Fiction that changes you? Yes, please!

"I cannot continue live as if these things were complete fiction."

     It's been a long time since I've found a book series that I could really be emotionally invested in - you know, the kind that you have a hard time putting down, and must finish even though you have other things you should be doing? I think the last time that happened might have been when I read The Lord of the Rings trilogy over 15 years ago. I think I read The Two Towers in a day.

     I say so not to boast but to make a point: at long last I have discovered a series that is thrilling again! I actually read over 100 pages in one sitting, and I haven't done that since... I can't even remember when!

     Not only that, but the characters and what happens to them now means so much to me. (Even more than what happens to my favorite Downton Abbey characters, which is saying something.) Everything and everyone in this book became so real that I could hardly wait to read another page before knowing what would become of them. The fact that it happened in a real time and place made them almost too real. I don't know how many times I cried.

     Now shall I tell you what book it is? I suppose I've kept you in suspense for long enough...

     This book – so poignant, so thrilling, so though-provoking – drum roll, please – is Vienna Prelude.

     And the title just captures the story perfectly.

     The author is Bodie Thoene, and this book is the first of her series that covers events in Europe during World War II. It begins in Berlin, right at the heart of Germany, then moves to Vienna, Austria in 1936. The story follows the young violinist Elisa Lindheim, whose mother is German and father is Jewish. With that information alone you can tell that the author is setting you up for a doozy of a story!

     I had no idea what went on in Austria in 1936-38, but, boy, I do now.

     Of course one aspect that I love is traveling to Europe as I made my way through the pages. Vienna sounds like a particularly magical place, especially at Christmas, and I began to understand Elisa's love for this historic city, with music and coffee houses around every corner.

"...through Elisa's eyes we see it all as someone whose world seems to be falling apart around her..."

     The scenes are not often described, but when they are it is through the eyes of characters, which brings an immediacy to the action and keeps the story moving. There is a lot of switching between the points-of-view of several characters – sometimes even minor characters – but it's easy to follow and it also adds to the urgent pace of the story.

     Besides Elisa, we see a lot through the eyes of John Murphy, usually known as just Murphy – a young but jaded, tired, truth-seeking American journalist on assignment in Berlin who gets tangled up in Elisa's story. From his point of view we see things as strangers learning to understand the people and events in Europe. By contrast, through Elisa's eyes we see it all as someone whose world seems to be falling apart around her – even her new romance that had begun so hopefully.

    
     Because even in the midst of the elegant, historic Vienna, filled with luxurious coffee houses, decadent pastries, ancient cathedrals, and the magnificent music of Mozart and Strauss, the darkness and hatred of the Nazis can find its way to the lives of anyone. There is a lurking sense throughout the story that this city of light and music is about to be engulfed in the shadow, that Austria will be swallowed up in Hitler's Reich if no one will stand for its freedom.

     Of course the shadow falls first on the Jews, in Germany and then in Austria, and what results from that in Elisa's life and the lives of those around her is heart-wrenching – the more so because we know that things like this really happened. People were really forced from their homes, searched by Nazi officers on trains as they tried to escape to a safer life in another country, and faced arrest or even death for helping those who Hitler deemed less than human.

    


For this reason I find that, unlike most fiction I read, I cannot forget the events of this story and the way they effected peoples' lives – I cannot continue live as if these things were complete fiction. As never before it brought to life the fact that persecution is a real thing and happens to real people – and it is evil.

"It gives us a picture – a well painted picture by a talented artist – of how people faced an overwhelming darkness..."

     It is impossible to read this book and not to learn compassion for a people who were attacked simply for being Jews – or even just for helping Jews! Friends were lost, families broken apart, homes were stolen, and lives were changed forever. Thoene uses her writing skills to bring these people to life in a powerful way. She can make you care about them.

     Most people would categorize this as a Christian novel, and they would be right, in part – it is one of a series called The Zion Covenant. But to see it as nothing more would be to miss the historic and human power of this story. It gives us a picture – a well painted picture by a talented artist – of how people faced an overwhelming darkness and still found the hope and strength to show love. When they are drowning in hopelessness and there is nowhere left to look, they look up, remembering that God is there.

     Being a Christian myself, it strengthened my faith in God's faithfulness. I couldn't help but ask myself, "What if it had been me? What would I do if my life and everything I loved seemed to be slipping away?"

     That, for me, is fiction worth reading.

     Historical – Thrilling plot – Believable characters – Romantic settings – Unpredictable love story – Ability to make me think – My one complaint is: I can't stop reading it!

© Anna Morton 2017

Back to the Most Pleasant Place in the World

| Jane Austen's House Museum in Chawton |

2015 England Trip Journal
April 10

      Ah, our first day in Hampshire, where we can just drive over to Jane Austen's house if we feel like it. This may be why I consider it to be the pleasantest place in the world. Of course I had to face using a bath instead of a shower before we could do so... It wasn't bad, to be honest. Using the detachable shower head was actually fun! Except that I discovered I'd sprayed water all over the outside of the tub behind me – including the old wooden chair we were using to erect a temporary wall so that the other person could use the sink while someone's in the tub. Thankfully there was no harm done, and I didn't ruin a priceless antique.

     We had our usual breakfast of a sausage, two eggs and yogurt with fruit while we watched BBC news. I prefer British strawberries with Weetabix, and Mom takes tangerines with cottage cheese. I love our little kitchen. It's small, but fully equipped with fresh, modern appliances, and the light streams in from the windows on three sides of the room. Pleasant is just the perfect word.

     We went to Alton first, and were able to park in the Sainsbury's lot for free with a 2-hour limit. Marks & Spencer had an inexpensive parking lot, too, but we were planning to get to Chawton soon, so the Sainsbury's lot gave us plenty of time. We wandered around, popping in some shops before at last reaching our truly desired destination: Alton Secondhand Books.

     To find it: if you're coming from Chawton, it is past the second roundabout on High Street (which technically turns into Normandy St.) and across the road from the cinema. From Alton Station: go left out of the door, then when you run into a road, turn right (this is Paper Mill Lane) and you will run into Normandy St. (that will turn into High Street farther down); turn left on Normandy, and the bookshop is only just over a block down the road on your left.

The façade of that unparalleled institution for bound paper volumes: Alton Secondhand Books

     I can honestly say it is my favorite bookstore. On this particular visit, as soon as I saw it it was as if I had been in a wilderness without food (insert books) and at last there stands before me a Costco (insert Alton Secondhand Books), just ready to be enjoyed! It is an oasis of British literature and old, old books that I could simply never find in any California used book shop – possibly all the shops in California combined.

     I soon found the pile of Georgette Heyer hardbacks to rifle through for my favorite titles. I didn't see The Reluctant Widow, but Regency Buck was there – a 1938 edition for £5. It became the first of a rapidly growing pile I began to carry around. In the cookbooks, next to what looked like original Mrs. Beeton cookbooks, I found a brand new edition with "The Best" of her recipes. Meaning that I now have dozens of traditional English recipes in printed form! Next on the pile was a 3x4-inch volume of Cowper's poems from 1853. 1853! And the last of my plunder to carry away was Cassandra and Jane, which just happened to be in the Jane Austen section at the counter right inside the front door  – which I've been wanting to read for a long time!


     Then we had to rush back to the car to go to Chawton, as our two hours in the Sainsbury's lot were almost up. You do not want to test the road rules and regulations over here because the punishment will be quick and merciless. Plus, there are cameras everywhere. I don't resent it – far from it – because I see it as encouraging people to be courteous in a place where the lack of space for cars would quickly send society into chaos if it wasn't for time limits and designated parking areas. I'm just putting a warning out there for anyone daring enough to drive in this endearing country.

     We made it back to our car in time, and headed straight to Chawton Cottage – technically called Jane Austen's House Museum – where we discovered their used book table. Another oasis for book lovers! I tell you, this country is an earthly paradise for book addicts. All books on that table were £1, £2 or £3. I found several more scholarly volumes from past contributors to the academia on Jane Austen, but our most exciting finds were four Jane Austen Regency World magazines and a 1941 edition of Jane Austen and Lyme Regis - all for £1 each! We had actually seen the latter in a second Alton used bookshop that the owner priced for us at £15! So we felt rather smart. (More thankful, really.)

Back at last: Jane Austen's House Museum

     We decided to skip the intro film this time, as we'd already seen it, and go straight to the garden for pictures. It was nearly empty, so we had fun using the benches to take pictures of ourselves using the camera's timer and my purse for a legless - albeit rather low - sort of tripod. That was the third time we've had our picture taken in that lovely garden in front of that lovely house, and it was exciting to see the garden at a time of year when we've never seen it, with the early spring blooms like daffodils brightening up the flower beds and the rather bare hedges.

     After we had soaked up some afternoon Chawton sunshine it was time to go inside!

Enjoying the spring garden at Chawton Cottage.

  

  

     At one point I found myself alone in the dining room with Jane's little table, which could only mean one thing: I had to sneak a touch behind the plastic partition. For good or ill it is done, and I can't say I feel guilty. :) There a sort of power in touching historic objects connected to your favorite author who you admire and are fond of that can make the centuries disappear – Jane, my Jane, who wrote her masterpieces here, left a part of herself and her life on this table, and I can be a part of it with just a brush of my finger. The opportunity is irresistible. It must be done at least once.

The table that can dissolve 200 years...

     After wandering up the amazingly creaky stairs to the equally creaky upper story Mom struck up a conversation with a lady volunteer. During the course of their chat Mom mentioned my wanting to volunteer there myself. This very nice lady (whose name we neglected to ask) kindly offered to go write down the contact information from the volunteer coordinator. Lord willing one day it will be a reality for me to spend my days in this unequivocally pleasant place!

The drawing room with Mr. Austen's original bookcase flooded with glorious spring sunshine!

The most pleasant room in the world.

     There was a slight change in the exhibit room, with a 'new' dress made from a fabric with a print believed to have been around in Jane's lifetime. So she may have worn something made out of it!

     After an hour of imagining the Austen ladies in the cottage, it was time to adjourn to Cassandra's Cup for tea and dessert – one of my favorite traditions. It was our first visit since it had been purchased by new owners, and I believe they have made dome laudable changes to the menu, including the scone with lavender raspberry jam and clotted cream that I chose, and Mom's warm brownie with salted caramel ice cream (so, so, SO delicious! I had some too...). We closed the place down, being the last customers left, as we usually are in this establishment, before taking a comfortably slow walk over to Chawton House.

   

     That may be my favorite walk in the world. I love the low stone wall enclosing tall, ivy-covered trees on one side, with the thatched cottages and thick wall of trees, bushes, and ivy on the other. It was after 5:00, meaning, like everything else, the House was closed, but we had known it would be, so we simply enjoyed the view and just being there. There was something special about being back in that quiet peaceful place – back to a spot we had enjoyed so much on both of our other trips. We walked up the gravel drive lined with daffodils to look over the gate at the house. It was a lovely sunny evening, too, which we stretched out as long as we could by walking slowly back to the car, admiring the carpet of daffodils by the road running in front of Chawton Cottage before climbing into the car.

Walking in Jane's footsteps to her brother's beautiful house.

 

There is nothing unpleasant about the scene I am standing in... Because, as I think I might possibly have just mentioned in this post already, it is the most pleasant spot in the world.

     Sainsbury's was a convenient stop on the way back for us to get some essentials like sausages, cheese, fruit, cashews and whipping cream. :) Sainsbury's not only has disabled parking places, but it also provides spaces for parents with children, which we considered a very thoughtful decision. And just as I was thinking that we could also qualify, since, after all, we're a parent with a child, Mom suggested it aloud... ;)

(Don't worry, we really parked in a regular parking space.)

© Anna Morton 2017

Jane Austen and The Science of Deduction

     I've been thinking about literature again. Once in a while something in my deliberations causes the proverbial light bulb to switch on and I'm inspired to jot it down. Of course, since I have a blog, it makes sense to put it here and share my discoveries with you! I hope in some way it can shed a bit of unexpected light on these timeless classics whose ability to inspire us seems inexhaustible!

     

     What do the sparkling Regency novels of Jane Austen have in common with Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's foggy Victorian London? More than I had ever fathomed until now.

"How could I possibly join them on to the little bit (two inches wide) of ivory on which I work with so fine a brush, as produces little effect after much labour?" Jane Austen

"Their most trivial action may mean volumes, or their most extraordinary conduct may depend upon a hairpin or a curling tongs." Sherlock Holmes, The Adventure of the Second Stain

     Just like Sherlock Holmes, Jane Austen finds importance in the little things, what other people see as trivial and unimportant. In the tales of the detective the conclusion of a case often hangs on a suspect's choice of words or the cleanliness of their shirt because Sherlock tucks away every single word and action in his mind until they add up to form a watertight case.

     With Jane Austen we are meant to play the detective and store up all the little facts so we can construct a case for each character and for our understanding of the story.

     Emma is perhaps the most thoroughly investigative novel, since we experience the story from the point of view of one character, which is of course Emma Woodhouse, and we make judgments along with her. In a way this presents a greater challenge to us as detectives than any Holmes faces in his mysteries because we are influenced by Emma's thoughts upon everything we see and everything that happens, whereas Holmes is always able to view the facts through his own eyes. It is possible to make unbiased judgments when reading Emma, but it is a delicate business trying to follow the thread to the right conclusion without being as unwittingly confused by Emma's perception as she is.

     What do we make of Mr. Elton's wanting Emma to paint Harriet's portrait? Or of Frank Churchill's teasing Jane Fairfax about the piano? Or his tardy visit to Highbury? Or his getting his hair cut? Or Mr. Knightley walking with Harriet at Donwell Abbey? They all seem like unremarkable things until you have finished the novel and can look back to see how they really told you a lot about what was going on and what would follow, and about which characters were truly admirable.

     You think, "Oh, of course! How could I not see that?" – just like in a Sherlock Holmes mystery. He tells you how he knew Watson decided not to invest in South African gold or that it was the wife who stole the secret documents. It was because he observed what he saw – everything that he saw – and put it all together to deduce the true story.

     In my opinion this is one overlooked aspect that gives both Jane Austen's novels and the stories of Sherlock Holmes such enduring appeal. Instead of relying on sensational visuals like violence in epic sagas or the exaltation of love in romances, they seek to understand how the mind works. They are studies in people and what really makes them tick. They expose human weakness and exemplify their strengths by placing people in ordinary places, and offering them apparently insignificant choices that will end up changing the courses of their lives.

     In short, they show that it is the small things that make up life, and that it pays off to see their significance, especially when they relate to people.

     So there it is! Do you think I'm on to something? Or are there any other connections that you've found between the stories?


© Anna Morton 2016

Oxford is for Lovers (of books!)

| The splendid streets of Oxford! |

I'm back to blogging about our trip that was now over a year ago! It may now be rather late to be finishing, but I can't just stop in the middle. I'd be missing some of my favorite parts if I stopped now. So, off we go to Oxford!

2015 England Trip Journal
Thursday, April 2

      Oxford's air seems filled with a fragrance of knowledge, study and being scholarly. :) This was the overwhelming impression it left on me as a first-time visitor. It feels like if you stay around long enough and breathe it in you will turn into Tolkien or Lewis or Carroll, and then write a fantasy series.

     We took advantage of the park and ride, and quite conveniently the bus dropped us off a mere few blocks away from the Eagle and Child pub (famous for being the meeting place of JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis and the other Inklings). Being hungry, we made a beeline for it and squeezed inside its cramped, woody – albeit atmospheric – interior to the back room, that offers a pleasant contrast with its glass roof that lets the light in. It was so much fun sitting back there because the walls were covered with paintings of Tolkien and The Hobbit! Plus the steak and ale pie that we split was delicious.
    

If you're a fan of English literature it's hard to pass up having lunch at this literary landmark!

It's the cover of 'The Hobbit'!!

Mom with old JRR himself. ;)

Seeing this might have made me laugh gleefully...

     After lunch we returned to an Oxfam book shop and found a new Oxford University Press edition of all Jane Austen's juvenilia! Now I have everything that we know Jane wrote. I just need to read it...

      Used bookshops are some of the most fun and dangerous places to look for souvenirs! Still, I would highly recommend going inside of a few, since you never know what treasures you might find for yourself or as gifts to bring home. I never stop gasping for delight once I begin looking at those shelves stuffed with antique volumes and Oxford University Press editions and books I can never find in the States – and almost always for surprisingly reasonable prices. Most of the books we found were around £3-7.

Looking down the street from the Eagle and Child toward the Oxfam used bookshop.

My treasures from the bookshop. The only downside was that I had to carry them around all day...

We walked through this cemetery across from the Eagle and Child to see some of the Colleges.

     We then found the Weston Wing of the Bodleian, followed by the Old Bodleian library, the Radcliffe Camera, Christ Church College, Merton College, Queen's College, University College – basically every place we wanted to see – within five hours.

Broad Street, where the Weston Wing is located.

Everything is close together, all lined up in eclectic, mis-matched rows, each building in a different style, with a different height, color and age. I loved it! Each row of buildings looks rather like a bookshelf, which is fitting, I suppose, in a city responsible for producing so many of the world's most famous authors.

     We had partly cloudy and sunny weather, a.k.a. open wool coat conditions. :) The Weston Wing has an exhibit room with some true literary treasures (in my opinion). First I found the original cover of The Hobbit, drawn by Tolkien's own hand, and then I saw Volume the Third of Jane Austen's juvenilia. That was unreal. It was turned to the page of her adorable dedication to her sister that precedes 'The Beautifull Cassandra."

"Madam,

     You are a Phoenix. Your taste is refined, your Sentiments are noble, and your Virtues are innumerable. Your Person is lovely, your Figure, elegant, and your Form, magestic. Your Manners are polished, your Conversation is rational and your appearance singular. If therefore the following Tale will afford one moment's amusement to you, every wish will be gratified of

Your most obedient,

humble servant,

The Author"

Jane Austen's Volume the Third of her Juvenilia, opened to her story 'The Beautifull Cassandra"

Tolkien's drawing of 'The Hobbit' cover!

An Essay on Criticism by Alexander Pope

     Outside of the exhibit was a wall of shelves filled with scores of antique editions, so I sniffed out a few familiar titles.

An old edition of Wives and Daughters  by  Elizabeth Gaskell

Clarissa by Samuel Richardson

Cecilia by Fanny Burney, one of Jane Austen's contemporaries

Camilla by Fanny Burney

     Broad Street is worth a visit in itself, and the outside of The Bodleian is also an impressive sight to see. We were going to wander around inside, but what with the somewhat late hour and the cost of a self-guided tour, we changed our mind and just popped into the gift shop instead.

     (For information about Bodleian tours and opening hours visit bodleian.ox.ac.uk)

From L to R: The Clarendon Building, Bridge of Sighs and The Bodleian Library,
all in the beautiful golden stone so typical of Oxford.

We're inside the courtyard of The Bodleian now. The buildings date from 1488 to 1619!

The Bodleian's most famous facade! Known as The Divinity School and Duke Humphrey's Library, dating from 1488.

Here is perhaps the most recognizable building in Oxford: The Radcliffe Camera
(As Lewis and Endeavour fans, we were quite excited to see it!)

Selfie with The Camera! ;)
("Camera" in this context means 'room,' apparently, FYI.)

     We thought about visiting Christ Church College, but it was too late. (When it comes to getting in to museums and galleries, after 5:00 PM is nearly always too late... But we can't seem to remember that, somehow.)

The entrance to Christ Church College

     Across the street from the college is Cafe Loco, so we grabbed a cup of tea before seeing our next sight. (I don't think the association of 'Loco' with Carroll's Mad Hatter is a coincidence.) It's a Lewis filming location, as well as being the location of the ultimate cookies: thick, crumbly, buttery cookies!

The cookies of Cafe Loco!

     Almost right across the street from the Cafe is an iron gate that we discovered opens into the lovely Christ Church meadow. There are some pleasant gardens, trees and streams that line the walk behind Christ Church College, which leads to another quiet lane between it and Merton College.

     So we followed the stone path around Christ Church, which is Lewis Carroll's college, through the gardens and around the side of Merton College, which is Tolkien's Alma mater, then up to The Queen's College, where John Wycliffe once lived. It is amazing how close together they are!

The walk to Christ Church meadows.

It was one of those unexpected finds that you didn't plan for, and yet ends up being such a pleasant memory!

A selfie with Merton College. :)

A quiet Oxford lane between the colleges.
I could imagine generations of students, particularly Tolkien,
walking here, their heads filled with their studies or
their imaginations roaming everywhere.

John Wycliffe (1320-1384) lived in Queen's College, and later translated the Bible into English

     Our day in Oxford ended with a stroll down High Street, back past The Bodleian and the Radcliffe Camera, to Broad Street, and at last back to where our bus was to pick us up. Some of my favorite memories from a trip are the times when we simply wandered around city streets and soaked up the atmosphere. It's so easy to feel rushed and to worry about seeing all the sights on our list, and sometimes it is unavoidable when a place only has scheduled tours or closes early. But I will always recommend leaving some time in your schedule where you have nothing planned – and then seeing what happens!

© 2016 Anna Morton