Elisabeth Grace Foley

Historical Fiction Author

Best Books Read in 2011

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Didn’t I just mention recently that I liked making lists? Well, the New Year is a great time for making lists! And what’s better than lists of books?
Consulting my record book, I find I read a little over 70 books in 2011 (excluding single shorts and books I’d read before). Here are my ten favorite reads of the year, in the order that I read them. There’s a little bit of everything in here! And an interesting thing about this list is that I read seven out of the ten for free or almost-free on my Kindle.
The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington

I was impressed by this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of a wealthy, influential family’s gradual decline during the industrialization of America at the turn of the last century, which seems to be a somehwat overlooked classic of American literature. Read my full review of the book here.

Mrs. Miniver by Jan Struther

Different from the movie, but in some ways even better—short, beautifully written chapters that capture the little wonders and joys of everyday life. Read my full review here.

Once On a Time by A.A. Milne

A light-hearted, hilarious satire of the classic fairytale, filled with kings, princesses, spells and a villainous Countess who fancies herself as a poet. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed harder than I did when reading this than I have at anything other than P.G. Wodehouse!

Land of the Burnt Thigh by Edith Eudora Kohl

A captivating memoir of two sisters’ adventure in homesteading by themselves in South Dakota in the first decade of the 20th century. I couldn’t put this one down—it reads almost like fiction, filled with colorful characters and adventures. Read my full review here.

Points West by B.M. Bower
This is one of my favorite Bower Westerns in spite of a few flaws. The only thing to really hold against it is a rushed final chapter that winds the story up much too abruptly. In this story the young protagonist leaves home after his father’s tragic death and the loss of his inheritance, trying to escape his troubles, but ends up plunging himself into even more difficult and dangerous situations. It’s written with the same mixture of appealing characters, humor and poignance that characterizes Bower’s best work. One supporting character in particular, Mrs. Harris, absolutely steals every scene she appears in. Whenever I start it over from the beginning I forgive the ending.

Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town by Stephen Leacock
Delightfully funny, sweet satire about the residents and happenings in a little lakeside town of northeast Canada, that keeps you laughing and yet wishing all along that you could live in Mariposa yourself. Read my full review here.

Laddie by Gene Stratton-Porter

There’s much more to this charming book than the central plot, a little girl’s account of her adored elder brother’s romance. It depicts a really vanished way of life in the prosperous (you could almost say affluent), self-sustaining American family farm; and the life of a large, loving family with a faith put into daily practice and an appreciation for knowledge and learning that goes beyond the boundaries of organized education. And Leon Stanton shares the award for scene-stealing supporting character with the aforementioned Mrs. Harris.

Green For Danger by Christianna Brand

A great classic murder-mystery and WWII novel combined—the setting is one of the most outstanding features of the book. It takes place in a British military hospital in the thick of the Blitz; the murder victim is an air-raid casualty who dies on the operating table, the suspects are the attendant doctors and nurses. You can read my brief review on Goodreads here.

Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West by Dorothy Wickenden

A fine adventure in historical nonfiction, filled with fascinating detail—the story of two girls from wealthy upstate New York families who traveled to rural Colorado to teach school in 1916, when the surrounding country still partook of much of the wild West. Read my full review here.

Uncle Abner, Master of Mysteries by Melville Davisson Post

A collection of short mysteries in another unique setting, this time American—rural Virginia of the early 1800s. Similar to Chesterton’s Father Brown stories with their theological overtones and musings on justice, but from a Protestant perspective, and a vivid glimpse into a period of history that I’m less familiar with. Read my full review here.

Have you read any of these? What were your favorite reads of 2011?

Book Review: Uncle Abner, Master of Mysteries

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Abner was silent for a moment.

“It is the law,” he said, “but is it justice, Dillworth?”

“Abner,” replied Dillworth, “how shall we know what justice is unless the law defines it?”

“I think every man knows what it is,” said Abner.

“And shall every man set up a standard of his own,” said Dillworth, “and disregard the standard that the law sets up? That would be the end of justice.”

“It would be the beginning of justice,” said Abner, “if every man followed the standard that God gives him.”

I saw this one day in the “Recommended for You” or “Customers Also Bought” section of the Kindle Store, I can’t remember which, and since it was inexpensive and looked interesting, I picked it up. I’m glad I did! Published in 1918, it’s a collection of eighteen excellent mystery short stories in a unique setting—rural Virginia in the early 1800s.

Comparison to G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown stories, which I’ve been reading and enjoying, are apt, though the two detectives in many respects are polar opposites—one a small, mild, English Catholic; the other a big, stalwart American Protestant. There is a strong religious element to the Uncle Abner stories. Abner’s faith is at the root of his belief in justice that drives him to find the correct solutions to a variety of crimes. Justice is the theme of the collection as a whole. Some of the stories demonstrate the limits of human law, while still reinforcing its importance, but above all stress the existence of a higher justice, and the conviction that all guilty parties will meet the justice of God even if they are beyond the reach of human law.

As a reader of Westerns, a number of elements in the description of life in Virginia at this period struck familiar chords—the grazing, driving, selling (and sometimes stealing) of cattle and journeys on horseback. A number of the stories involve disputes over land, another familiar feature in the Western. “A Twilight Adventure,” a neatly constructed story concerning cattle thieving, demonstrates the dangers of both lynch law and circumstantial evidence. Last year I read Frank Lawrence Owsley’s Plain Folk of the Old South, and the Uncle Abner stories reminded me of Owsley’s description of the livestock-raising economy of the early South, which bore a strong resemblance to that which later developed in the West.

The stories are narrated by Abner’s young nephew, who is present at the scene of some of them, and relates the others second-hand. There is also a foil for the detective in the person of Squire Randolph, the justice of the peace, an honest but talkative and pompous man who is continually baffled by Abner’s line of reasoning until the moment when the truth is revealed. Abner’s methods are similar to Father Brown’s in that he sees the truth a lot sooner than the other characters or the reader, but drops cryptic remarks along the way that all make sense in the end. He also frequently deals with skeptics who deny the existence or power of God. There’s a great historical flavor to the whole book, and the writing is also excellent, with some beautiful, atmospheric descriptive passages equal to those in Chesterton. Definitely a great read for anyone who loves classic, old-fashioned detective stories; a fine piece of entertainment with deeper, edifying elements as well.

The Three Best ‘Writer’ Episodes of The Waltons

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Although most episodes of The Waltons had moments dealing with books and writing strung through them, there are certain episodes that were based around or portrayed events in a writer’s life particularly well. These three are my favorites:

The Typewriter

Coming near the beginning of the first season, “The Typewriter” was one of the first episodes to concentrate specifically on John-Boy’s writing ambitions. When he submits his first story to a magazine (the now-defunct Collier’s Weekly), it’s returned because they don’t accept handwritten manuscripts. So he borrows a prized antique typewriter from the eccentric Baldwin sisters…and manages to lose it. Some of my favorite scenes in this episode come near the beginning: where John-Boy dares to show someone his story for the first time (yes, they point out the grammar errors first and you have to nervously ask how they liked the story itself), and where the rest of the family, who know he’s always writing but aren’t really aware of what he’s writing about, start to ask questions and become more interested.

The Book

In the third season, now attending college, John-Boy begins a new writing class and is properly overwhelmed by his classmates’ matter-of-fact descriptions of their highbrow and high-concept projects and their condescending questions about his ‘themes’ and ‘approach.’ Hoping to bolster his confidence, Olivia takes some of his stories to a ‘publisher’ she saw advertised, who claims they’d like to publish his collection. John-Boy’s exultation carries him a little too far, affecting his work, his behavior toward his family…and causing him to overlook some of the fine print in his contract…

One thing I find rather interesting is that the problems presented in the first half of the episode are never really resolved as such. John-Boy’s snobbish classmates are happy to accept him as soon as they find out he’s going to be published, apparently forgetting their low opinion of his work. Similarly, John-Boy no longer has any worries about the quality of his own work as soon as he knows it’s going to be published. Publication means validation. This still seems to be a common view, but when you really look at it in light of a situation like that in “The Book,” it’s extremely subjective.

The Prophecy

This episode is not specifically about writing—the main story is about John Walton Sr.’s reluctance to attend his high school reunion, feeling like a failure beside his more financially successful former classmates. But meanwhile, John-Boy is once again down in the dumps because a well-meaning and pessimistic professor gave him a personal lecture on how writers, no matter how good they are, never make a living from writing. This is a fine example of how the most skilfully-written episodes of The Waltons used a subplot to echo themes from the main plot, as Johns Sr. & Jr. both come to understand that the meaning of true success is not measured by money.

As a sidenote, I was amused at how, in spite of his struggles with the literary elite in “The Book,” John-Boy displays a little snobbishness of his own while trying to compile a list of writers who make a living. When Mary Ellen suggests Mary Roberts Rineheart (whose debut novel The Circular Staircase I read over the weekend, incidentally), he explodes indignantly, “Oh, be serious! I’m not talking about people who write murder mysteries.” Mary Ellen sensibly retorts, “We’re talking about writers making money, and lots of it.”

What are your favorites writing-related episodes or moments from The Waltons? Or other favorite TV shows?