REREAD: The Morning Gift
The Morning Gift: Eva Ibbotson Arrow 1994
The next book in my chronological reread of my Eva Ibbotson books, and I’ve enjoyed devouring it, seeing echoes of the heroes, heroines and Viennas of her other books. Ruth’s long hair has even more of a forceful effect than Anna’s, like Tessa, she has a longing to serve music, although there’s more to her, and she riles an English upper-class adventurer, mainly by being so much who he thought she was. Perhaps someone with a better grasp of Ibbotson’s biography could tackle these recurring patterns.
It’s a very funny book, considering that it’s chiefly set in 1938-9 Austria and England. World-renowned scientist and professor Quinton Somerville turns up in Vienna to accept an(other) honorary degree through the good offices of old mentor Professor Berger. But post-Anchluss Vienna is no place for Jews, even non-practicing Jews, so Berger has lost his post and left the country for the safety of England, along with most of his family. Only his twenty-year-old daughter Ruth was left behind due to an unfortunate twist and her own bravery so that the rest of the Bergers could be safe.
Seeing the state of Vienna under the Nazis, Quin is determined to get her out too, but the best possible way of doing this turns out to be a marriage of convenience, that beloved plot twist of romantic fiction. Ibbotson plays it to the hilt, with passionate Ruth finding that the oaths she makes have unexpected power, and Quin’s half-sketched plans of getting an annulment are complicated by his having married a foreign national under the age of 21 who really needs that British passport. Although there is a deep sympathy between them - Quin had previously spent one summer with the Bergers when Ruth was a child - she is half-promised to Hungarian virtuoso pianist Heini, and Quin’s lawyer urges that they must stay apart to help the annulment get through. They tell no-one else about the marriage, and tell themselves it doesn’t matter, they will be gallant, get this over as quickly as possible and set the other free. Except circumstance and Ruth’s loving refugee family send Ruth to study at Quin’s university, and the girl who goes deep and makes friends everywhere cannot make herself non-existent to her rescuer.
The love story is surrounded by the broader story of the day, as a community of Austrian refugees, bewildered, their lives turned upside down, but more clear-eyed about the threat of Hitler than most of their hosts, congregate in London. It’s a time of some upheaval, with the knowledge that more is coming in England. Quin’s university, facing up to a new vice-chancellor, his aristocratic wife and their brilliant daughter is another community, as it Quin’s home of Bowcastle - here Ibbotson plays by the rules of English love stories, where a young woman falls for a man and his stately home. The romantic coup de foudre is Ruth seeing Bowcastle for the first time, but with the extra poignancy of the heroine being driven from the home she had always known. In addition, of course, her first name is evocative.
Ibbotson fills the book full of human foibles, of human beings of various backgrounds and tendencies rubbing up against each other, putting up with each other - Heini, the boy who gave Ruth music, is a selfish horror, while many Englishwomen show off disturbing levels of intolerance for Jews, for foreigners, for the lowborn. This works as a rich backdrop for the central love story, which features a staggering amount of miscommunication between a couple whose relationship started the wrong way around, born of a kind desire to help. But Ruth’s incomprehension over the idea of a morganic marriage, and Quin’s inadequate ability to explain lead to a great deal of pain for both. They interact less than you expect them to, although their interactions have a greater impact on them than they’re willing to admit. The ending is almost scrappy. I’d forgotten Ruth got pregnant.
There’s this notable tragicomic scene where a group of people exiled from Austria for their Jewishness try to work out how one celebrates Hannukah anyway, and ultimately, they celebrate an Austrian Christmas in their new home. As ever, it was a pleasure to return to Ibbotson.
This entry was originally posted at https://feather-ghyll.dreamwidth.org/161808.html. Please comment wherever you prefer to.
The next book in my chronological reread of my Eva Ibbotson books, and I’ve enjoyed devouring it, seeing echoes of the heroes, heroines and Viennas of her other books. Ruth’s long hair has even more of a forceful effect than Anna’s, like Tessa, she has a longing to serve music, although there’s more to her, and she riles an English upper-class adventurer, mainly by being so much who he thought she was. Perhaps someone with a better grasp of Ibbotson’s biography could tackle these recurring patterns.
It’s a very funny book, considering that it’s chiefly set in 1938-9 Austria and England. World-renowned scientist and professor Quinton Somerville turns up in Vienna to accept an(other) honorary degree through the good offices of old mentor Professor Berger. But post-Anchluss Vienna is no place for Jews, even non-practicing Jews, so Berger has lost his post and left the country for the safety of England, along with most of his family. Only his twenty-year-old daughter Ruth was left behind due to an unfortunate twist and her own bravery so that the rest of the Bergers could be safe.
Seeing the state of Vienna under the Nazis, Quin is determined to get her out too, but the best possible way of doing this turns out to be a marriage of convenience, that beloved plot twist of romantic fiction. Ibbotson plays it to the hilt, with passionate Ruth finding that the oaths she makes have unexpected power, and Quin’s half-sketched plans of getting an annulment are complicated by his having married a foreign national under the age of 21 who really needs that British passport. Although there is a deep sympathy between them - Quin had previously spent one summer with the Bergers when Ruth was a child - she is half-promised to Hungarian virtuoso pianist Heini, and Quin’s lawyer urges that they must stay apart to help the annulment get through. They tell no-one else about the marriage, and tell themselves it doesn’t matter, they will be gallant, get this over as quickly as possible and set the other free. Except circumstance and Ruth’s loving refugee family send Ruth to study at Quin’s university, and the girl who goes deep and makes friends everywhere cannot make herself non-existent to her rescuer.
The love story is surrounded by the broader story of the day, as a community of Austrian refugees, bewildered, their lives turned upside down, but more clear-eyed about the threat of Hitler than most of their hosts, congregate in London. It’s a time of some upheaval, with the knowledge that more is coming in England. Quin’s university, facing up to a new vice-chancellor, his aristocratic wife and their brilliant daughter is another community, as it Quin’s home of Bowcastle - here Ibbotson plays by the rules of English love stories, where a young woman falls for a man and his stately home. The romantic coup de foudre is Ruth seeing Bowcastle for the first time, but with the extra poignancy of the heroine being driven from the home she had always known. In addition, of course, her first name is evocative.
Ibbotson fills the book full of human foibles, of human beings of various backgrounds and tendencies rubbing up against each other, putting up with each other - Heini, the boy who gave Ruth music, is a selfish horror, while many Englishwomen show off disturbing levels of intolerance for Jews, for foreigners, for the lowborn. This works as a rich backdrop for the central love story, which features a staggering amount of miscommunication between a couple whose relationship started the wrong way around, born of a kind desire to help. But Ruth’s incomprehension over the idea of a morganic marriage, and Quin’s inadequate ability to explain lead to a great deal of pain for both. They interact less than you expect them to, although their interactions have a greater impact on them than they’re willing to admit. The ending is almost scrappy. I’d forgotten Ruth got pregnant.
There’s this notable tragicomic scene where a group of people exiled from Austria for their Jewishness try to work out how one celebrates Hannukah anyway, and ultimately, they celebrate an Austrian Christmas in their new home. As ever, it was a pleasure to return to Ibbotson.
This entry was originally posted at https://feather-ghyll.dreamwidth.org/161808.html. Please comment wherever you prefer to.