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THE THORNFIELD HALL NEWSLETTER – Thornfield Hall
November/December 2024, Issue 3 THE HOLIDAY SHOPPING & READING GUIDE: Glam Literary Prize Lists and Great Reads Happy Capitalism! You may despise capitalist Christmas shopping, but you certainly can luxuriate in holiday reading. While the turkey is in the oven, peruse a gripping 87th Precinct mystery by Ed McBain, and after you've baked a pie…
The Gentle Comedy As Antidepressant: Margery Sharp’s “The Foolish Gentlewoman” – Thornfield Hall
A critic for The New York Times Book Review recommended Margery Sharp’s Cluny Brown (1944), a comic novel about a plumber’s daughter who refuses to know her place. He suggested it might help you “stiffen your spine in the face of what and whoever wants to stifle your spirit…” Margery Sharp is not typical NYTBR…
The Great Autograph Series: Oscar Hijuelos to Kat – Thornfield Hall
The Great Autograph Series will consist of occasional posts on autographed books. I can't actually remember which of my books are autographed, but I do come upon them occasionally. Let me start with Oscar Hijuelos, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. He kindly autographed my copy…
My 1995 Interview with Oscar Hijuelos – Thornfield Hall
Oscar Hijuelos: “I consider myself a hip kind of guy with old-fashioned values.” It’s 4:30 in the afternoon and Oscar Hijuelos hasn’t had lunch. Passing through town on a tour to promote his novel, Mr. Ives’ Christmas, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author skipped lunch to tour the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. “A…
To Marmee with Love: The Origins of Mother Words – Thornfield Hall
Little Women (1949) I nicknamed my mother Marmee after we went to a matinee at the second-or-third-or tenth-run theater to see the 1949 film of Little Women. The mother in the movie (Mary Astor) was called Marmee. “Marmee,” I asked "can we go buy the book?" "I've got it at home." Then she looked at…
Dreaming with Neanderthals: Rachel Kushner’s “Creation Lake” – Thornfield Hall
Neanderthals were prone to depression, he said.He said they were prone to addiction, too, and especially smoking. – “Creation Lake” by Rachel Kushner The cold-blooded narrator of Creation Lake, a literary thriller nominated for the Booker Prize and the National Book Award, is a failed government spy, now working as an industrial spy. Sadie Smith,…
Forces of Chaos and Anarchy: The Jefferson Airplane, 1969 – Thornfield Hall
The day after the Woodstock musical festival in 1969, the Jefferson Airplane performed two songs on the Dick Cavett Show. What I find touching about their rendition of “We Can Be Together” is that they seem to be in dialogue with one other, standing close together, sometimes with their back to the audience, as if…
Another Day in X City: “The Forsyte Saga” & The Election – Thornfield Hall
The Nobel Prize winner John Galsworthy (1867-1933) is, to my mind, one of the greatest English writers of the 20th century. I gasp with admiration over The Forsyte Saga, by which I mean all three Forsyte trilogies, the others being A Modern Comedy and End of the Chapter. Galsworthy is not exactly forgotten - there…
Election Blues: Women in the 21st Century – Thornfield Hall
I was looking for a movie at YouTube when the ad popped up: Kamala Harris’s Concession Speech Live. I clicked on the video. Well, the speech was “live” in the sense that I was 45 minutes early. That is the way with concession speeches. No one ever knows exactly what time the candidate will appear.…
Waiting for the Biography: The World without Doris Lessing – Thornfield Hall
When Doris Lessing died in 2013, I had a hard time imagining a world without her. She was versatile and original and I always wanted to see what she had to say. Now there would be no new books. She had a great influence on my generation, probably even more so on the Second Wave…
How “Mr. Deeds ” Restored My Mojo – Thornfield Hall
Gary Cooper (Mr. Deeds) and Jean Arthur (Babe Bennett) in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town Don't talk to mirrors. No good will come of it. During a recent draggy illness, I talked deliriously to the mirror. “How the f--- did this happen?” I was startled by the new lines on my face. After a month…
If I’m Not Ms. Manners, Why Are You So Rude? – Thornfield Hall
Well, the good old days may not returnAnd the rocks might melt and the sea may burn – Tom Petty Do you long for your vinyl record collection? I left my vinyl at Mom’s when I moved out. And then a sibling took them, which was fine. By that time I lived halfway across the…
In Which I Read George Gissing’s “The Emancipated” – Thornfield Hall
George Gissing’s eighth novel, The Emancipated, is moderately entertaining, but I recommend it only to Gissing fans. There are too many characters, the whole book briefly disintegrates in the middle, and though Gissing gets a second wind I couldn’t decide whether I liked this or not. Still, there are pleasures to reading The Emancipated. The…
The Arbiter of Taste: Do’s and Don’t’s ln Your Neighborhood – Thornfield Hall
Petronius (Leo Genn), Nero' Arbiter of Taste, and Nero (Peter Untinov) in the 1951 movie Quo Vadis “Yeah, yeah, we have everything here. It’s all about location,” I say cheerily. Despite my boosterish declaration, I am dismayed by a certain lack of decorum. Only a few years ago, you would take walks and admire the…
Cat People for the Planet – Thornfield Hall
The “Cat People for Harris” sign is cute. I don’t deny that. But if I see one more of them I’ll scream, even though I'm a Cat Woman for Harris. My neighborhood has more political signs than people. That’s not possible, you say. Oh no? If there are three or four signs on a lawn,…
The Nervous Breakdown: When You’re Down and Out, Read Elizabeth Goudge – Thornfield Hall
A beautiful book to read when you're down. No one plans to have a nervous breakdown. It started when I threw a book in the trash. Who am I, the Moms of Liberty? They would happily have joined me in a book-burning party. The thing is, open burning is illegal. My dad used to burn…
The Bad Review: Blogging in Deep Space – Thornfield Hall
She is clearly saying, "Dammit!" “I’ve come up with a blurb: ‘A bitter satire, with elements of science fiction,’” I told my husband. “Do you think I dare say that online?” “Why not?” Well, we used to love this writer. And so I decided not to review her book. But this novel startled me. Let’s…
An Overpopulated New York: “Make Room! Make Room!” by Harry Harrison – Thornfield Hall
Harry Harrison’s 1966 novel, Make Room! Make Room!, was the inspiration for the movie, Soylent Green. The film, however, is only loosely based on Harrison’s many-faceted novel. Make Room! Make Room! is a good-bad book. The ideas are brilliant, the writing uneven. Harrison has essentially written a treatise, disguised as a novel, on the consequences…
The Great Cynthia Heimel: Anxiety Attacks & Snappy Comebacks – Thornfield Hall
The great Cynthia Heimel (1947-2018\). Some years back, I interviewed Cynthia Heimel, a humor columnist for The Village Voice. She was on book tour and seemed a bit disoriented. Our town was frankly dowdy and may have shocked this hip New Yorker. I loved her books. My favorite of her quips: “When in doubt, act…
The Flexibility Factor: The Art of Browsing – Thornfield Hall
I’m grateful to be well after an illness, but I have lost the flexibility to do “the crouch-and-spring” pose at bookshops. This combination of yoga and bad ballet, practiced by Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard in the trenches in old war movies, is excellent for examining the books on the bottom shelves. On a recent…
Spinster Lit: Barbara Pym, Anita Brookner & Others – Thornfield Hall
Why Do We Love Spinster Lit? Spinsters, let’s face it, are chic and independent. They have cats, belong to writers’ groups, and play Scrabble. They might not have e-mail. On the other hand, they might be addicted to dating sites. And their Little Free Library stocks only Viragos and Booker Prize winners. In reality, married…
A Science Fiction Pulp Classic: Lester del Rey’s “Nerves” – Thornfield Hall
The literati mock pulp science fiction. I don’t read it in public: I don’t want to be judged by the cover art. But the pulp SF writer, Lester del Rey, was eerily prescient about the future. In his gripping novel, Nerves, written as a novelette in 1942, expanded into a novel in 1956, then revised…
To-Be-Reread: “Anna Karenina” and “The Dud Avocado” – Thornfield Hall
I am an inveterate rereader. Some favorite books enchant me on multiple readings; others are not fully appreciated on a single reading. I may be eccentric, but I prefer rereading to keeping up with the critically-acclaimed new books. And by new, I mean hot off the press. After a certain age, one is maddeningly familiar…
Coloring in the Lines: Election 2024 – Thornfield Hall
Actress Jane Russell Ah, the drama of the presidential election! Two years of campaigning, one voting day. On the one hand, it’s rah-rah-rah when I see a sign for Democrats. Yes! I belong to that club. On the other hand, there is burn-out. First there was the Freaky Friday switch, then hours of Improv by America's…
My Bed Is a Desk, Part 2 – Thornfield Hall
My mother drove to Secret Rabbits, the nickname of a midwestern city, to browse at a furniture store. She came home with a “blond” wood desk for me.. I loved that desk. I typed papers and satiric stories at that desk. My friend and I wrote alternate chapters of a satiric novel. A Royal typewriter…
My Bed Is a Desk! – Thornfield Hall
I used to write in bed. It was fine. Really. Propped against pillows, with a cup of tea on the bedside table, I wrote on my laptop. I had a desk in my pink bedroom as a girl. I did homework and typed satiric stories at my desk, Years later, I bought a big super-heavy…
THE THORNFIELD HALL NEWSLETTER – Thornfield Hall
Volume I, Issue 3, October 5, 2024 Thorfield Hall in a 1970 film of "Jane Eyre" In this issue, I contemplate my fascination with mysteries. There are also mini-reviews of a brilliant police procedural, a cozy Christie, and a chilling noir mystery. After reading the complete Nancy Drew series, I lost interest in the mystery…
THE THORNFIELD HALL NEWSLETTER – Thornfield Hall
Volume I, Issue 3, October 5, 2024 Thorfield Hall in a 1970 film In this issue of The Thornfield Hall Newsletter, I contemplate my fascination with mysteries. I am not an expert, but I have written four mini-reviews of a brilliant police procedural, a cozy Christie, and a chilling noir mystery. Enjoy! I tend to…
The Classic Nobody Reads: Ford Madox Ford’s “Some Do Not…” – Thornfield Hall
"The gods to each ascribe a differing lot:Some enter at the portal. Some do not!"--MacMaster’s version of a refrain in Ford’s poem,Mr. Bosphorous In Ford Madox Ford’s Some Do Not, the first novel in his tetralogy, Parade's End, the phrase “Some do not” is repeated like a prose refrain. It is from at couplet in…
Completely Bonkers: Literary Prize Roulette – Thornfield Hall
“I want to read the whole longlist!” That’s how it begins. Every July, we go bonkers when the Booker Prize longlist is announced. E-mails are written. Conversation ensues. Then the National Book Award longlist is announced and usurps the Booker. The National Book Award recently established the longlist and shortlist system. Before that, there were…
THE THORNFIELD HALL NEWSLETTER – Thornfield Hall
Fall 2024, Issue 2 Thornfield Hall in the 1970 film of "Jane Eyre" In this issue, we review a National Book Award Nominee, a police procedural mystery, and briefly chat about Victorian Gothics. A Soulless Marriage Jessica Anthony’s The Most, nominated for the 2024 National Book Award, is perhaps the best book of the year. …
Poetry for Amateurs – Thornfield Hall
In Ford Madox Ford’s Parade’s End, a brilliant tetralogy, the hero, Christopher Tietjens, competes in an informal recitation of Ovid’s poetry.with a suffragette, Valentine Wannop. She frequently corrects him. Her Latin is better, she claims. She grew up speaking it with her genius father. Tietjens doesn’t care who’s better: he loves trading lines with Valentine.…
Fast Change: The Darkening of Fall – Thornfield Hall
A few weeks ago, I was happy. I sat under a tree, enjoying the golden light through the branches. I was rereading Carolyn See’s tragic novel, Making History, an exploration of the survival of the human spirit in the face of devastation, as literal spirits linger in the atmosphere before drifting away. In the course…
Reading in Covid Season: Dickens’s “Bleak House” – Thornfield Hall
After the family reunion, we came down with Covid. By “we,” I mean the whole family. Ground zero: a picnic in a state park. I will always think of it as Covid State Park. I dragged around the house for days in my nightgown, like an invalid in a Victorian novel. I carried a box…
Political Sign Season – Thornfield Hall
Tomorrow is officially autumn. It is also political sign season. As the election grows closer, the bold announce their political views on their lawns. The signs proclaim enthusiasm for the Democratic candidates for the Senate and Congress. There are many Harris signs.. And there are still a few Biden signs and a sole Robert F.…
Political Sign Season – Thornfield Hall
On September 22, it will be officially fall. It is also political sign season. As the election grows closer, the bold announce their political views on their lawns. The signs in the neighborhood proclaim enthusiasm for the Democratic candidates for the Senate and Congress. In this red state, it is easier to elect Democrat senators…
Seagulls and Imaginary Lovers: Maria Luisa Bombal’s “New Islands and Other Stories” – Thornfield Hall
Maria Luisa Bombal The Chilean writer Maria Luisa Bombal (1910-1980) is little-known in the U.S. Her novellas and short stories, published by small presses, are not disseminated on a large scale at chain bookstores or independent bookstores. Certainly I had never heard of her until I came across New Islands and Other Stories. Bombal had…
Mr. Featherstone’s Will, Pierre’s Inheritance, and the Case of Jarndyce & Jarndyce – Thornfield Hall
For several years, I practiced a form of passive resistance while my dad’s so-called estate was settled. If a riding lawn mower was mentioned, I'd say, “Just give away the lawn mower!” Ditto for the shed. "Give away the shed!" What a tangled web Dad wove! Like the suit of Jarndyce & Jarndyce in…
The Best of Thornfield Hall – Thornfield Hall
Numerical Madness and an Insanely Good Book On the last day of 2018, my husband was downcast about the Goodreads challenge. Writers and bloggers were yakking online about the impossibility of meeting their goals. And now our breakfast conversation mirrored online madness. “I’m two books short,” he said. I almost spat out my oatmeal. I’m…
Generations of Readers and Rereaders – Thornfield Hall
They say that every generation is worse than the last. That is impossible, but I admit that each generation is slightly different. Desperate teachers on their third or fourth generation of students tire of trying to convince students that The Great Gatsby is the great American novel and choose early retirement. They have, in my view,…