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The Eliots of Damerosehay #2
Pilgrim's Inn
In this heartwarming novel, Elizabeth Goudge tells the story of a family who takes over an old coaching inn in the English countryside, turning it into a haven for travelers seeking refuge from the stresses of modern life. Filled with charming characters, lyrical descriptions of nature, and a touch of magic, Pilgrim's Inn is a delightful read that will leave you feeling uplifted and inspired. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
356 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1948
122 people are currently reading
2540 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Goudge
64 books892 followersElizabeth Goudge was an English author of novels, short stories and children's books.
Elizabeth de Beauchamp Goudge was born on 24 April 1900 in Wells, Somerset, in Tower House close by the cathedral in an area known as The Liberty, Her father, the Reverend Henry Leighton Goudge, taught in the cathedral school. Her mother was Miss Ida Collenette from the Channel Isles. Elizabeth was an only child. The family moved to Ely for a Canonry as Principal of the theological college. Later, when her father was made Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford, they moved to Christ Church, Oxford.
She went to boarding school during WWI and later to Arts College, presumably at Reading College. She made a small living as teacher, and continued to live with her parents. During this time, she wrote a few plays, and was encouraged to write novels by a publisher. As her writing career took off, she began to travel to other nations. Unfortunately, she suffered from depression for much of her life. She had great empathy for people and a talent for finding the comic side of things, displayed to great effect in her writing.
Goudge's first book, The Fairies' Baby and Other Stories (1919), was a failure and it was several years before she authored Island Magic (1934), which is based on Channel Island stories, many of which she had learned from her mother, who was from Guernsey. After the death of her father, Goudge and her mother went to Devon, and eventually wound up living there in a small cottage. There, she wrote prolifically and was happy.
After the death of her mother, and at the wishes of Goudge's family who wished her to live closer to them, she found a companion who moved with her to Rose Cottage in Reading. She lived out her life there, and had many dogs in her life. Goudge loved dogs, and much preferred their company to that of humans. She continued to write until shortly before her death, when ill health, successive falls, and cataracts hindered her ability to write. She was much loved.
Goudge was awarded the Carnegie Medal for The Little White Horse (1946), the book which J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter stories, has said was her favorite as a child. The television mini-series Moonacre was based on The Little White Horse. Her Green Dolphin Country (1944) was made into a film (under its American title, Green Dolphin Street) which won the Academy Award for Special Effects in 1948.
A Diary of Prayer (1966) was one of Goudge's last works. She spent her last years in her cottage on Peppard Common, just outside Henley-on-Thames, where a blue plaque was unveiled in 2008.
Elizabeth de Beauchamp Goudge was born on 24 April 1900 in Wells, Somerset, in Tower House close by the cathedral in an area known as The Liberty, Her father, the Reverend Henry Leighton Goudge, taught in the cathedral school. Her mother was Miss Ida Collenette from the Channel Isles. Elizabeth was an only child. The family moved to Ely for a Canonry as Principal of the theological college. Later, when her father was made Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford, they moved to Christ Church, Oxford.
She went to boarding school during WWI and later to Arts College, presumably at Reading College. She made a small living as teacher, and continued to live with her parents. During this time, she wrote a few plays, and was encouraged to write novels by a publisher. As her writing career took off, she began to travel to other nations. Unfortunately, she suffered from depression for much of her life. She had great empathy for people and a talent for finding the comic side of things, displayed to great effect in her writing.
Goudge's first book, The Fairies' Baby and Other Stories (1919), was a failure and it was several years before she authored Island Magic (1934), which is based on Channel Island stories, many of which she had learned from her mother, who was from Guernsey. After the death of her father, Goudge and her mother went to Devon, and eventually wound up living there in a small cottage. There, she wrote prolifically and was happy.
After the death of her mother, and at the wishes of Goudge's family who wished her to live closer to them, she found a companion who moved with her to Rose Cottage in Reading. She lived out her life there, and had many dogs in her life. Goudge loved dogs, and much preferred their company to that of humans. She continued to write until shortly before her death, when ill health, successive falls, and cataracts hindered her ability to write. She was much loved.
Goudge was awarded the Carnegie Medal for The Little White Horse (1946), the book which J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter stories, has said was her favorite as a child. The television mini-series Moonacre was based on The Little White Horse. Her Green Dolphin Country (1944) was made into a film (under its American title, Green Dolphin Street) which won the Academy Award for Special Effects in 1948.
A Diary of Prayer (1966) was one of Goudge's last works. She spent her last years in her cottage on Peppard Common, just outside Henley-on-Thames, where a blue plaque was unveiled in 2008.
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February 22, 2011
I think I will start a bookshelf containing books that I know I will want to reread repeatedly throughout my life. The books on this shelf will be there because I've found that when I'm in a certain mood, only this book (or author sometimes) will do. It will place Gerard Manley Hopkins and Henry James next to Megan Whalen Turner and Robin McKinley with plenty of room for Dorothy Sayers. And Elizabeth Goudge will be there too. Sometimes what I like most about a book is the atmosphere it creates. What elements of a book constitute "atmosphere"? It's hard to pin down. It could be Rae in Sunshine and her perfectly fried egg after a night of vampire-slaying in old flannel shirts. For Elizabeth Goudge, as for Lucy Maud Montgomery, I think it's at least partly a way of making houses and gardens and the people who occupy them beautifully infuse one another. I love reading these books because I would love to live in a house with a mantle piece made from bits of scroll-work from a grain ship that was driven aground in the marshes during a storm, causing a field of corn to grow in the marsh each spring a hundred years later. Some people would probably find this book preachy or find its morality old-fashioned. Maybe. But there's an honesty about the difficulty of what its asking that makes it solid to me. And both soothing and challenging.
November 1, 2015
The year is 1947 or thereabouts. Britain has won the war, but at such a cost. Many men return from the war with physical and mental scars, trying to 'get on with their lives' but finding that the old roles no longer fit, that the world is still filled with the horrors of the camps, the refugees, the terrible new weapons, unspeakable things. The women, too, have borne burdens--waiting for news of sons and grandsons, fearing and sometimes hearing the worst, or trying to piece together marriages and menfolk torn in the aftermath. Ration books and food shortages are still the norm. In London, and even in the countryside, there are hardly any people who are free of dark memories.
David Eliot is one of the survivors--once an actor, then a bomber pilot, now trying to rebuild a shattered career that seems pointless. His uncle, General George Eliot struggles at his desk job with the military and with a lonely marriage to a woman he loves desperately, but who has never loved him back. Nadine Eliot, George's wife, is tired, so very tired, worn out by her five children, her loveless marriage, still holding onto the memory of the brief, unconsummated passion she and David shared for each other.
There are a few whose souls remain whole. One is Sally Adair, daughter of a famous portrait artist. Sally spent the war years caring for sheep. Her innocence is like sunlight that filters gently, new-born each day, through the dense canopy of a centuries old beech wood. Then there are George and Nadine's children; each one, from the oldest teenage boys to the irrepressible five year old twins, is drawn as a completely believable individual, living in the now yet filled with promise.
And at the center is the indomitable, autocratic, yet deeply loving Eliot matriarch, Lady Lucilla Eliot. Lucilla senses all the cross-currents, the private suffering of her children and grandchildren. It is Lucilla, now in her eighties, who draws together the innocent and the guilt-ridden, the whole and the wounded; maneuvering George, Nadine and their brood into abandoning their London life for a new start in an impossibly ancient pre-Tudor Pilgrim's Inn that becomes a source of unexpected healing and glorious discoveries.
Elizabeth Goudge writes like a dream. Her descriptions of the English countryside made me long to relocate--except that this world no longer exists. I am grateful that she captured the place and time so perfectly for us. Goudge is also gifted with the ability to shift effortlessly between multiple points of view, letting us empathize with complex characters, each flawed yet somehow special. And no one,simply no one, knows how to get inside the heads of children and teenagers of that era better than Elizabeth Goudge--especially when they are messing about in boats and playing Rat and Mole in The Wind in the Willows.
This is a book about healing, a book suffused with light and joy. And if my friends will forgive the chutzpah of a Jew recommending a Christmas present, I'll say that this has the most perfect and moving Christmas-story ending since Charles Dickens.
Content rating G.
David Eliot is one of the survivors--once an actor, then a bomber pilot, now trying to rebuild a shattered career that seems pointless. His uncle, General George Eliot struggles at his desk job with the military and with a lonely marriage to a woman he loves desperately, but who has never loved him back. Nadine Eliot, George's wife, is tired, so very tired, worn out by her five children, her loveless marriage, still holding onto the memory of the brief, unconsummated passion she and David shared for each other.
There are a few whose souls remain whole. One is Sally Adair, daughter of a famous portrait artist. Sally spent the war years caring for sheep. Her innocence is like sunlight that filters gently, new-born each day, through the dense canopy of a centuries old beech wood. Then there are George and Nadine's children; each one, from the oldest teenage boys to the irrepressible five year old twins, is drawn as a completely believable individual, living in the now yet filled with promise.
And at the center is the indomitable, autocratic, yet deeply loving Eliot matriarch, Lady Lucilla Eliot. Lucilla senses all the cross-currents, the private suffering of her children and grandchildren. It is Lucilla, now in her eighties, who draws together the innocent and the guilt-ridden, the whole and the wounded; maneuvering George, Nadine and their brood into abandoning their London life for a new start in an impossibly ancient pre-Tudor Pilgrim's Inn that becomes a source of unexpected healing and glorious discoveries.
Elizabeth Goudge writes like a dream. Her descriptions of the English countryside made me long to relocate--except that this world no longer exists. I am grateful that she captured the place and time so perfectly for us. Goudge is also gifted with the ability to shift effortlessly between multiple points of view, letting us empathize with complex characters, each flawed yet somehow special. And no one,simply no one, knows how to get inside the heads of children and teenagers of that era better than Elizabeth Goudge--especially when they are messing about in boats and playing Rat and Mole in The Wind in the Willows.
This is a book about healing, a book suffused with light and joy. And if my friends will forgive the chutzpah of a Jew recommending a Christmas present, I'll say that this has the most perfect and moving Christmas-story ending since Charles Dickens.
Content rating G.
January 7, 2025
2024/2025: This was my Advent-Epiphany novel this year and the ending is making me cry. It’s so beautiful. I think I would ruin the mysterious gift of beauty that this book is if I tried to write more. I just accept it with a glad and full heart.
2021/2022: Finished my 2021/2022 re-read and two things strike me: 1) The influence of St. Francis on this book with the fresco, Knyghtwood, the play at the end and the song, etc. (see also The Scent of Water), and 2) How wonderful this book would have been to read just after the horror and chaos and deprivation of the Second World War. And how wonderful that Elizabeth had such depths in her soul to write this. What wonderful vision!
2019: A lovely book. I know I’ll be coming back to it again and again. Classic Elizabeth Goudge with the power of beauty and nature and faith and so many richly drawn characters. This would be a perfect read for Christmas/December. Reading this is like reading a spiritual classic, so deeply does it make one think about the elemental spiritual essence of life: belonging and healing.
Returning to this book during Advent 2021. It strikes me that Nadine is like Anna Karenina in the great attraction of her beauty and personality and her “desire to be desired”.
“Hitherto the Herb of Grace had been to them a summer home; they had known it only permeated with sun and light, flower-scented, windows and doors wide open. But now doors were shut, curtains drawn to hide the sad, grey dusk. Instead of the lap of the water against the river wall they heard the whisper of the flames, and instead of the flowers in the garden they smelt the roasting chestnuts, burning apple logs, coffee, the oil lamps, polish—all the home-smells. This intimacy with the house was deepening; when winter came it would be deeper still” (256-257).
2021/2022: Finished my 2021/2022 re-read and two things strike me: 1) The influence of St. Francis on this book with the fresco, Knyghtwood, the play at the end and the song, etc. (see also The Scent of Water), and 2) How wonderful this book would have been to read just after the horror and chaos and deprivation of the Second World War. And how wonderful that Elizabeth had such depths in her soul to write this. What wonderful vision!
2019: A lovely book. I know I’ll be coming back to it again and again. Classic Elizabeth Goudge with the power of beauty and nature and faith and so many richly drawn characters. This would be a perfect read for Christmas/December. Reading this is like reading a spiritual classic, so deeply does it make one think about the elemental spiritual essence of life: belonging and healing.
Returning to this book during Advent 2021. It strikes me that Nadine is like Anna Karenina in the great attraction of her beauty and personality and her “desire to be desired”.
“Hitherto the Herb of Grace had been to them a summer home; they had known it only permeated with sun and light, flower-scented, windows and doors wide open. But now doors were shut, curtains drawn to hide the sad, grey dusk. Instead of the lap of the water against the river wall they heard the whisper of the flames, and instead of the flowers in the garden they smelt the roasting chestnuts, burning apple logs, coffee, the oil lamps, polish—all the home-smells. This intimacy with the house was deepening; when winter came it would be deeper still” (256-257).
February 13, 2019
”Increasingly, as she lived here, Nadine had a feeling that this house had a personality of its own - some sort of great angel who grew with the growth of the house and was enriched or otherwise, by those who lived here; and she felt, too, that this angel was well-disposed to her.”
The second of the Eliot Chronicles is about ‘The Herb of Grace’ - an ancient Pilgrim’s Inn which becomes the home of Nadine and George Eliot and their five children. In the first third of the book, it feels like this will be Nadine’s story: after the bitter loss of her great love, making this home will be the making of her family (and by extension, herself). But really this story is too well-populated and diffuse to be primarily about any one person. In addition to the Eliot family, with its various branches, other important characters are introduced: the artist John Adair and his daughter Sally, and the mysterious ‘troubadours’ Malony and Annie-Laurie, who arrive by houseboat and come to stay for a while at the inn.
The house, or inn, is located on the edge of a great wood called the Knyghtwood - and the wood plays nearly as great a role in the story as the house does. Goudge is, at all time, aware of the power of nature and the healing role it plays in human lives. There is a great play between imagination and vision in the storyline and a conversation between David Eliot (the actor) and Sally gives a sense of the spiritual component that is such an integral part of this story: “Imagination comes from yourself and can deceive you, but vision is a gift from outside yourself - like light striking on your closed eyelids and lifting them to see what’s really there.”
The inn’s past - as a gathering place for pilgrims; as a shelter for wounded bodies and spirits, both human and animal - is revealed through a combination of seeking and the happy accident of curiosity. The twins, youngest of Nadine and George’s children and strangely feral, discover both the hidden centre of the wood and the hidden centre of the house - and both places form a focal point for creative and emotional healing for various of the story’s characters.
Many of the characters in this story are haunted by the past and cannot quite let go from their buried shame and pain. Additionally, the book is set just at the end of World War II, and there is that sense of desolation and world-weariness. ‘The herb of grace’ is rue: astringent, symbolising repentance, representing the single mindedness of the pilgrim. ”Everything gathered in for the giving of yourself. the whole of you. Nothing kept back.” It’s compassion for each other that allows the sufferers in this book to accept the blessings of the inn.
Although what I’ve written makes the book sound a bit dour, it isn’t that at all. Goudge writes of the most serious of things with a very light touch that gives a touch of the fairy story to all of her tales. The book begins in spring and ends in winter, but both seasons offer a different kind of hopefulness to the lives within the story. And the reader cannot help but be touched, too.
The second of the Eliot Chronicles is about ‘The Herb of Grace’ - an ancient Pilgrim’s Inn which becomes the home of Nadine and George Eliot and their five children. In the first third of the book, it feels like this will be Nadine’s story: after the bitter loss of her great love, making this home will be the making of her family (and by extension, herself). But really this story is too well-populated and diffuse to be primarily about any one person. In addition to the Eliot family, with its various branches, other important characters are introduced: the artist John Adair and his daughter Sally, and the mysterious ‘troubadours’ Malony and Annie-Laurie, who arrive by houseboat and come to stay for a while at the inn.
The house, or inn, is located on the edge of a great wood called the Knyghtwood - and the wood plays nearly as great a role in the story as the house does. Goudge is, at all time, aware of the power of nature and the healing role it plays in human lives. There is a great play between imagination and vision in the storyline and a conversation between David Eliot (the actor) and Sally gives a sense of the spiritual component that is such an integral part of this story: “Imagination comes from yourself and can deceive you, but vision is a gift from outside yourself - like light striking on your closed eyelids and lifting them to see what’s really there.”
The inn’s past - as a gathering place for pilgrims; as a shelter for wounded bodies and spirits, both human and animal - is revealed through a combination of seeking and the happy accident of curiosity. The twins, youngest of Nadine and George’s children and strangely feral, discover both the hidden centre of the wood and the hidden centre of the house - and both places form a focal point for creative and emotional healing for various of the story’s characters.
Many of the characters in this story are haunted by the past and cannot quite let go from their buried shame and pain. Additionally, the book is set just at the end of World War II, and there is that sense of desolation and world-weariness. ‘The herb of grace’ is rue: astringent, symbolising repentance, representing the single mindedness of the pilgrim. ”Everything gathered in for the giving of yourself. the whole of you. Nothing kept back.” It’s compassion for each other that allows the sufferers in this book to accept the blessings of the inn.
Although what I’ve written makes the book sound a bit dour, it isn’t that at all. Goudge writes of the most serious of things with a very light touch that gives a touch of the fairy story to all of her tales. The book begins in spring and ends in winter, but both seasons offer a different kind of hopefulness to the lives within the story. And the reader cannot help but be touched, too.
December 18, 2008
I usually read this book at Christmas. I love it so much that I bought several used copies (it is an old book) and distributed them. I don't know why - but the messages of this book bring peace to my soul - as it should, as the book is about inner peace and living and making choices for the right reasons. The end of the book has a great Christmas sequence. The book takes place right after WWII which apeals to me not only because my parents were young then, but it describes well what we feel about what is happening in the world today. I have probably read this book 5-6 times over 20 years.
November 23, 2025
2025 Review
There's one thing Sarah Clarkson and I don't see eye-to-eye on, and it's starting series in the middle. She recommends starting the Inspector Gamache novels on book 5--do not recommend! She recommends starting the Lord Peter Wimsey series with Gaudy Night--not the best place to start. She recommended starting the Eliot trilogy here--did not work!!! Really, this one relies so much on The Bird in the Tree, it is best to start there, and only after reading The Bird in the Tree earlier this year did I fully appreciate The Herb of Grace/Pilgrim's Inn.
Goudge has such amazing insight into all of her characters, and writes about children, adolescents, and adults of all ages flawlessly. What is it with Anglican priests' daughters seeing perfectly into the human soul? I loved every page of this on the second time through. There's something extremely Tasha Tudor about the setting, and I just loved the Christmas ending and each character's arc. I am eager to read The Heart of the Family though I think I know what's coming and I don't want to imagine it.
I loved The Wind in the Willows as a framing piece, along with medieval legends, how utterly delightful. I showed a friend the adaptation of A Month in the Country while I was reading this book and decided I would like many, many more medieval mural restorations in all books from now on, thank you very much. Off to scribble about half of this novel into my commonplace book!
2019 Review
I'm still putting my thoughts together about this book. I think I need to read the other Damerosehay novels to get the full grasp of the Eliots. Perhaps it wasn't the right time in my life for this novel? I enjoyed a lot about it, but didn't quite connect on a deeper level with it. I feel that Goudge has much for me to love, but I have to find "my" book of hers. I've read two now, and while both have been lovely, neither has really spoken to me. As I keep reading Goudge, I'm sure I'll find "the one."
There's one thing Sarah Clarkson and I don't see eye-to-eye on, and it's starting series in the middle. She recommends starting the Inspector Gamache novels on book 5--do not recommend! She recommends starting the Lord Peter Wimsey series with Gaudy Night--not the best place to start. She recommended starting the Eliot trilogy here--did not work!!! Really, this one relies so much on The Bird in the Tree, it is best to start there, and only after reading The Bird in the Tree earlier this year did I fully appreciate The Herb of Grace/Pilgrim's Inn.
Goudge has such amazing insight into all of her characters, and writes about children, adolescents, and adults of all ages flawlessly. What is it with Anglican priests' daughters seeing perfectly into the human soul? I loved every page of this on the second time through. There's something extremely Tasha Tudor about the setting, and I just loved the Christmas ending and each character's arc. I am eager to read The Heart of the Family though I think I know what's coming and I don't want to imagine it.
I loved The Wind in the Willows as a framing piece, along with medieval legends, how utterly delightful. I showed a friend the adaptation of A Month in the Country while I was reading this book and decided I would like many, many more medieval mural restorations in all books from now on, thank you very much. Off to scribble about half of this novel into my commonplace book!
2019 Review
I'm still putting my thoughts together about this book. I think I need to read the other Damerosehay novels to get the full grasp of the Eliots. Perhaps it wasn't the right time in my life for this novel? I enjoyed a lot about it, but didn't quite connect on a deeper level with it. I feel that Goudge has much for me to love, but I have to find "my" book of hers. I've read two now, and while both have been lovely, neither has really spoken to me. As I keep reading Goudge, I'm sure I'll find "the one."
February 5, 2019
Extraordinary fiction. If you haven't read Goudge yet, you need to start with this trilogy. No fluffy romance here. Real people with real problems and no simple solutions. Yet the outcome is satisfying.
November 19, 2010
This is the second book in the series Elizabeth Goudge wrote on 'the Eliots of Damerosehay'[22 points to anyone who can come up with a definitive pronunciation of 'Damerosehay.'] I read it first based on a friend's recommendation that it was his favorite book by Ms. Goudge; also upon the the fact that her books are pretty scarce to find and yet, this one happened to be sitting on the shelf of a second hand bookshop in Dallas. I am egotistical enough to believe that it was placed there specifically for me to find. But, that's more than enough about me. On to the book.
First of all, I might recommend reading "The Bird in the Tree" first because this book gives a pretty good sense of at least one of the major conflicts of that book. (good luck in finding either book.) I still intend to read it for some of the reasons I that outline below regarding why I enjoyed this book, but I think some of the dramatic tension will be missing since I know beforehand some of the decisions the characters will make. (Hm. I still haven't gotten to the book at hand, yet, have I. ONCE MORE INTO THE BREACH!)
One of the great joys of reading Elizabeth Goudge is her exploration of the deep seated emotions and the response to those emotions of her characters. She is so insightful into their feelings and ultimately into our own. In 'Pilgrim's Inn' we have a family trying to rebuild a sense of unity after the ravages of not only World War II, but more personal wars as well. The source they turn to for this healing is moving out to the country to live in what was built centuries ago to be an inn run by the clergy.
As in her book, "The Castle on the Hill," Ms. Goudge chooses the architectural centerpiece of her story with care, for the healing that needs to happen for this family is a spiritual healing. Ms. Goudge provides for them several spirit guides along the path to this healing including, a domineering matriarch, an obsessive, but insightful painter, and a gentle cleric in whom "there is no beauty that we should desire him" yet therein is harbored a quiet wisdom beyond measure.
At the core of this novel is the trouble David Eliot has in guiding his war-torn soul in choosing between the love of two women. He finds much of his solution in the process of unearthing a lost treasure at the inn.
This is a gentle book that eschews the high dramatics demanded of modern readers. Ms. Goudge deftly covers her portrayal of the trials of her characters with a sweet recollection of how in youth we were always on the verge of stepping from reality into a fantasy world; a world that would be quite at home at an inn built to sustain pilgrims.
First of all, I might recommend reading "The Bird in the Tree" first because this book gives a pretty good sense of at least one of the major conflicts of that book. (good luck in finding either book.) I still intend to read it for some of the reasons I that outline below regarding why I enjoyed this book, but I think some of the dramatic tension will be missing since I know beforehand some of the decisions the characters will make. (Hm. I still haven't gotten to the book at hand, yet, have I. ONCE MORE INTO THE BREACH!)
One of the great joys of reading Elizabeth Goudge is her exploration of the deep seated emotions and the response to those emotions of her characters. She is so insightful into their feelings and ultimately into our own. In 'Pilgrim's Inn' we have a family trying to rebuild a sense of unity after the ravages of not only World War II, but more personal wars as well. The source they turn to for this healing is moving out to the country to live in what was built centuries ago to be an inn run by the clergy.
As in her book, "The Castle on the Hill," Ms. Goudge chooses the architectural centerpiece of her story with care, for the healing that needs to happen for this family is a spiritual healing. Ms. Goudge provides for them several spirit guides along the path to this healing including, a domineering matriarch, an obsessive, but insightful painter, and a gentle cleric in whom "there is no beauty that we should desire him" yet therein is harbored a quiet wisdom beyond measure.
At the core of this novel is the trouble David Eliot has in guiding his war-torn soul in choosing between the love of two women. He finds much of his solution in the process of unearthing a lost treasure at the inn.
This is a gentle book that eschews the high dramatics demanded of modern readers. Ms. Goudge deftly covers her portrayal of the trials of her characters with a sweet recollection of how in youth we were always on the verge of stepping from reality into a fantasy world; a world that would be quite at home at an inn built to sustain pilgrims.
July 13, 2018
Just re-read this old childhood favorite after a pause of some 25 years. When I first read it, I loved the characters, their developing relationships, and the house, the Herb of Grace Inn. I loved the plot--buying an idyllic home in an idyllic setting and being healed by it. The successful retreat from conflict--the massive and terrible conflict of WWII. I loved the allusions to The Wind in the Willows, and especially the depiction of the Christmas season. I also loved the moral orientation: the celebration of renunciation in favor of duty--the pleasure of astringency and rue--that yet results in a tempered sort of joy.
Now, from a completely different life perspective, the matriarch Lucilla really grated on me. Her beauty and class privilege are used to justify the preposterous and hubristic way she cajoles, cheats, and cozens her hapless daughter-in-law into agreeing to move to the country, run an inn, and completely change her lifestyle "for her own good," which is conflated with that of her family's. And the daughter-in-law ultimately agrees. Lucilla tyrannizes her homely single children, and they just accept it; and in her maintenance of Victorian manners and customs she never recognizes all the labor people do on her behalf. And her "love" justifies all of it. Feels like Stockholm Syndrome to me.
And I'm less convinced by Goudge's dialogue and depiction of relationships, especially the stylistic tic of narrating free indirect discourse through one character, but then finishing those thoughts with a spoken response from another character. This seems like cheating, or at the very least the work of someone who's never had to deal with people of radically different perspectives.
But in the end, I still love Goudge's depiction of place and of time and of home. I think what makes Goudge a writer I return to is her ability to render natural beauty and the ancient as a crucial component of how we feed our souls. And I'm a sucker for the comic resolution, in which each character discovers love where they need it, and the haunted find relief, and everyone finds a home and a vocation. I suppose this is inconsistent on my part, but it's a testament to the power of Goudge's vision and my own susceptibility to it.
Now, from a completely different life perspective, the matriarch Lucilla really grated on me. Her beauty and class privilege are used to justify the preposterous and hubristic way she cajoles, cheats, and cozens her hapless daughter-in-law into agreeing to move to the country, run an inn, and completely change her lifestyle "for her own good," which is conflated with that of her family's. And the daughter-in-law ultimately agrees. Lucilla tyrannizes her homely single children, and they just accept it; and in her maintenance of Victorian manners and customs she never recognizes all the labor people do on her behalf. And her "love" justifies all of it. Feels like Stockholm Syndrome to me.
And I'm less convinced by Goudge's dialogue and depiction of relationships, especially the stylistic tic of narrating free indirect discourse through one character, but then finishing those thoughts with a spoken response from another character. This seems like cheating, or at the very least the work of someone who's never had to deal with people of radically different perspectives.
But in the end, I still love Goudge's depiction of place and of time and of home. I think what makes Goudge a writer I return to is her ability to render natural beauty and the ancient as a crucial component of how we feed our souls. And I'm a sucker for the comic resolution, in which each character discovers love where they need it, and the haunted find relief, and everyone finds a home and a vocation. I suppose this is inconsistent on my part, but it's a testament to the power of Goudge's vision and my own susceptibility to it.
July 8, 2022
"...it was home-making that mattered. Every home was a brick in the great wall of decent living that men erected over and over again as a bulwark against the perpetual flooding in of evil. But women made the bricks, and the durableness of each civilisation depended upon their quality; and it was no good weakening oneself for the brick-making by thinking too much about the flood."
This stood out to me more (from all the other bits of wisdom I came across) and I find it extremely relevant for these troubled times we're all living.
I found this found this book very domestic and wholesome and a mix of other books, of Madeleine L'Engle's, of C.S. Lewis', of the Bastables and that special treat that is all Elizabeth Goudge's, a symphony of epiphanies, of the mundane and of the divine, of home and the wilderness. I liked the stories of each characters and love them all, each so uniquely drawn and their stories so lovingly intertwined in this altogether beautiful tale. I also liked Jill a lot and here's a good, fat passage about her that I really appreciated:
"She did not find the waiting irksome, for she had been born one of those fortunate people who are never in a hurry and never restless. She had never felt restless in her life. In all that she did, in all that she saw, she was aware of a deep, upspringing wonder, as though she did it or saw it for the first time. Blessed with a mind neither retrospective nor anxious, the past and the future did not pull her two ways with remorse and dread, and the lovely freshness of each new-made moment was apparent to her focused vision."
It'd do everyone good to be more like Jill and Sally, of course, whom I'd love to have as a friend, and whom I'm sure you dear reader would love too if you care to read this lovely book✨
I liked it and gave it 5🌟 with a relish.
Be forewarned!!! This book really compels you to pick up your old tattered copy of The Wind in the Willows🦡🐸🐀 and maybe a shiny new copy of The Cross and the Stag🦌☦️ Bonus books on your summer (re)reading list😉
This stood out to me more (from all the other bits of wisdom I came across) and I find it extremely relevant for these troubled times we're all living.
I found this found this book very domestic and wholesome and a mix of other books, of Madeleine L'Engle's, of C.S. Lewis', of the Bastables and that special treat that is all Elizabeth Goudge's, a symphony of epiphanies, of the mundane and of the divine, of home and the wilderness. I liked the stories of each characters and love them all, each so uniquely drawn and their stories so lovingly intertwined in this altogether beautiful tale. I also liked Jill a lot and here's a good, fat passage about her that I really appreciated:
"She did not find the waiting irksome, for she had been born one of those fortunate people who are never in a hurry and never restless. She had never felt restless in her life. In all that she did, in all that she saw, she was aware of a deep, upspringing wonder, as though she did it or saw it for the first time. Blessed with a mind neither retrospective nor anxious, the past and the future did not pull her two ways with remorse and dread, and the lovely freshness of each new-made moment was apparent to her focused vision."
It'd do everyone good to be more like Jill and Sally, of course, whom I'd love to have as a friend, and whom I'm sure you dear reader would love too if you care to read this lovely book✨
I liked it and gave it 5🌟 with a relish.
Be forewarned!!! This book really compels you to pick up your old tattered copy of The Wind in the Willows🦡🐸🐀 and maybe a shiny new copy of The Cross and the Stag🦌☦️ Bonus books on your summer (re)reading list😉
September 17, 2016
Sometimes one discovers an author or work that compels you to read from cover to cover repeatedly. Pilgrim's Inn, I feel, is in that category. It is the first, and thus far the only, of Elizabeth Goudge's writings that I have read and I did worry that I may have spoilt this series by unwittingly jumping in with the second novel. However, her poetic descriptions of place, time and sentiment transcend the story itself. I anticipate visiting this book again, and again, if only to lose myself in its beauty.
May 17, 2016
This book took me a little longer to get through - it's a very contemplative, thoughtful, deep, speak-to-your-soul novel. It's not the plot that makes it a 5 star, rewarding read because there's not a whole lot to it; it's Goudge's depth of writing. She takes her time in developing her story, her characters, and the ideas that she wants to convey.
To me, this story is about the home - a place of refuge, of beauty, of inspiration, of acceptance, of growth, of solace. It speaks of slowing down, appreciating beauty, death and rebirth. My favorite quote was: "Lucilla knew always, and Nadine knew in her more domesticated moments, that it was homemaking that mattered. Every home was a brick in the great wall of decent living that men erected over and over again as a bulwark against the perpetual flooding in of evil. But women made the bricks, and the durableness of each civilization depended upon their quality, and it was no good weakening oneself for the brick-making by thinking too much about the flood."
To me, this story is about the home - a place of refuge, of beauty, of inspiration, of acceptance, of growth, of solace. It speaks of slowing down, appreciating beauty, death and rebirth. My favorite quote was: "Lucilla knew always, and Nadine knew in her more domesticated moments, that it was homemaking that mattered. Every home was a brick in the great wall of decent living that men erected over and over again as a bulwark against the perpetual flooding in of evil. But women made the bricks, and the durableness of each civilization depended upon their quality, and it was no good weakening oneself for the brick-making by thinking too much about the flood."
May 29, 2020
The second book in the Eliots of Damerosehay trilogy.
The alternate title of this novel, The Herb of Grace is so much more descriptive and fitting. Nadine and George Eliot, almost on a whim coupled with a strong push from Lucilla, buy an old inn to make into a home for their family. The inn, originally a hostel for pilgrims, called the "Herb of Grace" has deep roots in the past and the spirit of the place has the ability to change each of their lives in meaningful ways, healing what is broken or lacking. This beautiful, redemptive story, told with Elizabeth Goudge's incredible sensitivity and insight, is a gem. Profound, reflective, a book that leaves the reader better for having read it.
Highest recommendation.
The alternate title of this novel, The Herb of Grace is so much more descriptive and fitting. Nadine and George Eliot, almost on a whim coupled with a strong push from Lucilla, buy an old inn to make into a home for their family. The inn, originally a hostel for pilgrims, called the "Herb of Grace" has deep roots in the past and the spirit of the place has the ability to change each of their lives in meaningful ways, healing what is broken or lacking. This beautiful, redemptive story, told with Elizabeth Goudge's incredible sensitivity and insight, is a gem. Profound, reflective, a book that leaves the reader better for having read it.
Highest recommendation.
January 12, 2016
The second installment of the Eliot Family Trilogy was just as entertaining as the first book, A Bird in the Tree. This one was quite magical in the setting of Herb of Grace house and the mysterious wood it borders. Elizabeth Goudge is a masterful weaver of story, setting, and character relationships.
May 23, 2013
A richly beautiful, deep, freeing, redemptive and quietly impacting book! It was a timely read for me. Loved it!
April 17, 2017
I think that I would've enjoyed this more if I'd a) read it at a slower pace and b) not gulped the whole thing down in one reading. (Those are almost the same thing but ... I digress.)
I both loved and partially disliked (I'm the kind of reader who wants ONE character to get behind and root for - several? WHO AM I SUPPOSED TO CHEER FOR? ALL OF THEM?! [Yes.]) the way the characters were all so very human. They all had flaws and it was both delicious and frustrating to read.
I think that the cover of the version I borrowed from my sister (thanks, sister!) does the story an injustice. It made me think the entire tale was about this bloke named David, who was probably American.
And I have to admit ... I didn't like David very much. Nadine? Yep. I didn't like her at first, but then I came to like her imperfect imperfections(?) The whole thing with Sally was a bit ... well, I didn't connect to that bit of the story.
But the family dynamic? Their flaws? Their strengths? THE TWINS?!! The Uncle Who's Name Begins With H? I loved it. I loved them. It really touched a chord within me.
The writing was beautiful and I wish - I wish - I'd spent more time savouring it all. But, oh well. These are the downsides to gulp reading.
I don't usually pick up this kind of book but ... in the future, I will be tempted to do so again.
What I didn't so much enjoy - no, that's not quite the word I'd use - click with perhaps? Was Ms. Goudge's way of writing characters expressing affection. And the use of the word 'love'. I think that this is perhaps she was writing in ... 1948? I think the book was first published? And so the world was different then.
Anyway, these are the thought of my blurred mind. (I finished it in a three hours and something stint into the wee hours) (probably a bad idea) (i didn't think so at the time).
I both loved and partially disliked (I'm the kind of reader who wants ONE character to get behind and root for - several? WHO AM I SUPPOSED TO CHEER FOR? ALL OF THEM?! [Yes.]) the way the characters were all so very human. They all had flaws and it was both delicious and frustrating to read.
I think that the cover of the version I borrowed from my sister (thanks, sister!) does the story an injustice. It made me think the entire tale was about this bloke named David, who was probably American.
And I have to admit ... I didn't like David very much. Nadine? Yep. I didn't like her at first, but then I came to like her imperfect imperfections(?) The whole thing with Sally was a bit ... well, I didn't connect to that bit of the story.
But the family dynamic? Their flaws? Their strengths? THE TWINS?!! The Uncle Who's Name Begins With H? I loved it. I loved them. It really touched a chord within me.
The writing was beautiful and I wish - I wish - I'd spent more time savouring it all. But, oh well. These are the downsides to gulp reading.
I don't usually pick up this kind of book but ... in the future, I will be tempted to do so again.
What I didn't so much enjoy - no, that's not quite the word I'd use - click with perhaps? Was Ms. Goudge's way of writing characters expressing affection. And the use of the word 'love'. I think that this is perhaps she was writing in ... 1948? I think the book was first published? And so the world was different then.
Anyway, these are the thought of my blurred mind. (I finished it in a three hours and something stint into the wee hours) (probably a bad idea) (i didn't think so at the time).
May 9, 2017
What a lovely story! Goudge's writing is very beautiful and charming. It has such as soothing, comforting quality to it that is reminiscent of L.M. Montgomery in a way, but less whimsical and with more depth of feeling. Glad to revisit the Eliot family and loved the new setting of the "Pilgrim's Inn: Herb of Grace" which is just as romantic and dreamy as Dameroshay.
The addition of Sally and her artist father was interesting, as was Malony and Annie Laurie the two "care takers" with a troubled past.
I will admit, that my least favorite part of the book are the characters themselves. None of them are particulary likeable or endearing, which is why I still love L.M. Montgomery so much more and can't give this book a solid five, despite the writing. The main characters are all especially annoying and self absorbed, especially Lucilla, David and Nadine. It's not that I don't like them per se, it's just that their constant internal monologues tend to bore me after awhile and I tend to become indifferent to them. Even the children can get on my nerves sometimes, such as Tommy and the twins who are so selfish. Honestly, my favorite characters are the secondary ones like Uncle Steven, Margaret, George and Jill. The scene with George and daughter Caroline at the train station was probably one of the sweetest in the whole book.
Needless to say, I really enjoyed the story, especially the ending when the children perform in the Christmas play. So glad to have read this during the holidays. Also, the recurring forest themes and the discovery of the hidden mural was delightful. Looking forward to reading the last in the series soon.
The addition of Sally and her artist father was interesting, as was Malony and Annie Laurie the two "care takers" with a troubled past.
I will admit, that my least favorite part of the book are the characters themselves. None of them are particulary likeable or endearing, which is why I still love L.M. Montgomery so much more and can't give this book a solid five, despite the writing. The main characters are all especially annoying and self absorbed, especially Lucilla, David and Nadine. It's not that I don't like them per se, it's just that their constant internal monologues tend to bore me after awhile and I tend to become indifferent to them. Even the children can get on my nerves sometimes, such as Tommy and the twins who are so selfish. Honestly, my favorite characters are the secondary ones like Uncle Steven, Margaret, George and Jill. The scene with George and daughter Caroline at the train station was probably one of the sweetest in the whole book.
Needless to say, I really enjoyed the story, especially the ending when the children perform in the Christmas play. So glad to have read this during the holidays. Also, the recurring forest themes and the discovery of the hidden mural was delightful. Looking forward to reading the last in the series soon.
July 28, 2023
The Herb of Grace, aka Pilgrim's Inn, is the second novel of the Eliot Trilogy but may be read independently.
Set after WWII mainly at Damerosehay, after some opening pages set in London, it features the Eliot family a few years later. Times are clearly difficult when George Eliot decides to buy a former pilgrim's inn called the Herb of Grace, not far from the family's abode and refuge, Damerosehay. The aftermath of WWII is slowly fading but everyone is still wearing its scars. The Herb of Grace becomes a sanctuary where all the characters are healing their wounds and experience introspection before a new start. The subtext of The Wind in the Willows adds to the magic of child-like imagination. It is all about love and friendship, about children and pets, about beauty, but also about traumas and suffering.
Elizabeth Goudge's style is excellent: subtle and precise, never tedious descriptions of nature, woods, of the house and its atmosphere. This book is not only to be read but savoured with all our senses: we see sceneries, cosy corners, green woods, we hear birdsongs and roaring storms, we smell flower scents and freshly baked scones, and taste strong tea best served in a brown teapot. We even can imagine the touch of the old family dog brushing past the children legs.
To be read and even reread!
Set after WWII mainly at Damerosehay, after some opening pages set in London, it features the Eliot family a few years later. Times are clearly difficult when George Eliot decides to buy a former pilgrim's inn called the Herb of Grace, not far from the family's abode and refuge, Damerosehay. The aftermath of WWII is slowly fading but everyone is still wearing its scars. The Herb of Grace becomes a sanctuary where all the characters are healing their wounds and experience introspection before a new start. The subtext of The Wind in the Willows adds to the magic of child-like imagination. It is all about love and friendship, about children and pets, about beauty, but also about traumas and suffering.
Elizabeth Goudge's style is excellent: subtle and precise, never tedious descriptions of nature, woods, of the house and its atmosphere. This book is not only to be read but savoured with all our senses: we see sceneries, cosy corners, green woods, we hear birdsongs and roaring storms, we smell flower scents and freshly baked scones, and taste strong tea best served in a brown teapot. We even can imagine the touch of the old family dog brushing past the children legs.
To be read and even reread!
Read
January 10, 2023I am not going to finish.
I obviously missed reading the description of this book. If I had read it, I would have known to never start it.
A married women is in love/debating about her love with another man. Whether she makes the right decision in the end (which I’m pretty certain at least circumstances make the right decision for her), I don’t care to spend hours reading about that kind of attitude/behavior. Yuck!
Cleanliness: see above.
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So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
I obviously missed reading the description of this book. If I had read it, I would have known to never start it.
A married women is in love/debating about her love with another man. Whether she makes the right decision in the end (which I’m pretty certain at least circumstances make the right decision for her), I don’t care to spend hours reading about that kind of attitude/behavior. Yuck!
Cleanliness: see above.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
July 17, 2009
The happy ending of this book, revolving around the Christmas season, made it exceptional in my mind. It really took the book, otherwise, another enjoyable read from Goudge, to a deeply touching, nostalgic place. Uncovering long lost art, discovery of the true meaning of "home is where the heart is" and taking a chance on love that ultimately leads to healing and happiness unbeknown before. All so beautifully written together to tell the story of an imperfect family that finds healing in a new home nestled in the woods by the sea. I loved how Goudge created a place, the Herb of Grace, and a bonded each character to it so they all held a deep love for it and felt enveloped with peace and happiness when they were there. There are places in all of our lives that we feel this way and about, thus creating a bond between the reader and the characters in the emotions and heart warming feelings they share.
July 5, 2020
This book made me so happy. A perfectly beautiful story.
December 20, 2019
Thanks to Goodreads and Facebook, I’ve connected with other readers of all ages and from all over the world. And through these connections, I’ve learned of books and authors I would probably never have heard of otherwise. Elizabeth Goudge is one such author.
I belong to several book clubs on FB; a year ago, one of these book club friends mentioned Pilgrim’s Inn, saying that she tries to read it every Christmas. Instead of acquiring Pilgrim’s Inn then, I ordered The Dean’s Watch which became my first book of 2019 - and turns out to be one of favorite reads of the year.
Here it is, Christmas once again, so I determined to read Pilgrim’s Inn. And wow! What a lovely book. The writing is stellar, the characters are very human and the story is lovely.
Ms. Goudge weaves the story of Saint Eustace into this tale in a way that is akin to magical realism. I’m not going to give a summary of the story — I don’t need to , for I won’t forget it! And as a final endorsement, I’ll say that I was sobbing by the end, and I rarely cry during books or movies. The beauty of this book got me, though.
I belong to several book clubs on FB; a year ago, one of these book club friends mentioned Pilgrim’s Inn, saying that she tries to read it every Christmas. Instead of acquiring Pilgrim’s Inn then, I ordered The Dean’s Watch which became my first book of 2019 - and turns out to be one of favorite reads of the year.
Here it is, Christmas once again, so I determined to read Pilgrim’s Inn. And wow! What a lovely book. The writing is stellar, the characters are very human and the story is lovely.
Ms. Goudge weaves the story of Saint Eustace into this tale in a way that is akin to magical realism. I’m not going to give a summary of the story — I don’t need to , for I won’t forget it! And as a final endorsement, I’ll say that I was sobbing by the end, and I rarely cry during books or movies. The beauty of this book got me, though.
September 11, 2024
I know a lot of what made this book so meaningful to me is the timing of my reading it, but I thought it was so beautifully done. Goudge writes well about the years just after WWII, the hopelessness and bad situations people found themselves in and the grace and healing that they found in the arms of an old maison-dieu.
2nd Read - This book is such a lovely, gentle examination of a family re-building themselves after the war.
3rd Read - I'm still moved by the same passages that moved me on my first read.
2nd Read - This book is such a lovely, gentle examination of a family re-building themselves after the war.
3rd Read - I'm still moved by the same passages that moved me on my first read.
January 10, 2024
Elizabeth Goudge really reminded me in this book about what an amazing author she is. The story is placed right after World War II and yet has a timeless feel -- a lot of the characters are always talking about old paintings, books, and the ways of old England. Throughout this novel people are continually quoting 'Wind and the Willows' and although at one point in starts to feel slightly over done and strained, overall it is a charming book, and I found my self being carried off into the story from the first page as the wonderful writing brought the characters to life.
November 3, 2023
The second in this series... it's great to be back! There is something so restful about Elizabeth Goudge's stories. When I open one of her books, I always feel safe. I know she believes and even though there may be some difficulties to overcome (it wouldn't be a story otherwise, right?!) she will help her characters and readers reach their destination with Joy, Hope and Love. On to the third in the series...
January 19, 2024
One of my Favorite Books
I have read this four or five times. It is a joy. It leaves you with such a feeling of satisfaction. I have highlighted several passages this time through. I love reading it at Christmas time. This book is a friend whom I love to revisit. It’s been too long. I will not wait this many years again.
I have read this four or five times. It is a joy. It leaves you with such a feeling of satisfaction. I have highlighted several passages this time through. I love reading it at Christmas time. This book is a friend whom I love to revisit. It’s been too long. I will not wait this many years again.
December 4, 2025
I have wanted to read Elizabeth Goudge for years and finally picked up this book from my shelf. I'm so glad I did! (Disregard the simplistic synopsis given by Goodreads- it doesn't begin to do it justice or get to the heart of this story). I was blown away by the beauty and depth of Goudge's writing. She manages to blend the mundane and ordinary with the spiritual and divine to create prose that is simply captivating. It truly is a portrayal of a sacramental way of living, which I find so inspiring. The natural world and the English setting feel alive and vivid with her lush descriptions.
Goudge's characters are very well drawn, and I couldn't wait to get back into the story whenever I had a few minutes. Maybe it's a case of the right book at the right time, but I could identify and empathize with these characters. The exhausted mother in this story has five children at home, three tween/teenagers and a set of 5-year-old twins, as do I. I could so relate!🤓
I knew this book was part of a trilogy but was told by friends that it can be read as a standalone. I will, however, definitely be hunting down and reading the other two books as well.
Goudge's characters are very well drawn, and I couldn't wait to get back into the story whenever I had a few minutes. Maybe it's a case of the right book at the right time, but I could identify and empathize with these characters. The exhausted mother in this story has five children at home, three tween/teenagers and a set of 5-year-old twins, as do I. I could so relate!🤓
I knew this book was part of a trilogy but was told by friends that it can be read as a standalone. I will, however, definitely be hunting down and reading the other two books as well.
December 27, 2025
Loved this book. So wholesome. It feels slow at first, but then you get used to it (and things start to happen) and you can appreciate the slowness for helping you to soak in the wonderful writing.
October 21, 2025
This story is lovely. My younger self might have thought it too slow. I had to snuggle down with patience and remind myself that the words are worth it. They truly are! When I closed the book I'd have a little jewel of a thought or a scene to carry with me. I especially loved how the author described the magic of the woods and the twins' relationship.
March 24, 2014
Continuing my Elizabeth Goudge mini-binge (no, I really shouldn't be doing this in the school year!)
Favorite quotes:
. . . it was home-making that mattered. Every home was a brick in the great wall of decent living that men erected over and over again as a bulwark against the perpetual flooding in of evil. But women made the bricks, and the durableness of each civilisation depended upon their quality; and it was no good weakening oneself for the brick-making by thinking too much about the flood.
. . . she recognised Lucilla’s efforts at preservation as what they were, not so much the salvage of useless trash from a lost past, but paving-stones set upon the quagmire of these times, leading to a new dignity whose shape she could not guess at yet.
But Hilary enjoyed himself, just as he had enjoyed himself drinking the port. Increasingly, as he got older, he enjoyed things. As his personal humility deepened, so did his awareness of the amazing bounty of God . . . So many things . . . The mellow warmth of the port, the pleasure of the game, the sight of Lucilla's lovely old face in the firelight, and David's fine hands holding the cards, his awareness of Margaret's endearing simplicity, and the contentment of the two old dogs dozing on the hearth . . . One by one the small joys fell. Only to Hilary, no joy was small; each had its own mystery, aflame with the glory of God.
And this:
His mother gave him the excellent name of Placidus. He only called himself Eustace when he took religion . . . Eustace - dreadful name. One thinks at once of a parson's dog collar.
Pilgrim's Inn was published in 1948; Lewis wrote Voyage of the Dawn Treader around 1950. Any connection? I know they at least read each other, and I believe I read somewhere that they were acquainted.
Favorite quotes:
. . . it was home-making that mattered. Every home was a brick in the great wall of decent living that men erected over and over again as a bulwark against the perpetual flooding in of evil. But women made the bricks, and the durableness of each civilisation depended upon their quality; and it was no good weakening oneself for the brick-making by thinking too much about the flood.
. . . she recognised Lucilla’s efforts at preservation as what they were, not so much the salvage of useless trash from a lost past, but paving-stones set upon the quagmire of these times, leading to a new dignity whose shape she could not guess at yet.
But Hilary enjoyed himself, just as he had enjoyed himself drinking the port. Increasingly, as he got older, he enjoyed things. As his personal humility deepened, so did his awareness of the amazing bounty of God . . . So many things . . . The mellow warmth of the port, the pleasure of the game, the sight of Lucilla's lovely old face in the firelight, and David's fine hands holding the cards, his awareness of Margaret's endearing simplicity, and the contentment of the two old dogs dozing on the hearth . . . One by one the small joys fell. Only to Hilary, no joy was small; each had its own mystery, aflame with the glory of God.
And this:
His mother gave him the excellent name of Placidus. He only called himself Eustace when he took religion . . . Eustace - dreadful name. One thinks at once of a parson's dog collar.
Pilgrim's Inn was published in 1948; Lewis wrote Voyage of the Dawn Treader around 1950. Any connection? I know they at least read each other, and I believe I read somewhere that they were acquainted.
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