Thank you for such a wonderful write-up of Fitzgerald and her fabulous books! I've been a huge fan since I read my first one (Offshore, still a favorite). I've since read them all at, several more than once. They reward a re-reader, and it helps that they are short. I also recently got the Lee biography and PF's book about the Knoxes, both of which I am itching to start.
I am so looking forward to the Blue Flower next year with Simon's slow read. It will be my 4th time reading it, and I'm finally starting to get it!
(And I agree about her Italian book, it didn't grab me either, not like her others have.)
Thanks for this great tribute to Penelope Fitzgerald. I have read THE BLUE FLOWER and OFFSHORE, both after she was written up in the NYT Magazine. I also found THE BLUE FLOWER difficult to fully wrap my head around, but there are images from that book that have stuck with me to this day. I remember OFFSHORE as a delight, although yes, with dark moments, but overall I felt a sense of hope from the book. Everyone's life was hard, but they helped each other, and the community buffered all its members.
Thanks also to your paean to those of us striving for success in the literary world in our older years, and to those who do their art and enjoy it and strive only to please themselves or a small audience. Creativity is underrated these days, but it's so important for happiness--at least I think so. Nice post, Mari! (I'm so glad that I can again regularly respond to your posts--now that my sprained finger is healed.)
You are too modest to toot your own horn, so let me do it and commend you for writing three outstanding and important books (and soon to be four!) in rapid succession. You are pleasing a large and appreciative audience!
And I’m so glad your finger is better. We never think about how much these injuries could affect everything we do until it happens to us (says your friend whose torn intercostal muscle still hurts almost two months later). I’m looking forward to many more wonderful comments!
Awww. Thanks, Mari! And poor you for a torn intercostal muscle. Somehow I missed that. Soft tissue injuries--time does heal those wounds, but it takes so much longer than it seems like it should.
I love her writing. Although it her last novels that are considered her greatest achievement, it is her earlier ones I prefer. I would love to take part in the book club to give me the opportunity to read it again. I hope lots more read her after your piece.
I am exactly the same--I just love her earlier novels but find a couple of her later ones to be an acquired taste. (I do love The Gate of Angels and The Beginning of Spring though.) I'll look forward to your comments in the book club!
So glad to hear that! I wonder whether Fitzgerald’s portrayal of Cambridge in the Gate of Angels is purely fanciful, or whether she captures the true essence of the place?
It’s been a while since I read it but the opening pages really stuck in my mind capturing believable madcap cycling along Mill Road - and who can forget the upside down cows in the wind?
Published my first novel at 66.
Oh wow, that is fantastic!
Same as Bonnie Garmus - but Lessons in Chemistry has sold rather more than mine.
Annoyingly, it's also rather good.
Thank you for such a wonderful write-up of Fitzgerald and her fabulous books! I've been a huge fan since I read my first one (Offshore, still a favorite). I've since read them all at, several more than once. They reward a re-reader, and it helps that they are short. I also recently got the Lee biography and PF's book about the Knoxes, both of which I am itching to start.
I am so looking forward to the Blue Flower next year with Simon's slow read. It will be my 4th time reading it, and I'm finally starting to get it!
(And I agree about her Italian book, it didn't grab me either, not like her others have.)
Thank you for your kind words! I, too, have reread most of her books—sometimes multiple times. They really do deserve the extra attention.
You are inspiring me to read the book about the Knoxes. I haven’t read any of Fitzgerald’s nonfiction yet and must remedy that gap!
See you at Simon’s slow read!
You sold me on Fitzgerald!
Hooray!
Thanks for this great tribute to Penelope Fitzgerald. I have read THE BLUE FLOWER and OFFSHORE, both after she was written up in the NYT Magazine. I also found THE BLUE FLOWER difficult to fully wrap my head around, but there are images from that book that have stuck with me to this day. I remember OFFSHORE as a delight, although yes, with dark moments, but overall I felt a sense of hope from the book. Everyone's life was hard, but they helped each other, and the community buffered all its members.
Thanks also to your paean to those of us striving for success in the literary world in our older years, and to those who do their art and enjoy it and strive only to please themselves or a small audience. Creativity is underrated these days, but it's so important for happiness--at least I think so. Nice post, Mari! (I'm so glad that I can again regularly respond to your posts--now that my sprained finger is healed.)
You are too modest to toot your own horn, so let me do it and commend you for writing three outstanding and important books (and soon to be four!) in rapid succession. You are pleasing a large and appreciative audience!
And I’m so glad your finger is better. We never think about how much these injuries could affect everything we do until it happens to us (says your friend whose torn intercostal muscle still hurts almost two months later). I’m looking forward to many more wonderful comments!
Awww. Thanks, Mari! And poor you for a torn intercostal muscle. Somehow I missed that. Soft tissue injuries--time does heal those wounds, but it takes so much longer than it seems like it should.
I love her writing. Although it her last novels that are considered her greatest achievement, it is her earlier ones I prefer. I would love to take part in the book club to give me the opportunity to read it again. I hope lots more read her after your piece.
I am exactly the same--I just love her earlier novels but find a couple of her later ones to be an acquired taste. (I do love The Gate of Angels and The Beginning of Spring though.) I'll look forward to your comments in the book club!
MA with distinction age 73. Still working on the novel!
Wonderful!
Wonderful, Mari. You have really made me want to read more (to my shame I only know the Gate of Angels, because I write about Cambridge).
So glad to hear that! I wonder whether Fitzgerald’s portrayal of Cambridge in the Gate of Angels is purely fanciful, or whether she captures the true essence of the place?
It’s been a while since I read it but the opening pages really stuck in my mind capturing believable madcap cycling along Mill Road - and who can forget the upside down cows in the wind?