Angela Milne, Theodora Benson, and reading deeply – welcome to episode 131 of Tea or Books?!
In the first half of the episode, we discuss a topic suggestion by Heidi – do we read deeply or shallowly? Do we like critical editions? Or do we just ‘switch off’ and enjoy? In the second half, we pit two British Library Women Writers titles against each other – Which Way? by Theodora Benson and One Year’s Time by Angela Milne.
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The books and authors we mention in this episode are:
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
The Spring House by Cynthia Asquith
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
A.S. Byatt
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
How To Read Literature Like A Professor by Thomas C. Foster
Mary Lawson
The Haunted Woman by David Lindsay
The Heir by Vita Sackville-West
The House by the Sea by May Sarton
To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Beverley Nichols
Shirley Jackson
Buttercups and Daisies by Compton Mackenzie
Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House by Eric Hodgins
Concert Pitch by Theodora Benson
The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett
I am always utterly hopeless at your questions, because my answer is often “It depends” and it’s the same here. It depends on the book – if it’s golden age crime, it’s usually fairly superficial reading, but if it’s Virginia Woolf I’ll read deeply!!!
Another great episode – thank you to both of you!
I think I agree with Rachel’s excellent conclusion re ‘reading deeply or shallowly’. That was a very interesting discussion – especially considering how the way we read changes as we get more life and learning experiences.
On the ‘book-off’, I definitely vote for ‘Which Way’. I was so relieved to hear Rachel did not finish One Year’s Time. I was looking forward to reading it; I had been saving it up as I have enjoyed all the BLWW very much (apart from Sing Me Who You Are, which I did at least finish) but I. like Rachel, just reached a point that I found it too annoying to carry on. This was despite the appeal of the period detail, the office characters and the general premise of the novel.
I shall look forward to the next episode; you have whetted my appetite quite tantalisingly. I wonder who the author can be?!
Excellent episode. As for me: I want footnotes (would settle for endnotes) – the more the better – to explain everything a reasonably well-read contemporary reader would have been expected to understand (but is no longer common knowledge), particularly if the information cannot be easily and very quickly googled.
I loved “Which Way” – I think the most beautfully written of the 20-or-so BLWW’s I have read. But a plug for those who gave up on “One Year’s Time”: I actively disliked this book for most of the first three seasons (repetitious, tedious, and an unsympathetic heroine). But as “Winter” starts it becomes increasingly compelling, and the last 3-4 chapters are really excellent as our heroine finally realizes where she stands in her relationship, very realistically and movingly portrayed, so that I ended up liking the book, and am glad I finished it. I lent the book to a friend and her reaction was identical to mine!
Thank you for another interesting episode Simon and Rachel.
I had similar thoughts to Rachel when starting One Years Time and almost gave up. The use of ducky and darling etc felt over the top -“who talks like this” but when I finished the book I wondered if perhaps it was an intentional choice by the author to help convey a sort of facade or fakeness of the relationship.
Liza could never be her true self in the relationship with Walter and she mentioned this a few times. She always had to maintain a lighthearted, breezy and easy disposition.
Walter behaved as he liked and was very elusive.
Then juxtapose this friendship/relationship with David towards the end of the book and there is a big difference in the way they talk to one another. They are both closer to their true selves when interacting with each other and speak normally.
Anyway, just my take on it.
I have also read Which Way which I really enjoyed but my pick would be One Year’s Time.
You are a professor in my eyes, Rachel. :)
On homes in books, I recently visited The Manor, Hemingford Grey, Cambridgeshire. Lucy Boston bought the house in 1939 and restored it to its Norman beginnings (1130). It became the setting for her Green Knowe series of children’s books and, walking through the manor, you feel as if you were in the stories. Lucy’s daughter-in-law Diana gives a fabulous tour of both the home and the patchwork quilts Lucy was also famous for.