Intro to The Scent of Water
May 2024 Goudge Readalong
“The lilacs had grown so tall that their branches hung over the wall and over the arch above the door. Four steps led up to the door and they were very worn in the middle.
What could be behind the door Mary couldn’t imagine. Not the world she knew.
The thicket of purple and white blossom, the door and the steps, were like a picture painted a long time ago…”
🌷 Elizabeth Goudge, The Scent of Water
Kicking off The Scent of Water
I’m excited for us this month of May - month of new beginnings - as we journey through this beautiful story of redemption.
Elizabeth wrote this novel after she wrote The Dean’s Watch. While the setting is a more modern post-war era, you will still find deep peace and comfort for the most broken of characters.
Find a copy
For those still thinking about it, there is still time to grab a copy of The Scent of Water! And do yourself a favor and grab some book darts while you are at it. 🎯
Themes
Redemption is always a strong theme in Elizabeth’s books, and we see that here in some beautiful ways. 🌱📖🌷
Also, look for these themes this week in your reading:
Memory
Community
Place
Real-life Setting: The Chiltern Hills
“The Chiltern Hills are a chalk escarpment in southern England, northwest of London, covering 660 square miles across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire, stretching 45 miles from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast. The hills are 12 miles at their widest.”1
"She would ask this woman to keep the house in order for her until she came. She would come in the spring, in May, not to view it, but to take possession.”
💜 Elizabeth Goudge, The Scent of Water
Fictional Setting: Appleshaw
Mary sets off for Appleshaw, a little country village between London and Oxford.
Here are some photos from villages in the Chiltern Hills to help you picture her fictional location:
Our live book chat for The Scent of Water will be on Wednesday, May 29th at 3pm EST. Hope you can make it!
Thanks for joining us this month!
I am so happy to be re-reading The Scent of Water again this spring. Looking forward to all of the rich discussion we will share together here this month.
Related posts:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiltern_Hills
*Amazon Affiliate links are included in this newsletter. I make a few cents per recommendation, each of which I hope will be helpful to you! Note: I also include many links which are not affiliates to other sites for research and photo credit purposes.
Beautiful to have this book being read in May. It is the Marian month and a novel with two Marys and a focus on obedience seems appropriate. A point to ponder given Elizabeth’s liturgical upbringing and what you told us about her father and his ideas about Anglo-Catholic restoration.
I'm so happy to be reading this again. I've read it at least four times and love it more with each encounter.
Thank you for the photos and background.