Gardens and flowers are a theme of the final post in our current series of Inspiring Books. Two priests well known to St Chrysostom’s offer their choice of inspiring book.
First of all Fr Michael Burgess of Outrington, chooses The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson-Burnett. Fr Michael writes:
In 1960 BBC television serialized ‘The Secret Garden.’ It had a haunting, beautiful melody called ‘Rosemary’ by Frank Bridge, and it was that music that drew me to reading the book for myself. The setting is Misselthwaite Manor, a lonely house on the bleak Yorkshire moors. The story centres around two worlds – the world of adults who own and look after the house. And the world of children: an arrogant and difficult girl called Mary, a sickly, neglected boy, Colin, and Dickon, who with his warm heart has a love of all creatures great and small. Mary, with the help of a robin redbreast, finds the key to a secret garden, neglected and forlorn. ‘I’m the only one in the world who wants it to be alive’ she tells Dickon. Gradually with their help the garden blossoms once again. Spring arrives and their own lives are transformed with the change of seasons. Mary becomes a kind, caring girl, and Colin is able to walk again. He stands up from his wheelchair, breathes in the scent of flowers and feels the sun on his face. He realizes that there is the hope of new life, not just for the soil and plants, but for himself. ‘I shall get well!’ he says. ‘Mary, Dickon, I shall get well! And I shall live for ever and ever!’ With his father by his side, he walks back into the house. The garden has worked its magic – a fairy-tale happy ending or a hint of the resurrection?
And Fr Ian, Rector of St Chrysostom’s chooses: The Concise British Flora by W. Keble Martin. Fr Ian writes:
Plate 58 of the Concise British Flora
The reason for my choice focusses more on the story of this book than on its text. In 1899 Keble Martin, then a student at Oxford began drawing flowers. He had never drawn before. From Oxford University he went to Cuddesdon College to train for the priesthood and served in parishes in Nottinghamshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire and Devon. Throughout he maintained his interest in botany and as a hobby travelled throughout Britain, drawing the flowers he saw. He was particularly taken with colour contrast, delighting in drawing pale flowers against dark foliage. He drew the flowers carefully and catalogued them precisely. In 1930, after he had been drawing for 30 years some of his plates were exhibited at Cambridge and achieved great acclaim. He was a careful and dedicated parish priest who had worked in challenging industrial parishes and who knew personal tragedy. His wife died following years of illness in 1963, and his eldest daughter died of leukaemia in 1960. In these difficult years he was sustained by the hope that some of his drawings may be published. Finally, when he was 88 years old and after 65 years of drawing his book was published – The Concise British Flora in Colour. It became a best seller. It is a lovely book, and to look at the beautiful coloured plates and know the story of their making is an inspiration indeed.
This is the final selection in our series of Inspiring Books. We’ve had a wonderful variety of different books, from a wide variety of people. This post is the eleventh in the series. For the first post, the choices of two University Librarians, click here. and for the second, the choice of two students, click here. In the third post two women priests gave their choices here. We crossed the sea to the US for our fourth post the choice of two young ladies – here. Our fifth choice was from two local children and teachers, and two cathedral deans offered their choices here. Then, in our seventh choice two life sentenced prisoners gave their choices, here. And after this two bishops gave choices. This was followed by the choice of two retired priests, and in the last post two members of St Chrysostom’s congregation gave their choices.
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