among pages

I recently finished reading Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt. The basic story that most people know is that Alva made her daughter Consuelo marry the Duke of Marlborough (Winston Churchill's cousin) against her will. Consuelo was very young and very wealthy and the Duke had a fancy-pants title and needed cash to finance Blenheim. The basic feeling long held by many was tha Alva was a real nightmare of a Mother and Consuelo was sold off like property. The actual story of this mother and daughter (like most relationships) was much more interesting and complicated. Yes Consuelo was strong-armed into marriage and the Duke essentially married her for her money but the reasons behind all of it were kind of intriguing. Alva was a rather strong-willed figure who took delight in controlling things but also building things. Be it homes or people. Her alleged line of thinking was that her daughter could do useful things as a member of nobility vs. being a useless society wife. Her instincts proved to be correct but at the cost of her daughter's immediate happiness. Her daughter who had always been told what to do and then was thrown into this very new life among the British aristocrats managed to find her feet and place. She was known for actually caring about the tenants and tending to their needs. She got into charity work in a major way and both she and her mother became keen suffragists. Though over time their approach toward gaining the vote differed. Alva ever the bad-ass was taken in by the Pankhursts and wanted a more militant approach. She funneled a lot of cash toward this endeavor. What also stood out was that Alva divorced in a time when women of her position didn't. The attitude was that you put up with what you had and if you dare divorced well that was it. No more life for you. Yet she somehow did it. (partly with the marriage of her daughter) She even married a man that she genuinely loved. Consuelo later did the same. (the duke was a real pill) She very carefully created her own life and married someone with whom she had a very happy life.

They both lived very public lives that sometimes made things rather difficult but there was a definite closeness that deepened as they grew older. I think the book definitely captured the nature of a mother and daughter's relationship. It isn't always a tidy one because of so much history and emotion that can be entangled between two women. The author didn't excuse some of the things they did but it made them seem human and you could see why people did the things they did. Family and love aren't always simple things.

Inspired a bit by this gilded age stuff I am reading The Buccaneers which was Edith Wharton's last novel. (and never quite completed) She took inspiration from Consuelo Vanderbilt and other wealthy American women who married into the British aristocracy. (Winston's Churchill's mother, Jennie Jerome was another source of inspiration.) The book is engrossing. I love the detailed descriptions. Wharton really understood the subtle details of society.

I am also reading a book about the English language called, The Secret Life of Words. I am not sure what to make of it yet but it is engaging and there are all sorts of interesting things I am learning, so I suppose it is doing its job. It does go all over the place. Makes me think of an instructor I had in college who could go off on tangents and yet still bring it back to the original point.

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A funny moment and book related. Tonight Mr. Jenner was reading Winnie the Pooh to Senor Onion. (this is what they do after reading other stories at bedtime.) Suddenly Senor Onion asked, "Why Christopher Robin's eyes growing?" It took Mr. Jenner a moment to figure out what he was asking. He realized that in the story there was the description, "Christopher Robin's eyes grew larger." It was a hilarious moment for Mr. Jenner; Realizing how much Senor Onion was paying attention and then explaining what it meant by eyes growing larger. Senor Onion had this idea of someone's eyes growing ENORMOUS. Mr. Jenner demonstrated what is meant by eyes growing larger.

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Today the neighborhood farmers market started up again for the season. I took the kids and they were both very good. Senor Onion in particular gets a shout-out. We talked before we went about how we are to behave when we go. No running off, we don't touch things and short people stay near Mummy. He was so very good and he held the basket. We came home with apples, bagels and some plants. There was someone selling rhubarb plants. I have been wanting to plant some for a good awhile and there they were. We will be planting that tomorrow morning. I also picked up an heirloom tomato plant that looks like it will be fun.