A Curious Statistical Anomaly

Postscript from Pemberly is book seven of the Pemberley Chronicles. Unfortunately, I haven’t read any of the previous six books. Well, that’s not entirely true. I did read the “look inside” of the first book a while back and put it on my wish list on Amazon; but with the height of my TBR pile…. But, when I got the chance to read Postscript from Pemberley, I wasn’t going to be stopped by the lack of prior book knowledge (and you shouldn’t either). The book, you see, has an appendix that lists the major characters and their family relationships. As you can probably imagine by the seventh book, we’re into cousin and grandchildren territory.

The main point of view character is Jessica Courtney. Jessica is the daughter of Rev. James Courtney and Emily Gardiner Courtney (the daughter of the Gardiners — Elizabeth’s and Jane’s Aunt and Uncle Gardiner). Jessica’s parents run the church and parish at Kympton. When the book opens we learn that Julian Darcy, the oldest son of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy, is having problems. His wife, Josie, has left him and their son to run off with a man who has promised to publish her book. We later learn that the book never got published, Josie got left on her own, and is very ill. Josie doesn’t recover and dies. Julian returns home to leave his son with his sister and her husband before going to France to continue his research.

All this is in the first few pages but it sets up the relationship that develops between Jessica and Julian as they become friends. Whether this relationship will develop into anything more is anyone’s guess as Julian is much older (Jessica is eighteen). Besides, Julian is headed to Paris for more study and Jessica is offered the chance to run the expanded and upgraded school on the grounds of Pemberley.

Mr. Darcy, ever concerned for the people that look to him for their livelihood, has decided that the current school at the church and at Pemberley is not educating the children for anything other than menial jobs and he wants to do better. Jessica is hired (and moves into Pemberley) to run the school and hire two additional teachers to develop a course of study that will better prepare the area’s children.

Thus we have at least two plot lines going. Actually there are several other plot threads in this volume. Will Jessica and Julian fall in love? Will they remain friends? Will the school work out? Will Jessica find qualified teachers? Will bringing two people in who have not been part of the previous books cause problems? What other family squabbles and events will occur to stir up the family.

What’s a novel without some conflict? Not very interesting, actually. Luckily for us, Rebecca Ann Collins knows that we need to have some conflict and some ambiguity in our reading and she provides it. Told mostly from Jessica’s point of view, we learn about the ups and downs of the now fairly large cast of characters. Jessica being the kindhearted person she is tends to be the one that her cousins turn to when they need advice or just to talk candidly without rumors spreading. Jessica listens, seldom judges, and knows how to keep secrets — especially her own. One interesting choice is that some of Jessica’s interior thoughts are told from snippets from her journal and from letters written to her and from her to others.

When a young lady with impeccable teaching credentials returns to live with her parents, Jessica finds not only an exceptional teacher for the school but a friend. However, Jessica is not the only person with secrets. Remember too that while we’ve reached 1866 — the times are not our own and in many ways the rules of behavior in that period of time make it difficult to understand the utter devastation that can be done to someone’s reputation for behavior that in our time wouldn’t even lift an eyebrow. Women were kept to a strict standard that most of us would rebel against with all our might today.

Postscript from Pemberley is fine addition to the growing list of Pride and Prejudice sequels. A marvelous book to curl up with on a rainy day with a hot cup of tea, to sink into a time and place so different from our own and visit people who seem so familiar. There’s no explosions or car chases, but there is tension and conflict and people we care about and hope will turn out happy at the end. It’s a book that when you finish you give a sigh of satisfaction and perhaps turn back to page one and start over.

I got this link a few days ago but finally got to look at it. I laughed and ended up playing it twice. The employees of Providence St. Vincent Medical Center of Portland, Oregon put together this video to promote breast cancer awareness. It just goes to show what a group of people can do when they’re motivated. It’s fun and shows a fun side of the medical community that many people don’t get a chance to see.

While this is not Breast Cancer Awareness month, play and watch this video. Share it with a friend, coworker, or loved one who has been touched by breast cancer or any cancer. Breast cancer has been in the news recently as the screen procedures have been updated and new recommendations that suggest that women between 40 and 50 don’t need regular mammograms. This is controversial because many women in that age group and younger do get breast cancer and early detection is the key in treatment. How that will finally play out is something to watch.

Meanwhile, women of all ages should be familiar with breast self-examination techniques. Do self-exams often, get to know the topography and feel of your own breast so that you can tell when there is a change. Husbands can also help with the exams — hey these are done at home and don’t have to be boring. I’ve read of many cases where it was the husband that noticed the change.

Breast cancer is scary. But videos like this one can take some of the fear out of visiting a hospital. Can you honestly look at these smiling faces and think that they aren’t caring people who’d do what’s necessary for the people under their care. Help them and all medical personnel by doing your bit and taking care of yourself, performing regular breast self-exams and not letting fear keep you from talking to your doctor about your health.

A bit late to say so but it snowed most of Saturday. We didn’t intend to go out but realized that mailing deadlines were approaching and some things just needed to be finished so we could mail them out. So, we got all the odd jobs taken care of on Saturday — driving wasn’t too bad actually as the snow was mostly melted or slush.

Today, we got the tree up and the ornaments on. I’ll post a picture tomorrow. It’s been a quiet day of decorating the tree, catching up on all the volunteer work we’d said we do, and then watching The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. I managed to nearly finish a Christmas gift.

The cough is mostly gone — I’ll be glad when it’s completely gone but finishing a project — or nearly so just makes me feel that things are looking up.

Haven’t posted lately — still down with the flu.  The cough has gone from the polite heh heh sound to a racking deep thing that takes on a life of its own.  I swear any minute I expect to either cough up my lung, my toes, or some dwarf or balrog.  I’ve pulled muscles coughing and still I cough.  I think there’s a design flaw in this cough to rid the lungs of crap idea.

Meanwhile, in my befuddled state of illness, I came across this lovely book ad for Maurice Gee’s Going West.  Put out by the New Zealand Book Council, it has the tagline, “where books come to life.”   I can’t follow all the words but the experience of watching the short video is one that puts you (or me anyway) on sensory overload.

It’s gorgeous to watch.  Don’t believe it’s convinced me to try the book but I’ve watched this short film a few times.  Maybe books about train journeys and the inner landscape of the narrator just don’t do it for me when I’m coughing up my lungs.