Carol's Comments March 2016

Carol’s Comments March 2016

Hello Everyone! Welcome to another issue of Carol’s Comments. After surviving an extremely hectic holiday season, I definitely needed to indulge in some literary and cinematic comfort food during this past winter. Being a very fervent – and rather obsessed Downton Abbey fan, I decided to binge-watch Season 5 before the program’s series finale premiered on January 3. I also started reading Jessica Fellowes’ Series 5 companion book, A Year in the Life of Downton Abbey: Seasonal Celebrations, Traditions and Recipes.

Filled with lavish photographs, this gorgeous book examines the social history of 1920s  England through the context of Downton Abbey’s Season 5 which is set in 1924. Each chapter focuses on topics which would have concerned the Crawley family throughout the year. These include; The Year Ahead, The Children, Farming, Travel, Debutantes, The London Season, Summer, Scotland, The House Party, Living on the Estate, The Sporting Season and Christmas.

The book also skillfully blends Downton Abbey’s storyline with actual events from the period.  It also concentrates on the series’ actual production. Each chapter features a spotlight segment on food, costume, locations, hair and makeup, props, music along with people and places essential to the program’s production such as Ealing Studios, creator and writer Julian Fellowes as well as executive producers Gareth Neame and Liz Trubridge and historical advisor Alastair Bruce.

Just for fun, the author sprinkles recipes from the era to tempt and tantalize readers. Modern variations include: Asparagus Tart, Chocolate Soufflés,  Scones, Pimm’s Cup, Cream of Watercress Soup, Meringues with Red Berries, Sole Duglere and Scottish Shortbread.

Of all the companion books Jessica Fellowes has written for the series, I think her first book The World of Downton Abbey and this book are the best. I will always treasure my personal copy of A Year in the Life of Downton Abbey as a special memento of one of my favorite television programs.

To ease my continued Downton Abbey malaise, I next turned to The Lake House, the new novel by my all-time favorite contemporary author Kate Morton.

Set mainly in Cornwall, England, Morton’s book blends gothic fiction with crime thriller while alternating between the pre and post- World War I era, the early 1930s and the present time to unravel the strange, mysterious disappearance of young Theo Edevane in 1933. The story begins in 1933 when the Edevane family prepares to celebrate their annual Midsummer party at their family estate Loeanneth. The narrative then abruptly fast forwards 70 years to 2003 when London detective Sadie Sparrow, while visiting her grandfather, accidently stumbles on the Loeanneth mansion, now in ruins

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After learning from her grandfather and other townspeople about Theo Edevane’s mysterious unsolved disappearance, Sadie is determined to solve this 70 year old cold case and the reason why the Edevane family suddenly abandoned Loeanneth and never returned.

During her investigation, Sadie discovers that the renowned and reclusive 86 year old mystery writer Alice Edevane is Theo Edevane’s sister. While working together to solve Theo’s disappearance and possible murder, Sadie and Alice unearth even more lurid secrets about Alice’s parents Eleanor and Anthony Edevane along with Loeanneth’s many other residents.

As with all her previous books Kate Morton’s extraordinary storytelling skills create an astonishingly unexpected ending that will absolutely delight every reader.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of Kate Morton’s novels over the past five years. But I would rank The Lake House second only to The Forgotten Garden, my personal favorite.

After finishing The Lake House, I still wanted to return to the Edwardian era but this time through the perspective of an early twentieth century British author. So while rummaging through my own bookshelves, I selected Howards End by E.M. Forster.

Published in 1910, Howards End centers on middle class sisters Margaret and Helen Schlegel and their complicated relationship with the aristocratic Wilcox family. They first meet the Wilcoxes when Helen has a brief romantic relationship with the youngest son Paul.

Two years pass before the family re-enter the Schlegel sisters’ lives. Margaret then befriends Mrs. Ruth Wilcox when the family moves to London near the Schlegels’ home on Wickham Place.

Unbeknownst to Margaret, Ruth Wilcox bequeaths Howards End to Margaret in a handwritten note enclosed in her will before her death. Deeming it invalid, her husband, industrialist Henry Wilcox destroys Ruth’s benevolent bequest for her special friend.

Meanwhile, after attending a concert, Helen and Margaret meet and become friends with Leonard Bast, a poor clerk with artistic sensibilities. Raised by their German professor father as social progressive intellectuals, the sisters view Leonard as a kindred spirit. Wanting to help him improve his financial situation, they ask Henry Wilcox for advice. Wilcox’s flippant solution concerning Leonard Bast’s circumstances leads to a disastrous outcome by leaving Bast indigent, his career completely ruined.

During this time, Henry Wilcox and Margaret grow closer. Despite their twenty year age difference, Margaret agrees to marry him. Disgusted by her sister’s decision, Helen attempts to help Leonard regain his financial status. When this endeavor fails miserably, Helen suddenly travels throughout continental Europe finally returning to England eight months later.

When Helen eventually arrives at Howards End, a distraught Margaret discovers her sister is pregnant. Margaret adamantly defends her sister’s unconventional choice despite Henry’s moral objections. She demands that Helen be allowed to stay at Howards End overnight before she and Helen leave for Germany. Henry reluctantly agrees.

Back in London, Leonard, completely devastated and remorseful about the unwise choices that destroyed his livelihood, travels to Howards End for Margaret’s forgiveness. Tragically when he arrives, Leonard suffers a fatal heart attack immediately after Henry Wilcox’s son Charles savagely attacks him.

This violent act not only leads to ruination for the Wilcox family but also brings vindication to the Schlegel sisters. Howards End now ironically belongs to its rightful owner just as Ruth Wilcox intended.

After watching Much Ado About Nothing and Sense and Sensibility both starring Emma Thompson  on Turner Classic Movies one snowy January evening, I remembered how much I loved her Oscar winning performance as Margaret Schlegel in the 1992 screen adaptation of  Howards End.

Directed by James Ivory, this marvelous film also stars Anthony Hopkins, Helena Bonham-Carter and Vanessa Redgrave as Henry Wilcox, Helen Schlegel and Ruth Wilcox respectively. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s exquisite Academy Award winning screenplay skillfully captures the essence of Forster’s novel by updating the book’s very sentimental and somewhat verbose early twentieth century writing style by carefully removing superfluous dialogue, scenes and minor characters from the plot.

Consequently, these subtle revisions allow Emma Thompson’s Anthony Hopkins’ and Helena Bonham-Carter’s nuanced and multidimensional portrayals to authentically depict the strict English class system and the British aristocracy’s eventual decline in the 20^th century. Of all the Merchant-Ivory films I’ve seen, Howards End still remains my favorite.

Although Howards End can be found on DVD at most larger public libraries (including St Joseph County Public Library), the film is extremely difficult to locate (even on Amazon and Netflix) and is rarely broadcast on television – except on premium channels like Encore. Fortunately, I own the movie in VHS format and still have a VHS/DVD combo player to watch it! So I was very happy that I still could enjoy seeing and reviewing this superb movie for my blog.

Carol’s Comments celebrates its fifth anniversary with this issue. I’m glad that it’s lasted almost as long as Downton Abbey! Unlike my favorite TV show, I still intend to keep writing this blog for a long time. Thanks to all my loyal readers for all your continued interest and support. Your enthusiasm for the books and films I’ve shared with you has kept me motivated to write this blog. It means a lot to me.

All the books and movies reviewed in my blog can be found at most local public libraries. My readers in St Joseph County, Indiana can visit the St Joseph County Public Library’s web site at libraryforlife.org for more information. Thanks for reading! See you all next time!