“Life is easy to chronicle, but bewildering to practice.”

E M Forster – A Room with a View

When I left Australia to return to the UK in 2011, I packed up some books that I hadn’t read and had them shipped over. There were two in particular which I had purchased from Borders in Melbourne Central way back in 2010 that were still unread until recently.  One of those books was called A Room with a View by a writer by the name of E M Forster.

Edward Morgan Forster was born in London on the 1^st of January 1879. His name was officially Henry Morgan Forster but he was baptised Edward by accident. As his father was also Edward Morgan, he was referred to as Morgan to distinguish him from dear old dad.

Forster was left a tidy sum of 8000 quid by an aunt which in those days was enough to live on, so he became a writer. Don’t get me wrong, Forster went to school and graduated from Cambridge, but luckily for us his chosen profession was writing.

Although E M Forster has several novels, sadly I have only read A Room with a View. The story of Lucy Honeychurch, her trip to Italy and her choice between two suitors is delightful.  It’s the type of book that I could easily read more than once. I do intend to read his other works because I kind of get the feeling that I’m missing out if I don’t.

Forster Country Hertforshire

 

If you catch the train from Kings Cross Saint Pancras to Stevenage, there’s a beautiful section of countryside north of St Nicholas’ Church informally known as Forster country.  A monument dedicated to Forster stands behind the church and the house that he grew up in – Rooks Nest, is close by. He apparently set the story Howards End in that part of the country.

Monument to E M Forster, Stevenage.

After Forster passed away at the tender age of 91, a novel called Maurice was published.  This explores a homosexual relationship and there are debates on how much of the story is based on his life and personal activities.

Like I mentioned earlier, A Room with a View is a book that I could easily read over and learn something new each time and as I always say at the end of my blog, Once upon a time in London, a writer produced a story that taught me that this book is *one of the moments for which the world was made.

*A Room with a View

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Onion Sauce! Onion Sauce!

Kenneth Grahame

After a somewhat chaotic few weeks of packing, moving and settling in to my new abode, it occurred to me that I hadn’t taken a journey out of London for a while.  So, after flicking through my sacred blog book, I decided a train ride to Henley-on-Thames might be just the thing to get me back on track after missing last week.

I sort of fell out of bed around six thirty this morning, (after pressing the snooze button twice), because I don’t like to waste my weekends sleeping in, and headed off into London Paddington. From there, I caught the train to Twyford and then a connection out to Henley.  The main reason for my visit was to seek out the River and Rowing Museum which is the home of The Wind in the Willows exhibition.

Parts of The Wind in the Willow exhibition

I love The Wind in the Willows for a number of reasons, but before I start rambling about the book, let’s meet the author.

Kenneth Grahame was a Scottish writer born in Edinburgh in 1859. At the age of five, his mother died from complications of childbirth and his father gave Kenneth and the other children to their grandmother. This is when he was introduced to the riverside by his uncle and it’s believed that this was the inspiration for The Wind in the Willows.

Sadly for Grahame, he was unable to attend Oxford University due to financial difficulties and instead worked in banking, and I for one know how that feels.  He married Elspeth Thomson in 1899 and they had one son together. During his spare time, Grahame would invent bedtime stories for his son Alastair, and these stories of a toad and his friends who lived on a river bank became a masterpiece.

I find the surrealism of animals driving cars or sitting have conversations in front of a fire place and rowing boats on the river hilarious. I love the character’s names as well, there’s nothing pretentious about a toad called Mr Toad who lives at Toad Hall or Mole or Mr Badger. It’s simple yet fascinating and when I visited the exhibition today, the characters from the pages of a story I love, came to life.  There’s one particular part where you can actually hear Badger snoring.  I would almost go as far to say that it’s one of the best exhibitions I’ve seen, after which I indulged in my first cream tea for the year which didn’t quite meet the standard of others I’ve had, but I enjoyed it none the less.

Kenneth Grahame died on July the 6^th in 1932 and is laid to rest in Hollywell Cemetery, Oxford. Grahame was an exemplary student and a man of great intelligence who loved the river and created a watery fantasy world where the creatures go about their lives as we do.  Incredible to say the least I might also add that Once upon a time by a river, a fantastic man taught us that *there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing around in boats.

*The Wind in the Willows
http://rrm.co.uk/

“She knew that this was happiness, this was living as she had always wished to live.” Frenchman’s Creek

Daphne du Maurier

My first interest in this week’s author didn’t actually come from a book.  A while ago – about 26 years give or take a few months, I watched a movie called Desperately Seeking Susan because I was a big Madonna fan in the 80’s, and there is a scene where Rosanna Arquette is eating birthday cake and watching a movie called Rebecca. I hired the video Rebecca from a local store – yes, I did say video, and watched it.  This prompted me to read the book which I bought from a book club that I was a member of at the time, and thus began my long affair with Daphne du Maurier.

The book that sparked my interest

 

This honourable lady was born in 1907 in London. The second of three daughters, she was also the cousin of the Llewelyn Davies boys who were the inspiration for the characters in Peter Pan. Du Maurier began writing in 1928 and was first published in 1931. There were accusations of plagiarism after the book Rebecca was published, but everything comes from somewhere and regardless whether it’s a story, or a song, or a pair of jeans, the muse is usually something of the like.

Du Maurier married Fredrick Browning in 1932 and they had three children together. After his death, she relocated to Kilmarth near Par in Cornwall. Daphne loved Cornwall and there is a festival in Fowey which is orchestrated by the Daphne du Maurier Society each year.  I’m hoping to attend in May just to learn more about her in the setting that she adored. This intriguing writer also has her face on a 1996 postage stamp that was released in a set of five stamps called, Women of Achievement.

The postage stamp honouring her

 

Her novels are filled with wicked women and dashing heroes, and set in exotic places. Not strictly romance though, there’s usually some dark undertone and things don’t always work out as you would like them to.  My favourite of her books is Frenchman’s Creek.  I have fond memories of lying in bed for hours reading chapter after chapter of the story of Dona St. Columb and her love for a French pirate. Unfortunately, in the end she – well…. read the book and find out for yourself. It starts off a little slow, but does warm up enough to keep you interested.

Just a few more of her books that I've read

Du Maurier also dabbled in suspense.  She is responsible for The Birds which was the inspiration for the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock movie of the same name and The Apple Tree which is slightly more macabre. I could go on and on about the books and stories that have been offered up by this amazing lady but part of the fun of reading is in the discovery of the work, so I’ll leave that to you.

From what I’ve read about Daphne du Maurier, I think if I’d have grown up with her she would have been the girl I wanted to sit next to in class. Her imagination and ideas are impressive and I love her work. I would give anything to go back in time just to have a simple conversation with her. Sadly, Daphne du Maurier passed away in 1989 at the age of 81 because, we can’t all live forever. Nonetheless I am so pleased to say that Once upon a time in England, the stories of an incredible lady were published and these stories will hold me captive for as long as I live.

http://www.foweyfestival.com/2013-festival/