I just re read this introductory post and saw the mention of the Zoom. How did I miss that? I am so excited about that and determined to be there despite being on the east coast of Australia. Yay!
I have only recently begun a deep dive into reading Goudge. I have collected numbers of her books and can’t wait to get into them this winter. The Bird in the Tree came at such a fortuitous time because of events in my own family that happened even as I was reading. Looking forward to reading and discussing The Deans Watch.
So glad you can join us, Charlotte! Somehow Goudge's books manage to always be surprisingly relevant to me in whatever season I am reading them in. I am so glad you found it helpful for you now. It can be such a comfort somehow. Glad you are here :)
This is so true Charlotte and Julie. I think this is the genius of Elizabeth Goudge and why she is still read and loved. It is fun to be meeting all these new Goudge acquaintances and to realise that our personal experiences with her works are shared in common.
This is a re-read for me.Glad to be sharing the journey here with people new to Goudge, and those with long experience. Always something new to notice or consider in her writing.
I read The Dean's Watch in the summer of 2020, in the midst of Covid, and it was such a lovely and soothing escape to a different time/place. I've since read several other Goudge titles, and I was feeling drawn to reading this one again as I remember it being set in fall/winter ... so the timing of the book club is fortuitous! I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, but I've always been an Anglophile, and I love fiction that touches on life's big questions, so Goudge is a writer who speaks to me. I am looking forward to the discussion and thank you for hosting!
So glad you can join us, Ginny! Yes, I think this one is especially comforting as it follows the Cathedral through the years and the lives of the older people who surround it. It seems to inspire hope and, yes!, this is the perfect time to read it!
I haven’t read The Dean’s Watch for many years. Maybe it’s time to pick it up again and reacquaint myself with that little Ely community. I remember liking Job and Polly particularly.
I don’t live far from Ely. I once took a car-load of dear elderly ladies there to see a Christmas evensong service at the cathedral only to find on arrival that it was only a 10 minute ‘said’ evensong because the cathedral had been booked for a concert. It is over an hour’s drive so we pushed our disappointment aside and went to a local restaurant for a lovely meal together. A fun memory for us all!
I live in Northwestern Alabama, and have been reading Goudge for about a year. I discovered her by accident in a yard sale. I have read almost all of her books online, (Booksreadfree, archive, org, etc.), and am slowly but surely buying up some of them on ebay and abebooks. They are a true joy, and such a blessing in my life. I have read the Dean's Watch before, but, as with all Goudge books, they are all the better for reading again!! Thank you so much for putting this together for us, and for introducing others to her writings. God bless!
So glad you can join us Silvia! Yes, I always like her books even better on reread - and this one in particular. I think I have read it more than seven times now and I feel that I have been underrating it still - it is stunning. So many golden threads through it. So many connections to the church calendar. It's a joy, so very glad we can be here sharing it together. <3
This is my first time reading The Dean’s Watch and also Elizabeth Goudge. I’ve heard great things about her works, and I’m very excited to be joining a book club to discuss it! I’m just a little worried I won’t be able to keep up bc reading time is very limited for me. I homeschool our 2 children, manage accounting books for my husband’s business, and we also run a cattle farm. Busy, busy, but excited to give this a try!
Hello Wendy! So glad you can join us! And what you described is exactly why I think that this sort of bookclub is better even maybe than in real life, because these posts and comment threads will always be sitting here whenever you get a chance to read the book. Love to have you join in our discussions this week or even in January. Whatever works for you. I know that Goudge is worthy of a slow reading, so you may get even more out to it that way. Also, I homeschool/cyber school our three teens, and have homeschooled them since the beginning, so I get it for sure! A very full life. :)
"Let us know if you are reading The Dean’s Watch for the first time, or if it is reread for you" -- a re-read for me of my favorite book by my favorite author. I am a retired English teacher, privileged to have taught on the college level since the late1980s. I live with my husband on a farm in a community west of Abilene, Texas -- a bit of a hidden life. I worship in a small Episcopal church and enjoy the prayers and rituals that worshipers have spoken and prayed for hundreds of years. If I post a bit too much or ramble on, just know that I am exceedingly grateful for a place to express my joy in Elizabeth Goudge and to learn from you.
I don't think that any of us will feel that way Mary. I will probably be in the same category as I too have a hidden life. I am a wife, Mum and Grandma with a 5 year old granddaughter being raised by us from birth and a 25 year old son just returned to the nest again. So I am at home also and I call it my Domestic Monastery or on frustrating days, my Ministry of Interruptions!
A life made up of "small things" is so much what this book is about! I've been encouraged about that this reread. (We have three teens all in home education/home cyber school and so life is definitely full of taking care of people in very inefficient ways for me as well.)
I just re read this introductory post and saw the mention of the Zoom. How did I miss that? I am so excited about that and determined to be there despite being on the east coast of Australia. Yay!
I have only recently begun a deep dive into reading Goudge. I have collected numbers of her books and can’t wait to get into them this winter. The Bird in the Tree came at such a fortuitous time because of events in my own family that happened even as I was reading. Looking forward to reading and discussing The Deans Watch.
So glad you can join us, Charlotte! Somehow Goudge's books manage to always be surprisingly relevant to me in whatever season I am reading them in. I am so glad you found it helpful for you now. It can be such a comfort somehow. Glad you are here :)
This is so true Charlotte and Julie. I think this is the genius of Elizabeth Goudge and why she is still read and loved. It is fun to be meeting all these new Goudge acquaintances and to realise that our personal experiences with her works are shared in common.
I'm so happy to be reading this again. I think I read it about every other year around this time. It is at the top of my favorites list.
So glad you can join us!
This is a re-read for me.Glad to be sharing the journey here with people new to Goudge, and those with long experience. Always something new to notice or consider in her writing.
Such a compelling book. Glad you are here Christine!
I read The Dean's Watch in the summer of 2020, in the midst of Covid, and it was such a lovely and soothing escape to a different time/place. I've since read several other Goudge titles, and I was feeling drawn to reading this one again as I remember it being set in fall/winter ... so the timing of the book club is fortuitous! I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, but I've always been an Anglophile, and I love fiction that touches on life's big questions, so Goudge is a writer who speaks to me. I am looking forward to the discussion and thank you for hosting!
So glad you can join us, Ginny! Yes, I think this one is especially comforting as it follows the Cathedral through the years and the lives of the older people who surround it. It seems to inspire hope and, yes!, this is the perfect time to read it!
I haven’t read The Dean’s Watch for many years. Maybe it’s time to pick it up again and reacquaint myself with that little Ely community. I remember liking Job and Polly particularly.
I don’t live far from Ely. I once took a car-load of dear elderly ladies there to see a Christmas evensong service at the cathedral only to find on arrival that it was only a 10 minute ‘said’ evensong because the cathedral had been booked for a concert. It is over an hour’s drive so we pushed our disappointment aside and went to a local restaurant for a lovely meal together. A fun memory for us all!
What a fond memory, Deb :) So special to live so close by. So glad you can join us!
I live in Northwestern Alabama, and have been reading Goudge for about a year. I discovered her by accident in a yard sale. I have read almost all of her books online, (Booksreadfree, archive, org, etc.), and am slowly but surely buying up some of them on ebay and abebooks. They are a true joy, and such a blessing in my life. I have read the Dean's Watch before, but, as with all Goudge books, they are all the better for reading again!! Thank you so much for putting this together for us, and for introducing others to her writings. God bless!
So glad you can join us Silvia! Yes, I always like her books even better on reread - and this one in particular. I think I have read it more than seven times now and I feel that I have been underrating it still - it is stunning. So many golden threads through it. So many connections to the church calendar. It's a joy, so very glad we can be here sharing it together. <3
This is my first time reading The Dean’s Watch and also Elizabeth Goudge. I’ve heard great things about her works, and I’m very excited to be joining a book club to discuss it! I’m just a little worried I won’t be able to keep up bc reading time is very limited for me. I homeschool our 2 children, manage accounting books for my husband’s business, and we also run a cattle farm. Busy, busy, but excited to give this a try!
Hello Wendy! So glad you can join us! And what you described is exactly why I think that this sort of bookclub is better even maybe than in real life, because these posts and comment threads will always be sitting here whenever you get a chance to read the book. Love to have you join in our discussions this week or even in January. Whatever works for you. I know that Goudge is worthy of a slow reading, so you may get even more out to it that way. Also, I homeschool/cyber school our three teens, and have homeschooled them since the beginning, so I get it for sure! A very full life. :)
Wow!!!! Such important work.
"Let us know if you are reading The Dean’s Watch for the first time, or if it is reread for you" -- a re-read for me of my favorite book by my favorite author. I am a retired English teacher, privileged to have taught on the college level since the late1980s. I live with my husband on a farm in a community west of Abilene, Texas -- a bit of a hidden life. I worship in a small Episcopal church and enjoy the prayers and rituals that worshipers have spoken and prayed for hundreds of years. If I post a bit too much or ramble on, just know that I am exceedingly grateful for a place to express my joy in Elizabeth Goudge and to learn from you.
I don't think that any of us will feel that way Mary. I will probably be in the same category as I too have a hidden life. I am a wife, Mum and Grandma with a 5 year old granddaughter being raised by us from birth and a 25 year old son just returned to the nest again. So I am at home also and I call it my Domestic Monastery or on frustrating days, my Ministry of Interruptions!
A life made up of "small things" is so much what this book is about! I've been encouraged about that this reread. (We have three teens all in home education/home cyber school and so life is definitely full of taking care of people in very inefficient ways for me as well.)
So honored to have you here, Mary! You are a huge asset to us so please share away :)