Helen Humphreys

I picked this book from the library shelf on a whim. What a gem. Inspired by, though not based on three true events, this lyrically told story sees the war and its aftermath from the perspective of three people, each intimately bound in each other's lives, but ultimately dealing with what confronts them in their own way, alone. It begins with James in his German POW camp, finding solace in his intimate record of the lives of the redwing family he can just about see from the camp confines. There is Rose, his wife in their cottage in an English village; Enid, his sister, living and working in London. And then there is Toby, working in James' and Rose's village; Constance, Rose's difficult mother ... and the POW camp's Kommandant. All have their roles in this story in which the actual horrors of war have no place, but which illustrates vividly its power to alter lives, to constrain, and yet to offer hope too.… (más)

Gauche, plain Gwen Davis leaves wartime London, and her obscure research into diseased parsnips for the RHS, to take charge of a trooop of land Army girls on a negelected country estate. Their task is to dig for victory. Unhappy as a leader, she leaves much day-to-day management to the capable Jane, whose concern for her fiancé, missing in action, dominates her life. Gwen finds solace in a hidden garden, whose secrets, mysteries and plants are in many ways the heroes of this book. She learns to understand the Land Girls, to love Jane, and to love Rayley, the young Canadian officer charged with leading the Canadian troops temporarily billeted in the house. Till now, aside from gardens, Viginia Woolf's writing has been her love. The unravelling of the garden's mystery, the development of Gwen as a woman, the gradual emergence of the stories of Jane and Rayley form the themes of this beautifully written book. It's quickly read, but I think it will remain with me for quite a while.… (más)

THE LARK delivers great leisure reading pleasure while covering new aspects of Thoreau's life through his journals.
We may never look at a Willow Tree leaf in the same way!

As a Harvard graduate, a surveyor, and a worker and owner of the Thoreau Pencil Factory,
his turn to Nature for inspiration and love makes an unusual tale
of slow moving episodes woven with boat and hiking trips and the grief and friendship of his Family, notably his sister, Sophia.

Sure wish she had kept journals or written stories!

That the Thoreau Family helped slaves on the Underground Railroad to journey North was welcome to read,
as were Henry's flute playing tributes to his brother, entwining them with bird, tree, and wildlife sounds.

I wish that more of his seclusion with nature at Walden Pond had been included and that there was a lot less
shooting, hunting, killing and descriptions of animal murders.

The plot was neatly channeled into time slots as The Civil War slowly evolved into destruction...… (más)

This is a lovely book. Written about the life of Henry David Thoreau, the pace is just right. A member of the Transcendentalist movement, Thoreau looked to Ralph Waldo Emerson for a way to live simply, with a hightened awareness of nature and creation with a deep belief in the supremecy of the goodness of humanity.

Best known for his book on his time lived on Walden Pond, located in Concord, Mass. where he lived two years, two months and two days. He built a cabin overlooking the water and each day her recorded the sounds, thoughts and feelings experienced during his time there.

His book is a staple for any college American Literature class. I've read many of Humphrey's books, and they never disappoint. If you are looking for a book of excitement, this won't be the book for you. But if you are looking for a well written book that speaks to a quiet life of simplicity, then you may like this one!

I've visited Walden Pond 2-3 times, and each time it was a joy to walk quietly through the soft ground of leaves and pine needles in the lane leading to where his cabin was. There is a cairn next to where the cabin was.

Highly recommended!

4.5 Stars… (más)