In the closing scene of Hamlet, the young Norwegian prince Fortinbras surveys the carnage wrought in the stinking house of Denmark and moves quickly to secure power. It's kind of a toss-away detail in the classic epic, tacked on at the end before the cinematic fade-to-black was technologically possible. But that Shakespeare was a canny fellow. A disapproving Norse prince, tsk-tsking over the corpses was designed to give the fans a sense of peace and continuity. "All is well," his presence says, swanking about Elsinor, "Denmark will go on. The ship of state will sail."
Which is why Betty Neels was every bit the genius Shakespeare was.
She has the absentminded father lending our heroine funds at the end. "My publishers have advanced me something on royalties; take this...and don't worry. I have sufficient to keep us going nicely for some time." Which you are to read: Toodle off into the sunset with your massive Dutch hero. We've come out of our fog long enough for you to gain your independence. Our ship of state will sail, etc., etc., etc...
And we're hardly ever left to wonder if insolvent relatives will be coming out of the woodwork to awkwardly touch our principle characters up for money.
[Betty Debbie] As far as I know, being an "intellectual" doesn't pay too well - and book lover that I am, I have a hard time believing that any book written by Mr. Pagett would be a commercial success. Possibly a critical success, but enough to have "royalties" to be advanced? Doubtful.
Bravo Betty.
Now on the subject of dogs. In Marrying Mary his are of a definable breed. Bouviers. (Which only just occured to me might be pronounced like "Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis") He's named them William and Mary which is such a cute play on the Dutch/Anglo relationship developing. They always sound shaggy and drooly and massive. So I hunted up a picture. See above. Maybe Betty Sherri, our resident pet lover, could make the case for big dogs...Also, Grandma Hanna (that's her picture on the sidebar) was a staunch Methodist (well, at least until she became staunch Mormon) so I have a soft heart for the Methodist character... I like that church attendance is an integral part of Betty Neels. Religion is never really discussed, but by golly, all of the main characters go to church whenever they can. Speaking of "church" I only know of 4, possibly 5 religions mentioned by La Neels. C of E (Church of England - wherein 99% of Neels couples are wed), The Dutch Equivalent (I'm not sure she ever says what the official name is - just that many of their hymn tunes are the same as C of E and that the congregation stands and sits at different times), Methodists - this religion is for the servant class, evidently - but by golly, when they are Methodist, they are staunch, Calvinist - one or two Dutch Doctors are this....and I'm trying to remember if there are any Scottish sects....
William and Mary, that is disgustingly awesome
ReplyDeleteProbably the best Dutch dog names ever.
ReplyDeleteHere's a fun fact: I'd always assumed that Church of England (or the Anglican church) was as pleasantly loosey-goosey as the Episcopal church is here. But not so. My brother-in-law and his wife are Baptists, which over there is a very socially-active Protestant sect. The C of E is considered very old skool and musty these days.
ReplyDeleteI asked my husband to check; Calvinism & Dutch Reform are the predominant Protestant sects. There is *now* a Protestant Church of the Netherlands, but it was only formed in 2004. And of course, Betty would be basing her understanding of Dutch religion on what things were like from, say, 1945-1980, so who knows how that relates to today.
Betty Barbara here--
ReplyDeleteI was impressed that dear old book writing Dad was legit. He was known enough that Mr Bell (the bookshop owner) had heard of him as an expert in his field. AND he had a genuine contract with a publisher!!
Re: the "advance". In US publishing, the publisher (depending on the terms of the contract), will usually issue an 'advance against royalties' in two stages-first part when the contract is signed, second part when the manuscript is turned in and deemed acceptable. These are usually very modest sums of money--don't quit your day job when you get your advance!!
For the successful author, the book sells well enough that the publisher gets their 'advance' back in earnings, the account is zeroed out and the author now gets the royalties as long as the book continues to sell.
However, there are also books that do not earn enough royalties to offset the advance. Oh well, that's a risk the publishers have taken in deciding to publish the book (and why 'advances' are usually small).
A number of The Great Betty's RDDs have Bouviers. Have we been tracking dog breeds along with food, fashion and cars??