Books Set in Europe: England and France

I'll See You in Paris, by Michelle Gable (2016)

I’ll See You in Paris is loosely based on the life of Gladys Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (née Gladys Deacon; Feb. 7, 1881 ~ Oct. 13, 1977).  A bit of background: Gladys was born in France into a wealthy, but eccentric American family.  When she was a child, her father killed her mother’s lover.  Her father spent a few years in prison, but when he got out, he was given custody of his children.

As an adult, Gladys travelled in an artistic social circle and encountered many major authors and artist of the time.  She became close friends with Consuelo Vanderbilt, who was married to the 9^th Duke of Marlborough.  Theirs was an unhappy marriage.   Gladys became the Duke’s mistress.  It was a happy arrangement for decades.  When Consuelo and the Duke divorced, Gladys and the Duke married, making Gladys the Duchess of Marlborough.

In her later life, the Duchess became a recluse.  She lived in a small village in England with a host of cats and dogs. She was known to threaten visitors with firearms.

This is where the novel begins.  The novel goes back and forth in time and we slowly learn about Gladys’s life.  The novel begins in 2001 with Annie Haley, a young woman newly engage to a marine who has been shipped to Afghanistan.  Annie was raised by her single mother, Laurel.  Annie never knew her father ~ her birth certificate lists her father as being “unknown.”

Laurel has business in England and invites Annie to accompany her.  While her mother is tending to business, Annie wanders through the little village and encounters Gus, an aging aristocrat.  They strike up a friendship over a book entitled The Missing Duchess.  Gus knew the woman who was the subject of the book, although she adamantly denied she was the Duchess.  His recounting of the Duchess brings us to the 1970s, where a young American woman named Pru was hired to be a companion to the aging Gladys.

This was a fun and quick read.  The style of moving back in forth in time, while not entirely seamless, was smooth enough to keep me turning the pages.  It is not necessary to know the background of Gladys Deacon to enjoy this book.  While reading this book, I did a little research to see how closely the novel tracked the life of the Duchess.

Read:  Oct. 28, 2019

4 Stars

Books Set in Asia and Australia

A Town Like Alice, by Nevil Shute (1950)

A Town Like Alice, by Nevil Shute was published nearly 70 years ago, and although it clearly reflects the prejudices prevalent at the time (treatment of women and Australian aborigines), it is also a very fascinating novel about the resilience of humans in the face of adversary.

The novel follows Jean Paget, a young English woman, during and after World War II, and is narrated by her solicitor, a man old enough to be her father.  At the outbreak of World War II, Jean was working for a British company in Malaya.  When the Japanese invaded, women and children were taken prisoner.  The Japanese commander was reluctant to be responsible for the women and children, and as a result, they were forced to walk all around the country for duration of the War, always being told they were headed for a camp.  Finally, they were able to settle in a Malaya village, where they worked with the towns people until the end of the war.  By the end of the War, about half the women and children had died.  [Note:  this was based a historical event that actually took place in Sumatra.]

Before joining the Malaya village, however, during their travels, they encountered some Australian prisoners of war.  One of the prisoners was Joe Harman.  He and Jean struck up a friendship.  When he steals 5 chickens from the commander to give to the women, he his caught and crucified.  The women march on, believing that Joe is dead.

After the War, Jean returns to England, where she gets a job as a secretary at a leather goods factory.  She soon learns that she has come into a considerable (for the time) inheritance from an uncle she barely remembered.  She has enough money that she no longer needs to work.  She decides that she wants to use some of her money to build a well for the women in the Malaya village where she had been during the War.  She returns to the Malaya village, where she learns that Joe Harman survived.

Before returning to England, she decides to go to Australia to try to find Joe to thank him for his help during their trek around Malaya.  Six years have passed since they last saw each other.  She thought he was dead, and he thought she was married.  When he learns that she was single, he decided to go to England to find her ~ while she in in Australia looking for him.  Ultimately, they get together and truly fall in love.

While she is in Australia, she visits Alice Springs, which at the time was a bustling town in the Australian outback.  Joe runs a ranch in the middle of the outback, and the nearest town, Willstown, can hardly be considered town.  There is little there to attract families.  Jean doesn’t want Joe to change his life’s work, but at the same time doesn’t want to live in Willstown.  As she had proven during her trek around Malaya, Jean is a very resourceful and ambitious woman.  She decides to use her money to build up the town.  She opens a leather shoe factory and an ice-cream parlor.  She hires young women to work in these establishments.  These endeavors thrive, and Jean uses her inheritance to continue to invest in Willstown to make it a “town like Alice.”

As noted, this book was written 70 years ago.  As a result, the references and attitudes towards the Aborigines in the book were reflective of the time.  I found this to be very uncomfortable.  Still, this book is a wonderful story of facing and surviving hardships

I first read this book about 30 years ago.  I re-read for one of my book group discussions.  I’m glad I read again.

Read: October 12, 2019 (first read in October 1984)

4 Stars