Catching Up

Dear All,

It seemed such a long time since we last spoke, that I thought I’d bring everyone up to date with what’s been happening.

Despite not publishing a new site since Christmas, I have continued to receive lots of lovely emails from people all over the world who have discovered the site. Thank you all for your kind thoughts and appreciation, you really do make it worthwhile. I am constantly pleasantly surprised by how much Elizabeth’s writing continues to contribute positively to peoples’ lives. It’s the best and only legacy a writer could hope to achieve.

So let me give a special thank you to;

Bernard from America, who is currently beavering away photocopying dust jackets for the site,
Liz whose moving account of rediscovering Scent Of Water, (my favourite Goudge book) I really emphasised with, Tanya in France who is enjoying the articles available on site,
and Yiana wherever you are for your enthusiasm!

Finally, especially to Carol from Australia, who has sent me a wonderful transcript which I intend to use as part of the Christmas postings!

My article this month is about a novel I read as a teenager, which nearly put me off reading any more of Elizabeth’s work. Luckily the next one I read was The White Witch and I was instantly back under her spell. It wasn’t until I read her auto-biography many years later that I realized how unhappy Elizabeth had been at Oxford when she wrote this, it obviously coloured her work.

Lanier Books blog site we have featured in the past, has a good piece on “The Dean’s Watch”; a book which her reading group read a while back. Link details are available from the Goudge Links on the front page.

I wrote the poem Visitation a few years back after visiting Eryls Onions in Pembrokeshire, the granddaughter of Jessie who so kindly invited me into her home for the morning. It was a very special day and one that gave me insights into the way Elizabeth lived and worked.

Last year I met Karen Lewis-Smith the daughter of the poet Anne Lewis-Smith who was Elizabeth’s neighbour in Dog Lane. Over tea in her cottage, she showed me letters and cards written to her and her mother by Elizabeth, and the wonderful gifts bestowed on them before Elizabeth died. More on this in the Christmas issue!

All that’s left for me to is to say enjoy the rest of our great British summer, and I look forward to catching up with you all again towards the end of year.

Deborah