Carol’s Comments by
Carol Rusinek
June 2011
Hello Everyone! Welcome to the third issue
of Carol’s
Comments. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been avidly concentrating on
books and movies dealing with two of my favorite topics: the British monarchy
and life and literary figures during the pre-World War II era, especially the
1920’s. At first it would appear that the movie and the three books I’m going
to discuss would not have a common theme. But they do. All of them illustrate how
a person can triumph over tremendous adversity to become very successful in a
career they have chosen or reluctantly had to assume.
I
first saw the Oscar winning film The King’s Speech starring Colin
Firth as King George VI and Geoffrey Rush as Australian speech therapist Lionel
Logue. Both actors’ heartfelt and sympathetic performances dramatically show
how the British monarch was able to overcome a serious speech impediment
through the unwavering persistence of a dedicated man who used unorthodox
methods to help the king gain self confidence. In doing so, the men develop a
meaningful friendship that lasts a lifetime. If you haven’t seen this
inspirational movie yet, I highly recommend it.
Viewing
the film compelled me to seek more information about this critical period in British
history. After browsing the New York Times’ Paperback Nonfiction
List, I discovered The King’s Speech written by Lionel Logue’s grandson Mark Logue
and journalist Peter Conradi.
Based
on Lionel Logue’s recently discovered diaries, this historical biography
vividly traces the over 25 year relationship between King George VI and his
speech therapist. The book’s lively narrative interweaves the king’s struggle to
surmount his stuttering problem with historical events that ultimately changed
his life forever. When his brother Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry
American divorcee Wallis Simpson, the then Duke of York reluctantly became
George VI. Although he had been working with Logue since 1926 to overcome his
stuttering, he needed the unconventional speech therapist’s help more than
ever. Just as depicted in the movie, Logue was always there to help him prepare
and support him for every speech the monarch had to deliver especially during
World War II. In addition to describing the great friendship that lasted until
George VI’s death in 1952, this succinct history also provides very insightful
background biographies about each man before the two met in 1926. This book is
an essential supplement for fully appreciating the film.
After
finishing The King’s Speech, I needed a change of pace. I found it when I
checked out the new fiction bestseller The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. Set
in the 1920’s, this fast- paced, well researched historical novel realistically
describes the young Ernest Hemingway’s valiant struggles to become a writer
through the unique perspective of his first wife Hadley Richardson Hemingway. Shortly
after arriving in Paris, the young couple meet and befriend such literary giants as
Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound and F. Scott Fitzgerald and soon join their bohemian lifestyle. This enchanting
novel vividly captures the reckless world of
the “Lost Generation” between the
two world wars.
Still
fascinated by Hadley Hemingway, I decided to read Ernest Hemingway’s A
Moveable Feast published posthumously in 1964. In this
semi-fictionalized memoir, Hemingway poignantly recollects about his time as a
struggling young writer in Paris during the early 1920’s. These Parisian
experiences inspired his first major novel The Sun Also Rises published in
1926. More importantly, A
Moveable Feast serves as a beautifully loving tribute to his first wife Hadley and is an excellent
companion piece to The Paris Wife.
These
books and other Academy Award winning movies like The King’s Speech can be
found at all SJCPL locations. For more information, visit the Library’s web
site at www.libraryforlife.org
. Thanks for reading! See you all next time.
Previously posted at SJCPL blog
