4.5 stars
I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would from its general description -- it tells the love story between Robert Louis Stevenson and his wife Fanny. (Speaking of which, what the hell? Were like all the women who were in involved with writers named Fanny in those days? John Keats had a Fanny, as did Edgar Allan Poe, and some other people I can't think of right now.)
I have a vivid memory from when I was quite young of being stuck in bed with scarlet fever and reading Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses. It was kind of cool to read some of the backstory of Stevenson's own weak health and long periods of bedridden misery, which inspired the poem from the book that I remember best: "The Land of Counterpane."
When I was sick and lay a-bed,
I had two pillows at my head,
And all my toys beside me lay,
To keep me happy all the day.
And sometimes for an hour or so
I watched my leaden soldiers go,
With different uniforms and drills,
Among the bed-clothes, through the hills;
And sometimes sent my ships in fleets
All up and down among the sheets;
Or brought my trees and houses out,
And planted cities all about.
I was the giant great and still
That sits upon the pillow-hill,
And sees before him, dale and plain,
The pleasant land of counterpane.
Wait, What Color is This Blouse? -- Wednesday, 10/1/14
When I bought this blouse, and the first time I wore it, I thought it was navy blue. I thought so too when I put this outfit together and wore it to work with my navy blue ponte knit blazer thrown on top of it in case I got cool in my office. But some time during the afternoon, with the bright light coming through the office windows, I realized that it was black, not navy. These navy pants are so dark that the colors were not very different, but the lighter navy shade of the blazer stood out pretty starkly against the black blouse. Oh well.
Navy pants (Dockers)
Gold pointy-toed flats (Nordstrom)
Gold chain link necklace (Ann Taylor)
4 comments:
Luckily navy and black are both neutrals. I hate when I can't quite tell though!
I decided to try out some of your highly-rated books and this was the first one that was actually in the library.
When I first started reading it, I thought, "Robin would not like this." He hates those interminable sick-bed scenes in Regency romances. But then the next parts were so great that I decided would have Robin just skip the first part. It was a lot like a Regency romance.
The second third was not as fun (spoilers coming) what with the running away and the sicknesses.
The third third was more interesting (who knew about the South Seas adventures?). Overall, it read much more like a biography than a novel. (I don't think you would make a plot like that with a novel. So many sad and painful things.) So it was a little disappointing.
I did like the poem you referenced, and it was in the book twice (which was not too many). And it was fun to learn more about a famous guy.
And, no, I don't get the deal with the Fannys.
Debbie, I really enjoyed reading your reactions to the book.
One thing I kept thinking while reading it was, Yeah, this guy is writing Jekyll and Hyde (or whatever) while practically dead. Some people are meant to be novelists and others (like me, clearly) are not.
I know. When I'm practically dead, I just want to lie around moaning, hoping I'll fall asleep soon. But I guess if you don't have the luxury of being practically dead only for very few, very brief spells during which you know it's temporary, then things are different.
Still, I am also not a novelist!
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