Intro to The Scent of Water
The Chiltern Hills, Themes, and Appleshaw for Goudge's novel
“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! You can get it on Amazon in paperback or Kindle, Christian Book, Blackwells, or look for a vintage copy on Ebay or Abebooks.
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…
“For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.”
🌿 The Book of Job
Hope for Sycamore Gap
I thought of the Sycamore Gap tree, which is in the news again this week, when reading the above quote at the beginning of the novel.
“It was almost 200 years old when it was illegally cut down. In August, rangers spotted a few sprouts near its base, an unexpected sign of new life, and seeds and genetic material that scientists gathered from it last year have also started to grow. The National Trust intends to give out 49 saplings next year to spread the tree’s legacy...”2
Reading Schedule:
Week 1: chapters 1-4
Week 2: chapters 5-8
Week 3: chapters 9-12
Week 4: chapters 13-15
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.
Such a wonderful book. It is a very comforting and peaceful read.
My favourite Goudge book, although I say that about a few of them! But, yes, it has a special place in my heart. We went to visit Turville a while back, and the article chronicling our visit is on the Elizabeth Goudge Society website.