Retro Reads discussion

So how are you finding this book so far?

Be aware there may be open spoilers so proceed with caution!

RG's life decisions are very interesting - she just follows her heart.

Previous chapter but I thought I would put here. I'm surprised RG admitted what she did with the pearl necklace, as that was dishonest!

I wonder if she'd ever admitted it before? She obviously knew it was wrong, even as she was doing it. Although it's Jon who determinedly reacted, making no real decisions about her life, Rumer was "carried away" several times by circumstance. (and those times seem to have turned out badly - a lesson in what happens when both the heart and the intellect are ignored?)

Yes Jon although strong willed, seems more passive then RG.

They are both such vivid characters though. RG makes the same baffling decisions a lot of us do - stating a dance school when she wasn't a talented dancer & had had such a serious injury, was certainly a baffling one!

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "Yes Jon although strong willed, seems more passive then RG.

They are both such vivid characters though. RG makes the same baffling decisions a lot of us do - stating a dance school when she wasn't..."

I think what makes her such a powerful writer is that her characters are as ... silly! as she, and we, are. When we see actual lives played out in books and in real life that feature intelligent people making what look like at first (and often remain) really dumb decisions, we get a sense of what a human really is.

Yes, exactly. RG seems to be very honest about herself (although I read somewhere that he didn't abandon his family as completely as RG portrays)

Laurence behaves like one of the weak, gambling brothers in a Georgette Heyer historical romance!

He was completely and totally interested in only himself. I thought at first that he was a complete weakling for never hanging around to handle his idiocies, but, then I realized that the supremely selfish simply don't think they have to follow the rules. They're for everybody else...

I just did a quick google search for Laurence, and although I didn't turn up any more information about him, there were a whole lot of incorrect statements and dates about Rumer herself, in obits and articles published by such diverse sites as The Sun and The Guardian and The New York Times. I'm going to go on to A House with Four Rooms, so I'll see if Rumer herself has anymore contact with him!

I'm really glad I read Kingfishers Catch Fire before this, as I am now enjoying the descriptions of her time there very much. There is a lot about her own life in her books.

Carolien wrote: "I'm really glad I read Kingfishers Catch Fire before this, as I am now enjoying the descriptions of her time there very much. There is a lot about her own life in her books."

Yes, I'm glad I have read both books more or less in tandem. The descriptions of her (view spoiler)[miscarriage (hide spoiler)] were horrifying.

I read (somewhere) that RG had more contact with Laurence later on than she implies in her book. I'll see if I can find that link later on.

Carolien wrote: "I'm really glad I read Kingfishers Catch Fire before this, as I am now enjoying the descriptions of her time there very much. There is a lot about her own life in her books."

The fictional Sophie and the real Olwen had a lot in common, both having such supreme confidence in themselves. Godden went through so much physically in those years that it's really no wonder that Olwen came so quickly to control their lives. Sometimes sheer exhaustion can blind you to what you know is reality, and it's just easier to float along.

I can't find the article that said RG had more contact with Laurence later in her life than she implies & it would have been after the time of this book anyway.

I've just finished & I'm thinking - phew what a life. Great adventures for most of us (like her treks with her children & her Pekinese(!) are just barely brushed over. The ending is a bit rushed but I think this period would have been painful to write about.

I agree with the earlier comments that she seemed to just let life happen to her, but I think in Kashmir she starts to try and influence the course of her life a bit more. She starts making decisions such as to move out of the hotel and moving into Dove House.

I agree that the ending is a bit rushed, but agree that she may not have wanted to dwell on it. It must have broken her heart to not be able to return to Kashmir due to the lawsuit.

I think some things just happened to her - but she was proactive about wanting to start the dance school - admittedly a baffling choice!

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "I think some things just happened to her - but she was proactive about wanting to start the dance school - admittedly a baffling choice!"

I think the dancing school came out of her love of the arts and her wish that she could have danced, but, also, it was a means to make some kind of living and was open to her. She knew she'd make a rotten secretary, florist, or even housekeeper. There weren't a whole lot of appealing choices available that would play to what she perceived to be her strengths.

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "I can't find the article that said RG had more contact with Laurence later in her life than she implies & it would have been after the time of this book anyway.

I've just finished & I'm thinking -..."

I've been keeping my eyeballs peeled for references to Laurence, such as when the girls marry, but although his parents are mentioned often, so far not a word about him (I'm zipping through A House with Four Rooms, and the literary name dropping is astounding! What a rabbit trail it can be, and it reminds me of Elizabeth Goudge's anthologies of poets and writers, those whom I might never have heard of if she hadn't included them. Once again, I'm amazed at the literacy of that era, including Mary Stewart, M.M. Kaye, and Mary O'Hara.)

Karlyne wrote: "
I think the dancing school ..."

I get the feeling she yearned for freedom & independence. She withdrew from the engagement to her father's friend Ian, even though he sounded like a very nice man & it would have given her financial security.

Yet, society pressures were too much for her (The pressure would have been huge!) & married Laurence after she became pregnant.

I'm wondering if she was always faintly contemptuous of him, or if this happened after events proved he was weak and sleazy. Some things he did seemed to hurt her very much.

Also anyone still reading this book, did this quote appear.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I think RG has been misquoted.

I'm pretty sure that I would have noticed it, too, so I'm guessing it is a misquote. And I wonder, too, just when she actually said it and how firmly her tongue was in cheek?

& the problem is when a misquote gets added here, it is not only very difficult to remove off GR, but it spreads to other sites.

RG wouldn't have said any when she 'only' had two husbands, but she has written something similar at least once & been quoted for something similar at least once. It probably was a frequent joke of hers.

I think it was probably a joke, too. Although marrying James required a serious familial adjustment, she loved him dearly. This is an except from her diary, October 10, 1973: " James died in Hastings Hospital. I do not want to be consoled - ever." So poignant.

Just finished the book. What an incredible life. I love the idea of Dove House more than ever, although perhaps not the servant problems. I could scarcely believe my eyes when I learned that the ground glass incident really happened!

She and her sisters were all so brilliant and unorthodox that I was reminded of the Mitford girls, was anyone else? I liked her observations on how much more challenging it is to be a woman writer, called upon to manage a household and raise children. She loved doing those things, but always felt so torn.

And I loved the way she quoted from her actual books, as well as letters and diaries, which lent so much authenticity to the memoir.

Elinor wrote: "Just finished the book. What an incredible life. I love the idea of Dove House more than ever, although perhaps not the servant problems. I could scarcely believe my eyes when I learned that the gr..."

I'm guessing there wouldn't have been a servant problem if there hadn't been the British Raj mentality (I love how she described Olwen's attitude!). If advice had been asked for and given, the problems would have been much more minimal. Of course, then we wouldn't have had the story!