Mrs. Tim of the Regiment

Book talk #14

Forgive my long absence, I was jaunting around Ireland with my husband on a long-anticipated vacation. I will have a post about it soon but having only arrived home yesterday afternoon I am feeling a little fuzzled with jet lag right now and I wish to gather my thoughts about the trip before posting too much. Suffice it to say that getting away together, even after thirty-two years seems essential. The relaxation of just being us together, laughing, talking, and not talking (companionable silence is very nice too) is such a jolt in the arm to our marriage.

I was the lector at Mass this morning and the reading, one I chose for our wedding, Ephesians 5:21-22, added to my post-vacation sense of well-being. It’s a problematic reading for some but it has never been for me, I love the idea of each of us loving each other as God means for us to love, as Christ loved His church. It’s a beautiful image.

We had an overnight flight going over and I have never been able to sleep on a plane. Or anywhere other than a bed for that matter. Those of you who can nod off in planes, trains, and automobiles make me profoundly jealous of your arriving somewhere fresh and rested. I arrive everywhere looking as if I was dragged through a hedge backward.

To make the journey more pleasant I either read or listen to a book while working on my embroidery. This book was a listen and a very enjoyable one it was. Mrs. Tim of the Regiment was written by D.E. Stevenson in 1932 and is the story of Mrs. Tim Christie (Hester) as told through her diary. It’s a simple, touching, funny story about a 32-year-old mother of two coping with life as the wife of a Major in the army. She takes care of the home on a budget, worries about her children, and the neighbors, and keeps in touch with the other wives of the regiment.

This is what I like to call a domestic novel. There are many descriptions of housekeeping, meals, clothes, and other homey topics which I find very soothing to hear about. There is no stress here and quite a few laughs. Hester is very observant of human nature and does not mince words in her diary.

Halfway through the novel, the family gets uprooted to Scotland due to Tim getting a promotion and a transfer. Hester faces new dilemmas, and drama and along the way finds some very good friends. All in all a heartening kind of read.

The second novel in the series, there are four, called Mrs. Tim Carries On and I will be starting that this week. I’m curious because it was written about ten years later so I’m wondering how the story continues. In the first one, the diary begins in January but ends in June, so I was hoping book two would pick up the diary right at that place in time. I’ll let you know.

This is not my first D.E. Stevenson book and I have enjoyed all the ones I’ve read. The Mrs. Buncle series, which is three books is seriously delightful. Dorothy Emily Stevenson wrote over forty light, romantic novels over forty years. She was no slouch. Her Mrs. Tim novels reflect her own life as a military wife, as she raised four children.

I do recommend the novels if you enjoy light, domestic-type novels with a hint of old-fashioned romance.

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Of Note….

I agree with Claire’s take on this election season. I don’t always agree with her but I think she is someone who thinks deeply and this time I think she’s spot on.

I enjoy reading about other people’s writing practices, my own still being subjected to family life more often than not, and I enjoyed Melissa’s approach. Her substack is one of the ones I pay for here and I’m always delighted when it lands in my inbox, we share several enthusiasms.

This was taken at the very end of Slea Head, looking out at the North Atlantic and Blasket Island. The surf was blue and roaring. It was incomparable beauty.

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