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| Illustration from The Little White Horse |
Every Saturday, as a small child, I was taken to my
local library to choose my books for the week, and though I loved anything
written by Enid Blyton, Noel Streatfeild or C. S. Lewis, the first books that
really intrigued me had a historical background. I loved any book that was
illustrated with lavish costumes, and as I grew older the pictures were still
significant, but less so as the story-telling took over. Being totally drawn into the world the author had created, and back to a time imagined in detail with
wonderful descriptions and an exciting plot were the elements that made me fall
in love with historical romance. Two particular childhood favourites have
stayed with me, influencing my own writing with their mix of historical/fantasy
elements and beautiful writing, as well as a first initiation into the world of
romance.
The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge is a
magical tale set in 1842, and from the very beginning I was hooked by a
description of the heroine Maria’s clothes.
And the boots
she had on today were calculated to raise the lowest spirits, for they were
made of the softest grey leather, sewn with crystal beads round the tops, and
were lined with snow-white lamb’s-wool … she rested herself against the thought
of the piece of purple ribbon that was wound about her slender waist beneath
the pelisse, the little bunch of violets that was tucked so far away inside the
recesses of her grey velvet bonnet that it was scarcely visible, and the grey silk
mittens adorning the small hands that were hidden inside the big white muff.
The romance between Maria and Robin is a very gentle
one, but for a first book which hinted at love and ended in marriage it was
perfect for a twelve or thirteen year old reader.
A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley is another
favourite, and a timelip novel. I was fascinated by the story of Mary Queen of
Scots as a child, and reading about the Babington Plot, as seen unfolding
through the eyes of a twentieth century girl as she travels through time ticked
all the boxes for me. Penelope’s relationship with Anthony Babington’s brother
Francis develops throughout the book and ends with a tender kiss - I was
smitten!
Again, the descriptions completely transported me to
form pictures of the Elizabethan manor house in my mind:
I smell the hot
scents of the herb garden drenched in sunshine, and the perfume of honeysuckle
after rain, but stronger than these is the rich fragrance of the old house,
made up of woodsmoke, haystacks and old old age, mingled together indissolubly.
Later on my favourites changed as other writers took
over and their books took me to other historical worlds and romantic tales of
love - Frances Hodgson Burnett, Dodie Smith, Elizabeth Jane Howard, Edith
Wharton, Anya Seton, Jean Plaidy, Daphne du Maurier, Elizabeth von Armin,
Elizabeth Taylor, Elizabeth Gaskell, Georgette Heyer, and the author whose work
has inspired me the most, Jane Austen.
I could not leave this post without mentioning my all
time favourite book, Persuasion. I love it for the bitter-sweet tale of the
love between Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth finally brought together after
a separation of nearly seven years. I don’t think the letter below has ever been
bettered for perfection in writing!
Jane Odiwe
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| Persuasion |
I
can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are
within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not
that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer
myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke
it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than
woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I
may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone
have brought me to Bath. For you alone, I think and plan. Have you not seen
this? Can you fail to have understood my wishes? I had not waited even these
ten days, could I have read your feelings, as I think you must have penetrated
mine. I can hardly write. I am every instant hearing something which overpowers
me. You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when
they would be lost on others. Too good, too excellent creature! You do us
justice, indeed. You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy
among men. Believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating, in
F.
W.
I
must go, uncertain of my fate; but I shall return hither, or follow your party,
as soon as possible. A word, a look, will be enough to decide whether I enter
your father's house this evening or never.
Jane Austen - Persuasion
4 comments:
Jane, I read all Enid Blyton's books and moved on to Georgette Heyer - I don't enjoy them as much now - they seem rather dated.
Yes, I agree-I think historicals have moved on quite a lot, but I do enjoy a lot of authors from the past.
I loved Elizabeth Goudge's books - Gentian Hill was perhaps my favourite. I loved her evocation of the countryside and the romance was just right for my twelve-year-old self. Later, her approval of female self-abnegation began to worry me more and more. I can see why I enjoyed her books but they don't appeal now in the same way.
Elizabeth, I've only read Goudge's children's books and her biography which I found interesting. I tried one or two of her adult books, but couldn't get into them in the same way. Perhaps I ought to try Gentian Hill.
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