Elisabeth Grace Foley

Historical Fiction Author

Favorite TV Episode Blogathon: The Virginian, “Siege”

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When I heard about the Favorite TV Episode Blogathon being hosted by A Shroud of Thoughts, an event focusing on single episodes of classic television, it sounded to me like the perfect opportunity to write about an episode of my favorite TV Western, The Virginian, something I’d occasionally thought about doing before. The choice of episode was an easy one: an entry from the show’s second season, “Siege.”

“Siege” features a device often used by Western series when they wanted a change of scenery: sending one of the regular characters off on a journey, where adventure will most certainly befall. In this case it’s Trampas (Doug McClure), who, after striking it rich in an all-night poker game, decides to go back to the little town of Logan, New Mexico, where he spent some time several years before, to pay off the debts he left behind and visit some old friends. He’s particularly looking forward to seeing Carole (Elinor Donahue), a girl he once courted before her disapproving brother, banker Duke Logan (Philip Carey) ran him out of town—but finds that Carole is now happily married to the new town marshal, Brett Cole (Ron Hayes).

Now with no reason to stay longer, Trampas heads out of town to visit some former employers before going back to Medicine Bow—but his trip takes a darker turn when he finds the elderly couple have been robbed and murdered by marauding Comancheros. Tracking down and capturing the killers, he brings them back to Logan, where the authorities seem strangely reluctant to imprison or try the men.

The situation as explained by Duke, along with Trampas’ friend Charlie Sanchez, the amiable Mexican hotelkeeper (Nestor Paiva) is that the Comancheros essentially run a protection racket in Logan—they are allowed the run of the town so long as they mostly behave themselves, and the townspeople can’t lift a hand against them under threat of what the Comancheros would do if they did. Since the murders took place outside the town limits, the only way the killers can be tried is if Trampas stays to press charges. Comanchero leader Lopez (Joseph Campanella) wants his men released or else, and Duke, determined to pacify Lopez, puts all the pressure he can on Trampas to drop the charges and leave—persuading his sister Carole, whom he has convinced to share his views, to use her influence with Trampas to the same effect. But meanwhile, Trampas’ determination to see justice done is having its effect on Brett, who has slowly awakened to a sense of his duty as town marshal and is now also determined to back Trampas, much to his brother-in-law’s anger and his wife’s dismay.

Much as I like the usual episodes of The Virginian set around Medicine Bow and Shiloh Ranch, “Siege” is a favorite because of its engrossing plot—which, as it gradually builds to its suspenseful climax, becomes a clever variation on the High Noon-style stand for justice—and its overall high quality. The guest cast is excellent, and the script by Don Mullally is perhaps the best thing about it, filled with practical and moral conflicts for multiple characters and keen, layered dialogue that fits together like pieces of a puzzle. “Siege” has an almost cinematic feel; a self-contained story running an hour and a quarter (the running time of the show was 90 minutes with commercials, the first Western TV series of that length), it’s very like a compact Western movie. Whether as a standout entry in a good series, or a stand-alone Western for fans of the genre, it’s definitely worth watching.

Friday’s Forgotten Books: The Turmoil by Booth Tarkington

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When I read The Turmoil for the first time a few years ago, it was a novel that I liked moderately, but after mulling it over a good deal and reading it a second time, it has firmly ensconced itself as my second-favorite book by Booth Tarkington. Written first of what he would later group together and call his Growth trilogy, it is set chronologically after The Magnificent Ambersons, in what we’re given to understand is the same nameless “midland city” (likely based on Tarkington’s native city of Indianapolis), now in the full grip and roar of the industrial age. At the center of the novel is the Sheridan family, wealthy owners of a business empire worth millions. Its plot focuses around sensitive youngest son Bibbs Sheridan—the sickly one and the “odd one” of the family, who hates the noise and smoke and rush and greed of the city, and wants no part of his family’s business. Family patriarch James Sheridan Sr., meanwhile, is exactly the opposite—a memorable, larger-than-life character, noisy and blunt and boisterous, who loves the noise and smoke and the continual battle to build bigger and own more as much as Bibbs hates it. Completely incapable of understanding Bibbs’ feelings or his wish to be a writer instead, Sheridan is bent on molding his incomprehensible youngest into his own image, and oblivious to the cracks appearing in the foundation of his family.

Next door to the Sheridans’ new mansion live the Vertrees family, the remnants of one of the city’s “old families,” whom Sheridan’s daughter Edith and daughter-in-law Sibyl are anxious to cultivate in order to “get in with the right people” in society, something the nouveau-riche Sheridans have yet to accomplish. Unbeknownst to them, the Vertreeses’ fortunes have declined and they’re now living on the very edge of poverty—their only hope is for daughter Mary to charm and marry Jim Sheridan, the oldest of the clan, something she sets out to do as a deliberate sacrifice for her parents’ sake. But a self-revelation on Mary’s part and an unexpected catastrophe combine to put an end to this…and in the aftermath, a friendship gradually grows between Mary and Bibbs, a friendship that inspires him with the will to live and to endure the work his father has pushed him into. Yet trouble still lies ahead, as Sibyl now cherishes a grudge against Mary and intends to exact bitter revenge on her…

When I started to read The Turmoil for the first time, I thought it would be hard to take a book seriously with a protagonist named Bibbs. But after just a few chapters I had forgotten all about his name (which is explained early in the story), and by the middle of the second reading I just loved him. Tarkington demonstrated in other books his ability to create characters you want to smack upside the head, but here he proves an equal ability to create, in Bibbs Sheridan and Mary Vertrees, characters you love and whom your heart aches for, so that you long for things to turn out well for them. Even Sheridan Sr., exasperating as he is, you can never really hate; there are moments, especially toward the end, where you feel a kind of fondness for him in his bluntness and rough good intentions. All the characters, good and bad, are drawn with the same keen, understated insight that is probably what I like best about Tarkington’s writing, and the story is not without its moments of joy and humor in the midst of the drama.

I think what may have left me feeling a little ambivalent on that first reading was that Tarkington doesn’t seem to pull a definite conclusion out of the themes of the book—he doesn’t say or give us to understand whether it’s Bibbs or his father who is definitively right, or what the solution to the chaos of industrialization is. Considering this now, though, I wonder if that’s because Tarkington was living and writing in the very midst of that era: maybe he honestly didn’t know. He offers a suggestion of hope in Bibbs’ imaginings about the future near the end, a note which rings a bit false a hundred years later, when we can see it didn’t quite turn out that way. But unlike other, “greater” novelists, he does one thing definitely right: he brings his characters’ story to a fitting, satisfying resolution. If there is a message of any kind in The Turmoil, the one I sensed was that it’s possible to find personal fulfillment and happiness even in the midst of a chaotic society. The final scene of the book has to be one of my favorite book endings now; it’s just so beautiful, and…perfect.

The Turmoil, first published in 1915, is in the public domain and available for free online. I recommend the Project Gutenberg edition, since one Amazon review says the Kindle version is missing some sections of the book in the form of journal entries. Friday’s Forgotten Books is a weekly blog event hosted by Patti Abbott.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books Read in 2014

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Today I’m linking up with Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly blog event hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, for my annual list of ten best books read during the year. This year’s list seems like one of the most unusual mixes I’ve had—and it seemed like I had a bit of a harder time putting it together. Besides a few really splendid standouts that were easy choices, there were a lot of books that I liked (I’ll talk about more of those in my general year-end reading roundup post after the New Year!), and it was challenging picking out just which ones were the best to round out the list. But here they are—in the order read, not order of favorites:


The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

I was finally lured into trying one of Georgette Heyer’s Regency books by  seeing rave reviews of this one from what seemed like my entire online acquaintance. The Grand Sophy did not disappoint: it’s an entirely delightfully witty, madcap romantic comedy. Read my review here.


Thorofare by Christopher Morley

A big, rich, rambling, beautiful novel, this wins my award for favorite book of the year. Told mostly from the perspective of an English boy, the nephew of a college professor who teaches in America, it traces his journey to the States and the family’s life in village, city and country on both sides of the Atlantic, exploring with pleasant humor and an incredible eye for detail the curious differences and similarities of English and American culture in the late Victorian/early Edwardian era. Read my full review here.

The Third Man by Graham Greene
Written specifically to serve as the source material for the screenplay of the excellent 1949 film, this novella has comparatively less material, but it’s definitely worth reading for its crisp storytelling and wry wit, and its slightly different angle on the story through the medium of fiction. I actually read it through twice. If you’ve seen the movie and liked it, you’ll probably enjoy the way the book complements it, as I did.

Until That Distant Day by Jill Stengl
Here is that rare thing, at least in my experience—a recently-written historical novel that completely captivated me. Though it’s billed as historical romance (and there are satisfying touches of love interest involved in the plot) this is more a story of a family, a sister and brothers struggling to survive and preserve their relationships with each other as they are pulled different ways by the tumult of the French Revolution. Extremely well-written and very hard to put down!

The Winslow Boy by Terence Rattigan
A play, not a novel—I seem to have read quite a lot of plays this year (more on that in my year-end roundup). I saw the 1999 movie years back and liked it, but reading the play impressed me even more. The characters and the pre-WWI setting are alive on the page, the play itself an absorbing and thought-provoking study of justice and the cost of standing for conviction. I ended up reading this one twice, too. Find my (short) Goodreads review here.

Pastoral by Nevil Shute

A novel of life on an R.A.F. bomber base during WWII, centering around the sometimes difficult progress of a romance between a young pilot and a female signal officer—deceptively understated, with a feel for everyday life, like both of Shute’s books that I’ve read so far. It’s not the kind of book that grabs you with a flash and a bang, but rather one that creeps up on you quietly till you’re entirely absorbed. Review here.

Plenilune by Jennifer Freitag

Once again something very much out of the ordinary for me makes my top-ten list. In fact, I can’t quite compare it to anything I’ve ever read before. If you move in any of the same online circles I do, you may have heard ought of this book: an ambitious planetary fantasy written in a stunningly grand and gilded style. My review here.

Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War by Mark Harris

An unusual and interesting piece of WWII and film history, this book traces the wartime experiences of five famed Hollywood directors, the effect of those experiences on their lives and careers, and the often complicated and controversial role of documentary filmmakers in the army. (And isn’t that old-movie-poster cover pretty cool?) Read my review here.

Rabble in Arms by Kenneth Roberts
This is detailed, excellently-written, fascinating historical fiction, based around Burgoyne’s invasion from Canada and the campaigns leading up to the Battle of Saratoga during the Revolutionary War. I couldn’t believe how much history I learned that I’d never had a clue about before (full-scale naval battles on Lake Champlain, anyone?), especially since I’ve walked over some of the very ground where it took place.

Pendragon’s Heir by Suzannah Rowntree

This one is slated for publication in 2015, but I read an advance version of it in 2014 and it definitely belongs on my best-of list—I literally couldn’t put it down all day. A splendid historical fantasy and fascinating twist on Arthurian legend—you’re going to want to keep an eye out for this one. As a matter of fact, you can check back here on Saturday the 20th for an announcement of the release date! (Update: Read my full review here.)

A good half of this list I acquired via library; The Grand Sophy and Until That Distant Day I bought on Kindle, while for Plenilune as well as Pendragon’s Heir I was fortunate enough to be an advance reader! Thorofare, meanwhile, was an impulse purchase of an out-of-print used book which really paid off.

Previous years’ top-ten lists: 2011, 2012, 2013.