A few thoughts I found interesting in this chapter:
1. I loved the line on page 295 after Hannah had chosen to visit a psychic "Only people unhappy in the present seek to know the future." How true this was for Hannah!
2. I found it interesting that Lucy Starling was brought up again. Could this had been Hannah's life had she chosen not to marry Teddy? Alfred noted all the jobs now in London. Had Hannah been patient, would she have found her adventure on her own?
3. I too was very disappointed in Teddy's involvement with Hitler. What a schmuck!
1. I loved the line on page 295 after Hannah had chosen to visit a psychic "Only people unhappy in the present seek to know the future." How true this was for Hannah!
2. I found it interesting that Lucy Starling was brought up again. Could this had been Hannah's life had she chosen not to marry Teddy? Alfred noted all the jobs now in London. Had Hannah been patient, would she have found her adventure on her own?
3. I too was very disappointed in Teddy's involvement with Hitler. What a schmuck!
lamorgan wrote:
And what is Teddy doing running for politics in England when he is an American?
You might like to know that the first woman elected to the British Parliament was an American from Virginia - Nancy Viscountess Astor
:-http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_publication
Teddy could have run as long as he had resided here for the requisite number of years.
lamorgan wrote:
And what is Teddy doing running for politics in England when he is an American?
You might like to know that the first woman elected to the British Parliament was an American from Virginia - Nancy Viscountess Astor
:-http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_publication
Teddy could have run as long as he had resided here for the requisite number of years.
KxBurns wrote:
And then later in the chapter, I was astonished to find that Teddy had been a Nazi sympathizer!
When I saw in the Author's Note that she had read the Letters of Nancy Mitford and Evelyn Waugh I thought there might be a reference to the Nazi sympathies of Nancy Mitford's family. Her father Lord Redesdale was a well known Nazi sympathiser and financial supporter and in 1936 her sister Diana married the leader of the British Fascist Party, Sir Oswald Mosley, in Goebbels Drawing Room, where it was witnessed by Hitler. He and Diana were imprisoned during the war because of their Nazi sympathies. Her sister Unity not only supported Hitler but attended and spoke at a Nuremberg Rally and was also thought to be in love with, or even a lover of, Hitler. In 1935 she wrote 'England for the English! Push Out the Jews!' in a letter to a notorious anti-semite. When England declared war on Germany in 1939 she shot herself in the head with a pistol supposedly given to her by Hitler and suffered lasting brain damage after being brought home to England.
These fascist sympathisers (and others) were supporting Hitler and Moseley even though Hitler had written Mein Kampf in 1923, wherein his obnoxious views about the Jews and other races were spelt out and when German Nazi party thugs were already attacking Jews, Homosexuals, Communists, Gipsies etc in the streets with the slogan 'Lebensunwertes leven' (life unworthy of life
.) (One of my earliest memories is of my father coming home covered in blood after a fight with Moseley's 'blackshirts' on the streets of Sheffield in 1934).
So Kate Morton's mention of Teddy as a Nazi sympathiser is mild compared with what was actually going on in British society.
(Nancy Mitford - not a fascist - was a well known British comic author and her essay Noblesse Oblige helped to publicise the now well-known (at least in the UK) parameters of English linguistic usage and behaviour, known as U-and-non-U.)
And then later in the chapter, I was astonished to find that Teddy had been a Nazi sympathizer!
When I saw in the Author's Note that she had read the Letters of Nancy Mitford and Evelyn Waugh I thought there might be a reference to the Nazi sympathies of Nancy Mitford's family. Her father Lord Redesdale was a well known Nazi sympathiser and financial supporter and in 1936 her sister Diana married the leader of the British Fascist Party, Sir Oswald Mosley, in Goebbels Drawing Room, where it was witnessed by Hitler. He and Diana were imprisoned during the war because of their Nazi sympathies. Her sister Unity not only supported Hitler but attended and spoke at a Nuremberg Rally and was also thought to be in love with, or even a lover of, Hitler. In 1935 she wrote 'England for the English! Push Out the Jews!' in a letter to a notorious anti-semite. When England declared war on Germany in 1939 she shot herself in the head with a pistol supposedly given to her by Hitler and suffered lasting brain damage after being brought home to England.
These fascist sympathisers (and others) were supporting Hitler and Moseley even though Hitler had written Mein Kampf in 1923, wherein his obnoxious views about the Jews and other races were spelt out and when German Nazi party thugs were already attacking Jews, Homosexuals, Communists, Gipsies etc in the streets with the slogan 'Lebensunwertes leven' (life unworthy of life
.) (One of my earliest memories is of my father coming home covered in blood after a fight with Moseley's 'blackshirts' on the streets of Sheffield in 1934).So Kate Morton's mention of Teddy as a Nazi sympathiser is mild compared with what was actually going on in British society
.(Nancy Mitford - not a fascist - was a well known British comic author and her essay Noblesse Oblige helped to publicise the now well-known (at least in the UK) parameters of English linguistic usage and behaviour, known as U-and-non-U.)
KxBurns wrote:
It is 1921 in Grace's thoughts, and Teddy has followed his father's footsteps. I can imagine how bitter I would be if I were Hannah... And then later in the chapter, I was astonished to find that Teddy had been a Nazi sympathizer!
On page 294, Grace openly disagrees with Hannah about seeing the fortune teller, but Hannah does not listen. I believe she values Grace's opinion, but I wonder if she must exert her free will over the only person she can? As a result, Grace becomes not just Hannah's maid but her guardian, following her in secret. What did the fortune teller say that left Hannah so ashen, I wonder?
In the modern day narrative, I couldn't help but feel that Sylvia was exploiting Grace a little bit for the sake of her boyfriend's project, selling out the secrets of the person she should have been protecting. Did you feel the same way?
Finally, as the chapter ends, the line between past and present becomes blurry for Grace. Her movement back and forth between the two is no longer voluntary.
What did you think of this chapter?
Karen
Choisya wrote:
lamorgan wrote:
And what is Teddy doing running for politics in England when he is an American?
You might like to know that the first woman elected to the British Parliament was an American from Virginia - Nancy Viscountess Astor
http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_publications_and_archives/parliamentary_archives/archives___t ...
Teddy could have run as long as he had resided here for the requisite number of years.
well, that one was one of the long ones that now we have to use the slide bar at the bottom to read back and forth back and forth through all the the post on this thread, because it stretched every post on this thread now to the length of the link. crudd. I know we have a thread devoted to special links now too! I thought that was nice of Karen to make one for us.
EbonyAngel wrote:
Tarri wrote:
KxBurns wrote:
In the modern day narrative, I couldn't help but feel that Sylvia was exploiting Grace a little bit for the sake of her boyfriend's project, selling out the secrets of the person she should have been protecting. Did you feel the same way?
Karen
Sylvia has worked at the retirement home for much longer than she has had the boyfriend. As I read the story she is devoted to Grace even telling Grace at the beginning of the book about her new boyfriend. I don't think that Sylvia is exploiting Grace for the the sake of her boyfriend's project, although it is possible that Anthony is using Sylvia to get access to Grace.
That was my take, more that Anthony was using Sylvia. Maybe he was hoping to get Grace to say something like it seemed Keira did with her questioning.
Interesting how Anthony is digging for dirt on Teddy, and is totally blind to the goldmine of family dirt he has in Grace. Not that she would ever tell
KxBurns wrote:
EbonyAngel wrote:
Tarri wrote:
KxBurns wrote:
In the modern day narrative, I couldn't help but feel that Sylvia was exploiting Grace a little bit for the sake of her boyfriend's project, selling out the secrets of the person she should have been protecting. Did you feel the same way?
Karen
Sylvia has worked at the retirement home for much longer than she has had the boyfriend. As I read the story she is devoted to Grace even telling Grace at the beginning of the book about her new boyfriend. I don't think that Sylvia is exploiting Grace for the the sake of her boyfriend's project, although it is possible that Anthony is using Sylvia to get access to Grace.
That was my take, more that Anthony was using Sylvia. Maybe he was hoping to get Grace to say something like it seemed Keira did with her questioning.
Interesting how Anthony is digging for dirt on Teddy, and is totally blind to the goldmine of family dirt he has in Grace. Not that she would ever tell
This was my take also. From the beginning Sylvia seemed to be very fond of Grace. I dont think she set out of hurt her.
