Cornflower Books

Looking gratefully back and hopefully forward

   

     "If choice must be between two seasons, each so full of charm, it is at least no bad philosophy to prefer the present good, even whilst looking gratefully back, and hopefully forward, to the past and the future."

    From Our Village by Mary Russell Mitford; the cover from my 1909 edition (J.M. Dent, English Idylls series) is shown here.

   

    Wishing you a very happy new year!

The Wild Wood and Badger

    "If the Wild Wood ... symbolises the darker side of human psychology, it also has a place in that layer of The Wind in the Willows which examines the proper and improper role of Imagination in the individual's life. Here, it seems to stand for the tangle of rich and dangerous symbolism which threatens the mental life of even the most sober of artists. The image is not unusual; for example, Charles Williams used the wood Broceliande to carry just this meaning in his Arthurian cycle of poems, Taliesin through Logres. Williams described this wood as 'a place of making', from which either good or evil imaginings may come, and so it is with Grahame's Wild Wood.

    The most striking fact about the Wild Wood is that, despite its threatening nature, Badger dwells at the heart of it; and Badger is the most wise and perfectly balanced character in the book, with his gruff common sense, his dislike of triviality (he chooses to come into Society only when it suits him) and his strength of character which can - at least temporarily - master even the excesses of Toad. Badger is, of course, a certain kind of English landed gentleman, but he is far more. He is the still centre around which the book's various storms may rage, but who is scarcely touched by them. He is, one may surmise, the deepest level of the imaginative mind, not easily accessible; perhaps he stands for inspiration, only visiting the artist when it chooses, and then behaving just as it wishes. 'You must not only take him as you find him, but when you find him,' Rat says of Badger. Above all he is not to be sought out deliberately: 'It's quite out of the question, because he lives in the very middle of the Wild Wood.' The deepest level of the imagination dwells (as surely it must) right in the middle of spiritual or psychological danger."

    From Secret Gardens: A Study of the Golden Age of Children's Literature by Humphrey Carpenter.

Wishing you a very happy Christmas ...

... with lots of reading time and many lovely books!

It's been an odd reading year ...

   

    ... in that usually, around this time, I can produce a list of a dozen or so books read over the preceding twelve months which deserve to be put centre stage again and from which two get the laurels, but this year has somehow been 'off'. Whether it's that my interests have changed - and I think that is so - or whether the novels I've read have simply not elicited the deeper feeling of connection I look for over and above their technical merits, there are few I'd award a Blue, so 2015's is a very short list.

    Elizabeth Goudge comes closest to what I've been seeking with The Dean's Watch and The White Witch almost but not quite matching The Runaways for sheer enjoyment. In non-fiction, James Rebanks gets an honourable mention for The Shepherd's Life, while Linda Lear's detailed biography of Beatrix Potter impressed me enormously and held my attention throughout. And that's it - not many, but distinguished nonetheless.

    As the year nears its end, I'm looking forward to heading in a new direction reading-wise, for some of the time, at least. I think the journey will be both fascinating and fun.

Mr. C. recommends

   

    Mr. C. heartily recommends James Shapiro's 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare which is one of today's Kindle bargains. He says it's an excellent portrait of the period as well as a fascinating look at the bard.

    If you've read that one you may be interested in the author's latest book, 1606: William Shakespeare and the Year of Lear. In this short video he talks about both works:

Mugging up

    New from Virago, mugs and notebooks designed to match three of their stylish VMC hardbacks. The picture's not great, but that's Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca on the left (design by Neisha Crosland), Barbara Pym's Excellent Women in the centre (Neisha Crosland again), and Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls (by Biba's Barbara Hulanicki). Available from Waterstones and smaller bookshops before Christmas.

    A few more mugs with a literary theme:

    If, like C.S. Lewis, you can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough, here at least is the mug for you.

    Would-be Lizzie Bennets can find this mug here.

                      

    Should you be writing a novel of your own, you could have a mug to match your magnum opus - just click here.

                         

    And if you're just too fond of books, Susan Hill has the mug for you.

Looking (far) ahead again

    Not that we lack good books to read now, but it's nice to glance ahead and see interesting ones in the pipeline. Today's example of a book to look forward to is by Andrew Taylor, author of The Anatomy of Ghosts (post on it here), The Scent of Death (an absorbing, atmospheric historical thriller of the highest quality), and The American Boy, among many others; coming from him next November is Broken Voices and Other Stories, a collection of three ghost novellas "to make a perfect fireside read for the cold winter months. Whether the setting is an icy cathedral close before World War 1, the storm-battered East Anglian coast, or the mysterious forest of Dean, these unnerving stories grip and disturb the reader in equal measure."

    Sounds good, don't you think?

Plum and friend

    Mr. C., Wodehouse fan that he is, found this picture of P.G. and dachshund in Blackwell's on Saturday. I was elsewhere in the shop at the time but when he showed it to me I went and bought my own copy. It was on a stand with many other writers' portraits, all grim, dour, miserable, tormented-looking souls to whose pictures I wouldn't give house room; Plum and Jed, however, are welcome on my desk - thank goodness for smiley people who write cheery books!

    Here's a gallery of writers and their dogs by photographer Jill Krementz.

Beat to quarters

   

    If you fancy giving Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin novels a try, the first three in the series are among today's Kindle deals. I've read Master and Commander (which is book 1) and I enjoyed it thoroughly, while Mr. C. has read the lot and loved them all. I refer to them in this post and in a rather different context in this one - they might sway you if you're swithering.

    And to get your toes tapping, here's the final scene from the film:

Just arrived ...

    ... The Scribbler: A Retrospective Literary Review.

I bought it thanks to Barbara's post and am greatly looking forward to reading it.

Literary Christmas cards

    Writers' houses by Amanda White.

    From the top, left to right:

    William Blake's cottage at Felpham; Dickens and dog in Doughty Street; the Brontë sisters at Haworth Parsonage; Keats' house, Hampstead; Jane Austen at Chawton Cottage.