Notes from Eve Abbey ~ December 2015

I think it must be ten years since Anne Whitehead told me at lunch one day that she was going to write about an obscure story...

...a story about Napoleon's time on the island of St. Helena as a prisoner of the British after his defeat at Waterloo, and his aborted escape from Elba. It is a story with lots of tentacles, about his unlikely friendship with a precocious young woman named Betsy, who was the daughter of Thomas Trywhitt Balcombe, one of the owners of the store providing food and goods to the island as well as to passing ships.

Now in 2015, at long last, after deep research Anne's book called Betsy and the Emperor: The True Story of Napoleon, a Pretty Girl, a Regency Rake and an Australian Colonial Misadventure has been published by Allen & Unwin. This is a fascinating story made more interesting by the inclusion of Anne's research into early New South Wales. So much so that we have put the book in Australian History. It is certainly not fiction or biography and it will please many different people. The Australian connection leads down to Dame Mabel Brookes.

There is an absorbing picture of St. Helena, which Anne visited during her research; a fascinating picture of the pretensions and demands of the once-great Napoleon; an amusing picture of Regency society where, of course, Betsy Balcombe married a ne'er-do-well handsome rake; and finally, a friendly picture of Sydney society in the early days of the 19th century, where Thomas Balcombe was sent as Colonial Treasurer. When Napoleon first arrived on St. Helena with his retinue of supporters, he chose to live in a pavilion in the garden of Balcombe's residence while the house he was destined for was made ready. This took some time so Napoleon was a daily presence in the life of the Balcombe family. In fact it seems to me that the effect of these meetings remained with them all their lives.

It is a coincidence that Tom Keneally stumbled upon this story two years ago when he saw an exhibition of Napoleonic memorabilia in Melbourne. His book, a novel written in the voice of Betsy, is called Napoleon's Last Island and is a good read. Both books were reviewed together by Phillip Dwyer, an academic who has himself written two books about Napoleon, and is now writing another book about Napoleon's time on St. Helena! His books are Napoleon: The Path to Power 1769-1799 and Citizen Emperor: Napoleon in Power 1799-1815. I think I am going to have to read these.

Isn't it amazing how the aura around Napoleon remains? When I was in Paris with Hilary Nicholson we spent a whole day in Les Invalides and came away like stage-struck teenagers marvelling at the exploits and glory of Napoleon. It took some days to remember how many people died along the way. What enormous self-belief he had! And convinced others to agree! Remember the sardonic fable written by Simon Leys (Pierre Ryckmans) about Napoleon's escape from Elba called The Death of Napoleon. As a final bit of trivia may I point out the family name Tyrwhitt in Balcombe's mode of address? Can it possibly be the same family which keeps putting inserts in the local newspapers offering well-made shirts to order? Such an unusual name and so difficult to say or spell!

[Editor's note: I too have been set off on a 'Napoleonic' reading trail after reading The Count of Monte Cristo. I've heard it said that Napoleon tops the list as the most popular biographical subject and we certainly have quite a few of them in stock: Vive le Napoleon au Abbey's!]

Keep well,

Eve

Buy these books at Abbey's (131 York Street Sydney) ~ An Aladdin's cave for readers

Notes from Eve Abbey ~ November 2015

I had trouble starting the latest Pulitzer Prize winner for Fiction...

 – All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr – mainly because it seemed too dense – too many details but I did come to revel in this fine book. The author took ten years to finally finish this so take the time to enjoy it. There are two contrasting stories: one about a blind girl whose father works in the Museum of Natural History in Paris where he is in charge of all the keys, and another about a boy and his sister living in an orphanage attached to the mining community in Essen. Their stories finally meet in the small town of St. Malo which was almost totally destroyed by Allied bombing at the end of the Second World War. Marie-Laure has unwittingly become the keeper of a precious stone hunted by the Nazi treasure seekers, while Werner has become a fabled fixer of radios, uneasily serving his Nazi commanders.

Many people at home enjoy the afternoons on ABC Radio listening to Richard Glover’s cheerful approach to life, as well as his columns in the newspapers. He has written a thoughtful and amusing memoir called Flesh Wounds in which he recalls his life growing up with an uncaring mother who is also deceiving every one about her own identity. Quite remarkable really that he has turned out such a well-adjusted, cheerful and amusing person. Many thanks go to his loved wife, scriptwriter and author Debra Oswald. Dare I say “this is a nice book”?

I did enjoy The Waiting Room by Melbourne writer Leah Kaminsky. This is mostly set in Israel where the main character is both a mother and a doctor. Her uneasiness in living daily with the threat of some sort of attack is multiplied by her anxiety for her small son. Her days are also interrupted by the voice of her dead mother, once a holocaust survivor, and now giving her daughter regular advice. Will she remain in Israel with her loved Sabra husband or will she return to Melbourne?

Famous Irish writer John Banville has a new novel out called The Blue Guitar. His books are always finely written and this time you could call the work a “stream of consciousness”. Oliver, the narrator and main character was once a successful artist but now has returned to the small town which was his childhood home. He confesses to a secret delight in stealing small things but stealing his friend’s wife is not so small! The novel covers just one year, the current year in Oliver’s life, told as he writes on a large jotter in the kitchen.

Are you enjoying the television detective series called Vera? I am. The stories come from some of the novels written by Anne Cleeves. I recently read, and enjoyed, the latest in the Vera series, which is called The Moth Catcher. These stories are all set around Newcastle in County Durham and I was happy to note there was not much blood and gore! A friend tells me that the stories Anne Cleeves has written which are set in the Shetland Isles are especially good so I have ordered the first two in the series – Raven Black and White Nights. They are being reissued just now, no doubt as a result of the success of the Vera TV series. I noticed that The Moth Catcher is dedicated to “Brenda with Thanks” so I assume this to be Brenda Blythen who plays Vera on TV. My friend tells me that it is worth reading the Shetland series in correct order as things happen in the lives of the characters.

Keep well,

Eve

Buy these books at Abbey's (131 York Street Sydney) ~ An Aladdin's cave for readers