China Court: The Hours of a Country House--Spoiler Thread

[Karlyne]

Yesterday Goodreads was "over capacity", so I was keeping my Tracy and Peter thoughts for later, and then BAM! all Hell broke loose. A small wildfire about a mile south that had been knocked down and was smouldering peacefully, erupted into a huge blaze that has chewed through 8000 acres and sent us into a level 2 evacuation order (meaning you can stay if you want to, but when it goes to level 3, it's immediate). It was a war zone, huge military-like helicopters and bombers right over my head all day. The grandkidlets got here an hour into it and I handed them hoses. We spent the rest of the afternoon soaking the house in the 90' heat. And this morning it's still burning, but its in the mountains to our east and I think we're out if it.

So, if my brain returns to normal (and my sunburnt face), I'll contemplate on Tracy and Peter later...

[Barb in Maryland]

Karlyne wrote: "Yesterday Goodreads was "over capacity", so I was keeping my Tracy and Peter thoughts for later, and then BAM! all Hell broke loose. A small wildfire about a mile south that had been knocked down a..."

Karlyne--Keep safe!

[Susan in NC]

Karlyne - be safe and take care! We’ve got more rain heading our way later this weekend, wish I could send it your way! I know you’re otherwise engaged, but please keep us posted when you can.

[Abigail]

So terrifying, Karlyne! I've lived in wildfire zones and know how powerless it can make you feel. Hope the winds stay favorable for you.

Just a note on hosing: it feels good to be doing something, but the radiant heat of a wildfire is such that it will dry out any wetted vegetation or roofing when still a block away, so in fact all you're doing is drawing down the water available for the firefighters, whose high-pressure hoses are the only thing that stands a chance against the flames. The one exception is if you are close enough for embers to be landing on your property. If you're not under mandatory evac by then, it's helpful to douse or beat out the embers so they can't start spot fires.

Hoping you stay safe! And I look forward to hearing how the ending of China Court was for you.

[Karlyne]

We don't have fire hydrants, Abigail! They draw the water out of rivers, ponds and lakes via giant helicopters. We have a metal roof, so they tell us to put as many sprinklers around the perimeter as possible and then douse the actual house. We have a small house, so it's feasible. And, luckily, a beautiful well.

[Abigail]

That makes a big difference!

[Hana, Hana is In Absentia]

Karlyne wrote: "Yesterday Goodreads was "over capacity", so I was keeping my Tracy and Peter thoughts for later, and then BAM! all Hell broke loose. A small wildfire about a mile south that had been knocked down a..."

The over "capacity stuff" makes me slightly ill. Amazon, which owns Goodreads and Abe Books, has massive internet capacity but we're the ugly stepchildren sent to bed with breadcrusts. Karlyne I'm so glad you have your own well and are safe. I'm sorry I got side tracked with weekend stuff and missed commenting earlier.

[Karlyne]

Smokey, but valiantly plugging along here. 32,000 acres gone, 25% contained, and just hoping the forecast today for the hottest day of the year with gusty winds is wrong..

Back to Tracy and Peter, about whom I was contemplating before I was so rudely interrupted. The similarity between the two, even more than their intelligence and love of place, is their insecurity. When Tracy says that Peter's letter is silly and morbid, her heart and brain is telling her that they can make this work. She sees that Peter does want her, because he came up twice and stood by the wall (that struck me as sweet, I'm guessing because it was such a humble, little boy thing to do). And then, when Peter rescues Tracy from the pouring-out, we see that he's considerate especially to those who need him. In fact, that's the whole point- each of them is strong when the other is weak. It's only when they are both weak and insecure, at the same time, that trouble hits. The slap shocked me, and although I know a shaking is harder on the head, it wouldn't have made me jump like the slap did. But this was written in the early 60s where people did slap each other and had for a long time, at least in the movies and books. And it served its purpose of shocking them both back into their right senses. There was no doubt that both of them intended this to be a complete marriage (the references to children), so although it was abrupt, I think the ending was telling us that passion and love were in store for them.

All in all, I quite adored this book!

[Barb in Maryland]

Karlyne wrote: " Back to Tracy and Peter... In fact, that's the whole point- each of them is strong when the other is weak. It's only when they are both weak and insecure, at the same time, that trouble hits"

Karlyne--very astute observation!

[Karlyne]

Thanks, Barb! There's a lot of... content! in this book.

One more thought: all of the children in this book, from The Brood to Tracy, are expected to do what their parents want them to do. Eliza wants an outside life, Lady Pat wants Jared, and Tracy wants her own home. And all of their parents say, "no". None of them seem to think their children should have any say in their own lives. I wonder how much we, as a society, have changed...

[Abigail]

I'm glad you're keeping safe, Karlyne, and hope you see relief from the smoke soon! We had two weeks of it last summer, and very dreary it was, never to be able to get a proper breath.

I hope you're right about Tracy and Peter. I do think they want to make it work, and at least they share their devotion to place. Now if Peter can just master his caveman impulses... And you're certainly right about how we have changed! I'm old enough to remember not speaking unless spoken to.

[Hana, Hana is In Absentia]

Karlyne wrote: "... each of them is strong when the other is weak. It's only when they are both weak and insecure, at the same time, that trouble hits...."That make so much sense, Karlyne.

[Hana, Hana is In Absentia]

I'm fairly sure that Peter and Tracy will be 'help mates opposite each other' as in the Biblical sense. They are complementary and have shared goals and a love of the land and place. I'm optimistic about their marriage and family.

[Karlyne]

Abigail wrote: "I'm glad you're keeping safe, Karlyne, and hope you see relief from the smoke soon! We had two weeks of it last summer, and very dreary it was, never to be able to get a proper breath.

I hope you'..."

My parents both had quick-witted siblings, so if you jumped into one of the adult conversations, you'd better be sure of your ground or you'd be hammered! Caution was the order of the day around my extended family...

But what I was wondering about is how much (if any) we've changed when it comes to the expectations parents put upon their kids. There seems to be huge emphasis on success, for instance, these days, with parents demanding college educations, corporate lives and huge salaries for their kids. And I wonder about the kids like Tracy and Peter who want to be farmers and homemakers or like Anne who quietly leaves home rather than fight about her controversial career. Or even Lady Pat and her unsuitable choice of spouse. Are we any better at letting our kids "fail" than their parents were?

[Hana, Hana is In Absentia]

Karlyne, the 'college do or die' career path is one of the saddest aspect of modern life IMNSHO. My current non-fiction read is The Last Resort: A Memoir of Zimbabwe which shed light on the dying art of farming--so many of the people in the amazing story are old and their children have abandoned the old traditions and dedication to the land that their parent and grand-parents had.

Decades ago my school did a career test that indicated I would be best suited for horticulture and gardening. My family was horrified, much as Tracy's and the Hoard were. The test was better than my family's advice and I still regret not following that path.

[Karlyne]

That's a perfect example, Hana! Too many parents don't know their kids, and because they are caught up in the "success" game, they automatically assume they know what's best for them. We have become such a culture of status, fueled by money, that we've all too often forgotten just what it means to live a "successful" life.

And we have really forgotten that our children's lives are not our own and that they, not us, should be in charge of them. No matter how well-meaning our motives are the truth still is that every person needs to live his own life.

[Karlyne]

Hana! Tracy's desire for a home of her own really resonated with me. Did Mrs. Quin's garden-making strike a chord within you?

[Hana, Hana is In Absentia]

Mrs. Quin's garden really did resonate with me! I longed to be there with Tracy to help with garden restoration--a major but delightful challenge.

[Karlyne]

The whole idea of "keeping" the home and garden was just plain beautiful.

[Hana, Hana is In Absentia]

Yes!

[Lesley]

How astute was Mrs Quin (Ripsie). She knew Tracy liked Peter; she knew Peter probably liked Tracy; she knew they'd be a good match; she knew Peter was afraid to take the step, possibly afraid of being considered going above himself; she knew each had great attachments to the house and farm, so she added the letter to the Will to make sure all that she loved stayed with those who would go on loving it too.

And Eliza. Well was she one clever cookie, quietly working away in the background, unnoticed, amassing a fortune greater that the family would ever suspect. There a couple of generations later was Tracy just working the family (but Walter, you are the head ...) so she had all she ever wanted - family, China Court and a small unexpected fortune courtesy of Eliza.
Both women so very alike. I'm sure Eliza would have been delighted to see her stealthy wealth go to her kindred spirit.

[Lesley]

Having said all that I now have to make a confession. In all my 70 years I've never read anything by Rumer Godden!! I cannot believe I have missed this wonderful storyteller until now.

I a determined to rectify this misdemeanour this year. Thank you to this group for introducing me!

[Karlyne]

Hmmm, but Peter and Tracy didn't really know each other until after Mrs. Quin's death, when Tracy arrived on the scene. She did know their separate personalities, and I think was convinced that they'd suit, but it was a guess on her part since she hadn't seen them together.

I didn't see Tracy as being devious at all and thought she was being perfectly sincere about Walter being the head of the family! What made you think she was as crooked as Eliza, Leslie?

[Lesley]

Karlyne wrote: "Hmmm, but Peter and Tracy didn't really know each other until after Mrs. Quin's death, when Tracy arrived on the scene. She did know their separate personalities, and I think was convinced that the..."

I didn't think she or Eliza were crooked. More very clever in a determined, quiet kind of way.
I got the impression Tracy had known Peter when she lived with Mrs Quin.
I guess when you think about it all three women, Mrs Quin, Eliza, and Tracy, were very similar. Mrs Quin made her life without the man she really wanted more tolerable by immersing herself in the house; Eliza, knowing her life would be without a man in it, immersed herself in collecting books possibly to fill the house with what she enjoyed; Tracy had fallen in love with the house as a child and didn't want it to be dispensed with, agreeing to marry Peter to achieve that. She also wanted family, and flattered Walter to make sure family weren't alienated - she didn't want them to 'push off'.

The women in the family seemed to be quite strong and largely kept the house going I thought.

[Karlyne]

Although I agree about them all being strong, in my eyes Eliza was as crooked as a dog's hind leg. She falsified accounts, stole merchandise, and flat out lied. She may have thought her behavior was justified, but it wasn't in my book.

Tracy was fairly young when she left the Court, and I seem to remember that Mrs. Quin didn't recognize Peter when she met him and was surprised at his being a St. Omer? I'll see if I cand find that part.

I didn't see Tracy as flattering anyone, but just trying to give her elders their due respect. Which I respected in her, because I might have swept them all out of the house ASAP and hoped they were leaving for a long time! 😁

[Lesley]

Karlyne wrote: "Although I agree about them all being strong, in my eyes Eliza was as crooked as a dog's hind leg. She falsified accounts, stole merchandise, and flat out lied. She may have thought her behavior wa..."

For some reason I had it in my head she and Peter used to get on as children for while Tracy was there, and leaving the house and farm were part of her angst when having to leave.

Maybe flattering was a poor choice on my part, but I thought she made a comment, or it was implied, she'd rather include them because she always wanted a family.
Yes, like you I would probably have been more tempted to sweep them out of the house too! :)

There were a lot of cross-generational characters, maybe I have got one or two mixed up?! I was probably too rapt up in Godden's writing. It is the sort of book that would do well with another reading I think.

[Karlyne]

I found myself reading through it again this morning without even noticing how much I'd got through! It really is compelling.

Tracy was born in 1939, and Stace died in February 1944. After his death, Tracy was sent to the Court and stayed for 3 years, so she was about eight when she left. She was gone for 12 years, so she's 20-21 when the story starts. I couldn't find any reference to Peter as a child, at least not yet!

[Lesley]

Karlyne wrote: "I found myself reading through it again this morning without even noticing how much I'd got through! It really is compelling.

Tracy was born in 1939, and Stace died in February 1944. After his de..."

I didn't mean for you to re-read it, Karlyne - lol. :) See, it is those details I have missed on a first reading and so much going on - in the book and my life. I'll have to borrow it and do it all again when things settle down.

[Karlyne]

Lesley~aka Ella's Gran wrote: "Karlyne wrote: "I found myself reading through it again this morning without even noticing how much I'd got through! It really is compelling.

Tracy was born in 1939, and Stace died in February 19..."

You know what? I enjoyed this book so much I think I will reread it soon!

[Lesley]

Karlyne wrote: "Lesley~aka Ella's Gran wrote: "Karlyne wrote: "I found myself reading through it again this morning without even noticing how much I'd got through! It really is compelling.

Tracy was born in 1939..."

Me too. I'll let you know when that's happening :)

[Karlyne]

Lesley~aka Ella's Gran wrote: "Karlyne wrote: "Lesley~aka Ella's Gran wrote: "Karlyne wrote: "I found myself reading through it again this morning without even noticing how much I'd got through! It really is compelling.

Tracy ..."

Ok!