Monday, April 2, 2012

Emma's Wedding--Reprise

I can see a little internecine feud developing over in the comments section regarding the attractiveness or un- of star-crossed slacker Kurt Cobain. I hesitate to wade into those waters, feeling as I do that they could suck this Betty into a morass much like the fabled rocky shoals of political discourse.  
On one hand I was the prime age (17), location (gritty, crypto-suburban Northwest), and hairstyle (bangless lank) to love that sort of thing.  (I confess to owning a LOT of flannel shirts but I, to borrow from Mr. Darcy's observation about Jane Bennet, 'smiled to much'.)  On the other hand, due to my tutelage from wiser heads (one ba-jillion sisters), my own musical tastes veered sharply in favor of disco--known as it is for family values and willingness to ask the hard questions in life like wondering how, if not when, that white boy will play that funky music...
I digress.  
What we ought to be arguing about is whether Betty Debbie was spot-on or un- in awarding Emma's Wedding TUJD's most ubiquitous rating: Boeuf en croute.
Have at it!
Love and lardy cakes,
Betty Keira


Emma's wedding was one of the last books penned by La Neels. It's got a little bit of everything, but it's also clear that The Great Betty was not quite at the top of her game. Even so, it's still a good read - if slightly forgettable.
We first meet Emma Dawson and her mother at the reading of Emma's father's will. We never find out what daddy died of, but evidently it was unexpected. He has left his dependents without two sticks to rub together. Daddy had unwisely invested the portfolio in what? Computers! Oh no! Not computers! Emma and mum are nearly, but not quite, bankrupt. In order to stave off impending bankruptcy, they are forced to sell the nice home with all the mod cons, the cars, the furniture and the family silver to stay afloat in a sea of insolvency. Mrs. Dawson is a typical Neels widow...selfish, check...whiny, check...lazy, check...same ol', same ol'. "I won't be shabby!" says Mum. Emma is left to take care of matters practical. What's practical is to move to the family vacation cottage in Salcombe. Mummy Dearest is not happy with the reduced circumstances. Oh, I almost forgot, Emma has a younger brother, James. He has a 'disappointing degree' in science and has taken a couple of years off to backpack around the world. Pay him no mind, this is the only time we'll hear about him. A few loose ends need tying up...cue the uptight boyfriend, Derek. Derek is involved in banking, and insolvency is not an attractive attribute in a potential mate. Time to dump Emma.
I do like Emma. One of the first things she does in Salcombe is to enroll in the library. You go, girlfriend. Editor: That's one of the first things I do when moving to a new town. She then goes shopping for dinner...stopping off at the patisserie where she encounters a strange man, with tousled hair and bristly chin, who stares at her, then takes a couple of pasties to go.
A new day dawns and it's time to get a job. Mum's small widow's pension won't cover all their needs, so Emma gets not one, but two, part-time jobs. Two nights a week she is to work in the local library (yay!) and two days a week she cleans vacation cottages. It's enough money to keep them going, but not so much time away from home, where our girl has to also do all the work (mum's got 'nerves'). One evening right at closing time, Mr. Stranger comes to the library to grab a copy of Rupert Bear for a insomniac toddler next door. Mr. Stranger hasn't brought his library card, but the librarian knows him...it's Dr. van Dyke. He says "Well, well" in quite a satisfied tone upon seeing Emma again.
Derek comes to town to propose to Emma again. He's willing to graciously overlook the family's near brush with bankruptcy and join in happy matrimony...yadda, yadda. And here we get the greatest comeback for an unwanted proposal - "Get stuffed". Yup, that's what she said. Let's say it again. "Get stuffed!" Yea, that's never getting old. She is furious at Derek, so out she goes muttering about what a rat and a worm he is. Repeatedly. She bumps right into Dr. van Dyke, who offers his hanky and a quiet sit-down in his car. Dr. van Dyke remarks that her 'rat' is a snappy dresser. Hee hee.
Dr. van Dyke's sister comes to Salcombe for a holiday with her kiddies. They stay in one of the vacation cottages that Emma cleans. Emma takes the family swimming at the beach where the good doctor shows up and gets a treat. Emma in a flattering swimsuit. Woot! Emma invites Wibeke over to her cottage for tea. Tea with mummy. Afterwards she informs her brother, Dr. van Dyke, what a horror Emma's mum is. She's a ball and chain around Emma's neck. Yup. That describes her perfectly. She's almost enough to drive Emma to drink.
Emma runs into Dr. van Dyke buying pasties again...and he offers her a temporary job at the medical centre...which is nice since mum is going off for an extended visit with friends and taking her pension with her. The job is great while it lasts, but Dr. van Dyke seems to be keeping his distance. Jobs are now dropping like flies. She gets her notice at the medical centre, then she gets her notice from the library and finds a stray dog. What? She looses her jobs and adopts a dog? Taking on added responsibility at a time like that? That's our girl. Unfortunately she names it Percy. Percy. Dang. What a lame name for a dog. To cap off her run of bad luck, Mummy Dearest writes her a letter to let her know that she's bringing an old school chum back to live in the cottage with her and will Emma get lost? Thanks a lot, Mum. Dr. van Dyke stops by and offers his hanky again for another howlfest. Dr. van Dyke does a bit of fancy plotting footwork, and comes up with a job for her, back in Holland - working with his receptionist. Sure, she can bring the dog. Emma agrees, saying that if it doesn't work out she can come back. Dr. van Dyke has no intention of anything dire happening to his "darling Emma."
Emma settles into her new job just fine. Her new job doesn't entail anything of a technical nature - it's all menial work. Dr. van Dyke comes by on Saturday and takes Emma out for a very workmanlike tour of Amsterdam. He practically walks her off her feet, which is usually a job for 'worthy' housemen. He is tempted to give her a kiss, but the legendary iron control of RDD's stands him in good stead and he possesses his soul in patience.
Emma gets an official looking letter at work one day - "Hey Emma, please don't have your mail sent here." Yeah, about that. It's from the family solicitor (the one who read daddy's will) - Mrs. Dawson was killed in an auto-accident with her school chum. Who says there's no poetic justice for evil in Neeldom? Prime example here. Awesome prime example. Awesomely awesome.
Dr. van Dyke takes her back to England. He drops her at the solicitor's house and then returns for the funeral. Dr. van Dyke drives Emma down to Salcombe after the funeral where they proceed to co-habit the cottage, without benefit of chaperonage. Dr. van Dyke takes Emma out for a spot of dinner and proposing. Call me Roele (about time!). You've reached The Age of Reason...shall we enter into a marriage of convenience? Emma agrees...and Roele is secretly delighted - his Emma was going to marry him! This calls for a kiss.
And now for a wedding that is as completely unlike the false advertising on the cover as possible. Emma wears last year's suit and the only hat she can find in the village - the weather consists of a tearing wind and persistent rain. Not so much like the sunny weather and bride in white depicted on the cover, is it? The Harwick ferry is cancelled due to bad weather, so they take the Dover ferry, whereupon Emma gets sick and Roele takes good care of her. Emma does have a worry though...she's worried about what his parents will think of her. What if they think I'm an adventuress? The parents like her a lot, she impresses them with her knowledge of Latin names of plants in the garden, and the way she doesn't boast about it.
Roele gets a call for a house call...in Rome. Rome, Italy. Emma's imagination starts working overtime - she imagines Roele taking care of a glamorous film star in a see-through nightie...which is fairly far-ish from the truth. And hey, isn't Rome where they used to have orgies? Back in ancient days, maybe - but orgies, nonetheless. Not that Emma is quite sure what goes on in an orgy, but she's pretty sure it involves beautiful women at some point. When Roele gets home Emma forgets to be cool and gives him a warm welcome...which soon leads to the gifting of some family jewels, in the form of a sapphire engagement ring. Yeah, sure, they're already married, but Roele is awooing Emma. Things have been going fairly swimmingly when a shadowy character is brought up to muddy the waters. A spiteful old biddy brings up an old flame of Roele's - Veronique...with a name like that you'd think she was the Evil Other Woman. Nope. Just a little muddy water. She's never really an issue, but hey, it gives Emma an excuse to run back to Salcombe...which gives Roele an excuse to meet her there for declarations of love and pasties. The end.
Rating: There's some fun to be had - in moderation. Emma was an appealing character for the most part. Mum was an evil stock character, but I did love her poetic ending. That alone makes this book just about worth it. Roele had some good moments of tousled hair and bristly chins, pasties and plotting. Overall I think I'll give it a boeuf en croute.
Fashion: Jersey dress, in pleasing shade of blue, straw hat and swimsuit, tweed jacket and skirt, cashmere twin set, sapphire blue dress, homemade rhubarb wine, last years suit and the only
Food: Sunday chicken, pasties (3 times!!!), crab sandwiches, peach melba, zuurkool, smoked eel, Welsh rarebit, a mountain of chips, apple pie and cream, tea and crumpets, bread and butter pudding, fruit tarts, slippery bits and pieces.

32 comments:

  1. I got this one read on time. Yea, I love Spring Break. Good call on this one Betty Debbie. Having made Pasties (rhymes with nasty, not hasty) for a church fund raiser, helped me relate. I liked it, but it's not a top tenner.

    Not to worry about those young flights of fancy, Betty Keira. I admit to a crazy crush on Bobby Sherman, which accounts for the fact that seeing Seattle is still on my bucket list. (But I'd never post B.S. in the cheesecake hall of fame! ;-)

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    1. Betty Barbara here--
      No, you want the young Bobby Sherman from Here Come the Brides!
      My sister is the one who had the crush on Bobby Sherman. She still has at least one of his albums around somewhere. I had a liking for the older brother Robert Brown. FYI, David Soul played the middle brother. I loved that show, hokey as it was.

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    2. No, Betty Barbara, I did not want the young Bobby Sherman, for a very particular reason. Three times I tried to comment. The first time the comment was removed (not by the author). The second time the data transfer malfunctioned (but this time I had saved a copy). The third time the comment was published but the Bobby Sherman picture link was "lost". So I tried that again at 11:40 FBT (Founding Bettys Time) and it worked. And today, when I read your answer, what did I see? Nothing. The comment had been removed again. It was an excerpt from Wikipedia, and I did name the source. So what is their problem?
      Anyway, here is the first part of my comment which got lost along with Bobby Sherman:
      Thank you for mentioning the pronunciation of pasty. I had to look it up in my beloved Cambridge Pronouncing Dictionary, because I didn’t know if you meant NAH-sty or NA-sty, and I found out it was PA-sty, but for the Cornish kind also PAH-sty. Very interesting.
      I also had to look up Bobby Sherman, though the name sounded familiar. And what I found out about him was very interesting.
      Betty Anonymous

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    3. From Wikipedia:
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Sherman

      "When Sherman guest-starred on an episode of the Jack Webb television series Emergency! [...], he found a new calling[...], and he eventually left the public spotlight and became an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) . He soon volunteered with the Los Angeles Police Department, working with paramedics, and giving CPR and first aid classes. Sherman officially became a technical reserve officer with the Los Angeles Police Department in the 1990s, a position in which he still holds today. Sherman was later promoted to Captain status in the Los Angeles Police Department. For over a decade he has served as a medical training officer at the Los Angeles Police Academy, instructing thousands of police officers in first aid and CPR. He was named LAPD’s Reserve Officer of the Year in 1999.
      Sherman also became a reserve Deputy Sheriff in 1999 with the San Bernardino County deputy sheriff continuing his CPR/emergency training of new deputy hires. Sherman retired from the sheriffs Department in 2010, but continues with the LAPD.

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    4. Betty Barbara here--
      Well, Betty Anonymous, all is now clear! I was aware of his paramedic career, but hey, I'm sister to a fan(*grin*). My insistence on Here Come the Brides was to provide context for why Betty Mary had a crush on him and wanted to visit Seattle(setting for the TV series).

      Hmmm, this may be the most attention he's gotten in a while......

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    5. I saw a lot of pictures from his younger years and I might have liked him as a kid, had I seen the series then. I think he improved with age. There was a picture of Bobby Sherman and Erik Estrada somewhere, both in uniform. And what do you know, "Estrada's experience in C.H.I.P.S led him to become a reserve officer for the Muncie Police Department in Muncie, Indiana. [...] As of 2009, Estrada was a full-time deputy sheriff in Bedford County, Virginia." (from Wikipedia)
      Betty Anonymous

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  2. I liked this one because it was memorable! The seaside town, the pt jobs which were hard to get (and made me feel relatable), and the mom who died!!!!

    How can you forget the mom who died and all that hard work at a small town!!!

    Betty Francesca

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    1. Forgot to mention, I didn't care for the RDD that much. I didn't think he was nice at all when they first met.

      BFrancesca

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    2. I thought he was nice. Ok, so he stared. Because he was smitten? I rather liked the scenes at the bakery and at the library.
      Betty Anonymous

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  3. Funny caption about how the illustrator didn't read the book. As a publisher, I am inside the ropes (as it were) on this phenomenon. They *don't* read the book! What happens is that a form (the "Book Cover Art Form") is filled out and sent to the illustrator. And even then...

    I love my graphic designer to bits.* Really, I do. But I'm not sure she even reads the Book Cover Art Form. I recently sent her the Book Cover Art Form for another HRP book. The form said specifically that the heroine had purple hair at the beginning, and very short dark hair at the end. I got a cover with a Scandinavian blonde on it. Still waiting for revisions...

    * Especially now that she's over 18; I freaked out when I learned she was seventeen and I'd sent her a *really* racy bit from a Harmony Road Press book. (These are books that check into a pretty raunchy bedsit in Brighton and never leave, if you see what I mean.) I had to resist the urge to check all applicable federal laws about sending pornography (the "romance" distinction likely to be lost on Los Federales...) to minors.

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    1. So how did you find her as an illustrator? I'm curious. Was she an enterprising teen or did you have to advertise, etc., etc.

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    2. I started with a list of about 25 graphic designers who said they did book covers. I looked at their portfolios, which were at their websites, and selected 6 whose work I liked enough.

      I sent those six people emails and two didn't respond at all (?), two responded with a form email or something else that put me off, and two seemed excited at the prospect of work.

      So I gave them each a website banner to do. One did the banner for one of Harmony Road Press's authors, the other did the banner for Harmony Road Press's own site. The author website designer was just harder to work with. Not unpleasant or anything, but it took a lot of explanations (emails back and forth) before I got something I felt I could use.

      With Heather, though, her work was immaculate immediately, she always seemed to grasp precisely what sort of tone I wanted, she was prompt & thorough with changes, and it just never occurred to me she was ONLY 17! That's one-third my age, and I'm still a numbnut most of the time.

      As soon as I learned her age, I insisted she disclose to her parents what we published, and allow them to get in touch with me. I do think she should have told me her; I equally think I should have asked, as far-fetched as it might have seemed.

      Heather's in college (yes, and she was at age 17 too), and she's very busy with other clients, so I'm waiting now on some changes to the second book in a series. Luckily (!) for both of us, I'm swamped myself, so she's no later with the cover than I am with the editing.

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  4. The View from 9 Victoria Quay, Salcombe

    Upper Crust, Salcombe

    bakery

    review:
    Get there early, this food goes quick! Super fresh and tasty. I enjoy standing in here just for the lively smell of cooked bread, they could bottle and sell it! I usually buy a French bread stick, flapjacks and strawberry donuts. All cooked on the day and very fresh :)

    There's a reason why this bakery has a queue that goes out onto the street!

    Betty Anonymous

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    1. Even though she never used it in her one book that went to Yorkshire, the ultimate Bettys bakery is (drumroll Bettys!

      The name says it all. You all have to promise me you'll go to a Bettys if you ever get to Yorkshire. I've been to three of the six locations. YUMM-O.

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    2. Betty Magdalen, I envy you. I've been reading the menu. Again. They serve a very Betty breakfast! And my favourite green tea. "Where the Dales meet the Alps..." I love Rösti.
      Swiss Alpine Macaroni = The Swiss equivalent of "macaroni cheese"!!!
      I'm getting hungrier by the minute.
      I hope you'll be able to visit all three other locations of Bettys next time you go to England.
      (I started "collecting" McDonald's locations in my youth, he he. But the menu cannot compete. Although, once in a while they serve Alpine inspired food over here, and the Big Rösti is a simply divine burger.)
      Betty Three Times Envious Anonymous

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  5. View: www.salcombe-holiday-cottage.co.uk/AboutUs.ink

    Upper Crust: lds.localdataimages.com/large/1243/12435842.jpg

    bakery: andraskaldor.isendyouthis.com/images/art/Andras-Kaldor-Bakery-in-Salcombe-1838438.jpg

    review: www.yelp.co.uk/biz/upper-crust-salcombe

    I am slightly upset, sniff, cause my links get lost. And no RDD hanky in sight.
    Betty Anonymous

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  6. Why can't this restaurant be near meeeeee, she whinged, in an annoying "poor little me" voice.

    www.cornishpastyco.com

    Betty von Susie

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    1. I should not have read the menu while being hungry. That place is sooo faaar away from me.
      Betty Hungrier Anonymous

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  7. All this talk of pasties is making me hungry, never mind that I've never had one before. I imagine it's something like a fried wonton or an empanada? Am I close?

    I actually like this book too. Emma was not described as a dazzling beauty, but Wibeke did say that she should've been a model in the fashion world.

    All of this glee over the poetic justice of the mother's death reminded me of a "Clumsy Thumbsy" clip of The Ellen Show. It's about an actual texting conversation (I'm paraphrasing):

    mother: Aunt Jean dead. LOL.
    daughter: Mom, why is that funny??
    mother: That's not funny! What do you mean?
    daughter: Do you know what LOL means? It means laughing out loud!
    mother: Oh no! I thought it was Lots of Love! I have to re-text all the family!

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  8. No way to blame auto correct for that one............

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  9. I really like this book and Emma and Roele. Love the library job. I would have chased Roele so that I could have scanned the barcode. ;) The weird shadow brother. Not so much. And why did he get money from grandma but Emma didn't? The Great Betty (or her editor) should have taken the couple of mentions of the brother out. Still a good read.

    Betty AnoninTX

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  10. Mrs. Dawson's death would have been more enjoyable if poor Emma hadn't been devastated by it. As a reader, one can celebrate the deserved car-smash of a heartless, idiotic character, but as a daughter, one probably mourns regardless.

    I suspect the cover illustration was intentionally unrelated to the wedding described in the book. White-dress brides in sunshine sell better than last-year's-besuited brides in damp hats.

    I do like Emma's gumption, and Roele's relative straight-forwardness.

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    1. At first, it does seem a bit strange that Emma would seem to mourn more at her mother's death than her father's. But her mother was her last tie to her father and her old way of life. once that was gone, her past was gone too. I felt a great loss when my father in law died, in part because he was a tie of my husband's mother, whom I adored. Mind you, the man married my husband's stepmother 4 months after her death, and they were married 23 years before he died, but her loss was still fresh to me when he died. I love my and honor my current mother in law, but it's not the same. I get Emma as more than a plot device.

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    2. We also don't get to see her in the early phase of mourning her father; by the time we meet her she's had to take charge of the household, the finances, and her mother's grief. With so much to do, she didn't have the luxury of expressing her bereavement. When Mum died, Roele took on much of the administrative work, so Emma had time to mourn.

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  11. This is one of my favorites, but I have a bone to pick with Betty here. I cannot imagine that Emma, what with her A-levels, does not know what an orgy is.

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    1. I dare say she knew what an orgy was, same as I did as a school-girl, but didn't really know about the goings-on, if you see what I mean. But she was 27 years of age round about the year 2000, so she must have lived a very sheltered life.
      Betty Anonymous

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  12. ALL of Betty's heroines "lived" in the 1930's...

    Hahaha Hee :)

    Betty Francesca

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  13. By the way, I so relate to the whatchamacallit heroines who are not Olivias, because I just got a pt job at someone's (rich) home to help the elderly mom.

    How cool is that!!!

    I'm a Betty Neels heroine too!!!! ;)

    Betty Francesca

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    1. Well, living the Neels dream! Pretty cool!

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    2. Good for you, Betty Francesca!!! ❀❀❀
      Betty Anonymous

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    3. Thank you, my Betty Friends!

      :)

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