Hello Dear Friends, I'm so happy to have you back at my blog! I haven't updated in a while, but I wanted to share some lovely news! ☺️💜
I was incredibly honored when the lovely Julie Witmer, founder of the Elizabeth Goudge Book Club (also Garden Designer, Speaker, Teacher and Photographer) asked me to share my Elizabeth Goudge Collection with the club!
Julie has been such an inspiration to me since I started Bookstagram in June 2020. She was one of my first book friends and I'll always be grateful to her for her support (bookish and otherwise!) and her beautiful Elizabeth Goudge collection. The EG Club (and all the caring members in it) were such a comfort to me when Ian was diagnosed with two types of unrelated cancer. I'll never forget it. ❤️
Because there's so much I want to share, let's get started right away! Keeping scrolling for my interview with Julie and pictures of my vintage EG book collection.
Don't forget to follow Julie on Instagram (@elizabethgoudgebookclub and @juliewitmergardens) and also on her wonderful Elizabeth Goudge Facebook Group! 📚😊📚
Julie: Welcome Gina! Thank you for sharing your
Goudge collections with us today. When did you first find Goudge? Which
Goudge book did you read first?
Thank you so
much, Julie! I am honored (and thrilled!) to be sharing my Elizabeth
Goudge reading experiences with you and all EG fans. I can’t tell you
what this means to me :)
I finished my very first Elizabeth Goudge book in June 2020 and it was The Little White Horse. After that, I was hooked!
I’d
never read a book quite like this before. I was completely enchanted by
her choice of words and sparkling phrases. After finishing the book, I
felt incredibly sad that I’d never heard of her books when I was young. I
know I would have loved it even more (if that’s possible!) if I’d read
The Little White Horse in my childhood. But, this story utterly captured
my heart even as an adult, which is such a gift.
I feel
embarrassed to say that no matter how much I love her books, they are
sometimes a challenge for me to read. I think it’s because each of her
sentences is like a four course meal of all of your favorite foods and I
feel “stuffed” or saturated quickly. Does that make sense?
The
ideal time for me to read EG books are at night, all snuggled up in my
bed with the warm glow of my salt lamp illuminating the room and making
me feel cozy and comfortable. I can concentrate much better that way. I
also need complete quiet, a large tin of book darts, a lazy stream of
powdery incense wafting across my vision and a steaming cup of herbal
tea to complete the picture. If I have the energy to get all things in
place (though, sadly, this doesn’t happen as often as I’d like), it’s a
heavenly—and very soothing—experience!
I’ve only read 23 of her
books so far, but I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in my
collection. Thank goodness for you and the Elizabeth Goudge Club for
encouraging me to reread my favorites! I’m really excited for The Joy of
Snow to be republished by Girls Gone By Publishers - yay!
Julie: Which Goudge book is your favorite vintage edition? What year and is it a UK or US edition?
My
all-time favorite edition is the Coward McCann 1960s US edition of The
Dean’s Watch. Not only is it my absolute favorite book, but I just love
the cover illustration. Especially since it features the Dean, Issac,
and sweet little Bella on the front. I could just look at this cover all
day long and find new things. I wish that you could buy a poster sized
version that I could keep on the wall of my little library.
My
next favorite is the 1957 Hodder and Stoughton edition of The Eilots of
Damerosehay. It took years for me to find a decent and affordable
edition with a dust jacket. But, now that I have it on my shelves, I’m
so happy. This is another example of a vintage book that just has just
the perfect illustration on the cover. The Heart of the Family is the
story that really touches my heart out of the three books in the series.
I’m not sure why.
Final favorites (sorry to share so many!) are
my vintage Dell Yearling editions of Linnets and Valerians, The Little
White Horse and I Saw Three Ships. They’re just adorable. I grew up
reading primarily Dell Yearling editions in the 1980s and they have a
lovely nostalgic feel for me. If only I had known about Elizabeth Goudge
back then! (So sad)
Julie:
Which modern edition is your favorite out of the new Goudge reprints by
Hodder, Hendrickson, Penguin, Girls Gone By Publishers, etc?
Hmm…that’s
a good question! Although I think any publisher who reprints anything
by Elizabeth Goudge deserves a medal (lol!), I definitely lean more
towards the Girls Gone By editions. The convenient size of the books and
the fact that they always add extra (or new) information to a by-gone
classic is wonderful! I only wish I had an easier time holding the book
open while reading so that I wouldn’t have to break the lovely spine.
That kills me.
I also have a special place in my heart for The
Folio Society’s edition of The Little White Horse. It’s so gorgeous and
it was the very first EG book that I read. I still love it!
Julie: Is there a scene from one of Elizabeth
Goudge’s books that sticks with you? What moments in life makes you
think of it? And which book is it from?
Oh, there
are so many! But, there are a few that always seem to stick in my
memory. The first is from The Dean’s Watch. It’s the part right after
the Dean buys little Bella an umbrella at Miss Throstle’s shop:
“He
bowed to her, replaced his hat and went out into the gathering dust
with the little umbrella tucked under his arm. Fifteen minutes later,
still carrying it, he was in Miss Montague’s drawing room. He had not
been there since that day when they had talked of the nature of love.
The lamp was lighted and the curtains drawn against the chill mist, the
lovely room warm and sweet-scented with chrysanthemums and burning apple
logs. The two friends greeted each other with delight and satisfaction,
for to both it seemed a long time since they had been together.”
And, another of Issac the Clockmaker at the beginning of the book:
“…but
tonight he remembered only the warm rooms and the faces of men and
women bent over their bowls of steaming soup, and the children already
asleep in their beds. He felt for them all a profound love, and he
glowed. The moment of his loving was in the world of time merely sixty
seconds ticked out by his watch, but in another dimension it was an arc
of light encircling the city and leaving not one heart within it
untouched by blessedness.”
Finally, I love this passage from The
Heart of the Family when Sebastian is shown the kitchen by Jose. I get
the coziest feeling from this simple domestic description!
“ ‘It
is a beautiful kitchen, ‘ he said, looking round at the shining pots and
pans, the huge scrubbed kitchen table, the gay china on the dresser,
and the view of the orchard seen between the Scarlett curtains at the
window. The back door, set wide open today, opened into a porch almost
as large as a little room, with seats in it, and outside doves strutted
on the cobbles of the yard. ‘It’s nice and bright, ‘ agreed Jose.”
Julie: What do you love most about Goudge’s writing?
I
love that her writing encourages me to be more mindful of reading
slowly and savoring every line of description in her work. I’m not a
very fast reader, but I tend to rush through books if I’m anxious to
know the ending. With EG, you would miss so much beauty and “ah-ha”
moments if you rush. I tend to live more in the future in my normal
life, but I’m really grateful to Elizabeth Goudge’s books because they
encourage me to slow down, be mindful and enjoy every moment.
The
elements that I find so appealing about her writing are the lyrical
descriptions of nature, the intimate connections between her characters,
the way she is able to make you look deeper into a person for positive
qualities and, maybe most importantly, her ability to add a spark of
magic into her stories without it feeling silly or over-the-top.
Reading
an Elizabeth Goudge book brings a bright spiritual element to my life
that I don’t receive from any other place. It’s a similar (though not
exactly the same) feeling that I had the moment that I held each of my
babies in my arms—wonder, lightness of spirit and awe. It’s pretty
special when an author can do that for their reading audience.
Julie: Which authors would you say are most similar to Elizabeth Goudge?
It’s
hard for me to pick authors that are similar to Elizabeth Goudge
because she is so unique in so many ways. I don’t know if I have a wide
enough experience of other authors to compare to EG because I only
started reading her books four years ago. But, if I had to choose
authors that give me the same positive and uplifting feeling after
reading their books, these are the ones I would choose:
Gladys Taber (Stillmeadow Series)
Miss Read (Particularly her Christmas books and Thrush Green series)
Elizabeth von Arnim (Especially The Enchanted April, Solitary Summer and All the Dogs of My Life)
Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Little Princess and The Secret Garden)
When
I read books by these authors, I always keep a jar of book darts nearby
so that I can mark all of the beautiful passages that I want to go back
to. I’ve gone through more than (4) 125-count jars in 4 years…lol!
Julie: Where can we find out more about you and what you are reading these days?
You can usually find me on Bookstagram @babsbelovedbooks but, just to warn you, I’m not so prompt at checking my messages 😱
I would love to see new visitors on my (new!) Babs Beloved Books blog and it’s always awesome to have new friends on Goodreads. If you’re also interested in knitting patterns and designs, I have both pdfs and books available on my website (free and to purchase). I love making new friends, so please keep in touch!
Julie,
thank you for this absolutely lovely Elizabeth Goudge chat! It was so
much fun sharing my thoughts and favorite books/editions/authors. I am
extremely grateful to you for all that you do with the Elizabeth Goudge
Book Club. For the past four years, I’ve adored your Instagram posts,
helpful information, and extra photos of locations, plants, flowers and
people. You truly inspire me to dive more deeply into all things EG and I
am so happy that we met. Thank you!! 🥰💖📕
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A Photo for my 'What Should I Read Next' Podcast Episode 261—12/1/20. I hope I can get back into shape so I can wear this dress again!
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