A Box of Delights

How children's books remind us of what we have forgotten, the "pleasing terror" of the Christmas ghost story and my books of the year

This final post of the year is a paean to reading and I hope amongst the books I share you find something to bring you comfort and joy.

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A book is a beating heart in paper covers. Katherine Rundell

Dark days are meant for stories. I have made it plain that I love these days at the end of the year. I am usually in from the studio before dark falls and I try to snatch a little reading before chores start pressing. The books I read in December are chosen with particular care: I want to be thrilled, transported but, above all, I want to be comforted.

In my late thirties, I retrained as an English teacher, initially teaching adults who needed GCSE English to further their career, and then teenagers who had repeatedly failed this exam, but had to pass to move on. This was a challenge, but a challenge I loved. When local adult education classes were closed, I shifted again. A job arose in a local public school and the headmaster, recognising my passion for language and literature, decided to take a chance on me. This decision led to a richly fulfilling period where the syllabus allowed enough creative freedom for me to be able to foster my love of reading and encourage it in others.

At the end of each Friday afternoon, I would allocate time to read aloud to my young class, in which I would share magical worlds. I remember how my teacher, Mrs Green had done the same, reading to us the Narnia chronicles and my adored “Tom’s Midnight Garden”.

My classroom became a shrine to books, I would arrange for authors to visit and even held a Harry Potter Day in which dozens of paper owls, made through my summer holiday, flew above the school refectory, itself a perfect replica of Hogwarts. I later moved to teach GCSE and A level, but the constrained curriculum, and the necessity to teach towards exams, became dispiriting and demoralising. There was little room to relish the joy of reading. I decided it was time to return to making art.

I had few books at home as a child, and my love of books came accidentally through other sources. Then, when I was ten years old, a small public library opened, perfectly placed on my walk home from school and this brought new, unheard of treasures, but there were so many books that I missed. I have been catching up ever since.

“The Box of Delights” was one of those missed books. I had loved the tv series, watched when I was a student, and the twinkle of that music still takes me back to my grubby little flat in East Finchley. Although I knew the story, I was unprepared for the richness of the writing. I began it just as Storm Darragh was wailing outside, and I was swept along, as the wolves were running.

The line, “There was a stab of savage yellow and red against the wood. Every tree stood out distinct and seemed very near. He thought he had never seen a landscape look so awful,” opened up a new seam in the studio too, but I will leave that to share with you on another day.

The wolves are running…An original ilustration by Judith Masefield, the author’s daughter

Cole Hawlings with Barney Dog, another of Judith Masefield’s illustrations

Something to watch

Come Back, Lucy I discovered this while researching “The Box of Delights”, and though I had never heard of it, I was sufficiently intrigued to seek out the television series. I ended up devouring the whole thing.

The book was written by Pamela Sykes, a writer about whom it seems little is known, and is now largely forgotten. I tried to get hold of a copy, but it is being sold for silly prices and I shall just have to keep hunting. It tells of Lucy who is uprooted from the conventions of her elderly aunt’s home to an unruly, modern family in a Victorian villa with three teenagers, when her aunt dies. In her grief and isolation she retreats in to the past and encounters Alice a lonely, manipulative child who lived in the house a century ago. It is sensitive, intelligent drama and, as it is set over Christmas, it is the perfect time to watch. There are wonderful period references too, the teenagers are excited when a guest brings the latest Stranglers LP to a party, the father who is eager to strip out the old fireplaces, “that’s Dad’s thing, modernising old houses” and there are flouncy Laura Ashley dresses that link to the Victorian past. The whole thing is a treat.

Something to listen to

Katherine Rundell’s “ The Lion, the Witch and the Wonder” is an “act of evangelism.” In five fifteen minute essays, she takes us on a magic carpet to the best of children’s literature. But this is a series with political bite too. She wants all children to experience the wonder of books, reminding us that reading for pleasure is at its all time low¹ and that over a million children in Britain do not own a single book. It is a powerful and brilliant piece of writing.

And now something to bring a shiver down the spine. Over the last week, while developing new prints in the studio, I have been listening to this, The Hotel by Daisy Johnson, a series of interlinked ghost stories, set in the fens, each told from a female perspective. It is deliciously chilling listening.

Something to Read

Ghostland by Edward Parnell

This is the perfect read for dark, winter evenings. It interweaves a personal narrative of Parnell’s boyhood in the fens, hours spent birdwatching and a family tragedy that haunts his life. It was a book written that attempted to “lay to rest the ghosts of my own sequestered life”, but it also takes us on a journey through the ghost - rich English landscape of literature and film, beginning with M R James and leading us to Lucy Boston, Susan Cooper and Alan Garner. It also mentions that terrifying 1973 public information film Dark Water , narrated by Donald Pleasance, that haunts me to this day! It is a fascinating and beautiful book.

Great Livermere Rectory, the childhood home of M R James whose father was rector at St Peter’s Church

I realised from reading this that the childhood home of M R James was just a few miles away at Great Livermere. I visited on a dank, cheerless day and the dark was closing in quickly. It is a place resonant of “Dark Water”, and after taking a wrong turn to find the Mere, I walked from his father’s church through tearing brambles and alder only to have retrace my steps and search again. I could see the Rectory, and the sprawling garden now hedged in by inpenetrable thicket. It was at the end of this garden, through a gate, that led out onto the fen, that the young James had seen an eye staring back at him, an experience that sparked his chilling tales. Although imposing, and rather beautiful, the house itself was a less uneasy experience. It is now a private home and, at the time of my visit, was throwing a party with a host expensive cars at the front. My ghostly bubble burst, I returned home.

The Mere at Great Livermere next to the childhood home of M R James

Shelly Dennison in Shelly’s Scribblings has been revisiting her childhood favourite novels, beginning with the Narnia books and I thought you might like to return to them too.

Maria in Linnesby has been on Substack for just over a year. She describes herself as an academic who is “a person who lived in the countryside and wrote things” and what exquisite things they are.

My favourite books of the year

My much missed cat, Alan, enjoying a moment of repose amidst the book pages

I always feel a frisson of excitement at this time of year when “Books of the Year” features appear in both newspapers and in blogs. I love reading about what others recommend and noting down new discoveries for the forthcoming year. I used to look forward to two in particular, the greatly missed Dove Grey Reader blog and Cornflower books, both of whom share my reading tastes and led me to so many wonderful reads. Both these blogs were my treat while supervising prep duty, when I was teaching, and would provide solace and stimulation at the end of a tiring day. In the spirit of Susan Hill’s “Howard’s End is on the Landing”, I decided a couple of years ago that I would alternate my reading choices with a book that had languished on my shelves, but was somehow always overlooked. It has yielded some gems.

A Fugue in Time - Rumer Godden Several people got in touch after reading this, it is a much neglected masterpiece.

Thin Air - Sue Gee - A writer that certainly deserves greater recognition, I have yet to read a book of hers that I haven’t loved. This happens to be a particular favourite, but “Trio” and “Reading in Bed” are marvellous too. I noted that Ronnie from Quiet has discovered her here.

Dear Reader - Cathy Rentzenbrink A joy and I am greatly looking forward to her novel “Ordinary Time”.

The Lie of the Land - Amanda Craig This kept me reading deep into the night and I couldn’t put it down…

Powsels and Thrums - Alan Garner A collection of autobiographical essays that is the perfect introduction to his work or a delight for those who love him.

Across the Common - Elizabeth Berridge This had been on my shelves for years, which is a great pity and it has sent me off searching for others by her. Winner of the Yorkshire Book of the Year in 1964, it tells of Louise, who though in her thirties and married, has never quite grown up. She decides to escape and return to the family home of her elderly aunts, and their past history is slowly revealed. If you like Elizabeth Taylor or Barbara Comyms, I feel sure you will enjoy her too.

Fifteen Wild Decembers - Karen Powell This extraordinary retelling of the Bronte story, written from the perspective of Emily, breathes life into this elusive writer.

The Oak Moon from last weekend

Thank you very much to all new subscribers and to those who have been with me for the past year. Your support and company here has made writing this Substack a joy and has helped me keep going financially. I always love to read your comments and do please press the “heart” if you enjoyed this post (it really does help!) I will be travelling up to North Norfolk for the Winter Solstice tomorrow, where I hope to see the geese once more. My next post will be on Thursday, January 2nd.

May I wish you a happy and peaceful Christmas and I look forward to seeing you again in the New Year.

Go today and pick up a book you loved as a child, it will remind you of things you have forgotten, you have forgotten, you have forgotten. Katherine Rundell

1. National Literacy Trust Annual Literacy Survey