Trixie Belden Series 13 - 15

13) The Mystery on Cobbett's Island

Time to belt out any old sea shanties we know. The Bob Whites get an opportunity to stay at The Moorings; a quaint beach retreat on Cobbett's Island, four hours from home. Trixie discovers a forgotten letter written by a guy who signs himself simply as 'Ed' with directions to a homemade treasure map. If Ed is for real and a buried fortune exits somewhere in their vicinity, they'll have to crack all the obscure clues on both the letter and map to find it. Meanwhile, a vandal is smashing lifebuoys along the coast. Can Trixie and the others unmask the crook, learn who Ed was, and discover the treasure all within their ten day visit?

* Oh dear, the time compression has started! The dudes are complaining that summer is stretching before them with not much to do, while we readers know they've just returned from back-to-back holidays to the Ozarks and New York. Granted they only spent a short time at each destination, but surely it's enough excitement to satisfy even restless Trixie. At least each incident is short enough to make the compression somewhat feasible. This getaway at Cobbett's Island itself will be only ten days.

* Wealthy chaps like Matthew Wheeler must make frequent sacrifices to maintain their high-flying, globe-trotting lifestyles. He'd planned for a bit of decompression himself at Cobbett's Island with his wife and kids, but it ain't happening. Work demands trump quality family moments, even though he probably hasn't had a fraction the time he'd like to get to know his adopted teenage son better. The quote, 'You can have anything but you can't have everything,' springs to mind. For the first time, I feel a bit sorry for him. Even though he's prosperous enough to book holiday venues at the drop of a hat, his downtime is too scarce to take advantage of them. 

* His wife Madeleine, who does have the option to keep the family commitment on Cobbett's Island with Honey and Jim, decides to opt out because she's never been where her husband is off to before. Curiosity wins out.    

* Brian's medical skills are put to the test the very day of their arrival, when he sets the broken leg of Elmer the caretaker. I'd intended to mention every incident in the series where Brian is on the spot to offer first aid, but soon saw it would get repetitive, for it happens such a lot. It's more remarkable to come across a book in the series where Brian doesn't offer any first aid. This time is worth mentioning however, because he's so chuffed about the praise he receives from the local island doctor. Good ole Brian.

* How the Bob Whites would have appreciated having Google at their fingertips! They have to search the room of their guest house for a physical dictionary to look up 'bunker boats.' If they hadn't found one, they would have been stumped that night. 

* The potential treasure is buried in some obscure spot partly because Ed's father lost his savings when a bank crashed in 1929 and now Ed doesn't trust banks. This hearkens back to an apparently casual conversation Trixie has with her dad, who tells her why banks are far more stable in modern times. It also dates the story. For if Ed had lived, he would have been young enough to have a son in his early twenties. He met his demise only eighteen years earlier. So for Ed's own father to have been around as long ago as the Depression Era, the current time for the Bob Whites might fall around the sixties (which matches the sixties publication date.) 

* I really like their new friend, Peter Kimball. That's one of the great things about this series. I'd be happy to see more of every single person the Bob Whites have befriended so far. It's sad that Peter isn't a recurring character, although I believe his Dad later invests in a ski resort with Matthew Wheeler.

* Oh gosh, we get a taste of Diana Lynch at her most irritating. Why she feels the need to ramble on about Peter Kimball's gorgeous eyes in front of Mart is beyond me. Seriously, what's the good of either a) making yourself appear shallow and superficial, or b) making the guy you've had a long term crush on feel miserable and diminished for no reason at all? Come on Di, you're better than this. Even if Peter's eyes are earth-shattering, keep a lid on it!  

* Holidays consistently turn out to mean loads of hard work for the poor boys. In the Ozarks, Brian, Mart and Jim were required to help raise new chicken sheds and outhouses for Mrs Moore in one day flat. Here on Cobbett's Island they have storm damage to clear up and a dilapidated gazebo to restore. It gets under Brian's skin to the extent that he actually snaps at his best mate Jim, something almost unheard of.  

* We learn a lot about the sport of sailing and the joy of those who make it their passion. Peter remarks that a hundred years wouldn't be enough to learn all the nuances there are about sailing, and it's obvious he's completely sincere about what he's saying.  

* Unbelievably, Mart doesn't know what monogamous means! Di is stumped when Peter Kimball uses the word (as we'd expect from her), and appeals to Dictionary Boy to enlighten her. But Mart, whose bottomless vocabulary extends to obscure foreign words, phrases and concepts, meets his Achilles Heel with this unassuming English word. Ah well, it may be good for the pair of them to learn it together sooner rather than later, especially if Diana feels the need to go around batting her famous eyelashes at guys like Peter.   

* There's another entry idea for a Bob White cook book. Trixie declares Mrs Kimball's coffee cake to be 'even better than Moms' and pleads for the recipe. But Mrs K. declares that black walnuts from her own tree is the secret, in which case the rest of us have no hope to replicate it. 

* There's another guy named Slim. As recently as two books ago in The Mystery at Bob White Cave, we had Slim Sanderson the hillbilly cave guide, and now there's Slim Novarski, the homeless drifter. To add potential confusion, they're both young and uncouth with huge chips on their shoulders. Since it's surely not a common nickname, it may have been more convenient if one of them was called something different. 

* Trixie's way of tracking down Ed's family was such a long shot. It proves to be correct, but pure luck on her part.

* Honey is woken from a beautiful dream in which she's dancing with a tall, handsome man who looks a lot like Brian. Ooh la la.  

* I swear Jim's infatuation for Trixie has almost reached cold shower stage! 

* My quote of the book is from gallant Jim, who quotes Shakespeare. 'He is well paid who is well satisfied.' That sums up the hours I'm devoting to this re-read and recap of the Trixie Belden books. Bring on more. 

14) The Mystery of the Emeralds

 It's Gone with the Wind mode for the Bob Whites, in both time and place. Trixie accidentally uncovers a long forgotten secret in her own attic. Just before the Civil War, a woman named Ruth from an estate called Rosewood Hall down south wrote to her sister Helen about the whereabouts of a valuable emerald necklace. Trixie and the others grasp the opportunity to travel to Williamsburg, Virginia with the Lynches. Maybe if they're able to set foot in Rosewood Hall they can use the vague clues in the letter to track down this heirloom to return to Ruth's descendants. It's just a matter of getting in past the hostile new owner.      

* Talk about instant deja vu! It's the exact same theme as Mystery on Cobbett's Island. The discovery of a tucked-away old letter suggesting the whereabouts of something valuable. I'm not complaining though, since I enjoy the concept of peeling back layers of time to discover what took place. 

* Wow, Crabapple Farm is a really old place. Sure, we've been told that it's been in the Belden family for several generations, but it's just sunk in for me that this encompasses the Civil War, when we find out about Rufus the runaway slave with his canteen and contraband letter, hiding in the hidey hole. The unassuming Crabapple Farm was part of the Underground Railway. Lucky Belden family, to live in a place which could be heritage listed. There is talk about ghosts at other places throughout the series, but it seems to me they more than qualify to have a few of their own. 

* Brian and Mart share a bedroom. That's made clear when Trixie rushes in to wake them up after shouting, 'Rabbit, rabbit!' I wouldn't mind having a floor plan of the house, and I'm sure the various Kathryn Kenny authors might have benefited to pass one along to each other too. 

* Trixie and Honey visit Miss Julie Sunderland, whose father fought in the Civil War. This dates the Trixie Belden series like nothing we've seen so far. For the War ended in 1865, so if Mr Sunderland returned in 1866 and Julie was born some years later (I'll say 1875 to be extra generous, but it could have been even earlier) it'd still have to be around 1965 to bring her to the age of 90. Since this book was said to be published in 1965, that fits perfectly with the author's time concept. But it sure doesn't fit for any of us who prefer to imagine the series taking place a little later, such as the eighties, nineties, or even into the 21st century. All genuine Civil War Baby Boomers are long gone.

* We meet two descendants of Ruth Sunderland Fields, the writer of the old letter. Apart from Miss Julie, her niece, there is Edgar Carver, her wheelchair bound grandson in Virginia, a really nice middle-aged gentleman and new friend.  

* Trixie takes an immediate dislike to Miss Julie's young friend Neil, just as she had to Dan. It seems she hasn't learned her lesson about first impressions. Neil even reminds her of Dan back in those early days, yet she still carries her unaccountable grudge. 

* Neil must be pretty agile, to jump a fence no-handed with milk in one hand and eggs in the other. No spillage or cracks occur either. Maybe that's why Trixie is suspicious of him. Is the guy super-human?

* Since the Lynches plan to incorporate Diana's birthday into their impromptu visit down south, it must make her a few months younger than Trixie, who had her birthday on May 1st. After all that's gone down since, it must be at least July, especially since Trixie just celebrated the turn into a new month by shouting, 'Rabbit, rabbit.' What an intense June it's been.

* Mr Lynch comes across as a different style of millionaire to Mr Wheeler. He's jolly and matey, and his daughter clearly adores him. He calls his wife 'Mother', suggesting the title extends to Diana's friends for the duration of the trip. Not only is Mr Lynch altruistic about the restoration of old buildings, but his money enables him to lend helping hands to those who may need it. What a nice guy. 

* On the road with Mr Lynch, Brian decides to make a classier lunch order than Trixie and Mart's inevitable hamburgers, opting for 'barbecued beef on a soft bun with coleslaw.' Trixie accuses him of breaking their family tradition. Even though Brian might have been a hipster before his time, it doesn't strike me as that radical a lunch.

* All the Bob Whites are sort of reverential about Abraham Lincoln's statue in Washington. The president who would have been in at the time of this book's publication was Lyndon Johnson and it was a few years after JFK's assassination. They were still in the era of hero presidents. Trixie makes a joke about Mart becoming a future president. I'm sure some readers probably think he might have made a better job of it than some of the more recent ones who spring to mind :)

* Jenkins, the current owner of Rosewood Hall, is a nasty piece of work who should surely have been convicted of physical assault after his treatment of at least two people. It amazes me what bullies from years ago could get away with. 

* Oh for heaven's sake, Trixie goes totally bonkers after one of Mart's offhand comments and jumps on him with talons bared and fists flying until Jim forcibly restrains her. I wish someone would tell her to grow up and learn to take a joke. As it is, Jim asks Mart to take back what he said. This pattern irks me a lot. Because she has anger management issues, he is forced to apologise and retract. As John Cleese once said, people who can't control their own emotions have to control other people's behavior.

* Sure, her bossiness is based on kindness and altruism, but it's still damn bossy! 

* If you're wondering about Mart's comment, which sent Trixie off her nut, I might as well make it the quote of the book. He says, 'We know what you're getting at. You just don't want any of us stealing your thunder. You want to find the emeralds all by yourself, don't you?' And we're even told that he said it in a good natured spirit. I think perhaps she gets so mad because he strikes a little too close to home.  

15) Mystery on the Mississippi

Trixie becomes involved with a suspected espionage case in Tom Sawyer country. Mr Wheeler has business with some local aircraft manufacturers and treats the Bob Whites to a trip to St Louis. Trixie and Honey discover some papers covered with strange, scribbled hieroglyphics in the rubbish bin of their motel room. It brings a dangerous crook on their trail, desperate to get his documents back. He follows the gang on a steamboat pleasure cruise; through Hannibal, the home of Mark Twain and back to home base, culminating in a terrifying night for the girls.   

* Okay, I've reached the point where I finally throw up my hands and give up keeping track of chronology. It's gone out the window. The dudes are off on another trip; the sixth in succession at this stage. No school break could possibly be elastic enough to fit them all. What's more, Brian and Jim become perpetual seniors at Sleepyside High. Book 10 (The Marshland Mystery) indicates they were intending to progress to college when the others return, but that ain't happening. Poor Brian and Jim. Imagine the horror of Groundhog Day stuck at school! We might as well consider the adventures to be mixed reminiscences of the Bob Whites from here on. It makes more sense than pretending there's any type of timeline. But we lasted until book 15. That's not bad. 

* This time we get Dan but lose Diana (who is off on another family holiday with her folks). There seems to be some tacit agreement between Kathryn Kenny authors to not have all the Bob Whites together in one mystery. Drats!

* I think some of the dialogue must have been updated for my oval edition from the eighties. Mart tells Mr Wheeler how badly he'd love to see one of the space capsules that went to the moon, yet the original publication was said to be 1965, before the moon landing took place.  

* Jim must have his full driver's license, because his adopted dad puts him in charge of the hire car. But hold on, Brian and others were still giving Jim driving lessons as recently as Book 3, little more than a year earlier. If the process used to progress that quickly, it sure doesn't now. (Sorry, I said I'd given up on chronology, but I guess old habits die hard.)

* Dan and Mart seem to have thrown in their lots as best buddies, yet their styles of smartness are poles apart. Dan's is the gritty, street smart intelligence born of former desperation. He hasn't lost his hard edge, or his instinct. Mart's is wordy, nerdy, literary intelligence driven by pure curiosity. There's a place for both, but it's no wonder they sometimes clash. I'd love to see far more dynamics between these two, but I guess the Kathryn Kenny authors will soon start pulling Dan from holidays again. That's such a shame. BTW, it turns out Dan aspires to be a New York City cop.  

* At least we'll never be short of 'almost twin' friction. Trixie and Mart drive each other insane. I think it's because while their priorities tend to be quite different, their approach is identical. Trixie is always single-minded on her mystery of the moment, while Mart is intense about his current interests. They both spout off the second they think of things to say, yet they resent that in each other. I love Brian's eye-rolling management of both of them. He's lived with them all their lives and knows they're essentially the same. 

* Mr and Mrs Aguilera! Juan and Elena. How exotic these two are. So Spanish or Cuban or wherever they hail from. 

* Once again, the setting of this story draws me in to the extent that I looked up Hannibal, Mark Twain country on internet, as if I'd ever get to visit for real. It sounds as if places in the famous Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn stories were based on actual landmarks, a sure draw card for book nerds like Mart Belden. The Bob Whites saw the white picket fence! Ah, I can only wish. 

* Awww, poor Honey's trusting nature takes a severe blow, which I find very sad. Her willingness to think the best of everybody until further notice is one of her most attractive qualities but will it ever be quite the same again? Seriously, I think it's undergone too great a trauma to recover.

* I wouldn't have minded finding out how the boys enjoyed their long-awaited visit to the space station exhibit, but hey, it's totally understandable that got swept aside considering what went down simultaneously. Still, they were hanging out for it so much, especially Mart, that a few words might have been nice.   

* Toward the end, several characters argue about whose fault the whole hair-raising fiasco was, each claiming blame. I think the most culpable person was someone who never gets a mention; the slack motel cleaner who left such large traces of the former occupant behind when Trixie and Honey entered their room. Inexcusable, in their line of work. (I've done a bit of domestic cleaning myself here and there and trust me, that's one of the biggest no-nos in the book, for obvious reasons.)

* Oh, and Mr Pierre Lontard (I can reveal his name since he's clearly bad from the start), if you don't want to lose your precious plans, it might be a wise idea not to toss them in the bin. 

* Quote of the book is from Dan. 'Mart, is there anything you don't know?'

Catch my last thoughts on Books 10 - 12

And join me next time for Books 16 - 18

  

Stories about Insomniacs

No doubt we've all battled this beast occasionally, and tried counting thousands of sheep. Thankfully I've never been a chronic sufferer, but it's caused desperation on random nights, when I've joined the ranks of keyed up mortals googling books with titles such as 'Desperately Seeking Snoozin'. I'm sure many of these purchases are made at 2 or 3 am.

Sleep experts suggest not lying in bed stewing, but getting up to read. So here is a list of famous literary insomniacs for a time when you might need it. Who would've imagined they have their own tradition? Believe me, there's not much around like what I've compiled here. If you google 'insomnia stories' you'll be more likely to find a litany of woeful anecdotes from poor wakeful sufferers, rather than fun lists of literary gems. Consider this the Insomnia Hall of Fame if you like.

I'll start with the wretched and sinister side of insomnia (just to prove that your own bouts of wakefulness might be worse).

1) Shakespeare's Henry IV 
I think this might have been guilt-induced sleeplessness. Henry had Richard II deposed so he could claim the throne, but now the poor wretch trudges the palace passages all night long, groaning because his poorest subjects are that moment enjoying the luxury that's denied to him. 'O sleep, o gentle sleep, nature's soft nurse, how have I frightened thee?'

2) The Yellow Wallpaper
Charlotte Perkins Gilman came out the other side of what she considered a bout of near madness, and wrote this story to help process her experience. The main character, who probably suffered a bout of post natal depression, is ordered to relax and recuperate, but the yellow wallpaper in her bedroom starts sending her around the twist. She lies awake all night to the point where she believes other women may be confined behind it. From there, it's an easy leap to assume that she might even be one of them! No wonder she can't sleep.

3) Stephen King's 'Insomnia'
Ralph Roberts not only has to put up with the frustration of insomnia, but also experiences disturbing visions along with it. He can detect auras around people, and also sees a strange race he dubs the 'little bald doctors', who are engaged in a terrible battle against the Crimson King.

4) Laura Ingalls Wilder
In These Happy Golden Years, Laura describes her tough time teaching far from home, and boarding with the Brewster family. Mrs B used to fly off the handle and swing her carving knife around, making desperate threats of murder or suicide. She was an extremely unhappy lady. So was Laura, when she found herself lying awake, staring into the darkness, ever alert in case she was the unlucky victim.

5) Emily of New Moon
The poor young heroine is staying with her Great Aunt Nancy. The chimney behind the head of her bed is full of sinister sounds, and she's convinced it's haunted. Each night Emily lies awake, frozen with terror, until she finds out the commotion isn't coming from ghosts, but from a flock of nesting birds. Whew! I think I'd still prefer silence, but it did the trick for Emily. (My review is here.)

6) The Moonstone
Here's a favourite of mine. Poor Franklin Blake is addicted to tobacco but gallantly tries to quit cold turkey, because Rachel, the woman he loves, detests the odour in his clothes. As a withdrawal symptom, he suffers successive nights of terrible insomnia until Mr Candy, the doctor, decides to end his misery by sneaking a drop of opium into his nightcap. That unleashes a catastrophe for poor Franklin which takes him months to get to the bottom of. I've reviewed the book here.

And the next lot of stories are about times when insomnia proves to be productive.

7) Tom's Midnight Garden
Poor Tom finds it hard to sleep while staying with his aunt and uncle, so he slips out of bed to wander around once they're asleep. If it hadn't been for his nocturnal exploring, he would never have made his astounding discovery. My review is here.

8) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Lucy and Susan can't get to sleep one night. They sense something ominous in the air. When the sisters creep out of their tent for a moonlight walk, they stumble upon their beloved Aslan at a crucial moment in his life. The girls are able to offer the great Lion some much needed comfort and support before he bravely sets off to the Stone Table, to meet the White Witch and her minions. (Review is here.)

The final three are straight from the Bible, so if you'd like to think of it this way, perhaps your insomnia could be part of a divine plan.

9) Jacob
He's too uptight about meeting his brother, Esau, to fall asleep. Their meeting is set for the following day, and Jacob has no idea what sort of reception to expect. So he takes a stroll away from the campsite, and ends up spending the rest of the night wrestling with a powerful warrior. When it dawns on Jacob that the man is the Angel of the Lord, he summons his nerve to ask for a blessing. What a missed opportunity it might have been had he managed to fall asleep.

10) Gideon
It's the night before a huge battle against the Midianites. The leader of the Hebrew army understandably can't sleep. He wiles away the hours by creeping off to the enemy's camp, where he overhears two soldiers discussing their terror of the Jews. One of them (who obviously didn't share Gideon's insomnia) describes a prophetic dream that they will certainly lose to Israel. Gideon takes it as an excellent sign and returns to his own camp with his courage restored.

11) King Artaxerxes
This mighty Persian ruler has an inexplicable bout of insomnia one night, and decides to try lulling himself to sleep by reading some dry historical records. Sounds like the right idea. His reading reminds him that a Hebrew named Mordecai had done him a great service long ago, and has never been rewarded. Behind the scenes, the king's wicked advisor, Haman, is plotting Mordecai's downfall. This is nipped in the bud in such a way that the king's insomnia helps save Mordecai's life.

This list is a good start to give us a sense of comradeship during those moments when sleep eludes us. Getting stuck into these books may also help give us the zzzzs, which is what we really want. Please let me know if you can think of any others.

'Till we have Faces' by C.S. Lewis

In this timeless tale of two mortal princesses- one beautiful and one unattractive- C.S. Lewis reworks the classical myth of Cupid and Psyche into an enduring piece of contemporary fiction. This is the story of Orual, Psyche's embittered and ugly older sister, who posessively and harmfully loves Psyche. Much to Orual's frustration, Psyche is loved by Cupid, the god of love himself, setting the troubled Orual on a path of moral development.

Set against the backdrop of Glome, a barbaric, pre-Christian world, the struggles between sacred and profane love are illuminated as Orual learns that we cannot understand the intent of the gods "till we have faces" and sincerity in our souls and selves.

MY THOUGHTS:

I'd seen this C.S. Lewis fantasy for adults highly recommended and discovered my retro copy in a second hand bookshop. I'm so pleased I bought it, because of the spotlight it shines on human nature. This is Lewis' adaptation of the Greek myth of Psyche and Cupid. (Okay, I recommend you stop reading right here and now and google a quick summary of the myth. That might sound like seeking spoilers, but it really isn't. Because Lewis comes from a place of expecting us to know it, and he's about to turn the myth inside out. If we know nothing about it, there's no way we'll be blown away as he intends. And that would be a waste of the book.)

(Are you back? Good.) This story starts in the nation of Glome under the reign of King Trom. Lewis tells his tale from the point of view of Princess Orual, beautiful Psyche's eldest sister, who is born to take on a stressful role in the palace and soon realises she's remarkably ugly to boot. Orual appears in the actual myth as one of the wicked sisters who convince Psyche to unmask her incognito husband, leading to her own terrible downfall. But Lewis' Orual insists that her motives were far more pure than the myth would have us believe, which is what this story is all about. 

 The people all worship at the temple of Aphrodite, who is known throughout Glome as Ungit. The goddess is represented by an ancient, rugged and pocked looking rock that seemingly came from nowhere. The creepy old temple priest exudes what Orual has come to consider a 'holy' smell; pigeon's blood, burned fat, singed hair, wine and stale incense. One day, he demands beautiful young Psyche as a sacrifice. She's being blamed for famine and unrest in the land, for supposedly 'aping the gods' and stealing worship that's due to Ungit alone. And a perfect sacrifice is necessary for the temple of Ungit anyway. 

Orual's desperate measures cannot save Psyche, who is the treasure of her heart. But instead of dying on the mountaintop, Psyche is rescued by an anonymous saviour who takes her as his wife, but refuses to let her see his face. Nonetheless, Psyche thrives in her new lifestyle, until Orual discovers she's survived, and immediately aims to undermine her happiness with doubt about the identity of the supposed deity. Convinced that she has only Psyche's best interest at heart, Orual gets back-up support from her two most trusted advisors, after constructing the story in a carefully biased way to maximise their agreement.

The girls' beloved tutor and mentor, known as the Fox, is a slave captured from Greece, who retains the outlook and wisdom of his homeland, which is impressive but limited. He has a Grecian bent towards explaining everything through science, and ignoring all that doesn't filter through the evidence of his five senses. The unseen realm is brushed aside as inconsequential and non-existent. 

On the other hand, Bardia, the captain of the royal army, has huge respect for all folklore and superstition of the gods. These two advisors scoff at each others' worldviews, but get along with each other well enough to work in sync, and curiously reach the same conclusion that Psyche's unseen 'husband' must be noxious.

This is well-meaning meddling taken to an extreme. The trio convince themselves they've reached an inevitable, Occam's Razor sort of conclusion. They decide that Psyche's husband must be a bestial, foul being at worst, or a tricky crook at best, for else why would he refuse to let Psyche see his face? If the simplest possibility is probably correct, he would surely let Psyche see him if he has nothing sinister to hide. Whenever the possibility that her happy, healthy sister might be speaking total truth crosses Orual's mind, she dismisses it as unfeasible. So her loving interference morphs into intense emotional blackmail with dire consequences. 

The whole of Part One is narrated as Orual's own fervent self defense to shield herself against intolerable guilt. She resents the gods for misrepresenting her and appeals to the reader to agree with her, and judge the gods as capricious, aloof and totally unreasonable. For why make her so incredibly ugly, if they have control over such things? And why remain so silent in response to desperate pleas for answers? How is she supposed to react to their non-response, other than with bitterness and confusion? 

I tell you, it's easy to cheer, 'Yeah, you go, Orual,' and keep turning pages to see if there will be a response to this.

Without divulging plot points, what unfolds is quite jaw dropping. In a nutshell, Orual's own complaint is the gods' answer. It's all to do with humans' successful self-deception. We are adept at pulling the wool over our own eyes to present ourselves in the best possible light. Desperate not to face the truth about our deepest, dodgiest motivations, we make up acceptable sounding jargon that we expect the gods to buy, because we buy it ourselves. Orual discovers one major reason the gods don't seem to answer is that they won't deign to bother replying to insincere babble we think we truly mean. For, 'how can they meet us face to face till we have faces?' Aha, we know when the title of the book springs out to meet us, we've struck gold. 

(I believe Lewis delivers a similar theme in The Magician's Nephew, when he has Digory face Aslan for the first time and face up to his own shady motivation throughout the story, but this book, being written for adults and delivering the culmination of Orual's life story, packs even more of a punch.) 

When it's laid out so starkly, all the pieces slot together. It offers a hallowed moment in the story for readers who pause to contemplate the magnitude of what we've just taken in. All the lead-up in the story, including Orual's reasoning, her twisted thought patterns which seem so seductive and convincing, the half-truths she latches onto that make her life miserable, and the fact that she hasn't considered others' full stories, makes perfect sense. 

It's extremely profound and revelatory, especially because Lewis subtly makes it clear that Orual is a mirror for any one of us. Even folk without her physical ugliness undoubtedly have some mental and spiritual warts and blemishes they take super care to conceal.  

It's a book I'll have to read over again down the track. I've exhausted my store of impressions for now, but I suspect it's the sort of story that will always meet us where we are at with something new. I can't help wondering what I would have thought of it in my twenties, but I'll never know. For now, wow! 

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟   

Trixie Belden Series 10 - 12

10) The Marshland Mystery

Miss Bennett, the Biology teacher, has lost all her herbs. Trixie decides that the Bob Whites, with the benefit of Brian's superior botanical knowledge, will scour the local Martin's Marsh and replenish them. They come across an elderly recluse named Miss Rachel Martin who has a tragic past. Meanwhile the Wheelers are hosting a child prodigy violinist, Gaye Hunya, who is on a concert tour. When Gaye follows the girls to the marsh and disappears, suspicion falls on Miss Rachel. Trixie's foraging for herbs becomes an urgent quest to find Gaye, clear Miss Rachel's name and also help her out when the local council threatens to evict her. 

* This story takes place in spring. It's April and Jim and Brian are planning to finish High School and begin college in the fall. I wonder how the authors will manage cram in all the action of the rest of the series before the awesome duo is supposed to pack up and leave.

* The Bob Whites realise through prickly but poignant little Gaye Hunya that being a famous celebrity isn't all it's cracked up to be. Sure, she draws huge crowds, but her schedule is jam-packed and gruelling. Gaye's stern aunt, Miss Della Crandall, seems to be exploiting her as if she's a little cash cow. I found this little brat growing on me, and wish she could appear in later books. 

* Since Miss Rachel's great grandfather was said to be a friend of the notorious Captain Kidd, it's possible to date this book. Captain Kidd was executed in 1701, which Mr Belden calls (approximately) 250 years ago. More like 320 years ago now, for anyone choosing to read this series as if it's contemporary. His words plus the Martin family tree set this book around the mid-twentieth century. With a bit of a stretch it could still be early to mid eighties, which is when I imagine it.  

* Both Trixie and Mart share the same 'speak-before-they-think' gene. These 'almost twins' stick their feet in their mouths incredibly often, but I'm convinced she does it most yet he gets paid out for it more. In fact, Trixie is downright rude about Gaye's little dog, Mr Poo, but Mart gets the blame from Honey for first stirring Trixie about Reddy's disobedience and prompting her to make a comparison. So even when Trixie is disparaging and offensive, it's Mart's fault. Go figure.

* As for the dialogue between the Bob Whites in general, some of it is pure gold. I love these guys. 

* There are some inconsistencies. Reddy runs up against a copperhead snake and when Trixie yells at him to leave it, we're told he reluctantly lays off because 'training took over!' But hold on, we all know Reddy is completely untrained! That's one of the running Belden family jokes. So I don't buy this at all.

* Trixie is now looking after the chickens, which Books 1-3 indicate was supposed to be Mart's job. However, since their Dad is being very demanding with the boys regarding gardening in this story, perhaps Mart is temporarily let off the hook with the chooks. Sometimes it appears the two older Belden boys shoulder the heaviest work of Crabapple Farm singlehandedly. It's a huge demand from Helen and Peter when you think about it, since Brian and Mart are also expected not to let their schoolwork slip.

* Thanks to the Belden kids, I've learned how to get blueberry stain off a white shirt.  

* We get Sergeant Rooney on the case this time, and not Sergeant Molinson.  

* Trixie mentions asking Regan or Dan about Irish legendary fairy folk, such as leprechauns and pookies. It seems our uncle/nephew duo must have roots in the Emerald Isle, to be sure, to be sure, to be sure. 

* We are introduced to another character who everyone loves to hiss and boo. It's Paul Trent, a young troublemaker who manages to land himself a job as a reporter with the Sleepyside Sun fresh out of school. His misinformed poisonous pen does lots of damage, prompting Peter Belden to tell his kids, 'There seems to be something magical about printer's ink. Once people read a story in a newspaper, most of them believe that story is true, even if it's retracted.' That's good enough to be the quote of the book. 

* In the spirit of her father's wisdom, another good one comes from Trixie. 'I'm glad I'm not gifted. It must be sort of like being in prison.' 

* I've reached the quarter mark in my re-read of the Trixie Belden series. I'm pleased to say that thus far, despite the change of authorship, the time trajectory has been fairly consistent. Book 1 starts in the summer holidays around July when Trixie first meets Honey and Jim, and this book ends on May 1st the following year with Trixie's 14th birthday. She's been 13 for a quarter of the series and I believe she'll be 14 for the three quarters still to come. It remains to be seen how the Kathryn Kenny authors will manage to compress time without banging their heads against the wall of her 15th birthday.    

11) The Mystery at Bob White Cave

The Bob Whites are holidaying with Uncle Andrew at his fishing lodge deep in the heart of the Ozarks. Trixie discovers a current competition in a science journal calling for three white, cave-dwelling 'ghost' fish at different stages of evolution. But her impatient quest to win the $500 prize is interrupted by the antagonism of their young cave guide, the action of other tourists on the same quest and a vicious arson attempt. Will the Bob Whites be able to sort out these other messes and still have a chance to win?

* The timeline running through the series still holds up for now. The previous book ends on May 1st with Trixie's 14th birthday. We are now in early summer again, and Mart is said to be 15, so this story presumably takes place after June 1st, which was his birthday. That could prove to be a bit shortsighted on behalf of the author, who has just thrown away the whole month of May as non-eventful. I would have liked at least one novel when both 'almost twins' are 14.   

* Sadly, neither Di nor Dan can make it this trip. We're pared back to the core 5. 

* Uncle Andrew must be loaded with dough for a Belden. He has a sheep farm in Iowa AND this getaway lodge in the Ozarks. It sounds like he could rival the Wheelers and Lynches for wealth, but I suppose having no wife and kids probably helps. 

* Once again, 'Kathryn Kenny' has nailed the sense of place. We're talking modern times, whether you're imagining 1962, 2022 or anywhere in between, but this Ozark community are genuine hillbillies, driving mules and carts because the mountainous terrain and treacherous roads are still not set up for cars. The caves are magnificent and we learn a bit about cave exploring (or spelunking) in a safe way. 

* To satisfy his concern for the young peoples' safety, Uncle Andrew hires a cave guide, Slim Sanderson, who is only a little older than the Bob Whites. Yet cultural chasms create friction from the outset, even though they're all fellow Americans. It seems every state has its own strong pride and prejudice.  

* Uncle Andrew's widowed housekeeper Mrs Moore and her 14-year-old daughter Linnie feature strongly in this book, with all their Ozark deference for supernatural forces at work behind the scenes. Their superstitious outlook is terrifying on the surface, but ultimately a great source of comfort to them. Although this pair has had fierce struggles and live a spartan lifestyle, there is something enviable about their calm, faithful outlook, and most of all their deep sense of their own roots. When the land on which you live flows in your blood, you surely have fewer identity issues to contend with than fly-by-night city slickers. 

* I remember finding some of Mrs Moore's ghost stories a bit hair-raising back when I was the target audience. They're so vivid and told with such conviction. 

* Honey (in the absence of Diana) is the sole voice of caution and timidity in this book. There are implications that she's cramping everyone's style and her pleas to reconsider reckless schemes are consistently shot down. Yet on two life-threatening occasions, her anxious forebodings turn out to be absolutely grounded. Personally, I'd take Honey's inner compass over Brian's and Jim's any day. 

* Mart quotes Latin in perfect context to fit the occasion. He says, 'Non fatuus persecutis ignem' meaning, 'It is no will-o'-the-wisp that I have followed here.' That's pretty impressive for a 15-year-old, but the girls always brush him off as pompous and showy compared to Brian and Jim's confident air of authority. I don't think there's anything Mart can do about it. I always get the feeling his ostentatious brand of showing off is all to do with reminding the others he's there, but birth order is real. I'm not a middle kid myself, but can see they do it tough.  

* My word, I find Trixie particularly abrasive in this book!! To me she's the spoiled brat of the family on a par with Bobby; spotlight seeking, demanding and manipulative. From Page 1 she's throwing a tantrum because it's raining outside. She insists on forcing her fish chasing plans on the others, and it's too bad if they have different priorities because she knows she'll wear them down. Brian and Jim's interest in geology must cave in to her agenda (pardon the pun). Because she's confident that everyone finds her so earnest and cute. 

* Oh gosh, she just has to take centre stage. It kills her not to. She's already had one crazy plunge into the sinkhole, almost drowned herself and pushed poor Uncle Andrew to the edge of having a nervous breakdown. When he weakens against his better judgement and allows them all back for one last try, Mart says, 'Let me be the one to go down this time. I weigh less than Brian or Jim.' Then instead of rolling with it after the trouble she's caused, Trixie insists that it absolutely has to be her. 'I want to be the one to go. I saw the fish and I want to go after them.' Then, instead of calling her downright spoiled, the adults call her 'spunky' and let her have her way. 

* Trixie is also dismissive and tactless to Mrs Moore, trying to convince her that her husband's ghost doesn't exist, without pausing to consider that the conviction has been a source of comfort and strength to the older woman for a decade; or that belief in spirits is deeply woven into her worldview. But Trixie trivialises everyone whose ideas differ from her own. Even when friends and family express horror at her near escapes from death, she shrugs off their reactions as irrelevant because they don't match her own resilient way of moving straight on. 

* Toward the end of the story, Moms writes to ask her brood to return home early, since she has to go and support Aunt Helen because Uncle Mart is in hospital having tests. Hmm, where do these family connections fit in? I'm guessing they're from her side of the family. She must be Aunt Helen's namesake, and presumably thinks highly enough of Uncle Mart to have named her own second son after him. These relatives never actually appear in the story.

* Trixie announces, 'We've never had one penny given to us for one of our projects.' Ha, she fails to consider that Uncle Andrew has just forked out money to set up all five of them with expensive cave exploring gear, and he's also paying Slim big bucks to be their guide. Their rule of never accepting anything they haven't earned is conveniently overlooked in this instance.  

* I can't pinpoint a standout quote of this book. Uncle Andrew's dramatic, 'My own brother's child almost drowned!' is such tiresome deja vu from The Happy Valley Mystery. Trixie's confident, 'Nothing will happen to one of us when the others are near,' is cringeworthy. She would have been killed within the first few chapters if not for the foresight of an outsider, and there would have been nothing the other Bob Whites could do about it. Another of Uncle Andrew's lines springs to mind as the best, but it reveals too much about the motivation of the villain, so I'd better leave it. Ah well, no stand-out quotes but just a few 'anti-quotes' this time round. 

* Overall, I'm torn about this book. The two main plot twists are extremely far-fetched, and Trixie drove me nuts at times. Overall, it's possibly my most face-palmy so far, yet I can't deny there's something haunting and vivid about the setting and local folk that stands out over some of the others. I still enjoyed it immensely, but dearly hope the author of the next book will tone down Trixie's smugness just a smidgen. 

12) The Mystery of the Blinking Eye

Destination is the Big Apple, New York City itself. The Bob Whites have made plans to meet their friends Ned, Bob and Barbara to show them a great time they won't forget. Trixie helps a foreign lady at the airport, and receives a disturbing prophetic poem in way of thanks, which seems to anticipate everything that unfolds on the trip. This is scary, since some desperate crooks are on their tails the whole time, presumably after a quirky little wooden idol which Trixie bought at an antique shop. Will strength in numbers apply, or are their pursuers just too savage and cutthroat for ten teenagers?    

* It's great to see all the Bob Whites enjoying a trip together for once. Dan has made up his grades to stay abreast of the two brains, Brian and Jim, for now. (He even calls them this himself.) I guess he can make it along only because the destination is close to home and just for a few days. With the addition of their Iowan friends, there are ten young people enjoying time together, and I think it's terrific. 

* Although the sole purpose for the trip is to have fun together in the Big Smoke, Trixie's magnetism for danger and adventure can't be switched off. Their Iowan friends claim to love it, but it is disturbing and disruptive for Miss Trask and Diana, at least. Di openly admits that it's not the sort of lifestyle she'd court, if she had the choice. I've got to say neither would I, but it's fun to read about. 

* Miss Trask is a lady of many hidden talents. She can translate the gypsy lady's poem from Spanish to English for the girls without sacrificing any of the rhyme. That's some feat.  

* A hansom cab driver at Central Park boasts to all the kids that he used to drive Mrs Andrew Carnegie around. This dates the series for sure, even if he was stretching the truth, seeing that Louise Whitfield Carnegie was born in 1847 and died in 1946. 

* I guess it could only happen in New York City. A renowned talent scout overhears Bob and Barbara Hubbell entertaining their own small group of friends with folk songs in a private apartment. He comes knocking on their door to see if they'd like to appear on daytime TV. Would this be feasible anywhere else in the world?

* I like the Hubbells, who are actually real twins, unlike Trixie and Mart. Bubbly Barbara has just one all-purpose adjective for everything (wonderful), while her brother Bob's vocabulary is broad enough to give Mart a run for his money. I don't remember if their guest appearance on TV was a career springboard for these singing siblings, but I hope so. Their friend Ned is very cool too. 

* Here's a possible inconsistency. The Bob Whites and Co are firmly told no extra tickets are available when they front up at the studio, until they explain that Bob and Barbara are expected on set. Then later our little gang discover the crooks got through to the audience auditorium with seemingly no hitches. What's with that? I'll assume the doormen were instructed there was no more room for nine or ten, but maybe two or three could be squeezed in. 

* There really should be a series cookbook. Trixie and Mart give their mother's reputation a run for its money on this trip. She whips up mouthwatering beef stroganoff and he ad-libs French themed mashed potatoes based on a restaurant dish he tasted with many herbs and spices. Plus Diana makes delicious Chinese fried rice.

* Poor underprivileged former street kid Dan. I love how he tells his good friend Mart that he didn't recognise any ingredient he rattled off except for cheese, but the combo is to die for! 

* The Marvelous Mart's magic act! What a laugh.

* Diana has changed her ambition from airline stewardess (in books 6 & 7) to a tour guide at the United Nations Centre like Betsy Tucker, a former student at their school in Sleepyside. 

* Trixie and Honey have a quiet dig at Di for bringing two suitcases of clothes for a three day trip. I see their point, yet I suspect this is Di's way of controlling what she can. Her low self esteem makes her focus on her outer appearance, which is probably the main thing she ever receives praise for. She suffers from vertigo too, and it's extremely brave for her to push on up the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building, rather than losing face. 

* The gang hooks up with Dr Joe Reed, a beloved orthopedic paediatric surgeon who has earned their devotion over the years. He set Diana's brother Terry's broken leg and let keen student Brian Belden watch, to his satisfaction. Brian is still a High School kid and not even a medical student yet, but he's had plenty of hands-on experience already by taking part in his sister's adventures.  

* Mr Moneybags himself, Honey's dad, Matthew Wheeler, puts in a fairly long appearance toward the end. I find this guy formidable, even though the Belden kids seem to be chill with him. He comes across as friendly, yet there's a distinct, 'Don't mess with me' vibe about him.  

* Jim instantly recognises the quirky way Trixie writes the number 4. Okay, everyone chorus with me after one, two, three.  'Awwwww.' 

* Quote of the book goes to Miss Trask. 'Maybe Trixie has learned her her lesson, this time. But we always think so until something else happens.'  

   Catch my last thoughts on Books 7 - 9.

And please join me next time for Books 13 - 15. 

    

'Emily Climbs' by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Emily Starr was born with the desire to write. As an orphan living on New Moon Farm, writing helped her face the difficult, lonely times. But now all her friends are going away to high school in nearby Shrewsbury, and her old-fashioned, tyrannical aunt Elizabeth will only let her go if she promises to stop writing! All the same, this is the first step in Emily's climb to success. Once in town, Emily's activities set the Shrewsbury gossips buzzing. But Emily and her friends are confident—Ilse is a born performer, Teddy's set to be a great artist, and roguish Perry has the makings of a brilliant lawyer. When Emily has her poems published and writes for the town newspaper, success seems to be on its way—and with it the first whispers of romance. Then Emily is offered a fabulous opportunity, and must decide if she wants to change her life forever.

MY THOUGHTS: 

We left our intense young heroine writing a contract to herself, to climb the Alpine Path of literary success and write her humble name on the pinnacle. This installment of Emily's story takes her from the age of 14 to 17, while she attends High School and has a good scramble after her writing dream at the same time. 

Her three best friends are joining her at Shrewsbury High School. Dr Burnley will do anything for Ilse at this stage, Teddy's possessive mother loosens her apron strings the tiniest smidgen, and Perry pays his own way through by doing odd jobs.

Aunt Elizabeth is still stately and proud enough to pull off a lifestyle that would seem ridiculously backward from anyone else. But for Elizabeth Murray, refusal to evolve with the times is merely preserving something precious with great inherent value and class. And all the floor sanding, kerosene lamps, and old-fashioned recipes are great fun to read about. It's set in the earliest years of the 20th century, when a pair of girls might knock on a random door and request a meal and beds for the night. (For this is something Emily and Ilse actually do during this story.) 

Ilse is as vibrant and choleric as ever, and continues to get away with murder. She slaps her landlady and doesn't get evicted. She smashes the principal's office vase and doesn't get expelled. All these rages without consequences make her sound thoroughly spoiled, except for Montgomery's hints that Ilse can't get the one thing she really wants. It's never mentioned outright in this book, but I think clues are abundant enough for any but the most oblivious readers to read between the lines and guess what it is. What's more, her volatile outbursts are no doubt keeping what Ilse craves far from her. She's a very interesting secondary heroine.

Lots of the plot revolves around Emily's friction with overbearing Aunt Ruth, whose house she boards at to be close to school. (Since Shrewsbury is situated only 7 miles or 11 kilometres from New Moon, Emily would surely not need to board with Aunt Ruth had events taken place in modern times.) 

A severe, disapproving manner is Ruth's default. Her motto is to assume a person is shifty and sly until proven otherwise. She's over critical to the point of pushing Emily to be as bad as she thinks she is. And her close-minded prejudices seem set in stone. The narrator calls her, 'a stupid, stubborn little barnyard fowl trying to bring up a skylark.' Yet Montgomery offers glimpses of Aunt Ruth's point of view. Set in her ways for years, she's making a huge sacrifice by opening her house to another person. The question is will these two ever see eye to eye on anything?

There are some further incidents of Emily's second sight in action. Not enough to make it commonplace, but just enough to keep the wow factor flamed. Rather than celebrating it as a rare, distinguishing gift, Emily swings to the opposite extreme and flinches to think of some creepy, anonymous power borrowing her body and mind to work through from time to time. Yet since the incidents always yield positive results, we readers are drawn to conclude it must be a benign power. 

Emily has her fair share of admiring males. The family clan stands behind bland Cousin Andrew, although he doesn't tick Emily's boxes. And dynamic Perry Miller's brilliant ability to clear his own hurdles will never be enough for the Murrays (including Emily) to cancel out his Stovepipe Town origins. Her older friend Dean Priest lurks around with amorous intentions that Emily never picks up on, despite her uncanny knack for penetrating the hidden motivations of others. Her own favourite contender is unfortunately Teddy Kent, whose jealous and domineering mother probably puts up the most roadblocks of all.  

Emily's profoundly spiritual nature stands out to me this time round. Being out of doors is a reliable tonic for her, and she confesses that she loves things just as much as people. (I'm a bit like that too.) But the consolation she imbibes from the natural elements, considering herself one with the wind, trees and flowers, makes her a thorough nature mystic as well as just a budding writer.  

Emily faces many ups and downs in her ambition to be a published author. Aunt Elizabeth bans fiction writing for the duration of the Shrewsbury High years, with Mr Carpenter's approval. There's a nice bit of writing craft advice within these pages, courtesy of Mr Carpenter. He counsel that she's too lavish with words, and that she should never risk losing her Canadian tang. And Emily takes to heart his opinion that any writer should always aim to heal and never hurt with their pen. 

Finally, Cousin Jimmy deserves a shout-out as possibly the most tactful and perceptive person in the whole book. Although most people in his life dismiss him as a simple man-child, he is the person whose opinions ring most true to me, with the possible exception of Mr Carpenter. But since Jimmy is far less cranky than Mr C, he carries my vote as best mentor character. I sometimes start humming the Beatles' 'Fool on the Hill' when I think about him, because that's Cousin Jimmy Murray to a tee.  

These books are a joy to read, so let's bring on the conclusion, Emily's Quest 

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