Well, just when you think you have it all under control, you realize you’re not actually steering your life – it’s taking you for a ride and all the pushing on the brakes and spinning the steering wheel is pretty well pointless.
Other Dessies will understand the state of my mind these busy, busy spring days when I reveal that I have just started my thirteenth (fourteenth?) consecutive D.E. Stevenson book. I have even stooped to read some of the more regrettable ones, such as Rochester’s Wife, which was pretty well as bizarre as I’d remembered it to be. (Not always the case – occasionally one gets a pleasant re-reading surprise.)
No matter! They are just the right level of engaging for just-before-sleep reading, and they are definitely soothing to my ruffled soul.
I’m just about finished my personal stash of these curiously addictive mini-sagas, just starting Vittoria Cottage and looking forward to the rest of that particular trio, and then I really must tackle something by somebody else. Something a little bit deeper, as it were.
Any ideas, fellow middlebrow fans? Suggestions always welcome! What do you read when your personal world is spinning a bit too quickly for perfect comfort?
Tomorrow’s nursery chore. Here you see approximately 500 tomato seedlings, begging to be put into larger pots RIGHT NOW. (And just a bit farther along the bench are 3 or 4 times as many to follow. Not to mention all the other things we grow.) We are having a tremendously early spring, and the plants are going wild – I can’t keep up! Ah, well, there are much worse occupations than being a plant person. I complain occasionally, but it’s not that bad. (Understatement – it’s quite wonderful!)
Leaves & Pages 
Have you read The Deepening Stream by Dorothy Canfield Fisher? If not, get thee to it…there’s a wonderful thoughtful middlebrow novel for you, her best I think.
Yes, I’ve read it, but quite a few years ago. What a grand idea – I will hunt it out and place it handily on the bedside table. Luckily I think I know exacrly where it is. 🙂 Thank you!
I am on a DES streak, probably wearing out our ILL librarian with all my requests. I’ve even gotten my husband hooked on DES. We have read about 30 of her 40+ books. One author to consider is Daphne du Mauier (Rebecca) or Elizabeth Goudge. I have detailed reviews of DES books on Good Reads. Good luck with those plants!
Aren’t they just the right thing for some moods? 🙂 In this current reading binge, I have now read every single one of the ones I own, with the exception of Green Money, which I remember as being a bit of a yawn. I really need to search down the ones still missing from my collection, as our library system is sadly lacking in DES titles. My husband has so far not succumbed to this particular author as deeply as I have, most likely because of those dreadful paperback covers which would scare off any manly man 😉 – many of my copies are the lurid Ace reissues from the 1960s and 70s – though I do recall that he did read the first few Mrs. Tim books with warm approval. I did read many of my Elizabeth Goudge books this winter, so I need a bit of a break before tackling her again, but Daphne du Maurier sounds appealing…
Put your inter-library loan department to work and it’s hoped you’ll fill in the remainder of the titles. It’s so much fun to get an ILL notice–an unexpected present!
So, when I’ve finished re-reading all my DE Stevenson novels, I move on immediately to re-read all my Anne Hepple books such as Penny Plain and Priorsford, then back to Georgette Heyer and read all of them in one gulp and finally the Williamsburg novels by Elswyth Thane – all seven of them (and probably my favourite family series of all time). Currently reading All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr: wonderful but does not qualify as a gentle read. Helen. P.S. … for charm a must-read is Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (also a delightful recent movie release). Happy reading!
O.Douglas I think did the Penny Plain and Priorsford books, so you’ve got yet another great author to read and re-read! I love Anne Hepple too;
Beatrice Hale
Okay, you are the second person to recommend Anne Hepple, who I am (so far) completely unfamiliar with. Time for a search. Thank you! 🙂
I had never heard of Hepple but found 4 of her books alongside the DES books all in one book sale recently.I knew i would like them.
Oh – Elswyth Thane – I need to investigate her novels! I have one, The Light Heart, which I read years ago and found engaging. Also a memoir of Thane’s early years on her New England farm, The Reluctant Farmer, which I liked a lot. Thank you!
What lovely pictures! I am just now catching up on a bit of blog reading…and I must say your description of ‘power reading DE Stevenson’ really caught my attention! I loved that! I’m on a bit of an enforced blog hiatus myself…as to another possibility for light reading there is always Angela Thirkell…I am always planning to get back to her cosy little world for a re-read…and then there are the delightfully charming Miss Read books. The White Dove is quite touching and not very long. Really enjoyed your flower pictures these last couple of ‘hiatus’ posts. I am sure it must be tons of work to run a nursery, but oh the beautiful co-workers!😊
Make that ‘The White Robin’, by Miss Read. 😊
Angela Thirkell – I’ve just barely become acquainted with her, but so many speak of her so highly I must make an effort to acquire some more of her books. I know there were a bunch of recent reissues, so there should be some out there. Miss Read – what a good idea! I have a stack of those tucked away. My mother really enjoyed them, and so do I, but sadly my husband finds them annnoying (!) so teases me mercilessly when I drag them out of their banishment on the cabin bookshelves.
Some good thoughts there. Miss Pettigrew and Heyer. (But Helen, did you mean Anne Hepple or O. Douglas, who wrote the 2 books you listed?) Yes, O. Douglas for sure. I’m not familiar with Anne Hepple, but I did a quick Google Images search, and her books look charming, judging by their covers.
Beside DES, of course (always my first choice) I tend to pick up old Agatha Christies when I don’t want to work too hard at reading. Because they are familiar reads, and she was so good at characters, and quite funny too.
Speaking of funny, there’s always P G Wodehouse, and if you can’t decide, you can’t go wrong with Leave it to Psmith.
Also The Enchanted April.
Familiar gentle books can be so welcome when life is whipping up a whirlwind for you. You can enjoy the journey without having to think about where it’s going or worry about unexpected changes.
I have scads of O. Douglas – love them dearly – just read the whole works this winter so they’re out of the running at present – need to allow a bit more time before I can re-read them. Anne Hepple, though – never heard of her – must investigate further. Wodehouse is a lovely thought, thank you! And how are you, Susan? Hope you are weathering the wicked weather the east seems to be having while the west enjoys a strangely early spring. (If it’s any consolation, our early thaw was a mixed blessing – it’s now terribly dry, it hasn’t rained at all, and there have already been several nearby forest fires – rather unnerving!)
Spring is finally here to stay (for now) in Toronto; perfect weather, and everything suddenly burst into green, about a month late. Can’t wait to get up to the cottage, near Haliburton, because Trilliums.
(sorry, I just now took a look at all the comments here. It’s May 12)
Yay! I’m not the only one! My ‘Mac & Cheese’ comfort reads also include the Jaran novels by Kate Elliott, ‘Here’s to the Ladies’ by Carla Kelly, ‘The Blue Sword’ by Robin McKinley, most adult novels by Eva Ibbotson, and nearly anything by Connie Willis. In extremis, you can always reach for All Creatures Great and Small.
A few of those authors are new to me – must look into them – thank you! Robin McKinley and Eva Ibbotson are old friends, though. And James Herriot, of course – what a good suggestion!
Oops! Of course Penny Plain and Priorsford are by O. Douglas (late at night here!)…but both O. Douglas and Anne Happle are Scottish writers so perhaps that accounts for the confusion, Helen.
I know O. Douglas very well indeed, but have not yet encountered Anne Hepple. I will see if I can track down something by her, though. Lovely suggestions – thank you so much!
Oh dear, time to go to bed (now 12.22am here) – it is Hepple, not Happle as above – as well as late to bed, I’m typing in the dark as the bulb in my desk lamp has died. Now…off to bed but hard to leave Leaves and Pages!
I bounce from D. E. Stevenson to Angela Thirkell, to the Chalet School books, to the Abbey School books, to Angela Brazil school stories, to Agatha Christie, to Ngaio March, to Margery Allingham, to Josephine Tey, to Dorothy Sayers, to….well, you get my drift. And when I come to the end, I start all over again.
That does make a lovely round. Mine is somewhat similar, minus the school books and adding in Monica Dickens, Rumer Godden, and Elizabeth Goudge. 🙂 Oh, and Margery Sharp, of course.
What about Jane Duncan and her My Friend-novels? I just finished her last one (number 21, I believe), and I started in the sixties, reread some of them and am planning to reread all of them, as they are really GOOD-feelbooks, just the kind you need when you are fedup with the horrors of the day. Duncan is Scottish allover, like O. Douglas, but more “sharp”. Very good nightcups.
And did you ever read Wild Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys? Another one about mrs Rochester and quite a different story about our hero Rochester and his Jane. (What a pity you did not read Jane Eyre when you were young! I have a friend who reads Jane Eyre every three years. We discovered recently that we both fell in love with mr Rochester when we were fifteen. Nearly sixty years ago.)
With love from Holland,
Marijke
Jane Duncan – I have a few of the My Friends books tucked away here – I will see if I can find them – what a good idea. I have not read Wild Sargasso Sea, but I will someday soon – it will be interesting after my recent reading of Jane Eyre. Greeting from Canada to Holland – I hope you are having a lovely spring. So good to hear from you, Marijke. 🙂
What about something by Angela Thirkell, Mary Stewart, Elizabeth von Arnim or Daphne du Maurier.
Angela Thirkell – she keeps turning up in recommendations – the others I am long familiar with (and very good suggestions they are – thank you!) but Thirkell I have unaccountably not made friends with yet. 🙂 Soon!
Back reading your posts again and see you mention most of the books/authors I suggested so want to expand a little on the Williamsburg novels by Elswyth Thane. I discovered these more than twenty-five years ago and read them at least once a year: they are my family! The first novel of the seven , Dawn’s Early Light, begins around 1774 when Julian arrives in colonial Williamsburg from London after his father has died at sea. This novel is the weakest of the seven, but persist and read the next one, Yankee Stranger and you’re hooked. The storyline follows the Day and Sprague families over a period of 160 years, the action moves from England to America and is frequently set around the social impacts of the time including the World Wars. Heart warming and absorbing finally ending in London 1942.
Another loved author is Agnes Sligh Turnbull: favourites are The Bishop’s Mantle, Gown of Glory, The Nightingale, The Wedding Bargain, The King’s Orchard.
Agnes Sligh Turnbull – I know the name, but I don’t think I’ve read any of her books, at least not recently. Thank you for the suggestion.
It’s quite a bit newer, but I always return to Elinor Lipman’s The Family Man when I am feeling blue and in need of something soothing. I don’t know if it will scratch quite the same itch though!
Oh — LM Montgomery maybe? Take a break from DE Stevenson and read the lesser LM Montgomery books? Jane of Lantern Hill invariably makes me feel happy and great.
L.M. Montgomery! Of course… Jane, and the Emily books. Perfect!
Lots of good suggestions here! I’d add Barbara Pym and Anthony Trollope to the list. I do enjoy DES, but there are many of her novels I haven’t read yet. I guess I am saving them for a time of need. 🙂
Barbara Pym – went through mine relatively recently, but Anthony Trollope I haven’t read for years, so it may be time to dust him off. Still adding to my own DES collection, every once in a while I add one as a treat to myself. Some of them are rather hard to come by, and rather costly. But I do have a birthday coming up… 😉
…and don’t forget author Agnes Sligh Turnbull for these lovely reads: The Bishop’s Mantle, The Wedding Bargain, Gown of Glory and its sequel The Nightingale…just for starters
I think you might find Elizabeth Cadell’s novels very enjoyable. And I think Rumer Godden’s work would be equally comforting reads.
I have one Elizabeth Caddell – and I shelved it with my D.E. Stevenson books – must try to find more. Very rare in our 2nd hand book shops – it will have to be online, I think. Are there any titles you can recommend as the “best”? I have Deck with Flowers – mysterious goings on with opera singers and such, if I remember correctly.
Ann Bridge, especially Illyrian Spring and the Julia-novels, they helped me through this difficult winter.
When you still like Josephine Tey, try Upson, who writes a serie detectives based on the life of Tey. Very clever, and breathtaking.
One of my latest addictions is Jan Karon with her Mitford series, about Mitford’s rector Father Tiim, his love, later wife Cynthia, who writes and illustrates childrens books about her cat, his adoptated son, and all his friends, in a small town somewhere in North Carolina.
This must be enough to get you out of the blues, I sincerely hope. If not, there is always an Elizabeth Goudge.
With love from Holland,
Marijke
Oh, thank you!
P.S.
Nicola Upson
Marijke
Wow, look at all those tomato plants, sheesh, I thought I had loads. So early this year, I can hardly believe it.
Mysteries, that’s what I like to read when I’m busy. “The girl on the Train” is what is holding my attention. Otherwise, I can barely get through a page a night.
See you at market.
I know, isn’t this ridiculous? Pears, plums & cherries are blooming, apple trees getting ready to pop. Lots of bees, anyway – many honeybees so that is a good thing. In a weak moment I agreed to grow 500+ tomatoes for Kaufmans’ market garden – they are looking good but will still be here for another month or so – my “foster children” – must care for them until I can hand them on. 😉 But I do have some of the “fun” tomatoes heading to town soon – will be taking a load in to the Seedy Saturday next weekend in Quesnel. I hope they sell – I need the space! I am starting to feel like I’m getting behind on things in the garden and greenhouse – but in reality I have loads of things doing well – just never quite where I think I should be, progress-wise! I imagine you can relate to that. Greetings to Rob. It will be lovely to see everyone at market again. 🙂
I inexplicably missed this post earlier! First of all, congratulations for surviving on such a heavy diet of DES. I love her books but found when I read too many consecutively I started to go mad when, one after another, the endings fall apart. Perhaps I will have made my peace with this flaw by the time I go to reread…here’s hoping!
As for recommendations, I am always going to recommend Angela Thirkell and Eva Ibbotson with Georgette Heyer and P.G. Wodehouse following close behind. Other favourites: R.F. Delderfield, almost anything published by Greyladies (Susan Pleydell and Susan Scarlett/Noel Streatfeild in particular), An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott, and good, domestic Victorian novels (Wives and Daughters by Mrs Gaskell and just about anything by Trollope). And there is always Nevil Shute, the male DES equivalent (as Thomas so wisely observed).
Thank you Mary Grovr for getting me on Elizabeth Cadell.
I am hooked!
Best wishes from Holland
Marijke Stapert-Eggen
Thank you Helen for getting me on Elsweth Thane.
Queens Folly, lovely story!
With love from Holland,
Marijke Stapert-Eggen
Hi Marijke, so pleased but…the Williamsburg novels by Elswyth Thane reign supreme! They must be read in order from first novel Dawn’s Early Light (the weakest of the 7 novels in my opinion, but still a ‘good’ read) then Yankee Stranger, Ever After, The Light Heart, Kissing Kin, This Was Tomorrow and Homing – they all get lots of bright red stars on Goodreads!
I’m about to begin my umpteenth ‘power reading’ of all my Georgette’s (Heyer) in readiness for the Georgette Heyer conference in Epping, Sydney in August (being conducted by The Jane Austen Society). Whoop-de-doo-dah! So excited! Happy reading, everyone.
TRYST by Elswyth Thane is brilliant,one of my favourites ever.
Went to a church book sale this week and got 5 hardback and 4 paperback D.E.S. all for about £4.00.BOOKLUCK is a grand thing but happens so rarely.