#Meriol Trevor

[fictionadventurer]

Next Gen fic? Fanny and Edmund's eldest son is of course going to Oxford to be a clergyman just like his dad, they're very proud of him. And then he comes home on break all fired up about these new ideas. He has a Fanny-William relationship with his younger sister, so of course she's totally on-board and they both get super invested in studying this.

Meanwhile Fanny and Edmund are watching this like "????" and "Is this what Mary Crawford felt like?" And Edmund's like, "Slow down, son, this seems kind of weird, and I don't think you know what you're talking about," but the son's enthusiasm makes him eager to discuss this, so Edmund's got to pull out theological knowledge he hasn't thought about since his college days (if then). Fanny's opinions have been carved in stone for decades (maybe she was leaning more toward Methodism), so her knee-jerk reaction is just, "This sounds papist, therefore bad," and she wouldn't go further, except she's kind of close with her daughter, and the way the daughter explains it does make it sound a lot like some of the religious practices Fanny was already drawn to. And it's all one big Spiritual Ideas book that absolutely no one in the Austen fandom wants, which is part of why I love it.

The most niche, self-indulgent fic I could write would be about twenty-years-older Fanny Price getting involved in the Oxford Movement. Edmund went to Oxford. He's a clergyman. Of course they'll know about it. Fanny likes ritual prayer. She has an eye for beauty. She'd be at least intrigued by it.

Would they both be drawn in? Edmund seems a bit more on the culturally-Christian side of things--likes the respectability at least as much as the religion--and when he's worked as a clergyman for a couple of decades, he'd probably be more reluctant to rock the boat. Yet he did form a lot of Fanny's religious tastes and they'd probably grow more similar over the course of a marriage.

The more intriguing story would be Fanny coming to believe in it while Edmund resists--does she want to go against her clergyman husband? But it could be fun to see them struggle together against a community that's skeptical of any change, maybe even struggle with what this might mean in terms of holding on to Edmund's living.

Of course at least Fanny would end up a Roman Catholic, because it's my fic, but the main point is that it'd be fun to see Austen's most religious characters have to grapple with one of the most significant religious reform movements of the time.

[incomingalbatross]

DANG IT

I forgot Meriol Trevor :/

[dancingqueennintynine]

The first time I read this book, I was in middle school and it quickly became one of my absolute favorites. Even after nearly a decade (and too many rereads to count) my love for The Crystal Snowstorm (and the following Letzenstein books) has not diminished.

The Letzenstein Chronicles follows the happenings of a small European country on the brink of revolution. Catherine, an adolescent visiting her estranged Grandfather the Grand duke and ruler, finds herself caught in the crossfire of not only the revolution, but the feud within her own family.

The relationships between the characters are genuine and natural. In the author’s note, Ms. Trevor explained when she writes stories about difficult topics for children (such as political turmoil and revolutions) she tries to focus on the adventures of the characters foremost and it works beautifully here. These are friendships that I could see happening in real life. These characters, Catherine, Yolande, Edward, and especially Rafiel LeMarre have stuck with me the way Luke Skywalker, Samwise Gamgee, and Katniss Everdeen did.

Our heroine, Catherine, is another highlight of the story. She would rather live a quiet life and get to know her newly found family than be involved with the politics her Grandfather has ensnared her in. However, she still strives to do what she can to help even if what she does seems very small. Catherine does fail at times and feels hopeless and frustrated but she does not become apathetic.

I also enjoyed seeing Catherine, a very quiet girl at the beginning, develop unique friendships with different people. She comes to love and care about Con, Yolande, Edward, and Raf, but each relationship does something different for Catherine and the story. I will give special notice to Catherine and Yolande’s relationship because it is a sisterly friendship between a young girl and a young woman, something I do not see very often in fiction.

My only complaint (if it could be called that) is, I would have liked it if Countess Imelda, the sister of our antagonist Duke Julius, had been a bit more involved in the story. She mostly acts as a messenger for other characters. However, Catherine and co. have more than enough problems and as I reiterated all the other characters are very developed and this by no means ruined the story for me. Overall, the Crystal Snowstorm is a solid first entry in a series that satisfied but also left me curious for the next installment. I would recommend it for children (and adults) who enjoy historical fiction and character focused stories. I feel it is appropriate for kids 10 and up, but this is subjective to the individual child’s reading level.

[itspileofgoodthings]

Thoughts on Meriol Trevor?

I recognize the name from my school’s old library!! But I don’t think I’ve actually read any books by her.

[urbanhermit]

Ten days of coughing with this seasonal respiratory viral infection appear to finally be ending. Have not read anything during my convalescence. Started today with a small pamphlet from the Catholic Truth Society Biographies Series by Meriol Trevor, 'John Henry Newman: Apostle to the Doubtful.' https://www.instagram.com/p/CS2FS5OL915/?utm_medium=tumblr

[apostleshop]

Lights in a Dark Town-A Story about Blessed John Henry Newman

Great News has been shared on http://apostleshop.com/product/lights-in-a-dark-town-a-story-about-blessed-john-henry-newman-2/

Lights in a Dark Town-A Story about Blessed John Henry Newman

Description In 1849 Emmeline Erle and her widowed mother move from sunny southern Europe to cold and grimy Birmingham, England. The town is one of great contrasts: progress and poverty, industrial expansion and murky slums, new villas and filthy streets. Darkness and light battle in the minds of its people: principles of freedom and tolerance struggle with ignorance and prejudice; deep doubt of religious truth coexists with fanaticism. Emmeline quickly makes friends in her new home— Lizzie, the hardworking servant, and Daniel, the schoolboy living next door. For both Emmeline and Daniel, Father John Henry Newman, who runs a chapel in one of the worst sections town, becomes the most important person in Birmingham. Daniel and Emmeline come to know and admire Father Newman as he tries to help poor factory workers and to enlighten citizens blinded by suspicion and bigotry. With him they experience the anxieties of a cholera outbreak and the dangers of anti-Catholic riots. Caught up in one excitement or trouble after another, the young people finally arrive at happier times, while the walls of Father Newman’s new church, a symbol of light in a dark town, rise into the smoggy Birmingham sky. This colorful and dramatic story for youth brilliantly unfolds the panorama of Victorian England—the Industrial Revolution, the Oxford movement, the Crystal Palace, and Prince Albert opening a new railway. But above all, this book portrays the character and wisdom of John Henry Newman.

Author: Meriol Trevor Format: Paperback ISBN 978-1-58617-628-0

Size: 5.25 x 8 Artist: Hilda Offen

[lover-of-the-starkindler]

An endless list of favorite books: The Crystal Snowstorm by Meriol Trevor

“What do you mean, in your day?” Catherine asked.

“Before I was exiled,” [Con] answered.

Catherine was astonished. “You were exiled to Canada?”

[fictionadventurer]

1, 7, and 25 for the rocky asks please?

1) A book you regretted reading

I kind of regret reading "The Old Nurse's Story" by Elizabeth Gaskell. Not because it was poorly written or because I didn't like it--it was a very well-done story and I liked it quite a lot. However, I never read ghost stories, and this reminded me of why--it's very creepy and unsettling, and some of the elements still haunt me days later.

7. A book you wanted to or thought you would love but didn’t

I hoped I would love Sun With a Face as much as I loved Meriol Trevor's children's books, but I found it disappointing and forgettable.

25. A book you feel more negatively about now than when you first read it.

Most books I dislike, because immediately after reading, I can give it credit for some elements that I liked, but with more distance, the things I didn't like stand out more clearly and become more baffling. That's definitely the case for things like The Enchanted April and Nightfall in the Garden of Deep Time.

[fictionadventurer]

I have a friend to whom I introduced the Regina Doman books, and she's looking for something to fill a similar niche now. Do you have any recommendations?

I'm not sure how far the introduction to Regina Doman's books went, but if she's just read the Fairy Tale Novels, the first expansion I can suggest is the John Paul II High Series, a multi-author contemporary teen series she created about a group of six teens who make up the entire student body of a brand-new Catholic charter school. They represent a broad range of the Catholic experience, from the Latin Mass traditionalist to a charismatic to an agnostic whose mother just sent her there for safety after a school shooting. Doman wrote the first book, Catholic, Reluctantly, and other authors wrote the later books. They're nowhere near the level of the Fairy Tale Novels, but they do hit that FTN niche of modern-day teens struggling to live out their Catholic faith while also getting entangled with creepy criminal conspiracies.

The next author who came to mind was Doman's friend and neighbor (and real-life inspiration for Paul Fester), Ben Hatke. The Zita the Spacegirl and Mighty Jack series, his science-fantasy middle-grade graphic novels, are a very different subgenre, but they maintain a Christian worldview and are full of fun and adventure in a way that fits in with Doman's work.

Another, possibly too obvious, suggestion is to recommend she read Chesterton and other authors recommended by the characters in the Fairy Tale Novels. Chesterton particularly has a similar blend of fun, adventure and darkness. The Father Brown stories probably have the atmosphere that most reminds me of the Fairy Tale Novels.

The author whose work strikes me as most similar to Doman's is Meriol Trevor's Letzenstein Chronicles . This is a middle-grade Ruritanian series about a girl from 1840s England who finds out she's related to the royalty of a tiny principality roughly where real-life Luxembourg exists, and gets entangled in the political intrigue between the duke's son and his evil cousin. There's a similar blend of Catholicism and adventure, particularly with one character who feels like he could have been a Sacra Cor member.

Branching out a little further, I can suggest Rumer Godden as an author who explores modern-day Catholicism with some exquisite character work. I've read and enjoyed The Kitchen Madonna and An Episode of Sparrows, and though they're both middle-grade works, they might appeal to someone who likes works that are drawing from a similar tradition to the one Doman was working from.

I'm sure there are authors and works I'm forgetting, but perhaps something here can be a good starting point? And maybe other people have suggestions?

[fictionadventurer]

For the book ask game: 1, 5-7, 10, and 25, please?

How many books did you read last year?

According to Goodreads, 143, but there were a lot of short stories, novellas, graphic novels, etc. in there that inflated the count.

5. What is your ultimate favourite book?

Right now, it's probably still Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

6. What is a book that you hated but read anyway?

Since I usually don't bother finishing books I hate, I'm going back to books assigned for school, and mention that I did finish Watership Down despite hating the fact that I'd been assigned a 600-page book about rabbits.

7. A book you were hyped about but ended up being disappointed by it?

The Sun With a Face by Meriol Trevor. When I found it, I was excited to branch out into her non-Letzenstein books, but found that it reused a lot of the same tropes/character types, except in a boring romance novel format that did not impress me.

10. Actually, do you have an anti TBR? If so, list it!

I guess I could count the fact that the Kindle app keeps trying to recommend me books that I've already decided not to read. Like, there are various multi-author retelling series where I've read all the volumes I plan to read, so I'd really like them not to endlessly show up on the list.

25. How about favourite reading snacks?

Dry cereal is always good for mindless snacking.

[fictionadventurer]

Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell: Finished! The last half was much more interesting than the first half. Loved it.

These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder: Finished! Probably the easiest, quickest read of this reread. There's something about this story that just flows. I also finished The First Four Years, On the Way Home, and about two-thirds of West from Home. I also looked into some additions to the series written by modern writers. Farmer Boy Goes West was nowhere near the level of the original, but it made a genuine effort to match history and the series. Mary Ingalls on Her Own was a slight story, that fit in decently with the original characters, and was the most emotionally complex of these modern books, but I liked it more as an original story about a girl at a historical blind school than as a Little House book.

The Princess and Curdie by George Macdonald: I had this out from the library, but I found a Librivox narrator I really liked and listened to the first half that way. Unfortunately, I gave up commute audiobooks for Lent, and I just couldn't get into the print version before it had to go back to the library. I do plan to finish after Easter.

One unread ebook: I read The Sun With a Face by Meriol Trevor, which turned out to be a light romance set in 1820s Italy, using the same character types and tropes that she used in the Letzenstein Chronicles, but without the political intrigue. I wasn't terribly impressed.

I also read The Lady of Dreams by Una Silberrad. I still love her writing and especially adore how she approaches character. Dr. Jim Tancreed is a masterwork of a character. But I hate the ending.

One unread physical book on my shelf: Since I was running out of time to fill this goal, I read the shortest book on my shelf: the screenplay for the 1995 Persuasion by Nick Dear. It was an interesting read that made me want to rewatch the film to see how much of this made it into the final product.

Potential February reading:

Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell

These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder

The Princess and Curdie by George Macdonald

One unread ebook

One unread physical book on my shelf

[fictionadventurer]

Hello! I was just wondering what your favorite books are. I noticed that you seem to post about books I really like but no one around me has ever read (like The Blue Castle), so I was just curious if we had other book favorites in common!

Sincerely,

Sirius:)

I don't know if I can narrow it down to a top 20 or anything, but I can provide a list of a few of my favorite authors and the books of their I most love. My taste isn't terribly obscure--most of the more obscure books were recommended to me by people here on tumblr--so it's likely we share several favorites.

Jane Austen: Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, The Watsons, Emma, Lady Susan, Sense and Sensibility (Bonus: Sanditon, completed by Marie Dobbs)

Wendell Berry: Bringing It to the Table: Writings on Farming and Food

G.K. Chesterton: Orthodoxy, Manalive, The Napoleon of Notting Hill, Tremendous Trifles, The Innocence of Father Brown, The Wisdom of Father Brown

Nina Clare: Beau Brown

Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay

Wilkie Collins: The Woman in White

Allie Condie: Matched

Kenley Davidson: Goldheart, The Countess and the Frog

Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations

Heather Dixon: Entwined

Regina Doman: The Shadow of the Bear, Black as Night, Waking Rose, The Midnight Dancers, Alex O'Donnell and the 40 Cyberthieves, Rapunzel Let Down

Tim Downs: Shoofly Pie, Less Than Dead

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Amanda Dykes: Yours is the Night

Elizabeth Gaskell: Wives and Daughters, North and South, Cranford, My Lady Ludlow

Jean Craighead George: The Tarantula in My Purse

Rumer Godden: The Kitchen Madonna

Elizabeth Goudge: Pilgrim's Inn/The Herb of Grace

Ben Hatke: Zita the Spacegirl

Georgette Heyer: A Civil Contract, The Grand Sophy, The Talisman Ring

Caryll Houselander: The Reed of God

Gail Carson Levine: Ella Enchanted

C.S. Lewis: The Chronicles of Narnia, but especially The Silver Chair and The Magician's Nephew; A Grief Observed, Surprised by Joy, The Problem of Pain

Therese of Lisieux: Story of a Soul

George Macdonald: The Light Princess

Emily B. Martin: Woodwalker

Robert K. Massie: Nicholas and Alexandra

C.J. Milbrandt: Meadowsweet, Harrow and Rakefang

L.M. Montgomery: The Anne of Green Gables series, especially Anne of Green Gables, Anne of the Island, Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne's House of Dreams, and Rilla of Ingleside; The Blue Castle; Jane of Lantern Hill

Pope Pius VI: "Humanae Vitae"

Mollie E. Reeder: The Electrical Menagerie

Kate Stradling: Brine and Bone

Dorothy L. Sayers: The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, but especially The Nine Tailors, Gaudy Night, and Murder Must Advertise; The Man Born to Be King, The Mind of the Maker, Creed or Chaos?

Noel Streatfeild: Skating Shoes, Traveling Shoes, Ballet Shoes

Emily Stimpson: These Beautiful Bones, The Catholic Table

Matthew Stover: Novelization of The Revenge of the Sith

Josephine Tey: The Daughter of Time

Meriol Trevor: The Crystal Snowstorm, Following the Phoenix, Angel and Dragon

J.R.R. Tolkien: The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, Letters from Father Christmas

John R. Tunis: The Kid from Tomkinsville, The Kid Comes Back

Megan Whalen Turner: The King of Attolia, A Conspiracy of Kings

Jules Verne: Around the World in 80 Days

Maisie Ward: Gilbert Keith Chesterton

Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Little House on the Prairie series

P.G. Wodehouse: The Psmith series: Mike and Psmith, Psmith in the City, Psmith Journalist and Leave It to Psmith

[fictionadventurer]

2022 Fortnight of Books: Day 1

Overall best books read in 2022?

The Dean's Watch by Elizabeth Goudge: A beautifully-written and thematically deep book about a watchmaker's friendship with the dean of the cathedral and how it changes the lives of everyone around them. The character work is so delicate and compassionate, and the book made me cry several times from its sheer beauty.

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff: A real-life series of letters between a writer living in New York and the bookshop in England where she orders classic books, spanning more than two decades. Hanff is hilarious, and the friendship that slowly develops between her and the workers at the bookshop is heartwarming, and the whole thing is just filled with a very level-headed love of books. I made sure to buy a copy for my own shelf.

Bringing It to the Table by Wendell Berry: Essays about agriculture that were absolutely gripping and became a fundamental part of my internal landscape.

Best Series You Discovered in 2022?

The Letzenstein Chronicles by Meriol Trevor: A four-book series of Ruritanian adventures for children that actually taught me a lot about the European political landscape of the late 1840s, with a ton of tropes and character types that I particularly love.

Space Boy by Stephen McCranie: Unfinished webcomic read mostly on Webtoon and partially in print. It's a stunningly sweet science fantasy about a girl from deep space coming to Earth for the first time and getting swept up in adventure thanks to her friendship with a mysterious boy. The first volumes were specifically designed to appeal to me, with their exploration of a girl stuck several decades in her future thanks to space travel, and getting to experience all the small wonders of life on Earth for the first time. Creepier elements that I like less enter into later volumes, but it's a very well-written, heartfelt series from a Christian perspective.

Best Reread of the Year

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell became one of my all-time favorite books this year. I'm much more interested in several of the issues that Gaskell is exploring, and I feel like my older self was better able to appreciate the book as itself, rather than treating it like a knockoff Austen. There's so much to chew on in this book, and it's presented in a story with a gripping plot and lovable characters.

[fictionadventurer]

4 and 9 for book asks?

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

I love Wendell Berry's clear prose and love of the land and community. I love Meriol Trevor for her characters and interesting presentation of history. I finally read Elizabeth Goudge and fell deeply in love with her exquisite prose and exquisitely compassionate character work. I deeply appreciate Stephen McCranie as a Christian creator making a sci fi universe within that worldview. E.B. Dawson became an indie writer whose books I will seek out because of her creative worldbuilding and solid writing.

9. Did you get into any new genres?

I made a well-documented attempt to read books set in other countries. I largely stayed within my usual genres with my selections, but it did stretch me beyond the types of books in those genres I'd normally read. I also wound up getting into a streak of reading fiction set during and after WWII, and read several partial books that happened to take place in 1950s department stores.

[fictionadventurer]

4, 9, and 11 for the Book Asks!

4. A popular book you dislike.

I can't stand Dr. Seuss. I can appreciate the man's creativity, and I'm glad he gave us the Grinch, but hearing "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" read aloud in a child development class was one of the most agonizing experiences of my life, and I've nursed a resentment for Seuss ever since, especially since I constantly have to see him brought up as a pinnacle of children's literature. Anyone can rhyme if you make up half the words! I understand that I'm far from the target audience, but I am afraid of the child who genuinely enjoys sitting through fifty+ pages of that smug sing-songy fever dream stuff.

9. A book that you found yourself thinking about a long time after you finished it.

Matched by Ally Condie gave me one of the worst book hangovers I've ever had. After I finished, I spent the rest of the day wandering about in a daze, considering its exploration of how freedom means freedom to choose the wrong thing, and what that says about human nature, religion and government. I reread it just after lockdowns started, which was extremely timely, and left me thinking about all those concepts again, and it still comes to mind on a fairly regular basis.

11. A book with one scene that really annoyed you.

I haven't even finished this book yet, but part of the reason I thought up this question was because of a scene in Angel and Dragon by Meriol Trevor. It's got the characters and Ruritanian adventure that I like from the previous two books, and an author whose Catholic worldview largely resonates with me. But there's a scene where the characters visit an abbey, and the main character admires the simple beauty of the chapel, and the abbot explains how that was his doing, because there was all sorts of Gothic frippery that he tore out in favor of holy simplicity. And I saw red, because all I could think about was all those churches that destroyed exquisite altars and statues after Vatican II and instead gave us boring wood and blank walls and the ugly, ugly artwork of the '60s in the name of "simplicity", and I was mentally yelling at the author like, "You! You're the ones who did this! Your generation wrecked everything!" And like, yeah, there's middle ground between bare-bones ugliness and over-the-top ornate frippery that's probably actually what she was in favor of (especially considering that her favorite character makes religious art), but that mindset of, "Beautiful artwork distracts from holiness" is one that's guaranteed to tick me off.

[fictionadventurer]

1, 5, 6, 7

1. A book that drew you in right away.

Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie had me hooked from the start with his descriptions of a Russian winter.

5. A book you love that it seems like no one else has read.

Master of Formalities by Scott Meyer. It's P.G. Wodehouse in space, and just as bonkers and delightful as that sounds. The only other person I know who's read it is @isfjmel-phleg.

6. A book with one character who stood out from the rest.

The Crystal Snowstorm by Meriol Trevor. Rafael le Marre leaps off the page from the moment he first appears, and he's by far the most vivid character (and gets the most focus) as the series goes on.

7. A book that left you feeling overwhelmed with happiness.

The Galleries of Stone trilogy, especially the first book. They're a family! And they're together! And they love each other! And the world is full of good things!