Favorite Books #9--A Little Princess

The story is beautiful.

A girl full of dreams has her perfect world stolen away from her. But she bravely continues being herself despite slave labor and cruelty. And in the end, against all odds, her hopes and dreams are restored.

This storyline is a popular one, and authors have repeated it, or something very much like it, several times. But few authors have perfected it like Frances Hodgson Burnett. 

Image taken from Amazon

While this author wrote other childhood classics such as The Secret Garden, her A Little Princess was always my favorite. Growing up, I adored this book, mainly for the story itself, but also for the heroine, Sara Crewe. I suppose Sara Crewe was my ideal. She was sweet, compassionate, brave, and above all, she had an imagination! She was constantly conjuring up stories. And her stories were so beautiful, so magical, that all the children at the boarding school wanted to hear them.  When I was little, I supposed I could do the same thing. Of course, I didn't keep in mind the fact that Sara's audience rarely heard stories, while stories for kids today was as common as air. So I never got the rapt audience Sara had in the story. But still the idea enchanted me, and this book, I think, watered my dream to be an author.

My favorite parts in this book concerned the doll dresses and the food. For a while, I sewed doll dresses in abundance and the extravagance of the wardrobe of Sara's doll was inspiring.

But how I loved the food! Ms. Burnett had a skill to make me ravenously hungry. I think it had to do with the fact that she made you starve right along with her characters, so that the food was as special to you as to them. The scene in which Sara wakes up in her attic room to discover it transformed is my very favorite. I nearly cry at this scene. Sniffle, sniff, sniff.

Anyway, if you somehow missed reading this childhood classic of true royalty and triumph, you need to read it now, no matter your age. It's a touching story to be cherished again and again.



Favorite Books--#10--Lysbeth

As the author Anne Elisabeth Stengl and various others say, a good writer is a good reader. How true that is. While I have no doubt that there are great writers out there who don't read much, it is ever so beneficial to have a host of excellent books to learn from. If you are a writer of Fantasy, one would automatically think to read Fantasy. Yes, indeed, do that. But to make a world feel real, it is also a great idea to read fiction so you can get a sense of this world so that your world is even better. Thus even though my favorite genre to read is Fantasy, I love a great Historical Fiction.

I introduce a series of posts of my top ten favorite books, with the wish that you too may read and learn from these lovely works of fiction. I shall start from my 10th favorite book and progress up to my very favorite.

Favorite Books--#10:

Lysbeth

by

H. Rider Haggard



Publishing Company: Christian Liberty Press

The author, H. Rider Haggard, best known for his timeless classic, King Solomon's Mines, recounts in this tale the inspiring story of Lysbeth, a young Dutch woman forced to endure the perils and tribulations of the Spanish Occupation's yoke and Inquisition of the 16th century. The momentous events of her life unfold against the turbulent backdrop of the struggle of Dutch Independence, led by William the Silent.
This enduring story of faith, love, and hardship is now present in a newly revised and updated version for modern readers. Intense action, virtuous romance, and the abiding faith of the characters stand out from the pages of this unforgettable novel.
 (Taken from back of the book)

My thoughts:

I received this novel for Christmas one year, and I was entirely unsure how I would like it. The Spanish Occupation in the Netherlands had not been something I'd really studied, and I knew very little about it. Still, it was thick book (400+ pages), and it had a pretty front cover. So I dove in.

First off: as much as the title, front cover, and summary suggests, the book is NOT about Lysbeth. She is the main character for only 1/3 of the book! Rather it follows the storylines of her two sons: Foy and Adrian. Kind-hearted Foy is her son from her beloved Dutch husband, while romantic Adrian is the son from a pervious forced marriage to a Spaniard. So here we have two half-brothers...and did we mention they fall in love with the same girl, a beautiful maid named Elsa? And that Lysbeth's evil ex-husband is still on the loose? And that the conflict between the Protestants and the Catholics is getting increasingly hostile? And did we further mention that there is a great treasure hidden about, that the Spaniards would love to have, but could be the only hope for the Dutch, and that Foy is the one of the few people who knows where it is???

Ah-hah. Now we have a story here. The front cover and title would scare most guys off, which is a shame because this novel could appeal to them greatly.

This novel has just about everything in it: beautiful damsels in distress, heroic heroes, a terrifically evil villain, battles, betrayal, true love, daring escapes, brave last stands, a huge giant of a man with a broad sword in a world that uses rapiers, and a mad old woman out for revenge.The novel is brilliantly written, weaving between different plots and characters well.

I recommend the above version, which as far as I know, is only sold by Vision Forum or Christian Liberty Press. There are other versions, but this one is revised for the modern reader. While there is violence, there is no inappropriate content (despite two forced marriages!)

I hope you will read this little spoken-of classic, and enjoy it as much as I did.

A Beginning

In every mind there is an imagination...a window into a world all our own. For every person it is different, seen through the glass of an individual's life and point-of-view. Some do not bother to look into this window often, and thus miss extraordinary wonders. Then there are those who share their window with others. Each person who looks through it will see things uniquely, for everyone is unique.

So now, as the curtain falls back, I give you a glimpse into my own writer's window. I shall share my thoughts on writerly inspiration, including my reviews of my favorite books and characters, and explore the ever expanding view of my own imagination...