Elizabeth Goudge Day 2017

The day is here! Have you been reading something by Elizabeth Goudge in honor of her birthday? Please let me know in the comments, and I’ll include your post in a wrap-up on Friday.

I posted my review of Towers in the Mist yesterday, an evocative exploration of Elizabethan Oxford; click the link for my thoughts. I also read Smoky House, a delightful early children’s book set in Elizabeth’s beloved West Country. It was marvelous to be transported to these two magical places.

Along with sharing your reviews, or visiting others’ posts, please don’t neglect to enter the giveaway sponsored by Hendrickson Publishers, which will be open through April 26. You can enter to win a new paperback edition of Towers in the Mist — international entries are welcome.

After three years I am planning to take a break from this particular event, but it’s been wonderful to connect with more Goudge fans and to perhaps encourage some readers to take up her books for the first time. Thanks to all who have participated — I hope you have enjoyed this event as much as I have!

21 thoughts on “Elizabeth Goudge Day 2017

  1. The Dean’s Watch is a gentle and inspiring story of finding one’s joy through the transforming power of sacrifice and courage. It is a beautiful, spiritual story that expounds the idea that “if you turn for your joy to the intractable and explosive stuff of human nature it’s in for a penny, in for a pound.” How often we let our own insecurities hold us back from helping or showing a real interest in others. The characters in this story teach us that when we do so, unexpected and remarkable things beyond our imaginings can happen. I didn’t find a weak element to Goudge’s writing. Her strongest was the sense of place. She managed to evoke an enchanting town with a fairytale quality, imbued with a sense of history and thoughtful detail. This book has secured a place in my top ten and in my heart.

    Like

    1. Oh and now I’ve read your post more CAREFULLY (blush) I see that this is the last year you’ll be hosting Elizabeth Goudge Day. I’m sorry that you’re stopping, because I enjoy reading everyone else’s posts. But thank you for running it for so long!

      Like

      1. Just taking a break – maybe it will be back again after a year! But I’m thinking of some other authors I might want to focus on, and I have to limit the events I do (since unfortunately this is not my full time job). Anyway, thanks so much for your enthusiastic participation. It’s been a joy to share this with other Goudge fans.

        Like

    1. I would be delighted if someone else wanted to take it on, so feel free if that would be a wish of yours. As I mentioned above to Helen, I’ve been thinking about perhaps featuring a different favorite author, and (alas) I just don’t have time to do everything I would like on the blog. But I’d be very happy if it continued in some form.

      Like

    2. Hallo, Hallo Jean!

      I had the same thought as you which is why I just sent you a PM! Blessed you had your Contact details on your Profile! I wanted to convo you about this and it’s wicked timing as soon as I read Lory was stepping down, I thought, ooh no! And, here I was looking forward to next years. Reminds me of how I grieved the end of Roof Beam Reader hosting #AustenInAugust; I want to read more Austen this year, too, so I’ll resume celebrating that event but now I wonder if someone took that over… hmm.

      Looking forward to your reply!

      Like

  2. I was not able to finish Green Dolphin Street in time to participate, I am only about a quarter of the way in, but thanks to you, I picked up the book in the first place! I think Goudge will be an author I will read more of, because I really like the way she gets into her character’s heads. That kind of psychological detail reminds me of Hawthorne and The House of the Seven Gables.

    I look forward to reading everyone’s reviews and will post mine sometime in the future.

    Like

    1. That is a long book and took me quite some time to finish too! But as you say, I love how Goudge gets into the heads of her characters. I really felt I had made a life journey with them by the end.

      Like

  3. I am still reading The Little White Horse ^^; But I am enjoying it so far! Like Jane said, I am very pleased that I picked it up. I hope to have a post up about it by Wednesday. Looking forward to reading more thoughts about it.

    Like

    1. I’ll not be doing the wrapup till the end of the week, so if you have something up by then I will certainly include it! I’m glad you’re enjoying the book, whatever happens.

      Like

  4. On Instagram, everyday is Elizabeth Goudge day! Though we also observe her birthday too ❤️ Love to have you all join in there with @elizabethgoudgebookclub ! We will be reading The Deans Watch together in March 2019.

    Like

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s