The guard at Exeter warned him he would have to change at Dulverton to pick up the westbound train to Bamfylde Bridge Halt, the nearest railhead to the school, but did not add that the wait between trains was an hour..
It was one of those trivial circumstances that played a part in the healing process of the years ahead, for the interval on that deserted platform, set down in a rural wilderness, and buttresses by heavily timbered hills where spring lay in ambush, gave Powlett-Jones an opportunity to focus his thoughts in a way he had been unable to do for months, since the moment he had emerged from the dugout and paused, rubbing sleep from his eyes, to glance left and right down the trench.
Description:
When I started The First Sentence Reader blog, it was to share books I love that might not be familiar to other readers. One book in particular, R.F. Delderfield's To Serve Them All My Days, was one that I most wanted resurrect and recommend to anyone seeking a great book full of strong characters, enveloping plot, and of course, wonderful writing.
In its first pages we are introduced to Second Lieutenant David Powlett-Jones, a shell-shocked World War I survivor looking to start his life over as a teacher in Bamfylde, a quiet boys school in England. He is taken under the wing by the personable headmaster, Algernon Herries. Under Algy's friendship and encouragement, Powlett-Jones begins to settle in to Bamfylde and push his memories of the trenches of World War I behind him.
Powlett-Jones has never taught school before, much less in a prestigious boarding school of young privileged men. This is the tale of a man growing and maturing just as his young students grow and mature. PJ is initially assigned to teach modern history to the Lower Fourth, the dreaded fifteen-year-olds who are old hands at the school, yet far enough away from graduation that they felt no pressure to apply themselves to work or discipline.
PJ survives their attempts to test his authority and the boys gradually become engrossed in his stories about life in the military. He is willing to explain to them the realities of the world and motivations of countries that brought about the current War. This conflict is close to the hearts of the boys as it continues to take the lives of Bamfyld graduates they knew and whose deaths are noted in a weekly ceremony.
The rest of the teaching staff are slow to warm to Powlett-Jones as they are so far removed from his real world of military experience, but at the same time are his superiors for their years of teaching. From Howarth, the "dry old stick" English professor, to Carter, the gung-ho patriot who feels himself a military expert after six months as a Territorial officer, they seem an odd lot to Powlett-Jones in his new environment.
The chapters unfold with new adventures to challenge and delight the residents of this school. Year after year we watch Powlett-Jones face situations concerning the young boys, staff, and himself with the calm logic and reasonableness that define his character of strength and goodness. There are some great characters in literature and David Powlett-Jones can hold his own with any of them.
It is this interaction, this self-growth, and this atmosphere of learning, both academic and personal, that makes To Serve Them All My Days the masterpiece of writing it is. Powlett-Jones and all the other residents of Bamfyld are such wonderful characters, so full of honor, spirit, and love that one cannot help but be thoroughly involved in their lives in this small school.
It is a rather long novel (625 pages), so the opening sentences may not be the grabbers of other books reviewed here. But these sentences perfectly reflect the languid, detailed style of the author. And "rather long" is not such a bad description for a novel. In my opinion, a great "rather long" book is one that, when you finish reading it, you are hoping for even more chapters that will allow you to spend more time in this world and its inhabitants (e.g. Gone With the Wind, War and Peace, The Lord of the Rings, and A Life of Barbara Stanwyck).
To Serve Them All My Days can take its rightful place in this illustrious group. And when you do reach its final pages, I guarantee you will regret the closing of the door to this world of Bamfyld and wish there were at least a few more chapters to prolong your time with Powlett-Jones and his charges. To Serve Them All My Days leaves you wanting more. Is there any better evaluation for a book?
In its first pages we are introduced to Second Lieutenant David Powlett-Jones, a shell-shocked World War I survivor looking to start his life over as a teacher in Bamfylde, a quiet boys school in England. He is taken under the wing by the personable headmaster, Algernon Herries. Under Algy's friendship and encouragement, Powlett-Jones begins to settle in to Bamfylde and push his memories of the trenches of World War I behind him.
Powlett-Jones has never taught school before, much less in a prestigious boarding school of young privileged men. This is the tale of a man growing and maturing just as his young students grow and mature. PJ is initially assigned to teach modern history to the Lower Fourth, the dreaded fifteen-year-olds who are old hands at the school, yet far enough away from graduation that they felt no pressure to apply themselves to work or discipline.
PJ survives their attempts to test his authority and the boys gradually become engrossed in his stories about life in the military. He is willing to explain to them the realities of the world and motivations of countries that brought about the current War. This conflict is close to the hearts of the boys as it continues to take the lives of Bamfyld graduates they knew and whose deaths are noted in a weekly ceremony.
The rest of the teaching staff are slow to warm to Powlett-Jones as they are so far removed from his real world of military experience, but at the same time are his superiors for their years of teaching. From Howarth, the "dry old stick" English professor, to Carter, the gung-ho patriot who feels himself a military expert after six months as a Territorial officer, they seem an odd lot to Powlett-Jones in his new environment.
The chapters unfold with new adventures to challenge and delight the residents of this school. Year after year we watch Powlett-Jones face situations concerning the young boys, staff, and himself with the calm logic and reasonableness that define his character of strength and goodness. There are some great characters in literature and David Powlett-Jones can hold his own with any of them.
It is this interaction, this self-growth, and this atmosphere of learning, both academic and personal, that makes To Serve Them All My Days the masterpiece of writing it is. Powlett-Jones and all the other residents of Bamfyld are such wonderful characters, so full of honor, spirit, and love that one cannot help but be thoroughly involved in their lives in this small school.
It is a rather long novel (625 pages), so the opening sentences may not be the grabbers of other books reviewed here. But these sentences perfectly reflect the languid, detailed style of the author. And "rather long" is not such a bad description for a novel. In my opinion, a great "rather long" book is one that, when you finish reading it, you are hoping for even more chapters that will allow you to spend more time in this world and its inhabitants (e.g. Gone With the Wind, War and Peace, The Lord of the Rings, and A Life of Barbara Stanwyck).
To Serve Them All My Days can take its rightful place in this illustrious group. And when you do reach its final pages, I guarantee you will regret the closing of the door to this world of Bamfyld and wish there were at least a few more chapters to prolong your time with Powlett-Jones and his charges. To Serve Them All My Days leaves you wanting more. Is there any better evaluation for a book?
If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
Codell, Esme. Educating Esme
Diary of a first year teacher's experiences in inner city school. Unusual in her unique, quirky, compassionate methods to reach the children and help them as students and people, the book details her exhaustive efforts to overcome forgotten children and an admiration that does not support her new techniques. (previously reviewed here)
Herriott, James. All Creatures Great and Small
Similar coming of professional age of a newly graduated veterinarian in the rural Yorkshire Dales, learning as he goes of the people, the animals, and the land. Wonderfully written with humor and great relationships between the author, his boss, and the local farmers.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Add a comment or book recommendation.