friends with the girl - she is just cultivating her because Alex is from a better class family than hers. When she goes back home, she asks her mother if she can ask Queenie to stay but her mother is horrified at the idea of her befriending a girl who is not their social equal. Alex comes out and finds that she is not a success. She is too anxious to please and she does not make any real friends. She does have one suitor, Noel Cardew, who is a vain "full of himself" young man who simply wants her to listen to him while he talks about how clever he is.

Diana Part II

When his wife is killed, John joins SOE. He speaks good French and learns how to kill and how to survive undercover in France. Then to his amazement, Diana turns up again. She is still living in France. She tells him that she is being asked to persuade him to take part in a Resistance operation. She is married to a wealthy industrialist, who has been collaborating in France for years. He believes in fascism, as it means that he can make more money under a fascist government. SOE wants them to get into his factory to get hold of some documents. Diana works for them, but she would need help with this difficult task. Jan does not want to undertake it. He does not know whether he loves or hates Diana. When she comes to see him, he can see that she is in a highly nervous state and he's not sure she is up to undercover work. He agrees in the end to do the job with her and is flown into France. Diana's husband is Yves De Royden. He has a cousin, Raoul, who is disgusted at Yves' fascist beliefs and who is in the Resistance. With Raoul's help, Jan and Diana embark on kidnapping Yves to force him to hand over some papers which will be valuable to the SOE. Things go wrong and while they get away and get the papers, Yves is killed and this raises a hue and cry. Jan is injured. Back in the UK, Diana realises that she is now a widow, and free to marry again. She tells Jan that Yvonne, her daughter is his child. She became pregnant by him just before her father killed himself - and that was why she panicked and married Yves. They plan to get married. Diana is reconciled with her mother.

Johnny and the Four - short dark humour Story by Benedict Brooke

Johnny Davies was only short when they told him the story. About the four men who had lived next door. But then you’re not that tall at only two. Anyway, one day, Johnny was crossing the road and one of the men, the tall thin one, offered to help him to cross. How they got out of the way of that truck, I’ll never know. Funny guy. Funny peculiar- that is, dressed a bit like a monk. You know, long black habit, cowl, guess he was a gardener or some such with that scythe he carried. Do you remember the riot? Johnny does, when those five guys started up on the black family next door, (on the left hand side, not on the right hand side where the four guys were). Before you knew it, Combat 18, NF, the Anti-Nazi League and a representative of the Monster Raving Loony party, who had gotten lost while canvassing, all turned up with knives, skewers, corkscrews and whatever other implements they had managed to borrow from the other 4 guys next door. Do you remember how the police turned up? After the majority of the crowd had dispersed, and they arrested anyone remaining, bleeding or drunk (apart from the off duty officer of course.). Johnny meanwhile, looking aghast from the window, was moved to throw on his dressing gown and shove his feet into slippers and bugger off down the road, to a safe distance, to absorb events. The gentleman standing beside him in the gawking throng was smiling at this time, although Johnny, in his combination of shock, amazement and excitement, didn’t notice this. Anyway, Johnny grew older, as unfortunately and inevitably one does. He didn’t move. His parents were victims of a car crash when he was eighteen, when he was of an age, to take charge of the house. By this age, Johnny had a problem with his weight. Despite incipient anorexia and the earnest but terrible cooking of his mother, (in earlier years obviously... even I’m not stupid enough to confuse my continuity that much)… no matter how little he ate, he steadily piled on the pounds. So that at the age of 20, he realised that the only career he could embark on was that of professional wrestler. Fortunately, one of the gentlemen next door came to visit dear old Johnny. This neighbour was the pale rather slim one -with the ash blond hair and albino eyes. This gentleman suggested a high- quality though rather unnerving diet. Anyway, luckily for Johnny -he was never brought to book for his – ahem –cannibalistic crimes. Though he was rather foolish in that he used the same cab firm each time. But the desired effect was achieved. Johnny soon became a fine figure of a man (albeit rather short). So his thoughts began to run to courting. Joanna was tall, fair and graceful. Johnny met her at the Jim. He had intended to go and work-out, but was unfortunately dyslexic and had in fact walked into a bar. He managed somehow to work his way into her favour, and after the obligatory “coffee”, her knickers. Indeed, with the very marriage arranged and a stag night in view, Johnny was left, as one is, deciding whom to invite to the “almighty piss up”. But he had few friends, more like “acquaintances”, due to his earlier more unsociable activities. So Johnny thought it might be appropriate to invite the four men next door (Although he was very insecure concerning their ménage a quartre). Anyway, a jolly old evening was had by all, apart from the barman who experienced an attack of scrofula, and the knife fight about whose pint was whose? Johnny hadn’t realised that the Farmers Arms was a gay pub, and what with all the pub grub being out of date, and the old guy at the corner table being found dead, when everyone thought that he was just taking his time over his pint. Mind you, the tall skinny man was winning at pool. And when Johnny got home (he’d invited them all in for a drink) there was the message on his voicemail, from the hospital. Joanna was critically ill with pneumonia, pleurisy, and something that they’ve only just discovered and hadn’t given a name to, yet. (They were sure they’d be able to think of something in time for the TV news.) "Oh and she's dead,” they added. “Never mind, better luck next time?” However Johnny remained single, and heartbroken. Mourning his lost love, until, some 10 years later, all four chaps who lived next door, (who had been his emotional and physical crutch), popped up on the doorstep. “Hello Johnny” they said, in an affable manner. “We’ve come to cheer you up.” And give you a good haircut,” remarked the stocky one... although not in a way that anyone could hear clearly. “Anyway” the thin one said, affixing a tourniquet on his upper arm as they all sat at Johnny’s kitchen table, "Anyway,” he reiterated, “We think – that is we collectively –“ “Hold on -” the deep voice of the tall one said, “Who the fuck’s in charge here?” “Just get the fucking clippers” the stocky one replied. Johnny, proud of his lush and flowing locks (and the fact that he hadn’t had to pay for a haircut in 11 years), was taken aback at this. However, when held down by Mr Skinny, Mr Pale and with his head held firmly in place by the muscular forearms of Mr Stocky, he resigned himself to the robust attentions of Mr Grim (I think you’ve all guessed it by now!). Time passed – as it does – and here we find Johnny sitting bemused and shorn, upon his kitchen floor. Rubbing his shaven and rather itchy denuded head. He is heard to mutter to himself, “That fucking tattoo, what does it mean anyway? And what did he mean by that?” For as the tall one had left, tattooing equipment still in hand, he had said softly, smiling. “You’re ready now Johnny, you’re ready.” Mind you, with a face like that, there’s not much you can do but smile. And why, as the sign was engraved on his head, and he had yelled “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” had the pale one replied “How apt, how apt.” Three years later, at the age of 33, Johnny was elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The rest will be history, (Or Prophecy depending on how you look at it.).

Blondes by Benedict Brooke

Blondes have more fun Brunettes have the brains At least that’s what they say In fact, that ain’t true Blondes just think that they do! And what do they know, anyway?

Diana by RF Delderfield

This is not one of Delderfield's better works but I've enjoyed reading it some time ago. There were originally 2 novels which were combined into the one work "Diana". The hero of the book is John (Jan) Leigh, who lives in a small seaside town in Devon in the 1920s and 30s. He lived in London as a small child but his mother died and he was taken into the care of his maternal uncles, Reuben, Mark and Luke. The family were simple west country people who led a quiet life and worked hard. Luke ran a small shop, Reuben is a bit of a left wing activist and Mark had a small farm and riding school. John's father was a drunk and left his family badly off. The uncles take John in when his mother has died, and offer him chances to take over their businesses when he's grown up. He loves Devon.. He meets Diana Gaylorde Sutton in his early teens. She is the daughter of a wealthy businessman who has an estate down there. Her mother spends most of her time in London, engaging in social activities. She is a hard selfish woman, and Diana continually plays truant. She is educated by a governess. When she meets Jan, they become friends and playmates.. enjoying the countryside and having fun. As he grows older, Jan begins to fall in love with her. But he's aware that he is a poor boy without many prospects and she is a very rich heiress. Mrs Sutton gets angry at the way her daughter is behaving and begins to worry that Diana may end up losing her virginity to this country boy. Jan goes to school and has some talent for writing. He then manages to get a job on a small town newspaper. Diana comes out and is a very popular deb. She smuggles Jan up to her bedroom on the night of her coming out dance, and they make love. But Jan comes to realise that although Diana claims to be in love with him, she is very selfish and she is using him to rebel against her mother. She admits that she does not think she could in real life marry someone who was not rich. She goes back to London and to her society life, but after a while, she gets into trouble and John has to help her out. She was driving drunk and crashed a car and someone died, and she feels guilty. John still cares for her, but they can't agree about whether they can find a way of living that suits both of them. He wants to be independent, perhaps run a farm or riding school. Diana can't see herself married to a working man. Then, her father loses a lot of his money and commits suicide. Diana vanishes, and when Jan goes looking for her, her mother tells him that her daughter could not face being poor. She has married a French upper class man, whom she has known for some time, and gone away with him. Mrs Sutton on the other hand has made the best of things and set up a small dressmaking business, and is supporting herself. War breaks out and Jan joins up. He marries a girl called Alison, out of loneliness. But she is killed in an air raid. Then at Dunkirk, when Jan is trying to get back to England, he meets Diana in the crowd of French refugees. She has some children that she wants to send to the UK, and once she sees him, she relies on him to help.

Cynthia Asquith and the Spring House

Lady Cynthia Asquith (born Cynthia Mary Evelyn Charteris) was the daughter of the Earl of Wemyss, a Tory peer. Her mother was also an upper class lady belonging to a society set, called the "Souls" who were interested in intellectual and aristic matters. She married Herbert Asquith, son of the Liberal Prime Minister, a few years before World War One. He was a barrister, but he wanted to be a poet, and the young couple did not have much money. Cynthia was interested in literature and the arts, though she also enjoyed a typical upper class social life. When she realised that she and Herbert (Beb) were going to be short of money, she decided that she had to be the bread winner, although she was not brought up to work. So she took to writing and also got a job as a part time secretary to JM Barrie. She wrote biographies of the Royal Family, memoirs about the upper class life before the War, a biography of Sonia Tolstoy, and some fiction. She also wrote ghost stories. However, now she is most famous for her Diaries of life in England during World War One, from 1915 to 1918, which were published in the 1960s. I've read the Diaries many times, and loved them. They give a picture of political and upper class London. Cynthia was friends with many writers and arists and she also knew famous soldiers and politicians. Many years later, in the 1930's, she wrote a novel, "The Spring House". I hope to blog about it soon. Her heroine is called Miranda, and the novel is based loosely on her own life during the War. During that time, Cynthia was living what she called a "cuckoo" life, renting out her house and living with relatives and friends. Her husband was away at War, and she by then had 2 small children. The book starts with Miranda staying with her mother, together with her small son Patrick. Her husband is abroad and advises her to stay in England because of fears of submarine attacks. Miranda feels a bit useless and wants to do some war work but she is not sure what she can do. She is accustomed to a leisurely social type of life... Her 2 brothers have joined up and she misses them. Miranda starts to work as a nurse and enjoys it. She gets on well with the soldiers, and enjoys the feeling that she is doing something useful. She does however miss her husband yet she finds some consolation in flirtations with some of her male friends. One of them is a pacifist writer, (based on DH Lawrence). More will follow!

House of Mirth I

Wharton wrote a lot as a girl but she did not publish a novel until she was around 40. Her marriage ended and she spent most of her time in France, rather than the USA. She involved herself in war work during her life in France, and wrote about it. One of her best known novels is "House of Mirth". Like most of her work, it is set in the US, in "Old New York".. ie among the moneyed well bred aristocracy of the East Coast. Her heroine, Lily Bart, is from a well born family- but her father comes home one day and tells his wife and daughter that they are ruined. He has lost all his money. He fades away and dies, ashamed. Mrs Bart is angry and upset that her husband has let her down, and left her poor. She dies, leaving Lily to the care of relatives who are not really pleased to have a young woman foisted on them. The girl moves from staying with one relative or friend and another, and feels that she has to play along with these people to have a home of sorts. She gambles a lot and sometimes wins but it's not a steady income. She tries to find a husband but never seems to find the right man, who would be agreeable to her and rich enough to keep her. At the beginning of the book, she is 29 and getting dangerously close to spinsterhood.

Edith Wharton

I am hoping to write a blog on Edith Wharton soon and cover one or 2 of her novels. She was born as Edith Jones, in New York, in 1862. Her family were rich, members of the American aristocracy. She was related to upper class people of English and Dutch descent. She was educated by governesses and wrote poems and novellas, but did not have any of them published at first. She was expected to join in the social round and find a husband. She was ambivalent about "Society" and having to put aside her writing to attend parties and travel around searching for a suitable marriage. Her family spent time in Europe and she liked it better there. Her father died, and she found a husband, Edward Wharton. She and her husband travelled to Europe a good deal and shared an interest in the arts. But he suffered from depression and their marriage began to collapse. Edith started an affair with a journalist, Morton Fullerton. M/F

The Mitford Girls

I'm reading a biography of the Mitford family, by Mary S Lovell. I find myself unable to like it very much. It is well written but I find that there is a little too much sympathy for the fascist members of the family, particularly Diana Mosley. (unfortunately, there were quite a few of them.) David Freeman-Mitford, Lord Redesdale, the father of the family, was always eccentric and right wing. He had a hot temper and was difficult to live with. However, in later years, he regretted letting himself be involved with his daughters' right wing fascist views. As a young man, David married Sydney Bowles. His wife was a cool but gentle woman, who seems to have married for security. They were poor by aristocratic standards. He was a younger son, and his father in law got him a job as editor to a magazine when he got married, so as to provide a bigger income. David was not much of a reader, so it was an odd choice of career. David's older brother was killed in World War One. His brother left 2 daughters, so David then became the heir to the title and estates. With 7 children, money was tight by upper class standards. They had more than one estate but none of them were prosperous. Nancy was the eldest. There were 6 daughters and 1 son, Tom. In the 1920s and 30s, as the children grew up, quite a few of them seemed to veer toward the right, in politics. While I like Nancy, who was a mild liberal who became rather more conservative, as she grew older, I find the family's political leanings unnerving. Even Nancy, though she was anti Fascist, was inclined to tolerate her siblings' right wing views, perhaps to avoid family rows. But she did speak to the British authorities when World War Two broke out, and advised them that Diana was overly sympathetic to the Nazis. As a result, Diana, who had just had a baby, was imprisoned with her husband under wartime laws for her alleged Nazi leanings. It was true Mosley had told his followers to fight for Britain once they were at war. Some people thought it was unfair or unsisterly of her to do this to her sister, but honestly I am relieved that she felt strongly enough to stand on the right side. Unity, the second youngest girl, was not just right wing but unstable. She went to Germany to study. She became obsessed with Hitler, and supported his anti Semitic policies. When war broke out, she shot herself because she was so upset that her country, and Germany which she loved, were fighting. Tom, the only boy, also "liked Germans" and was right wing. He did not want to fight the Germans. He joined up but managed to get posted to fight against Japan. He was killed in the later stages of the war. Jessica (called Decca) was sympathetic to the Communist party. She ran away and married a nephew of Churchill's wife, Esmond Romilly... who was an upper class Communist. Nancy disliked him, as she felt he was nasty and unpleasant, and that he had led Jessica into rebellion against her family and a difficult life. Jessica and Esmond were very poor after their marriage and lived in Rotherhithe, a working class district, near the docks. They had a daughter, Julia, who caught measles, when only a few months old. The child died, and the couple were devastated. However, their very loud pro Communist activities provoked their upper class relatives and friends. In the beginning of their marriage, if they visited relatives, they regularly stole small items from their houses. They believed that the upper class did not need the things and that they deserved some punishment for being rich. So after this childish behaviour, it was hardly surprising that their friends and relations were not all that fond of them. In fairness, some of the upper crust made unkind remarks about the death of their baby, but overall, Jessica and Esmond don't come across as very likable. Jessica did repent of her Communist views in later life, whereas Diana was ambivalent about her pro Fascist viewpoint. Jessica and Esmond went to the US and when War broke out, he joined up. They had another daughter, Constantia, but Esmond was killed. Jessica remained in the US, and married a Jewish left wing lawyer, Bob Truehaft. She and he had 2 more children and pursued left wing causes, as journalists and activists. But Jessica never made up with her sister Diana. I hope to write a bit more later.

Yeats and Marriage

In 1913, Yeats was feeling hostile to the Irish middle classes partly due to their lack of sympathy for the poor, in the Dublin Strike. But a few years later, he was shocked by the Easter Rising, which was led by Irish middle class nationalists who rose up and tried to fight against the British, while they were engaged in World War I with Germany. The British savagely repressed the Rising and swiftly executed most of the leaders. Even Irish people who had not supported the Rebellion were shaken by the brutal response of the Government. They began to sympathise with the men who had gone out knowing they were likely to die. Yeats wrote poems where he admitted that he had not realised how passionate the Irish were about their freedom. He felt that the dull, bourgeois city of Dublin had been transformed and that a "Terrible Beauty" had been born. Maud Gonne had married an Irishman, John MacBride, and the marriage had failed within a couple of years. But now, her husband had gone out to rebel, and had been shot. He had proved himself as a patriot. Yeats began to consider getting married, as he was getting older and had no children. He fell in love with Georgina Hyde Lees, a much younger Englishwoman. He had met Georgie, as she was called, in 1910, through his mistress and friend, Olivia Shakespear. Several years later, in 1917, he asked her to marry him. She agreed. Their marriage had its difficulties at times. Yeats had not started his sex life early... he had been a shy romantic minded young man who did not lose his virginity until he was older. He had not been very confident with women. But over the years, he had had romances and affairs. He had made up for lost time. When they married, things were awkward between them. Georgie felt unhappy about the women in his life. She feared that he still loved some of them, particularly Maud Gonne. Georgie and Yeats had a son, Michael and a daughter Anne. Yeats became a Senator in the Irish Free State and continued to write. His poetry was harsher and grittier than his early works. He continued to take an interest in politics, and dabbled in the Blueshirt movement. He sympathised a little with fascism but he was more interested in his poetry. Georgie grew to tolerate his mistresses. She had to look after Yeats, an older man, in poor health who was demanding, and it began to wear her out. She was rather glad to let other women share in the task of looking after the great poet.

David Allan Coe

Coe died a month ago, at the age of 86. He was born in Ohio in 1939. He was a member of the Outlaw country movement and a talented song writer. He was in and out of trouble as a young man, in correctional institutions and prison. But he sometimes exaggerated the crimes he had committed. He claimed that he had been in prison for murder, but this was untrue. He had several problems with the IRS, but he had a successful career. Some of his big hits were Long Haired Redneck, which is about balancing between being a country singer and a rebel. Another is The Ride, about the Ghost of Hank Williams.

Pin to See the Peepshow V

Julia is hardly able to take it in that she is to be executed. Leo is to be hanged on the same day. She cracks up badly, and has to be given sedatives. She realises that her affair with Leo never really meant anything. He had been fond of her but there was no substance to the relationship. She does not seem to feel much remorse for Herbert's death. However her execution is unfair in that she did not take part in killing him. But her foolish letters did give the impression that she was eager to get rid of her husband, and as such an accessory to the murder. I dont know if I like the book very much. Julia is not all that likable, and while one feels sorry for her, I feel that Jesse excused her rather too much.