Thursday, April 12, 2007

Another good thing

So Adria told me this was a great book, and she usually has good taste, but the title threw me a bit, so it took me a while to get around to reading it. Excellent, though. Enjoyable and uplifting.
Here is a quote from the beginning that I like:

At first Miss Heliotrope's love for Maria had been somewhat forced. She had made and mended her clothes with grim determination and with a rather distressing lack of imagination, and however naughty she was had applied the cane only very sparingly, being more concerned with winning the child;s affection than with the welfare of her immortal soul. But gradually all that had changed. Her tenderness, when Maria was in any way afflicted, had become eager; the child's clothes had been a work of art' and she herself had been whipped for her peccadilloes within an inch of her life, Miss Heliotrope caring now not tow hoots whether Maria like her or not, if only she could make of the child a fine and noble woman.
This is true love and Maria had known it' and even when her behind had been so sore that she could scarcely sit upon it, her affection for Miss Heliotrope had been no whit abated. And now that she was no longer a child but a young lady in her teens, it was the best thing in her life
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2 comments:

Unknown said...

Oooh. Sounds intriguing. I'll have to try it out this summer when I have time. Thanks for all of the great reading suggestions!

megan said...

Ever since I heard j.k. rowling liked that book so much, I've been curious about it, but then when I'm at the library or bookstore, I can never remember it. I think I'll remember it now, though.

Not being familiar with the characters, it sounds like that quote is about loving coming through serving. I've been thinking about that a lot lately.