Helen Korngold Diary: December 1-7, 1919

Helen Korngold, Dec. 1919, New York City

Helen is enjoying her teaching position at Wellston. Her love of the children shines through.

December
Monday 1
School again – I feel good –check came in to-day. If Ward would stop making eyes at me – I’d feel better.

Tuesday 2
The girls are darling. Louise is a little doll – so is Virginia & Adel. The girls are all very sweet. The boys are interesting.

Wednesday 3
School again. Same as ever.

Thursday 4
If Arthur S. Kelly would only stop being to cute, I might be able to keep from kissing him – He’s so cute & fab.

Friday 5
I like Fri. It means a good time on Saturday. Herbert Pawlinger came to town. He is darling.

Sunday 7
Taught school. This is all so funny. Leo Rosen & the Meyer boys, Jesse & Henry are dears. All the girls are nice.

Notes:

Dec 4

Arthur S. Kelley appears in the 1910 St. Louis Census as three years old and living with parents James W., age 43 and a farm laborer, Martha, 30, and siblings Bessie, Jessie, Hosa and Dessie.

Dec. 5
Herbert Pawlinger visited earlier in the year on April 13.

Herbert Lincoln Pawliger (2/121894 to 11/1967) lived with his family at 1915 Broadway in New York City.

His WWI Draft Registration shows he was of medium height and build with brown hair and eyes. He was a clothing salesman for Jay Tee Frocks.

On the 1910 New York Census was 16 and living with his family Max, 48 born in 1882, and a manufacturer of furs; Nettie, 40, born in 1883; Arthur, 19 and a salesman; and Ruth E. age 14 and born in 1895.

On the 1920 New York Census, he was in commercial sales, living with his parents and Arthur, a photographer, and Ruth who was a clerk at Standard Oil.

On the 1925 New York City Census he was living with his family: father Max Pawliger, who was a fur merchant in the company of Pawliger and Staubsinger; mother Nettie; and siblings Arthur and Ruth E.

Hebert’s WWII Draft registration shows he worked at Jay-Tee Frocks and was married to Minna. They had a child Winifred.

In December Helen and her parents and at least one sister visited the Pawlings in New York City in December at the invitation of Ruth Pawling.

Dec 7

Leo Rosen graduated from Washington University and appears in the 1927 Hatchet. He was on the debating team and had won sophomore honors. Leo was born in 1906 and died in 1991. Leo was a WWII veteran. The 1920 St. Louis Census shows Leo Rosen, student, living with his parents Paul and Ida Rosen and sibling Melvin. They also had a servant. Paul was a ready-to-wear wholesaler.  Leo married Diana Aronson and they had children Harold and Elinor. The 1940 St. Louis Census Leo shows was an insurance salesman.

Jesse and Henry R. Meyer appear in the 1920 St. Louis Census. Jesse was age 11 and Henry 13. They lived with Nancy W. Meyer, age 52 and a labeler in a cereal company, and siblings James R., Andrew who worked as a “stirrer” and Thomas who was a farm laborer. The 1925 Kansas State Census shows Henry R. aged 18 as head of the household, N.J. his mother aged 58, and James and Jessie.

*****

In the News:

A note in the Dec. 4, 1919, The Jewish Voice showed a talk on George Elliott, Friend of Humanity at United Hebrew Temple.

The Jewish Voice had been running articles on the Ukranian pogroms and on Dec. 4 announced a protest mass meeting.

The newspaper also printed an article about one man's heartlessness.

One letter in reaction stated,

There is also an article showing that 250,000 Jews served in WWI.

A Dec. 7, 1919 article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch endeavored to calm fears that President Wilson was secretly paralyzed.


The Lincoln Monument in Washington, D. C. was nearing completion.


Christmas ads from the Dec. 7, 1919, St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
A very Gatsby ad:

The men needed a tie with those shirts.

For the ladies, you could get a fur coat.

Or, get her warm underwear.

You can't enjoy Christmas with the kiddies without booze.

For the kiddies:

I love the airplane in this ad!

'Moderately' priced player pianos were advertised:

That player piano adjusted for inflation:

Amount

$

From

To

       1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019     

       1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019     

$7,384.73

Adjusted for inflation, $485.00 in 1919 is equal to $7,384.73 in 2019.

Annual inflation over this period was 2.76%.

Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition by Buddy Levy

In 1881, American Lt. A. W. Greely and a team of scientists went on a journey to pass the record of reaching furthest North. Buddy Levy's new book Labyrinth of Ice takes readers on their journey of glory and horror. The men accomplished their mission of reaching furthest North and contributing important scientific data. They were also stranded over two winters with dwindling supplies.

Anyone who knows me or follows my book reviews will know that I am a life-long fan of Polar expedition literature. It started with reading The Great White South by Herbert Ponting when I was eleven years old. I read and reread the tattered, discarded library book  about the failed Scott Expedition to the South Pole. Scott and his team were such romantic, tragic heroes.

In recent years I have enjoyed the opportunity to continue reading outstanding books sharing the tales of Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, an armchair adventurer. Before the astronauts and space exploration, men of courage and vision took on the vast frozen spaces of ice, seeking fame, glory, short-cut passages, and scientific knowledge. They were the heroes of their day.

Labyrinth of Ice was a bone-chilling read. I felt I knew these men and suffered with them. The bravery and selflessness of some were offset by a self-seeking thief. Madness and despair were found alongside clear-thinking and innovative thinkers. When their supply and rescue ships failed to arrive, Greely struggled to keep the team disciplined, in good spirits--and alive as they suffered life-threatening conditions and starvation. Lady Greely, extremely self-educated in Arctic literature, pressured the government to send out rescue ships.

Eleven men had died before they were finally found. Public opinion turned from adulation to revulsion when rumors of cannibalism circulated the newspapers. The survivors went on to illustrious careers.

I was given access to a free ebook by the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition
by Buddy Levy
St. Martin's Press
Pub Date 03 Dec 2019
ISBN: 9781250182197
hardcover $29.99 (USD)

Helen Korngold Diary: November 24-30, 1919

Helen Korngold, Dec. 1919, New York City

My sharing Helen's 1919 diary this year is coming to the last month. An exciting trip is in Helen's future--and a family crisis.

November
Monday 24
School. Kids didn’t know anything.

Tuesday 25
School. Heard Mr. Drinkwater the author of “Abraham Lincoln”. He was wonderful.

Wednesday 26
School as usual. That Willie Gastreich is a case all by himself. Had a little celebration.

Thursday 27
Football game. Washington won. 7-0 against St Louis. Si took me. He was pretty good. Came home – Ariel, Minnie Aberson & Zel Priwer came to dinner. We had a very good time. Retired at 12 bells.

Friday 28
Vacation – Girls went home about 11 o’clock. Organ grinder played, opera – fine. Didn’t feel well. Rested.

Saturday 29
Went downtown today.

Sunday 30
Taught Sunday School – It’s a pipe dream.

*****

NOTES:

November  25

John Drinkwater spoke on “The Nature of Drama.” He was the author of Abraham Lincoln, his first smash play with 466 performances. It was playing at the Cort Theater on 48th St. when Helen visited New York City in December.

The play is found at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11172

An article on the play with photos is found at
http://www.johndrinkwater.org/jdpages/essays/abrahamlincoln.pdf

St Louis Post-Dispatch, Dec. 1, 1919

Nov  26
Willie Gastreich may be the William E. Gastreich born in 1907 to parents Emma and Albert, and who died in St. Louis in 1966. Another William Gastreich (born 1892) appears in the records, son of John and Emma, and whose WWI Draft Registration shows he was a laborer. This William married Lillian Guth.

Nov 27

The football game was BIG news! Helen went with Si Russack.




Minnie Aberson was born around 1898 and died in 1995. Minnie appears in the 1910 St. Louis Census with her family. Her father Philip was 36 years old, an immigrant from Russia in 1892 and naturalized in 1900, and a designer tailor. Her mother was Hattie, 27 years old, and she had sibling Hillard.

In 1920 Minnie is married to Louis M. Gelber. They lived with Minnie's family including her uncle Joseph Shapiro and grandmother Matilda Shapiro and siblings Mrytle, Zelda, Hillard, and Leo.

The 1907 Gould’s Blue Book for St. Louis City has an ad showing “Phil. Aberson, Tailor & Draper’ in the Victoria Building on Olive St.

Zel (Zelda) Priver was Helen’s cousin (daughter of Lena Frey). She attended Harris Teacher’s College with Helen’s sister Otila, and is in a photograph of the 1925 class and the reunion held in 1950. http://stlouis.genealogyvillage.com/HarrisCollege.htm

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year I have been sharing from Poems for the Very Young Child, compiled by Dolores Knippel and illustrated by Mary Ellsworth, published by Whitman in 1932. Here are the November and Thanksgiving poems from the book.

Wishing you many Thanksgiving Day blessings!

Quilts, TBR, News

I am busy working on quilts and reading my review books--but not preparing for Thanksgiving because our son and his girlfriend are hosting their families! 

Here is my quilt April Showers Brings May Flowers at my quilt group show and tell.

After six years, all my Wizard of Oz blocks are designed, embroidered, and set in a quilt top! I worked hard on the first designs, sketching, and resketching Dorothy and her friends and the witches. Then we moved, Seeing the Riley Blake Dorothy's Journey fabric spurred me to come up with some more blocks and finish this top! 

I have my Hospital Sketches blocks sewn together and am working on a border.

I made grand-pup Ellie a wardrobe of scarfs that slip over her collar. Also a fleece coat. We had an early snow before Halloween that lasted a week. Ellie loved it! Now we are scrambling to clean the gutters and mulch the leaves.

Ellie with her collar scarf in the October snow

We went to Orchestra Hall to hear a concert with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Leonard Slatkin directed Pictures At An Exhibition and a piece commissioned for his 75th birthday, Another Time composed by Mohammed Fairouz, based on poems by W. H. Auden and sung by Miles Mykkanen. We heard Fairouz's  Cello Concerto Desert Sorrows when it premiered with the DSO several years ago. The concert began with Rossini's Roman Carnival Overture and an encore of a Russian sailor's dance started and ended the concert.

We also bought tickets to see the Swingel Singers in a Christmas Concert.

*****

I was thrilled to notice that I am now an Amazon Top 1000 Reviewer! Whoo-hoo!

I found a note written to me by my grandfather dated right after I started college. "Write Write Write!" he advised.

I have been listening to the upcoming audiobook of Romalyn Tighlman's novel To The Stars Through Difficulties, which I reviewed here. I am so enjoying the audiobook and revisiting Romayln's wonderful story.

Several more egalleys have been added to my virtual shelf:

• Fannie Lou Hamer by Maegan Parker Brooks, a biography of the Civil Rights heroine
• The Cadottes: A Fur Trade Family on Lake Superior by Robert Silbernagel
• The Girl in White Gloves by Keri Maher, historical fiction about Grace Kelley
• Frida in America by Celia Stahr about Frida Kahol
• The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner
• Miss Austen by Gil Hornby

Still to be read are

• The Great Unknown by Peg Kingman
• A Good Neighborhood by Theresa Ann Fowler

Next up on my reading list is ARC

• Eden Mine by S. M. Hulse

Also coming is ARC

• Rachel Maddow: A Biography by Lisa Rogak

*****

Today begins a week of work in the house--we are replacing forty-year-old vinyl flooring in the entryways with porcelain tile and then installing new carpet!

Before grouting...

The carpet is fifteen years old--and maroon! We will replace it with a lighter, neutral "sand" color, as seen in the computer-generated visualizer pic below.

There will be a lot of rearranging of furniture to come. I already moved the piano from the living room into my office.

Poems for the Very Young Child: Thanksgiving

This year I have been sharing from Poems for the Very Young Child compiled by Dolores Knippel and illustrated by Mary Ellsworth and published by Whitman Publishing Co, 1932.

Here are Thanksgiving poems from the book.

Temptation Rag by Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard

Temptation Rag is the story of the people who brought Ragtime to the mainstream, fueled its epic rise, and for a while glided on the coattails of faddism until the next big thing came along--Jazz.

It is the story of racism and Anti-semitism, the quest for fame and the fickleness of the public, the entertainment industry's birth, and the growing power of women over the early 20th c.

In the Gay Nineties, no one knew how big Ragtime would become, how Tin Pan Alley would be filled with white songwriters cashing in, appropriating African Americans' music that sprang right out of the rhythms of Africa.

Southern and white, Ben Harney was credited as the originator of Ragtime. Tom Strong gave Ben his talisman ring; soon afterward Ben saw Tom hanging from a tree. Ben took the sounds he heard and brought them to Tony Pastor's New York City vaudeville house where respectable white audiences soon embraced this new sound.

"Said I was the only whitey he ever knew who could play music to stir a black man's soul." ~from Temptation Rag

When classically trained, nineteen-year-old pianist Mike Bernard was hired as Pastor's music director and heard Harney perform he imitated his sound and perfected it, his fame eventually outshining Harney.

Mike always wanted Harney's ring. Sure, he was the Ragtime King, but he knew he copied from Harney. Mike wanted everything Ben had--his girl, his career, his fame, and that ring.

Readers met the forgotten stars of a hundred years ago, like Will Marion Cook, a classically trained black violinist. "No black man ever got what he got on account of luck," Cook tells Strap who is hoping to ride Harney's coattails to fame. J. Rosamond Johnson's African American operas caused rioting in the streets. Mentioned are the early sheet music publishers like E. T. Paull and Waterson, Berlin, and Snyder (Yes, THAT Berlin--Irving). Scott Joplin, today famous, was only known by a few musicians as the  authentic 'real deal.'

Then there are the women who loved these men, who were betrayed by these men. The wealthy May who loved and lost Mike and went on to become a suffragette and to challenge racism. The Ziegfield star Dolly who slept her way to the top. The long-suffering and loyal Jessie.

Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard has written a terrific read in terms of plot and characters that also incorporates the great American themes of class, race, and the fleeting nature of fame.

And if you love music, it's a must-read.

"...the first thing you need is a good, strong, left hand. That's important, 'cause the bass is what draws the listener in, makes him feel that powerful rhythm all the way down in his bones."..."The Melody accents fall between the beats" ~from Temptation Rag

I purchased an ebook.

Temptation Rag
by Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard
Publisher: Belle Epoque Publishing (December 3, 2018)
Publication Date: December 3, 2018
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B07HYJMTXX

It's Never Too Late To Anti-Diet

I don't usually review books about health, diet, and fitness. Oh, I've read quite a few in my life. As a matter of fact, what don't I know about diets? Mom put me on my first diet when I was twelve years old!  I was at that growth spurt time when kids get chubby and then, seemingly overnight, reach their full height and become teenagers. I recall the diet involved not having fruit, and I loved fruit.

At fourteen I was dieting again. Twiggy was in; curves were out. The charts said I was overweight. A friend gave me an exercise book with calories to count. I lost thirty pounds, gained it back; tried Weight Watchers, lost nothing; gained more weight at college; got married and went on a diet and lost thirty pounds again.

I was twenty-one and eating 1000 calories a day and couldn't lose more weight. The weight charts said I was twenty-five-pound overweight! Looking back, I realize I had an eating problem and I was at a healthy weight.

The rest of my life went like that. Calorie counting. Eat Well, Be Well, The Zone. Vegetarian diets. Liquid supplements. All I accomplished was to get bigger on fewer calories.

A year ago, I committed to losing weight. I had gained 40 pounds in five years. I had my Fitbit and my Lose It app and my scale. I was prepared.

I underwent extensive testing and discovered my heart is great and committed to 30 minutes of cardio a day. A nutritionist told me to cut animal fats, meat, and dairy. We eat red meat at most once or twice a month, but I do I love butter on my toast. Goodbye, butter.

I lost thirty-four pounds and then plateaued even though I was burning more calories a day than I was eating.

I joined Silver and Fit and went to the fitness center to use machines for muscle tone and balance. The counselor said I was starving myself and told me to eat 6 meals a day. And more protein.

I am gaining strength and balance with the fitness plan. My bad knee can take the stairs better than they have in years.

But I had vertigo. The treadmill made me dizzy. I walked down the street like a drunk. So I went to the doctor. She saw me bend to tie my shoe and asked, "Can you DO that? It's not vertigo, it's your blood pressure." So she reduced my blood pressure meds. My BP is still in the good zone.

She is the first doctor to NOT tell me I was risking my life and to "Join a gym," or "Have you considered bariatric surgery?" or even, "I know it's hard to lose weight but keep trying."

Instead, she told me, "I'm not concerned about weight. There are more important things, like the quality of life."

WHAT???? I am 67 years old and a doctor told me what---that endless dieting and exercise is not supposed to be the goal of life?

So I saw this book, Anti-Diet, and thought, I need to know more about this.

Harrison had a food obsession. She was a life-long dieter and a journalist who wrote for Gourmet Magazine. She earned a degree as a nutritionist. Her personal journey led to exactly what millions of us have experienced: Diets. Don't. Work.

Harrison pushes back against the Diet Culture--the paradigm we have been sold that tells us there are good and bad foods, that weight is a moral and life-threatening issue, and if we don't look like some media ideal we are unloveable, ignorant, lazy, and dispensible.

Studies show that diets don't work, people gain the weight back, and in fact, diets seem to cause, not alleviate, health issues.

The bulk of the book traces our food attitudes through history and the rise of the diet culture and its human cost. Although well presented and interesting, I quickly read through this section--I'd come across it all before, in bits and pieces over 60 years. I was eager to get to her alternative.

Setting boundaries "might mean putting a moratorium on diet talk with your mother" set alarms off in my head! In my late 20s, when I had reached what I now know is my ideal weight, my mother fell into her old habit of saying, "you'd be...if only you lost weight." I shot back, "I like myself." "You like yourself fat?" she marveled. "I like who I am regardless of what weight I am." That night, Mom had a self-reckoning. She came to me in tears the next morning, apologetic, realizing she was imitating her own mother's behavior when she was growing up.

I also was glad to read Harrison's support of strength-building for all sizes as an alternative to blaming joint problems on weight alone. I keep up my cardio exercise of walking and am working with a fitness coach to improve muscle tone and balance. Thankfully, the fitness center is filled with older people like me and people of all body sizes. Sure, there are the buff men around and matchstick thin gals, but I don't stand out as much as I feared I would.

The idea of intuitive eating is simple. Listen to your body. My husband grew up with a dad who encouraged over-eating. He never developed a recognition to stop eating when he was full. It's his biggest challenge as an adult because he doesn't recognize 'full'.

She promotes the goal of "Health at Every Size" and liberation from an obsession on body size. Her mantra is "self-care, not self-control." Trying to control our body size is self-defeating, physically and mentally. But, she dismisses my FitBit and Lose-It app and fitness center visits and advises to just move.

Harrison quotes scads of scientific research. Still, I would love to read about specific and detailed case studies of how people like me, whose metabolism has been impacted by weight-loss diets over decades, can use this approach successfully.

I'll see what happens over the next year as I endeavor to not eat more than I burn while eating thoughtfully and working on strength and muscle building.

I made apple pies this week. There are no 'good' or 'bad' foods according to Harrison. But, boy, that pie was GOOD.

I was given access to a free egalley by the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating
by Christy Harrison, MPH, RD
Little, Brown Spark
Pub Date 24 Dec 2019
ISBN 9780316420358
PRICE $28.00 (USD)

Helen Korngold Diary: November 17-23, 1919

Helen Korngold, Dec. 1919, New York City

Helen is teaching at Harrison Elementary and enjoying it. She loves the children.

November
Monday 17
Pretty tired.

Tuesday 18
Robert Rife is darling – so is Jo Fuchs the crook artist – little with black shining hair & eyes.

Wednesday 19
I like this school. All teachers are so nice.

Thursday 20
Teacher’s Convention. Dry & uninteresting.

Friday 21
Teacher’s Convention.

Saturday 22
Downtown – Grand Central in evening

Sunday 23
Fooled around. Out with Si.

Notes:
Sat. 22
Grand Central was a movie theater. The Nov. 22 ad in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch showed "beautiful living models in a pageant of fashions" and the "Powerful Drama, Some One Must Pay."



Sun. 23
Si Russack and Helen have been going out a lot.

In the news:

11-23-1919 St Louis Post-Dispatch

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Nov. 22, 1919

St. Louis Star and Times, Nov. 22, 1919

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

Glowing reviews of Ann Patchett's newest novel The Dutch House impelled me to snatch it up as soon as it appeared on the new release shelf at the public library.

The story of siblings Maeve and Danny Conroy whose mother disappears and is replaced by an evil stepmother is like a fairy tale, especially when after their father's death their stepmom exiles them from their home to fend for themselves. The abandoned children, like Hanzel and Gretel, have only each other.

The story of family trauma and the inability to move on resolves into a kind of Howard's End moment, and it all centers on the Dutch House. The house is what divided the family. There are those who belong to the house, those who lust for it, those who love it, and those who desire it. Who controls the house is central to the novel.

The Dutch House is a historic mansion in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, built in 1922 as a country refuge for a wealthy Dutch family. WWII veteran Cyril Conroy was a frustrated architect who became a real estate tycoon. He bought the Dutch House and all its contents, planning to surprise his wife Elna.

Elna was unable to accept a life of leisure, living in a mansion. Cyril had pulled her from a convent to be his wife, dividing her from the vocation that kept calling her back. Elna had to make a choice. It wasn't Cyril and her family.

Andrea wanted the house, and married Cyril for the house--and Cyril married Andrea because she loved it as much as he did. The siblings bond with Andrea's young children. Andrea begins the process of disenfranchising Cyril's children, appropriating Maeve's bedroom for her own daughter.

Upon Cyril's early death, the children learn that their father left Andrea his business, house, and money. Andrea proclaims that she never signed on to raise Danny and sends him to live with his Maeve.

There are a few times in life when we leap up and the past you'd been standing on falls away behind you, and the future you mean to land on is not yet in place, and for a moment you're suspended, knowing nothing and no one, not even yourself.~fron The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

Cyril left a trust fund for the children's education as well as Andrea's daughter's education. Maeve had already finished college and was ineligible, so she encouraged Danny to use up as much of the money as possible, attending private school and then going to medical school. Danny had dreamt of taking over his father's business; he loved repairing the buildings and the tenants. Maeve had planned on grad school but now had to support herself.

The siblings held their anger and resentment close, a deep bond between them.

We'd made a fetish out of our misfortune, fallen in love with it.~from The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

Danny asks his sister, what kind of person leaves their kids? And Maeve replies,
"Men! Men leave their children all the time and the world celebrates them for it. The Buddha left and Odysseus left and no none gave a shit about their sons. They set out on their noble journeys to do whatever the hell they wanted to do and thousands of years later we're still singing about it."

Each character in the book, including the caretaker's daughter who became Danny's nanny and the housemaid and cook, has a relationship to the Dutch House. It is the house that bonds them.

I connected with the characters' attachment to a house; after moving as a girl, for years I hoped to grow up and be able to retrieve my first home for myself. I also appreciated how Elna's vocation disrupted her family life; I have seen several clergy marriages crushed by the conflict of family vs. pastoral obligations. And--for seven years we lived near Elkins Park, our son born in the hospital there.

Patchett has given us another fantastic book, filled with memorable characters.