Currently reading

A biography of Arthur Ransome - The Last Englishman: the Double Life of Arthur Ransome by Roland Chambers. Even though I haven't read Swallows and Amazons I'm still finding it interesting. For some reason I always think of famous children's authors as perfect people - and yet they are far from perfect. As a child and young man Arthur Ransome comes over as unbearably self centred and demanding - writing to his mother to tell her to send him a particular book -'I want it'. No please or thank you. You never know whether it could have been a family joke but it certainly comes over as demanding. I get the impression the author doesn't particularly like him either.

Also re-reading Rumpole on Trial by John Mortimer - for the umpteenth time.

Then there's Kate Harrison's The Secret Shopper Unwrapped. It is a sequel to The Secret Shopper's Revenge and I'm not finding it as good. Sometimes sequels shouldn't be written and this is one of those cases I think.

I have just received a book by Susan Hill called Howard's End is on the Landing. She realised she had a great many unread books and books she wanted to re-read so she decided not to buy any books for a year and just read what she already owned. Hummm - maybe I ought to do the same thing?

Wedlock

No no I'm not considering matrimony at the moment. Wedlock: How Georgian Britain's Worst Husband Met his Match by Wendy Moore is fascinating reading and as exciting as any historical novel. Mary Eleanor Bowes had a much better education than most women of her generation. She married the Earl of Strathmore and found her freedom curtailed by her status. They had 5 children before he died and it was only when she became a widow that her life really became what she wanted it to be.

She wrote poetry and plays as well as studying botany and financing plant hunting expeditions. She was wealthy in her own right - provided she remained unmarried. As the law stood at the time she couldn't hold any property or money once she married. Unfortunately she was tricked into marriage with the penniless soldier Andrew Robinson Stoney and found her life completely changed. She couldn't do anything without his permission, was beaten, raped and burned, half starved and dressed in rags. She was portrayed by Stoney as eccentric if not insane.

Mary Eleanor virtually lost her will to live before she managed to escape with the help of her servants who could see how her husband was treating her. The law permitted divorce but it was a long drawn out process. The law also permitted men to beat their wives and keep them confined for their own good. Even when Mary Eleanor escaped her problems weren't over. She tried to regain control of her fortune and did eventually succeed though only because her lawyers were willing to work for nothing. Stoney kidnapped her from the streets of London and held her captive. She was rescued by the tenants of her family's estates and continued her legal fight for freedom.

The book brings the 18th century vividly to life and shows how women were treated by the law at that time. There is an index, comprehensive bibliography and notes on each chapter and the book is written in an approachable style with plenty of quotes from original documents. I thought the portrayal of the servants was really good and their devotion to Mary Eleanor herself was way beyond the call of duty. This is a really interesting book which paints a comprehensive picture of what it was like to live in the 18th century.

Nice/nasty smells

KCM listed his 10 nice and 10 nasty smells on Zen Mischief the other day so here are mine - after much thought.

Nasty

• Tea - I have to try and avoid inhaling the aroma if I'm making it because it makes me feel instantly sick
• Rotting fish
• Rubbish in general
• The perfume Charlie
• Warm milk - cold milk doesn't have the same smell at all
• Unwashed people - fresh sweat is fine but old is not
• Sewage
• Silage
• Rotting cabbages/cauliflowers - something we get a lot round here
• Chlorine in swimming pools

Nice

• Bread baking
• Coffee
• Carnations
• Clean laundry - whatever washing powder is used
• Newly mown grass
• Honeysuckle flowers
• The perfume Opium
• Onions frying - has to be while they are frying not the lingering smell afterwards
• The sea
• Vegetation after rain

I actually struggled to find 10 that I really hate though I could have found a lot more that I love.

Family History

I've been wandering far and wide in the outer reaches of my family tree today and following up various tenuous connections. I think I might have uncovered a link to the poet John Clare who was born near Peterborough in the late 1700s. I had noticed one of my Slator/Pepper ancestors had married someone whose surname was Clare but had not connected the two before. Then I looked up where John Clare was born and it is in the right area and he was the son of an agricultural labourer so there could well be a connection there. Even if there isn't a direct connection the Clares I'm distantly related to are from the right area. You never know who you're going to stumble across next.

The Plot and Wedlock

No, not another conspiracy theory but the title of a book by Madeleine Bunting. It is the history of an acre of land her family owns in Yorkshire not far from Scotch Corner. She has woven together thoughts about her father and his life and the history of this acre of moorland. I liked the concept but so far - about 120 pages - the execution seems not quite right. It is a beautifully produced book though I could have done with a few more pictures.

One of the other books I'm reading is Wedlock; How Georgian Britain's Worst Husband Met his Match by Wendy Moore. It's about Mary Eleanor Bowes who married first of all the Earl of Strathmore and secondly an Irish soldier - who is the worst husband of the title. It was this lady who provided the Bowes half of the Queen Mother's maiden name - Bowes Lyon. So far it is fascinating reading. Mary Eleanor was far better educated than many women of her day and found herself to a certain extent a fish out of water. There were other highly educated women around at the time - such as Mary Wortley Montague - though they were regarded as eccentric and not to be emulated. This is a well written book which brings the 18th century vividly to life.

Time differences and depressing newspapers

I seems when I posted on what I thought was Tuesday it was actually Wednesday . . . I had forgotten that this is an American not a British site!! Oh well I aim to post one in every twenty four hours and generally I manage it. But I suppose if I write a post about 8.00am in the morning and don't then post again for more than 48 hours it'll upset the dates . . . But actually I haven't done too badly with that particular new year resolution and I think I've only missed two or three days in 9 months.

I was horrified by the case of the nursery workers abusing children. In fact horrified doesn't really come close. In my opinion this is one of the most despicable crimes. But I don't agree with the huge amount of vigilante comments which I've seen on the internet. These people will be punished by the law and the punishment should be left to the law. To threaten vengeance makes us uncivilised. For all those arrested and tried there must be thousands who are viewing such images and who also should be punished. I feel so sorry for the children and I hope they were too young to have conscious memories of the abuse. Of course what it may do to their subconscious minds is unimaginable.

Earthquakes

I was interested to see many people who don't seem to understand even basic geology are attributing the earthquakes in the Pacific to climate change. This is a natural event which cannot be predicted or prevented - as far as we know. Yes I'm desperately sorry for those affected by it but I really don't see why the rest of us need feel guilty.

I got into an argument on a forum yesterday about ethical purchases - big mistake. I only joined in because everyone was saying how dreadful it is to buy cheap clothes made by child labour. I said I really didn't have any interest in assuring myself of the origins of any clothes I bought - provided what I was buying was legally sold. I also said that as I buy many of my clothes second hand I felt I was doing my bit. I was accused of being amoral and not caring about the effects of my actions on other people. So several people on that forum now think I'm a really horrible person. I'm afraid I am amused rather than shamed.

These are not issues I'm interested in - maybe I should be but I get a bit tired of being told what to think and believe about the world I live in and I prefer to make up my own mind. The ethical/climate change/green lobbyists have been exploited by certain bits of the political spectrum for their own purposes - which I dislike. Added to which many people who support these ideas do so unthinkingly. I have not made up my mind about any of it yet - except that I think climate change is natural and not something man in his wisdom can control or influence. I don't like waste and will recycle anything I can - but that is far as I go. I cannot take on the troubles of the world so I pick and choose