tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post3429317107946243869..comments2024-03-25T09:03:39.020-07:00Comments on The Uncrushable Jersey Dress: Winter Wedding - RepriseBetty Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16446092401692468002noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-53817699637456240252014-01-19T02:09:07.557-08:002014-01-19T02:09:07.557-08:00Gentle? Grrrr!
Ha ha.<b>Gentle</b>? Grrrr!<br />Ha ha.Betty Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15517346001348814015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-84510797659610561812013-08-17T13:30:47.012-07:002013-08-17T13:30:47.012-07:00Uhuhhhh, "a bit ostentatious". We don...Uhuhhhh, "a <i><b>bit</b></i> ostentatious". We don't like to think of our RDD/RBDs as show-offs. That's for the younger brothers ... (That's a cliché, isn't it? How many rotten apples were in the barrel, Betty van den Betsy? Making us malign all younger RDD brothers. But you know what I mean.) <br /><br />The Professor also owned a modern model of ostentatiousness. <br /><br /><i>Winter Wedding</i>, © 1979<br /><br /><i>On her way home later, pedalling briskly through the crowded streets, she saw him again, driving a beautiful <a href="http://books.google.de/books?id=xDu9qUlM7eMC&pg=PT37&dq=jaguar+xj+spider+intitle:winter+intitle:wedding+inauthor:neels+inauthor:betty&hl=de&sa=X&ei=5IAPUpDdFcGTtAa4uIH4BA&ved=0CDkQuwUwAA#v=onepage&q=jaguar%20xj%20spider%20intitle%3Awinter%20intitle%3Awedding%20inauthor%3Aneels%20inauthor%3Abetty&f=false" rel="nofollow"><b>Jaguar XJ Spider</b></a>. It was a silver-grey, Italian designed and probably worth a very great deal of money. He lifted a nonchalant hand in greeting as he slid past her which she had to ignore; there was so much traffic ...</i><br /><br />As was explained <a href="http://everyneelsthing.blogspot.de/2010/11/early-on-in-book-little-sister-louisa.html" rel="nofollow">in an earlier post</a> featuring pictures of both the Lagonda and an Italian designed Jaguar he could not have owned that particular <a href="http://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/classic-concepts-1978-jaguar-xj-spider-pininfarina" rel="nofollow">Jaguar XJ Spider</a> as it was never actually produced. <br /><br />The Great Betty may have seen the car at the British Motor Show in 1978, or (in the news) on television, or in a magazine.Betty Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15517346001348814015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-69897001040247366372013-08-16T20:42:30.550-07:002013-08-16T20:42:30.550-07:00Beautiful car, but surely more than a bit ostentat...<a href="http://www.classicdriver.com/en/car/lagonda/v12/1940/156558" rel="nofollow">Beautiful car</a>, but surely more than a bit ostentatious by 1979?Betty van den Betsyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05462647734423787992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-19246837277888860482013-08-16T10:28:40.316-07:002013-08-16T10:28:40.316-07:00I would just like to smack Louisa. (I may have sai...I would just like to smack Louisa. (I may have said that before, but I feel it so strongly it bears repeating.)<br /><br />BTW, as a side note, because I was curious, I looked up the car the Prof said he had a "1940 Lagonda V-12 Drophead Coupé. (spelled "couppé" in my Kindle copy). Quite a car!<br /><br />http://www.classicdriver.com/en/car/lagonda/v12/1940/156558Betty JanetA Ohionoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-11945221194129995352013-02-17T05:12:47.524-08:002013-02-17T05:12:47.524-08:00When she woke up the Professor was sitting on the ...<i><b>When she woke up</b> the Professor was sitting on the side of the bed, <b>holding her hand.</b></i> — Awww, this is sooooo sweeeeet!Betty Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15517346001348814015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-85703857680010101892013-02-16T15:16:42.843-08:002013-02-16T15:16:42.843-08:00Heehee Thank you! Now I remember!
Betty AnoninTX ...Heehee Thank you! Now I remember!<br /><br />Betty AnoninTX Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-56209426315952471322013-02-16T12:20:14.138-08:002013-02-16T12:20:14.138-08:00CHAPTER EIGHT (after the Professor's grandmoth...CHAPTER EIGHT (after the Professor's grandmother had been rescued)<br /><b>...</b> <i>When she woke up the Professor was sitting on the side of the bed, holding her hand. As she opened her eyes he observed: 'You look about ten years old with all that hair and that woolly shawl. Bep tells me that you sneezed.' She was about to tell him that she often sneezed but never caught cold when <b>she sneezed</b> again, whereupon he got up, went to the door, shouted <b>'Maud!'</b> and came back again, this time to lean over the end of the bed, the stethoscope he had carried in his pocket in his hand. Mrs Wright joined them so quickly, Emily guessed that she had been waiting just outside the door. 'Now it's me being the nurse,'she declared cheerfully. 'What am I supposed to do?' <b>'Er—unwrap Emily, if you would be so kind—just the shawl</b> so that I can listen to her chest. I'm not sure how long she was with Grandmother, but it's pretty cold <b>...</b></i>Betty Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15517346001348814015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-84045647292017270332013-02-16T05:59:04.138-08:002013-02-16T05:59:04.138-08:00Perhaps you don't remember because he called M...Perhaps you don't remember because he called Maud to observe the proprieties. He had the stethoscope already in his hand.Betty Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15517346001348814015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-43071172734703062212013-02-15T19:55:28.042-08:002013-02-15T19:55:28.042-08:00I love that you can't help but love it, Betty ...I love that you can't help but love it, Betty Caroline! I agree that Emily just takes it and takes it from her sisters (though I adore that she tends to enjoy shoveling it back at Renier--turning him down for dates, wanting to show off at the ill-fated dance a bit...) which is not awesome but I always took her lending her sister money as a sort of insurance-against-homicidal-Seconal-poisonings-for-the-twins. Evidently a fiver didn't cut it. Keirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-26793969041608057462013-02-15T18:52:28.630-08:002013-02-15T18:52:28.630-08:00Why do I not remember Renier's "Maud"...Why do I not remember Renier's "Maud" after the sneeze? Which page/chapter? I just read this book last week, too.<br /><br />Betty AnoninTXAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-33661690804367768772013-02-15T18:41:49.692-08:002013-02-15T18:41:49.692-08:00I think this is the thing that I dislike about Emi...I think this is the thing that I dislike about Emily. It's more than being a martyr ... it's offering herself to be used as a doormat. It's her laying herself down in front of the door to be walked on. It's like she's completely clueless about how dumb she's being about Louisa. She's almost enabling Louisa to be a mean, selfish person.<br /><br />That said, it's still one of my favorite books.Betty Carolinehttp://www.lifeunfocused.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-21512940583208794002013-02-15T18:31:52.693-08:002013-02-15T18:31:52.693-08:00I also like, after he puts Louisa in the car, wher...I also like, after he puts Louisa in the car, where he just stands outside looking into nothingness. You know he's berating himself for what he's just done (accusing Emily). It's probably not a dawning realization moment, but definitely a looking into yourself and finding yourself lacking kind of moment.Betty Carolinehttp://www.lifeunfocused.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-89030206270487363612013-02-15T18:22:10.159-08:002013-02-15T18:22:10.159-08:00I think that's the key right there. Betty want...I think that's the key right there. Betty wants us to like them so we do, even though we don't really understand why, or approve of what they've done. We're supposed to dislike Louisa, so we do, because she's obviously careless and cruel.Betty Carolinehttp://www.lifeunfocused.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-43430695620395516122013-02-15T18:16:48.837-08:002013-02-15T18:16:48.837-08:00That explanation definitely helps, but it still ju...That explanation definitely helps, but it still just riles that he doesn't even give her a gentle rebuke. Grrrr!Betty Carolinehttp://www.lifeunfocused.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-72488990841196411292013-02-15T11:34:48.600-08:002013-02-15T11:34:48.600-08:00Where does the money come from?
In the beginning, ...Where does the money come from?<br />In the beginning, we are told <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=de&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=%22Emily+used+the+money+Mary+had+left+for+the+twins%27+needs,+to+house+and+feed+Louisa+too%22+intitle:winter+intitle:wedding+inauthor:neels+inauthor:betty&num=10" rel="nofollow"><i>Emily used the money Mary had left for the twins' needs, to house and feed Louisa too</i></a>.<br />And yet, later, I wonder if Louisa already had any money of her own, from her legacy, because in one of those hateful scenes (<i>I can't wait to get to London. <b>We must meet sometimes</b> when you've found yourself somewhere to live. <b>I won't ask you to the flat</b>, I don't think you'd like the girls much—I mean, <b>they're younger than you</b> and two of them are models already.' She got up and went to look at herself in the mirror over the fireplace. </i>), she says, <a href="http://books.google.de/books?id=xDu9qUlM7eMC&pg=PT88&dq=%22%27That+reminds+me,+here%27s+something+towards+them.%27+Two+five-pound+notes%22+%22%27I+haven%27t+paid+you+any+housekeeping+for+last+month,+have+I%3F+I+can%27t+spare+it,+Emily,+%22+intitle:winter+intitle:wedding+inauthor:neels+inauthor:betty&hl=de&sa=X&ei=9V0eUcazCemA4gSNvYDgCw&redir_esc=y" rel="nofollow">'<b><i>I haven't paid you any housekeeping for last month, have I? I can't spare it</i></b></a><i>, Emily, I simply had to have some shoes I saw—they're black patent and I really need them.' Emily fished around in her handbag. 'That reminds me, <b>here's something towards them.' Two five-pound notes, all she had</b> until she went to the bank and cashed George's cheque. Louisa took them with a careless: 'Oh, thanks—I can always use bread.'</i><br /><br />And don’t you just want to thump Emily-the-Martyr for throwing money after the ingrate?Betty Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15517346001348814015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-20397714978022175802013-02-15T08:42:24.422-08:002013-02-15T08:42:24.422-08:00I really second the 'Real men don't grovel...I really second the 'Real men don't grovel' assumption. I think the reason the I love this book is that there is so much mental anguish implied with our hero even though The Great Betty was parsimonious with explicit revelations that he thinks and admits that he's been an idiot.<br /><br />I love the scene in the hospital lobby just after he's laid into Emily about doping the twins and Louisa comes in mincing and crying and he dispatches her. There is a pregnant pause (if I recall correctly) that sums up to me the cosmic shift between his viewing Emily as a curiosity (I think that's why he was so willing to be with Louisa--she was pretty, he was bored and the whole cottage-with-twins-and-an-un-pretty-drudge-doing-most-of-the-work set-up interested him in the way that Miss Marple or Colombo might be interested in the particulars of crime) and seeing, for the first time, that he has played a monstrous part in injuring someone who is plainly heroic. I think this is where his professional regard and grudging pity turn into protectiveness and affection. <br /><br />But I totally get why some wouldn't read it that way. Like I said, La Neels was skimpy with those things and liked the reader to do some heavy lifting of their own...Keirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10802633046486840052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-75360968871838977352013-02-14T22:40:13.762-08:002013-02-14T22:40:13.762-08:00I get really angry with Louisa when she hocks the ...I get really angry with Louisa when she hocks the locket. Poor Emily has to go to the dance wearing the unflattering, old dress. I get tired of Louisa's cutting Emily down all the time too. Snipe snipe snipe. The Seconal is the icing on the cake.<br /><br />Betty AnoninTXAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-2004629908503295962013-02-14T22:19:27.856-08:002013-02-14T22:19:27.856-08:00I'm a retired librarian. :)
Betty AnoninTXI'm a retired librarian. :)<br /><br />Betty AnoninTXAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-26261257188006973572013-02-14T15:10:33.811-08:002013-02-14T15:10:33.811-08:00I think Betty just liked winding her readers up. S...I think Betty just liked winding her readers up. She would probably write these horrendously unfair scenes and chuckle to herself "That will wind them up, hee hee". She knew how to keep her readers tuning back in for the next episode, I mean book.<br /><br />Even though her books are so formulaic, I have never been bored reading them (and have read each one multiple times)and was sad when I read the last one. With other writers I read 5-6 of their works and get disgusted by the repetition. How did she do it?<br /><br />B von SAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-71549217466722360442013-02-14T05:41:03.499-08:002013-02-14T05:41:03.499-08:00'I hadn't the heart to refuse.' — Huh?...'I hadn't the heart to refuse.' — Huh? Hadn’t the heart? Say what?<br />'I didn't want to refuse, anyway.' — Huh? And why not, pray tell? And what exactly is he trying to tell Emily by saying this?<br />The Professor must have known Louisa for the vain, calculating little thing she is:<br />o She "fell" down in front of his car to meet him.<br />o She Seconaled the twins so she could go to a fashion show.<br />o In fact, later, in Holland he says to Emily, 'A very pretty girl, your little sister, with a sharp eye to turning things to her advantage, especially men.'<br />And yet, the twins have <b>not yet been released from the hospital</b>, and for a special, treat he takes their good-for-nothing-but-looking-pretty infant-drugging aunt out for the evening??? <b>HUH???</b><br />Arrrrgh!<br /><br />Betty <a href="https://www.google.com/search?hl=de&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=%22if+only+I+knew+how+to+gnash+my+teeth%22+inauthor:neels+inauthor:betty&num=10" rel="nofollow">If only I knew how to gnash my teeth</a> Anonymous<br /><br /><br />Betty Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15517346001348814015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-46049730581972491332013-02-14T03:23:46.910-08:002013-02-14T03:23:46.910-08:00...because without her, his life isn't worth l......because without her, his life isn't worth living...<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-65465097425339782522013-02-13T15:45:59.049-08:002013-02-13T15:45:59.049-08:00I think The Great Betty revealed a lot of her own ...I think The Great Betty revealed a lot of her own opinions and prejudices in this book. For instance, <br /><br />1. <b>Sometimes work comes first.</b> We might not agree, but I think it's in the British stiff-upper-lip category of incomprehensible life-choices. Add to that...<br /><br />2. <b>Family is family.</b> If Mary needs to be with the hubby, then Emily and Louisa need to be with the twins. Non-negotiable.<br /><br />3. <b>Pretty is as pretty does.</b> Louisa, the pretty one, gets a pass not because Renier fancies her, but because, well, you know...she's pretty. This is a position that The Great Betty (no stunning beauty herself) wants to skewer with the fireplace poker. So she "makes" Louisa really ugly by having her do something really ugly (the Seconal). She also makes Renier have to take a big slap in the face with the reality fish. (Cod, most likely.)<br /><br />4. <b>Real men don't grovel.</b> They buy their wives something nice. This is very old-fashioned thinking and it wouldn't fly in a modern romance. Real men have to suck it up and admit they were wrong. They have to grovel, they have to make it simultaneously clear that they know they deserve to be shot but pray the heroine will forgive them because with her, his life isn't worth living. For The Great Betty, a simple, "I know. I should be shot" without the grovel is sufficient.Magdalenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11551590278859598110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-55974575806713324582013-02-13T14:46:34.759-08:002013-02-13T14:46:34.759-08:00'There was no intention of secrecy, Emily-she ...'There was no intention of secrecy, Emily-she begged so prettily (throw up in mouth a little) to be taken I hadn't the heart to refuse.' The frown disappeared and he SMILED. 'I didn't want to refuse, anyway.' (Insert long scream of rage here) My blood boils when I read this. I would have dismembered them both with a dull butter knife, right there. He would have heard some beastly English oaths before AND during too.<br /><br />Betty von "you wouldn't like me when I'm angry" SusieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-89871797245299326312013-02-13T11:57:32.821-08:002013-02-13T11:57:32.821-08:00Ahaaaaa! (re: didn't lay into Louisa because h...Ahaaaaa! (re: didn't lay into Louisa because he didn't care about Louisa) Thanks for the enlightenment.<br />Never believed he was interested in her myself, but cannot understand why spent so much time with her Betty Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15517346001348814015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931981138747432610.post-27281791340770406262013-02-13T11:12:38.300-08:002013-02-13T11:12:38.300-08:00Yikes! Thanks for the closer read than my cheery ...Yikes! Thanks for the closer read than my cheery mental editing. Mary is, indeed, an idiot, and so is her husband, and frankly so is Emily. Or we can pluck our scalpels from the pencil jar on the desk, excise those 'months' and replace them with 'weeks'... and it still doesn't work. Okay, White-Out and a dark pencil: The twins are ten months old. Mary was to have been gone for one week. She got a message to Emily after ten days; Emily made her move to the country six weeks later, and has been living there for eight weeks. Hence, the babies were six months old when left with auntie. Hmph. That still seems a bit young.<br /><br />Okay, Mary was to have been gone for a weekend...<br /><br />The thing is, Betty <i>wants</i> us to like Mary and George or whatever his name is. Did <i>Betty</i> think it okay for parents to abandon their infant children for months at a time? Or did she ruthlessly sacrifice the time/space/sanity continuum to her plot devising? You know no RDD would leave his babies with a single sister, no servants anywhere, for three months. What were Betty's views on breast-feeding?!?<br /><br />I am going to absolve Mary and George of blame, and place it squarely on our author. Great with words, our cherished Mrs. Neels, but a bit iffy on math and logic.Betty van den Betsyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05462647734423787992noreply@blogger.com