Goudge reader: Sarah Vaughan
A “Share your Goudge Collection” Interview
“Each and every time I read (Goudge’s) words, I come away with a more vivid and acute awareness of the temporal versus the immortal, a more imaginative hope, a more gracious longing for what exists outside of what I normally see and taste and experience.”
Sarah Vaughn about Elizabeth Goudge
Goudge reader interview
Today we are continuing with our series of interviews with readers about their own Elizabeth Goudge collections. I’m very excited to share this wonderful interview with a Goudge reader I recently met here on Substack, Sarah Vaughan.
Sarah lives in Oxford, Mississippi and is dreaming about the Oxford on the other side of the world. She’s a lover of books through and through. In the early morning hours, you’ll find Sarah with a good book and an Irish cream latte made with her beloved espresso machine named Gimli.
Welcome Sarah! Glad you can join us here today.
Julie: When did you first find Goudge?
Sarah: I'm quite sure this is the case for many other people who've come to love Goudge in recent years, but my introduction to Goudge was by way of Sarah Clarkson's "Book Girl," and thanks to her Patreon and Book Girl Fellowship, I've only encountered more of her work in the last couple of years.
Julie: Which Goudge book did you read first?
Sarah: The first Goudge book I read was The Scent of Water because it was the only Goudge novel my local library had at the time. Thankfully over the years their collection (and mine) has grown. I’m thankful to have collected a handful along the way, including this recent edition of A Book of Comfort, which I had never even heard of before!
Much like Tolkien and Lewis, Goudge’s writing awoke something in me I’m grateful to know existed. I don’t even know if I can put words to what this thing is, but I guess if I had to, I would say, a more vivid and acute awareness of the temporal vs the immortal, a more imaginative hope, a more gracious longing?
Julie: Which Goudge book is your favorite vintage edition? What year and is it a UK or US edition?
Sarah: I recently found a used vintage edition of an anthology of essays and poems compiled by Goudge called "A Book of Comfort." It's a U.S. edition published in 1964 with beautiful illustrations by Gloria Kamen, who I was delighted to learn is the mother of one of the Real Housewives of New York. This brings me an unreasonable amount of delight. Who would have guessed such a connection could exist?
Julie: Is there a scene from one of Elizabeth Goudge’s books that sticks with you? What moments in life make you think of it? And which book is it from?
Sarah: I admire people who commit to telling the truth in their life and in their writing knowing that sharing their true selves allows others to connect with them and the world in a way they otherwise would not be able to. Rather than one specific scene, I'm appreciative of her overall ability to create characters who are true to life and who feel very much like real people living real experiences. Many of the characters we meet are often unhappy or feel they've made the wrong choices. They're waiting for true love, they're the constant recipient of bad luck, they're blind to their own bad choices, but they're still lovable and still good in spite of it. There's an invitation in all of her works that doesn't require the reader to leave their human experience and wisdom behind. That may sound dramatic, but in light of the fact that I'm currently experiencing the end of a marriage and what I hoped was a good thing but which has turned out to be the wrong dream with the wrong person, her writing feels romantic and yet still accessible to me. I'm not interested in reading Jane Austen at the moment, but Goudge, absolutely. Her work doesn't require me to pretend things aren't as they are in order to hope for good things.
Julie: What do you love most about Goudge’s writing?
Sarah: I once read an article about Goudge's work that referred to the genre of "healing fiction." I love that description Goudge’s writing feels both romantic yet endearingly so because I don't have to sacrifice an awareness of reality and how things actually are and can be. It awoke something in me I’m grateful to know existed. Like Lewis's Narnia and Tolkien's Middle Earth, her settings and stories feel like an invitation to a feast I didn't know was present or that I was able or welcome to join. Each and every time I read her words, I come away with a more vivid and acute awareness of the temporal versus the immortal, a more imaginative hope, a more gracious longing for what exists outside of what I normally see and taste and experience.
Julie: Where can we find out more about you and what you are reading these days?
Sarah: I work as a writer and graphic designer during the day and am working on a Master's in Biblical & Theological Studies from Belhaven University by night. I grew up in a family of musicians who won’t let me forget that I'm one of only three of us who don't sing or play an instrument despite having the namesake of a legendary jazz musician. I'm originally from Holly Springs, Mississippi and am happy to debate the similarities and differences between the real Holly Springs and Jan Karon’s rendition of it over coffee any time. I welcome new friends on Instagram at SV.Reads or on Substack as
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I'm appreciative of (Goudge’s) overall ability to create characters who are true to life and who feel very much like real people living real experiences. Many of the characters we meet are often unhappy or feel they've made the wrong choices. They're waiting for true love, they're the constant recipient of bad luck, they're blind to their own bad choices, but they're still lovable and still good in spite of it.”
Sarah Vaughn about Elizabeth Goudge
Do you have a favorite book in Sarah’s collection? Love to hear!
And if you would be interested in sharing your collection, or even just one of your favorite editions, let me know. I am looking for more Goudge readers to feature here in our Goudge community.
It was so nice to hear your thoughts and see your collection, Sarah!
That is a beautiful copy of A Book of Comfort! I have a horribly ugly copy of A Book of Peace (all 1970's orange flame). The poems and excerpts are lovely, but the book itself is hard on the eyes (with or without the dust jacket). Now I want to go searching for an edition as lovely as your Book of Comfort. :) Thank you for sharing it, Sarah. Also, "healing fiction"--what a lovely term, and so apropos of Goudge; her fiction is restorative and healing, perhaps because it acknowledges the harshness of life while also holding firmly (even fiercely?) to hope.