Carol's Comments March 2017

Carol’s Comments March 2017

Hello Everyone! Welcome to another issue of Carol’s Comments. After posting my September blog, I took a rollicking pop culture rollercoaster ride for the past six months. First, for seven consecutive weeks, I binge watched all seven seasons (153 episodes) of Gilmore Girls before the revival series Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life premiered on Netflix November 25.

Then in mid-October, I attended the spectacular Dressing Downton costume exhibit at The History Museum in South Bend, Indiana. I knew I was a truly devoted Downton Abbey fan because I remembered which Downton character wore a particular gown or outfit even before reading the placard description! Seeing this exhibit was an incredibly unforgettable experience. So after Thanksgiving, I decided to settle down with a soothing assortment of my favorite literary genres to calm me over the winter.

Although I rarely review science fiction in this blog, I really love reading it- especially stories about time travel and alternate realities. So the first novel I selected was The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. 

Set in Chicago from the 1960s through the early 21^st century, this captivating book centers on the nontraditional romance between artist Claire Abshire and Henry De Tamble, an intrepid and adventurous librarian who involuntarily travels through time. By using a complex narrative that alternates between Clare’s and Henry’s perspectives, the reader discovers that Henry first meets Claire in 1977 when she is six years old. But unfortunately, he is out of sync with his own time line and is then 36 when in reality he is only 8 years older than Claire. Meanwhile, Claire continues to pass time normally awaiting Henry’s return,

Finally when Claire turns 22, she meets Henry in his real present when she visits the Newberry Library. They soon marry in October 1993 and share a strange spiritual connection as Henry continues to involuntarily time travel – even frequently interacting with his younger and older selves during these fantastic journeys.

Thankfully, Niffenegger always provides specific dates and Claire’s and Henry’s ages when shifting viewpoints so the reader rarely feels confused. This literary style makes the plot very metaphysical yet also quite romantic. I found this book especially entertaining because it mentions many familiar places in Chicago such as the Field Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Newberry Library that I personally visited as a child, high school and college student during this time period. By blending science fiction and romance together, The Time Traveler’s Wife poignantly depicts how Claire’s and Henry’s unconventional love truly transcends time.

Next I decided to read Nicholas Martin’s new biography Florence Foster Jenkins: the True Inspiring Story of the World’s Worst Singer before watching the movie. Martin’s well researched and very comically irreverent biography written with additional contributor Jasper Rees primarily concentrates on Foster Jenkins’ rather obsessive efforts to become not only an impressive operatic songstress herself  but vigorously promote classical music appreciation among New York City’s upper class society in the early 20^th century.

Her musical career first began at age 18 when she left her miserable marriage with her much older husband Dr. Frank Thornton Jenkins in 1886. (Dr. Jenkins quietly disappeared and she didn’t officially divorce him until many years later.) She quickly enrolled in a two year music course at the Philadelphia Academy of Music and by 1890 started singing publically at her parents’ home in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

After her father’s death in 1909, she moved onto bigger venues by not only singing in New York City’s elite women’s social clubs but also organizing many other musical events and performers herself over the next 35 years.

Two pivotal events during this time period changed Florence’s life forever. First, she met British stage actor St. Clair Bayfield in 1909. Seven years her junior, Bayfield would become her devoted common-law husband, escort and artistic director for 35 years until her death in 1944.Secondly, upon the urging and encouragement of her socialite friends, she founded her own musical social society, the Verdi Club in November 1917. Created during the height of New York society’s social season, the Verdi Club not only featured prominent classical singers and musicians but would be the perfect place for Florence to perform shielded from harsh criticism. As her manager, Bayfield made sure New York arts critics were never invited and only a limited supply of tickets became available to an increasingly curious public. Proceeds from the Verdi Club concerts were always donated to the Red Cross.

Eventually through these concerts, Foster Jenkins gained a cult following, Audiences marveled not only at her truly ghastly singing but at the elaborate props and costumes Foster Jenkins used to enhance her vocal performances. Sadly, when she reached her 60s and 70s, these “enhancements” only created more hilarity and silliness for people attending her performances in the 1930s and 1940s. Florence truly believed all the compliments she received about her singing voice from club members and sympathetic journalists who attended her concerts.

Unfortunately, Bayfield couldn’t dissuade her from performing her final concert at Carnegie Hall on October 25, 1944, Over 3000 people attended including such celebrities as Gypsy Rose Lee, Cole Porter, opera singer Lily Pons and her husband popular radio orchestra conductor Andre Kostelantez along with composer-librettist Carlo Menotti. Remarkably, it didn’t seem to bother the 76 year old tone deaf Jenkins that the entire audience convulsed with uproarious laughter, at times, bordering on mass hysteria, during the concert. Eventually when Florence read the appalling reviews in the newspapers, the truth completely crushed her spirit. She died on November 26, 1944 of heart failure never fully recovering from the traumatic Carnegie Hall concert debacle.

After finishing Martin’s biography, I wanted to see how accurately the film Florence Foster Jenkins depicted her life and “singing” career. Directed by Stephen Frears and starring Meryl Streep as Florence Foster Jenkins and Hugh Grant as St Clair Bayfield, Nicholas Martin’s screenplay, loosely based on his biography, mainly focuses on Florence’s preparation for her October 1944 concert at Carnegie Hall. Hugh Grant’s understated performance as Jenkins’ supportive common law husband/manager St Clair Bayfield contrasts nicely with Streep’s extremely outrageous performance of the world’s most atrocious singer. Streep’s singing scenes are so incredibly awful; they are sublime.

I’m glad I read the biography first because the movie provides very little background about Foster Jenkins’ life. This makes the film very confusing and disjointed at times. Despite these flaws, this lightweight comical film is a luscious little cinematic treat that will definitely lift spirits.

While eagerly awaiting the January 15^th premiere of Victoria on PBS, I suddenly realized that I still really missed Downton Abbey. To lessen my loneliness for the Crawley family, I wanted to find a film or a novel that would help transport me to 19^th century England. Luckily I found both.

Soon after Christmas while browsing through my cable channel guide, I watched the 2009 film The Young Victoria starring Emily Blunt on Movieplex. Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee and written by Downton Abbey’s Julian Fellowes this exceptional movie chronicles Victoria’s life a few years before she becomes queen through the early years of her marriage to Prince Albert. The film gives the viewer an in depth look at Victoria’s restricted life at Kensington Palace under the watchful eye of her mother the Duchess of Kent and her mother’s despicable friend Sir John Conroy who hope to act as regents once she ascends to the throne. Emily Blunt’s marvelous performance realistically depicts both Victoria’s feisty, headstrong personality as well as her romantic vulnerabilities first with Prime Minister Lord Melbourne played by Paul Bettany and later with Prince Albert portrayed by Rupert Friend.

Viewing this compelling film several times before the Victoria series aired a few weeks later gave me a better understanding of 19^th century British politics  and insight into Queen Victoria’s struggles and triumphs as a young monarch. I highly recommend it.

Then shortly after watching The Young Victoria, I found a positive review in Entertainment Weekly about Daisy Goodwin’s new novel Victoria. Since I had already read and reviewed her previous book The American Heiress for my blog in July 2013, I quickly checked out a copy the day before the TV show’s Masterpiece debut.

Written simultaneously while Goodwin was creating the television series starring Jenna Coleman in the title role, her novel Victoria begins in 1835, two years before Victoria becomes queen succeeding her uncle William IV. Even before she ascends to the throne at 18 on June 20, 1837, Victoria must outwit not only her nefarious uncle the Duke of Cumberland but also thwart the machinations of her mother, the Duchess of Kent and the conniving Sir John Conroy who want to establish a regency to control her decision making. Fortunately, Victoria is very independent minded and stubborn young woman. Before she falls in love and marries Prince Albert, the only people she trusts are her faithful childhood governess Baroness Lehzen and her close friend and political advisor Whig Prime Minister Lord Melbourne. 

The book concentrates more on Victoria’s emotional, romantic and political struggles as a teenage queen while the television series tends to be more melodramatic by including more intrigue amongst the palace’s servants and royal household. Reading Goodwin’s bewitching novel while watching the addictive Masterpiece series doubled my enjoyment of the program since the book mirrored its cinematic counterpart exactly. It made it easy to immerse myself in the Victorian era because I could visualize the characters more clearly. 

I thought the best chapters in the novel as well as episodes in the screenplay revolved around Victoria and Albert’s intense spiritual connection as their romance blossoms. Goodwin’s beguiling narrative sensuously captures the strong sexual chemistry between them without being overly explicit. Anyone who loves Downton Abbey will simply adore Victoria in both book and television formats.

Daisy Goodwin’s Victoria fascinated me so much that I wanted to delve deeper into Queen Victoria’s remarkably long reign and its dramatic impact on 19^th century politics and culture. So after seeing Julia Baird’s new biography Victoria the Queen recommended on Entertainment Weekly’s Must List, I couldn’t wait to read it.

Baird’s extensively researched biography chronicles Queen Victoria’s 64 year reign by primarily focusing on the personal aspects of her life. I especially enjoyed the first 300 pages of the book that centered on her regimented childhood and adolescence at Kensington Palace, becoming queen at 18 in 1837 and her 22 year marriage to Prince Albert.  Along with important geopolitical maps and family trees, Baird’s absorbing biography which sometimes reads more like a novel contains a detailed annotated Cast of Characters section which includes the following people that influenced her personal and political life: Victoria’s Family, Husband and Children, Prime Ministers, Grandchildren, Members of the Royal Household, Other Royals, Victoria’s Contemporaries and Other Figures. Victoria the Queen is the ideal nonfiction reference companion to Daisy Goodwin’s novel and television series.

All the books and movies reviewed in this 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 additional information. Thanks for reading! See you all again next time.