Autumn in America

Or, New England in the Fall, as it's more commonly known! My long-planned retirement holiday finally took place and was everything I'd hoped. It sounds so obvious given the name, but it was quite surprising how many English connections there are, how much the New Englanders love to hear about England and how many names are familiar to us, even if they seem to be in the wrong place! I've read a fair amount of American literature too so have attempted to recommend here some that seem relevant.

Having flown into Boston, we travelled to the town of Falmouth on Cape Cod for a few days immersion into the New England way of life. Beautiful sunshine on our first day showed off the white clapboard houses, American flags and autumn colours to perfection. The beach and harbour at Cape Cod were picture postcard but the highlight for me was Falmouth Public Library: simple but elegant; spacious and light; amazingly well-stocked; and knowledgeable, helpful and friendly librarians. US libraries are famed for the number of 'library cats' who live in them. The relationship between cats and libraries is centuries old. Herodotus described libraries in Egyptian temples when some animals were given special training to prevent rodents and serpents from infiltrating temples in an effort to preserve papyrus rolls. Monastic records from the Middle Ages indicate cats were kept in medieval monasteries in order to control rats that might otherwise eat valuable manuscripts. In 1745, Russian Empress Elisabeth published an order to transport cats to her court. The descendants of these cats now live in the State Hermitage museum. During the nineteenth century, the British government compensated those libraries that housed cats, believing they kept rodents away from books.

Wikipedia accessed 12.10.18 . If you love cats (and libraries) and want a feel good read, try Dewey: the small town library cat who touched the world by Vicky Myron. For a very different, but fascinating look at American society, try Main Street by Sinclair Lewis.

Sinclair Lewis’s complete works, including Main Street, are known for their insightful and critical views of American society and capitalist values, as well as their strong characterizations of working women. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis is generally considered to be Lewis's most significant and enduring work, along with its 1922 successor Babbitt (Amazon 12.10.18)

Feeling we must visit, we took the bus to Hyannis, located on the Nantucket Sound, the holiday home location of many including John F. Kennedy. We didn't visit the museum but did enjoy wandering round the port and seeing local artists' work. There is so much written about JFK and the Kennedy clan but some years ago I very much enjoyed The Importance of being Kennedy by Laurie Graham, a fictional account written from a nursemaid's point of view.

We spent a breathtaking few days in the White Mountains, leaf-peeping by train and coach, and visiting Robert Frost's woods from the poem. The woods look very different in the fall and the colours are spectacular, apparently there is only one other place in the world that has such vibrant leaf colour - part of Japan! This is due to the fact that Japan also has a large number of maple trees which turn such fantastic colours. We also managed to visit a maple syrup maker whose family has run the general store and produced the syrup for three generations.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

We headed for Boston via Salem, famous for its witch trials of course. Unfortunately, visiting during the month of October (Hallowe'en is 'celebrated' all month!) meant it was packed with tourists and rather tacky, somewhat at odds with the seriousness of the poor women and a few men who were murdered as witches. However, we managed to see (though not visit due to huge queues) The House of Seven Gables made famous by Nathaniel Hawthorne in his book of that name. The house was built in 1668 and is one of the oldest surviving timber-framed houses in North America.

Hawthorne wrote of the house as it if was a living thing with a secret to keep. His more famous The Scarlet Letter is a gripping story of life in 17th century Puritan Boston where Hester, having been found guilty of adultery, is forced to wear an embroidered scarlet letter "A" as a punishment for her sin.

And so to Boston, cosmopolitan, fascinating American/English history, so much to see we must return! We had an excellent guide on a walking tour of Beacon Hill, parts of the Freedom Trail and the parks and common. Beacon Hill has been the home of many famous Americans, Louisa May Alcott and Sylvia Plath among them.

I had planned to visit Boston Public Library - the most impressive building, pictured here at night as we walked past to go up the Prudential Tower to see Boston by night. It is not only the first free public library in America but also one of the great libraries of the world - it houses art and architecture treasures contributed by renowned painters, sculptors, and craftsman of the 19th and 20th centuries. It is only closed on 4 days a year but sadly our free day was one of those for the Columbus Day celebrations!

I should mention that we had an excellent whale-watching tour - 'one day in a hundred is like this' said our naturalist guide, but the only book mentioned was, of course, Jaws ....

Although not relevant to New England, I couldn't finish without recommending two great American novels I have read fairly recently:

Stoner by John Williams - rediscovered after 50 years, this novel uncovers a story of universal value. Stoner tells of the conflicts, defeats and victories of the human race that pass unrecorded by history, and reclaims the significance of an individual life.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon - Winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, this book is a heart-wrenching story of escape, love and comic-book heroes set in Prague, New York and the Arctic.