Gretchen’s been reading…

When my family was visiting over Memorial Day weekend, my brother Will, who spends all his time reading college textbooks, sat looking at Merritt’s and my overflowing bookshelves. Shaking his head, he said, “No, Gretchen, I don’t envy the fate of your books, sitting here unread

If I bought new books at bookstore prices, I might follow the rule of reading a book before I buy another. But when one shops garage sales, library sales, and thrift stores, one gets while the getting is good. (Speaking of which, I need to remind Merritt about that library sale tomorrow morning…) So this post is for you, Will, to prove that my books do not go untouched. And for the rest of you, maybe you’ll see a title you want to find, or recognize an old favorite…

Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch by Alice Caldwell Hegan
I don’t think I’ve read another book like this 1901 classic. The first chapter introduces the “sum and substance” of Mrs. Wiggs’ philosophy in life: “keeping the dust off her rose-colored spectacles.” And through fire, famine, and death, the mother of this poor little family living in
an even poorer little neighborhood, keeps a cheerful face. The Wiggs are met with one disaster after another, and eventually meet charitable friends who help them through the hard times. In the end, Mrs. Wiggs pronounces, “Looks like ever’thing in the world comes right, if we jes’ wait long enough!”

A Bird in a Tree, Pilgrim’s Inn, Heart of the Family
by Elizabeth Goudge
In this trilogy written in the 1940′s and 50′s, and set only a few years earlier, I found a love of nature that, while not accompanied by the knowledge of plant life, was yet in many ways similar to that of Gene Stratton Porter’s. The novels center around two old homes–Damerosehay and The Herb of Grace–and the families that live, and have lived, therein. The first, A Bird in a Tree, follows David’s struggle in his love for a married woman. He finds the answers in the lessons of the old home where he lives. Pilgrim’s Inn chronicles Nadine’s journey to a simpler life, as she learns to embrace the bitter herb of grace. The third, which seems to have been written at the public’s request for more of the Elliot family’s story, ties all the threads together, showing how the family has developed so much of it’s purpose and meaning in life in the history of their homes, and in the matriarch of them all, Grandmother Lucilla Elliot. Heart of the Family also tells the story of a war-torn Jew named Sebastian who finds solace and peace at the pilgrim’s inn, The Herb of Grace.

In these books by Elizabeth Goudge I found many poignant paragraphs and a delightful storyline. She has a way with words not always found in fiction of that era. But while at first glance, one sees only the author’s many references to the Bible, prayer, and Heaven, I noticed under the surface some disturbing elements that did not mesh with the principles of the Book she so often referred to.

The recurring themes are a love of nature, of the history of the old homes and the people who lived therein–but they take them a step further to communing with nature and almost worshipping it. The spirits of the former occupants of the homes are supposedly felt by those who live there now, and in communing with nature, they also feel themselves to be one with the spirits of those who lived there in the past, as well as those in similar sufferings around the world. Much fact and fancy is mixed, as in the White Deer of the legend of Placidus, they find their icon.

One can’t help but love the Elliot family, the history of the old homes, and of course, their good ol’ dogs, Pooh-bah and “Bastard.” And the many references to Wind in the Willows made me curious to finally read that classic as well. But while I will keep these books on my bookshelf, it will be with a preface that I hand them to my children someday. I will want them to point out to me the good and the bad of the author’s theology, as they read and enjoy these works of Elizabeth Goudge.
The Winning of Barbara Worth by Harold Bell Wright
This was only the second Harold Bell Wright book I’ve read, though I’ve been collecting each and every title I can find. I first read That Printer of Udell’s when my grandmother gave us the reprinted edition (it looks just like the original I later found!). The story of a young printer, chock-full of morals and endeavors to help the poor (reminding me much of Horatio Alger’s books), was said to be President Reagan’s favorite book.

I found The Winning of Barbara Worth to be much different in nature. The summary assigned it by the publisher, A.L. Burt Company, was “the ministry of capital.” (Their subtitle for That Printer of Udell’s was “a story of practical Christianity.”) Set in the Colorado desert during the building of the railroads, The Winning of Barbara Worth is the story of an orphan girl growing into a poised young frontier woman, the chronicle of men learning the difference between “good business” and being in business only for themselves, and the tale of two young men, one who grew up with the desert, the other who learns to live and breathe the desert as much as if he had.

And as I told my husband, I could tell it was an old novel, when I had only a few chapters left and still didn’t know which one she was going to marry. It is hard work, good business, and romance at its best in this 1911 book by Harold Bell Wright. Now I can’t wait to read the rest of his books that are on my shelf–and to find The Shepherd of the Hills (“an inspiration to the simple life”) and The Uncrowned King (“an allegory of life”), which still elude my grasp.

The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come by John Fox Jr.
Never having been the history buff that my brother was and is, I hadn’t read much about the Civil War. Most of my (remembered) knowledge came from the Elsie Dinsmore books by Martha Finley. In The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come I found a much different perspective–that of a poor boy without home or family, growing up in the heart of Kentucky.

I knew nothing about the way in which Kentucky was tossed back and forth between Union and Confederate control during the War. But in the unforgettable tale of Chad Buford, I learned much about the Kentuckians, the Civil War, and the battle each man had to fight within himself as he decided on which side to fight. Now if only I could find an old book where the hero marries the girl I thought he was supposed to…! (Don’t let that scare away the male readers, though–I am sure my husband or brother would enjoy this book as much as I did.)