Pink Lemonade Diary (Pink Lemonade Memories)
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Recently, I discovered a hidden treasure inside one of the volumes of a boxed set of Jane Austen’s works, that I inherited from my father. It was an old newspaper clipping that my father had saved. He always collected articles or clipping that he came across regarding any of the books in his library or a particular book he was reading.
The article was an installment of a regular column in one of our local newspapers at the time, The Evening Star, from probably, the 1950s. The column, “This and That. . .” written by Charles E. Tracewell, was a regular feature in the newspaper. In this particular installment, the month is December, and Mr. Tracewell comments on the writings of Jane Austen.
He noted that not everyone liked Austen’s books when they were published, but others did. Maybe, he said, because “…her plain stories [are] about ordinary people whose adventures are not much…” but “…the fragrance of these old stories will enter your blood through the mental circulation.”
Further, he wrote, “It is impossible to read these novels without smelling things, the growing shrubs of the English countryside, and seeing the birds, too, though as far as we can recall, she never spoke of birds. The birds are there, because they had to be there, in the scene in which her characters walked, and they always walked, when they weren’t riding in the carriage.”
Today, as I read the works of others and write my own, I enjoy being drawn into the environment, and also creating environments by utilizing the senses in a way that will evoke the truest human reactions and emotions. Good writing will invariably triumph at this challenge. The timelessness of Jane Austen’s writings is evidenced by their immense popularity today.
As Mr. Tracewell concluded, “…when we speak of good books we must speak of Jane Austen’s because they are good.”
Until next time,
Juliette
The Christmas Spirit of Starlight Cove
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