The Diary of a Provincial Lady by E M Delafield

E. M. Delafield was the thinly disguised pseudonym of Edmée Elizabeth Monica Dashwood, née de la Pasture. Look closely, I'm sure you'll work out the family joke here all by yourself!

Delafield was born in Sussex on the 9th June 1890  and died 2 December 1943, heartbroken after the death of her son Lionel in 1940. She was the daughter of a Count and married a Colonel, the younger son of a Baronet. She wrote over 40 stories and novels and was hugely popular in her day. Most of her stories have gone out of print, but her semi-autobiographical book The Diary of a Provincial Lady has never lost favour with the reading public.

E M Delafield by Howard Coster (1930's) National Portrait Gallery

Delafield became the director of Time and Tide, a feminist magazine in the 1930's. The editors were looking for more light stories to serialise, she promised to give it some thought, and before too long The Diary of Provincial Lady was born.

Many of the stories feature the children, Robin and Vicky, who were based on those of her own children, Lionel and Rosamund. The Diary also highlighted the financial difficulties of being married to a Baronet's younger son. The expectation by society and family to maintain a certain standard, but without any of the means to actually do so.

Lady B asks me how the children are, and adds, to the table at large, that I am 'A Perfect Mother'. Am naturally avoided, conversationally, after this, by everybody at the teatable. Later on, Lady B tells us about the South of France. She quotes repartees made by herself in French, and then translates them. (Unavoidable query presents itself here: Would a verdict of Justifiable Homicide delivered against their mother affect future careers of children unfavourably?)

Part of the charm of the book lies in the fact that her social dilemmas are ours. We've all been outwardly polite, but inwardly squirming, to the over-bearing busybody, the know-it-all or the bumbling aunt. We've all put on our best faces in public or gossiped about our neighbours. And we've all been shown up by the innocent comment of a child.

Delafield's characters feel real because they are, in fact, based on real people. How on earth she got away with it and was still able to walk down her local High Street remains a mystery!

In the preface to The Way Things Are (1927) Delafield wrote: "A good many of the characters in this novel have been drawn, as usual, from persons now living; but the author hopes very much that they will only recognise one another".

Perhaps our inability to see ourselves as others see us saved Delafield from social exclusion and accusations of slander.

Conversation turns upon Lady B. and everyone says she is really very kind-hearted, and follows this up by anecdotes illustrating all her less attractive qualities....Feel much more at home after this, and conscious of new bond of union cementing entire party.

I wasn't always convinced that I was enjoying this book as I read it though. However during the week or so it has taken me to prepare this post, I've come to appreciate it more and more. The daily vignettes, social niceties and character sketches have grown to be more meaningful and pertinent with each passing day. The book grows better on reflection. The pretty cover certainly helps too!

Exchange customary graceful farewells with host and hostess, saying how much I have enjoyed coming. 

(Query here suggests itself, as often before: Is it utterly impossible to combine the amenities of civilisation with even the minimum of honesty required to satisfy the voice of conscience? Answer still in abeyance at present.)

The Things I liked about Delafield and her Diary

• how all the reasonable, practical domestic matters being discussed were done so in a reasonable, practical manner.
• Delafield obviously adored her children, and let them be kids as long as possible.
• the interesting references to women's issues of the time.
• her sly observations about the snooty, superior women in her social circle.
• The ironic, self-deprecation humour was funny to start, but then...

The Things I didn't like about Delafield and her Diary 

• the ironic, self-deprecating humour that got tiresome by the end.
• the lack of warmth (or maybe it was lack of detail) - I felt like I was being kept at an arms length the whole time.
• the French phrases that I needed to google translate every single time!
• I had also read too many reviews about how 'deliciously funny' she was, so my expectations were set too high. I was mildly amused many times, but also often annoyed or frustrated.

I'm glad I read it. I may even reread it one day, but I don't feel compelled to read the other Diary books or seek out the other 30-odd novels to her name.

The Diary of a Provincial Lady was my latest #CCspin book for The Classics Club. How did you fare?

Insomniac City by Bill Hayes

Insomniac City by Bill Hayes was my third bloody brilliant book in a row.

I went from the stunning award winning Museum of Modern Love by Australian author Heather Rose to the thought-provoking Exit West by Moshin Hamid to Bill Hayes' beautiful, heart-felt love story about his partner Oliver Sacks and New York City.

The three books felt interconnected by theme (love, loss and belonging), creativity & art and by my response. All three books stimulated and enticed me to read deeply and thoughtfully.

New York City also played a part in both The Museum of Modern Love and this book, as well as helping me choose my next (and current) read, What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt.

These four books will now be forever linked together in my mind.

My copy of Insomniac City is the rather lush hardback edition with deckled edges. The cover has one of Bill's photographs of the cross street near his home across it, while the dark blue jacket has little windows cut out to see through to the colours underneath.

Insomniac City is part memoir, part observation and part journal. Hayes' writing is poetic and mesmerising. His kindness and generosity shines through on every page. I felt inspired by how he could find beauty in everyday life and his power to create a meaningful connection with those around him.

Bill has also littered the pages with many of his New York photographs featured on his Instagram page (found here).

The only problem, however, that I soon discovered with deckled edges, is how hard it is to flick though the pages. I had marked, in pencil, several significant passages and possibilities to include in this post.

The only one I could easily find again was this remark of Oliver's to Bill,

The most we can do is to write - intelligently, creatively, critically, evocatively- about what it is like living in this world at this time.

This is something they both excelled at and something that I aim to do (however imperfectly) here at Brona's Books.

My reading doesn't occur in a vacuum.
It's influenced by what is going on around me as well as inside of me. Sometimes I want an emotional reading experience (happy, sad or anywhere in between) and sometimes I want to be engaged on an intellectual level.

The very best of books do both at the same time.

I have now read three books in a row that do just that.

Spring Shadows in New York - Bill Hayes

Bill Hayes is one of the many authors appearing at this year's Sydney Writer's Festival - another reason why I was moved to read this book.

Cuba Diaries by Isadora Tattlin

Isadora Tattlin is a pseudonym and most of the names in her Cuba Diaries have been changed. However, this takes nothing away from the extraordinary insights into life in Cuba during the late 90's and the periodo especial en tiempo de paz (special period in time of peace) immediately after the withdrawal of economic subsidies from the Soviet Union.

Her love/hate relationship with Cuba over four years has been documented with shopping lists, brief political discussions, history lessons and loads of observations and day to day stories.

Yes, Tattlin was living a privileged life in Cuba, but then again, most visitors to Cuba would fit that category, especially during the 90's.

Her husband worked as an executive for an unnamed European energy company and they mixed in exalted company, eventually having Fidel Castro himself to dinner a couple of times in their final year in Cuba.

Tattlin's obsession with shopping (of the art and jewellery and furniture variety) wore a bit thin by the end, but her daily observations - the everyday fears, worries and delights of living in a foreign country were captured succinctly and sincerely.

As a future visitor to Cuba, I lapped up every word.

I had studied the Cuban Revolution - viva Fidel y la revolucion socialista (long live Fidel and the socialist revolution) at school - so I was aware of the basic facts of history, but the 1990's was an unknown era for me.

Tattlin vividly described her experiences in trying to conseguir (obtain) food and other necessities. There were also lots of trips to other areas of the country - places we plan to visit too - like Santiago, Trinidad, Vinales, Camaguey, Holguin and Cienfuegos.

Petty crime and the constant hassling or hustling for money by the Cubans was another factor to manage. I can't imagine what it must be like to live a life of near-poverty with very few opportunities to change that situation...and then have busloads of near-wealthy tourists passing through, glittering and flashing their wares and education and worldliness. Tattlin and her family were more embedded than that into the Cuban way of life, but they still stuck out as being different and lavish in their lifestyle.

Obviously, this all happened over twenty years ago, and times have changed. Castro's alliance with Venezuela throughout the 2000's brought some economic security and prosperity. Relations with the US also gradually thawed during this time.
Due to poor health, Fidel eventually handed the presidency over to his brother, Raul in 2008.
Raul immediately removed restrictions on mobile phone use for Cubans and announced a plan for economic reform in 2011. He installed vice-president, Miguel Diaz-Canel in 2013 and stated that his presidency would end in its second term in 2018.
Fidel's death, last month was honoured with a nine day period of national mourning. At his request, there will be no statues, parks, institutions or streets named after him to prevent a cult of personality from developing.

Tattlin's epilogue, written a couple of years later, unexpectedly veered off into the realm of magic realism. Perhaps, with a few years reflection, her time in Cuba started to feel surreal and imbued with fabulism.
It was a curious way to finish off her practical, fairly dispassionate diary...but perhaps that's the effect that Cuba can have on you.

Now that I've had this tantalising, intimate journey into 1990's Cuba, I'm even keener to observe modern day Cuba.

Everywhere I Look by Helen Garner

Everywhere I Look by Helen Garner is a book to savour slowly.

And I did.

And I will again many, many times as time goes by.

A friend recently told me that she doesn't buy many books (she works in a library and doesn't really need to) but she bought a copy of Everywhere I Look (after reading the library copy) for two reasons.

One - the book was so wonderful that she wanted to support the author and her 'luminous writing'.

Two - she wanted to have her own copy so that she could dip in and out of it again and again whenever she wanted. And she felt that she was going to want to do this very often.

Everywhere I Look is that kind of book.

Despite the number of years this book spans, Garner's various essays, diary entries, letters and observations hang together gracefully. They range from thoughts on moving house, her friendship with Tim Winton, her reaction to the movie Red Dog, meeting Rosie Batty, a wonderful section on literary appreciation to hilarious observations on ageing.

There is so much to love and ponder. So much to connect to. So much of the personal Garner, warts and all.

One of the endearing qualities of this collection is how Garner imbues the familiar and everyday with a touch of beauty and charm, even when she is being scathing. She also gives us hope that the passing of time can finally bring us some form of healing and wisdom.

It's tempting to fill this review with all the wonderful Garner quotes I noted in this book as I read it. However I think you should discover this lovely little gem for yourself and discover the particular sections that resonate with you.

This book really spoke to me at a very female level. I don't mean feminine or even feminist. Garner actually spoke to me at some kind of deep-seated genetic, chromosomal level.

Even though our lives and life choices are vastly different, I saw and I understood and I felt seen and understood in return.

10/20 Books of summer (winter)

Yoko's Diary edited by Paul Ham

Yoko's Diary edited by Paul Ham has been shortlisted for this years CBCA Eve Pownall award for Information Book.

Yoko was a 13 yr old girl living and going to school in Hiroshima in 1945.

The first section of this book is dedicated to the process of bringing her diary to light.

It explains how Australian author & historian, Paul Ham became interested in her story.
We meet her half-brother, who survived the atomic bombing, but spent his life grieving the loss of his sister. And how a TV program in Japan sparked off the idea to publish Yoko's diary.

Other family members & school friends provide more background information - about Yoko, the war, life in Hiroshima and how survivors were treated after the war.

Ham includes family photographs, maps and copies of letters.

Yoko's actual diary takes up the second half of the book. It concerns itself with her day to day life. Ham has inserted at regular intervals throughout the diary information pages to further explain some of her comments i.e. 'rationing', 'letters to the soldiers', 'some school rules', and 'battle of Okinawa.'

Her last entry is on the 5th August, the day before the atomic bomb.
On the morning of the 6th, Yoko was part of a school working group doing demolition work in the city - they were only 700m away from the epicentre of the blast.

Ham finishes with a touching letter from the woman who nursed Yoko in her last hours.

I can see this book becoming very popular (and useful) in Yr 6/7 classes discussing WW2 & memoirs.

The Ultimate High Tea

  Joy @Joy's Book Blog is hosting a new meme that celebrates all things British.

Her first British themed post involved a Downton Abbey tea in Missouri...which brought to mind my time in the UK in 1991.

I was a young 23 year old exploring the world for the first time on my own. It was scary & exhilarating. It also left me with a lifetimes worth of wonderful memories.

One of the amazing adventures I experienced was a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.

There are no photos from this visit though as camera's were not allowed. Everything that happened at Buck Palace is pure memory.
In hindsight, I wish I had asked a friend to wait for me out the front so she could have snapped a pic of me leaving via the front gate!!
Instead, I will quote a few pieces from my travel journal at the time...

"What a magnificent day! 

It turned out to be a lot more special than I thought. But then I barely thought 

about today at all until I was on the train to Bank and realised that I was really 

going to a Garden Tea Party with the Queen! 

"I wore a deep purple calotte suit, with black trim around the square top. 

Also a black hat; both borrowed from Kerrie. Diana lent me a black bag, 

gloves and a black and white necklace. I actually wore my own underwear and shoes!!

I put my hair up and I must say I felt good."

My friend, Jo nannied nearby. Her family were very excited about my trip to the Palace and they asked me to drop in on the way.     They snapped lots of photos of me all dressed up, they poured over my invitation and the sheet detailing arrival procedures, use of gloves and other proper protocols for the day. By the time they were finished with me, I was in a lovely state of anticipation and excitement too!                                                                                                                                                                                 I met up with Paula and her friends at Bank station and we proceeded to one of the side entrances. We had been forewarned that everyone tried to arrive by the front gate and it took a long time to get through the security process. Whereas the side gates were much faster. The side entrance also brought us through some of the gardens and lawns that wound up to the back steps of the Palace. It was a lovely way to arrive.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The area in front of the steps was a huge expanse of green lawn dotted with striped marquees and garden chairs. The marquees were full of tables with afternoon tea and discreetly dressed wait staff. Three lines began to form out from the back steps.                                                                           Officials randomly selected about 5 people to stand in the centre of the three aisles. These people were asked to don their gloves, instructed on how to address the royal family and to wait patiently. The rest of us milled around balancing delicate tea cups and cucumber sandwiches.

"The gardens of Buckingham Palace were glorious. There were several ponds overhung 

with trees and shrubs. One pond had a dozen or so gorgeous pink flamingoes. 

Ducks were also abundant.

The flowerbeds were very colourful - gardenias, daisies, lilies, geraniums, lavender, 

hollyhocks, sweet peas and lots more I couldn't name. It was a profusion of colour.

The Queen, Duke and Queen Mum came down the stairs right on 4pm.

They each proceeded in a leisurely fashion to the royal tea tent, talking to people

who had been pre-selected. The rest of us just watched on.

The afternoon tea was delicious. Tea, coffee, iced coffee or juice for drinks.

For nibblies we had dainty sandwiches, sponge rolls, fruit slices, chocolate gateaux,

lemon cake, fruit tarts, savoury buns & ice-cream - mouth watering!

We entranced by the Grovsner Place gate, but exited through the front gate!

I actually got to go into Buckingham Palace! Obviously only the

foyer and main entrance areas, but one had glimpses of red carpeted staircases, gilt framed mirrors, chandeliers & huge portraits of royals past and present.

To say I was thrilled is an understatement.

On our way out, we saw the Changing of the Guard...from the inside!

It was quite thrilling to see all the tourists peering through the gates - at us!!

What an experience. What a day. What a memory."

This post is also a part of Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday 'U' meme.

My Royal Story: Elizabeth by Kathryn Lasky

I wish these books had been around when I was a younger reader.

They tick all my historical fiction/fictionalised history boxes beautifully.

Elizabeth: A Tudor Princess's Diary 1544 is my first dip into The Royal Story series and I can't recommend them highly enough for young lovers of history.

It's an easy to read diary format full of interesting facts about the time.

But the main purpose of a diary is self-reflection and emotions.

We see inside Elizabeth's heart - her complicated feelings for her father and mother, the difficult relationships with her siblings, her affection for young Dudley and her ladies.

We get glimpses of her steely character, her bravery and famous independence.

Kathryn Lasky has also written a Royal Story about Mary Queen of Scots and Marie Antoinette.

Perfect for mature 10+ readers.

Elizabeth also fulfills the criteria for my TBR Pile Challenge and What's in a Name Challenge.