tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post1285226659043782352..comments2024-03-28T09:17:51.487+00:00Comments on Clothes In Books: Helen’s Babies by John HabbertonClothes In Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-50805344085187191602016-03-25T10:42:51.357+00:002016-03-25T10:42:51.357+00:00It would. I really had to skim through those bits....It would. I really had to skim through those bits. Did enjoy it though.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-81362743322278467672016-03-24T22:17:47.864+00:002016-03-24T22:17:47.864+00:00Interesting to read about you reading it, but not ...Interesting to read about you reading it, but not for me. The children's speech would drive me crazy.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-34301171670180286502016-03-24T20:05:11.225+00:002016-03-24T20:05:11.225+00:00So glad you notice it, me too! One of the best li...So glad you notice it, me too! One of the best lines in the book, tucked away...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-48390709241944389752016-03-24T20:04:36.440+00:002016-03-24T20:04:36.440+00:00I am so going to have to re-read this one...I am so going to have to re-read this one...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-15734542949758915602016-03-24T13:19:52.905+00:002016-03-24T13:19:52.905+00:00"they're smart enough, an' good enoug..."they're smart enough, an' good enough, as boys go; but they'll never die of the complaint that children has in Sunday-school books."<br /><br />LOVE this line.Daniel Milford-Cottamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07387407272852763234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-71470491967527972742016-03-24T13:18:22.545+00:002016-03-24T13:18:22.545+00:00HAHAHAHAHAH! Jane's phrase "Mister Wobber...HAHAHAHAHAH! Jane's phrase "Mister Wobber" REALLY stuck in my head and still pops up every time I come across a reference to burglary!Daniel Milford-Cottamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07387407272852763234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-69922274139978173672016-03-22T23:12:23.588+00:002016-03-22T23:12:23.588+00:00Shay, you always have the best stories. I don'...Shay, you always have the best stories. I don't even know what black-powder shooting is. But I did go and find the lyrics of Hang on the Bell, and haven't stopped laughing since.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-42256681003609748262016-03-22T22:11:09.874+00:002016-03-22T22:11:09.874+00:00My father belonged to a black-powder shooting club...My father belonged to a black-powder shooting club and once a year they gave a ball where all the men attended in American Civil War uniforms and the women in period costume. Dancing the Virginia Reel in a crinoline is an experience. Dancing the Virginia Reel with an inebriated Confederate cavalry corporal is quite an experience. <br /><br />And dancing the Virginia Reel, in a crinoline, with an inebriated Confederate cavalry corporal who refuses to take off his saber, well...are you familiar with the chorus of "Hang On The Bell, Nellie?"Shayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16527241089629026268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-72093164077242328132016-03-22T12:58:51.527+00:002016-03-22T12:58:51.527+00:00What I love about modern life is that I was readin...What I love about modern life is that I was reading a serious collection of Orwell's journalism, came across the reference, and was able to find and download Helen's Babies, then read it. 20 years ago I would have found it hard even to find anything out about it. Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-7716491288966146622016-03-22T12:57:34.129+00:002016-03-22T12:57:34.129+00:00Good call, this would actually make a brilliant fi...Good call, this would actually make a brilliant film, it's exactly the kind of feelgood plot with broad humour to suit a certain kind of star.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-12452605700142224412016-03-22T12:56:32.029+00:002016-03-22T12:56:32.029+00:00ordered Tommasini....ordered Tommasini....Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-77308855641906025772016-03-22T12:55:11.165+00:002016-03-22T12:55:11.165+00:00Lucy suggested that book to me in the first place....Lucy suggested that book to me in the first place. Yes, you do wonder. And how hot they must have been - goodness knows it's not a big issue in the UK but you do feel sorry for them having to play out in those clothes. Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-6204036415301405142016-03-22T08:19:21.627+00:002016-03-22T08:19:21.627+00:00Fascinating not least for its oddness - thanks Moi...Fascinating not least for its oddness - thanks Moira, always tempted to take a walk down the literary 'wild' side (this is about as wild as my reading tastes are likely to get ...)Sergio (Tipping My Fedora)https://bloodymurder.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-17132509890515998162016-03-22T07:36:35.305+00:002016-03-22T07:36:35.305+00:00I have to say that, judging from the outline that ...I have to say that, judging from the outline that you give of the story, this would probably work as a film today. You would have to coarsen it, add some fart jokes, and get Adam Sandler (or whoever the current version of him is)as the star, but it does sound a fairly safe bet for a film-maker.<br /><br />The comment from Victoria about Nesbit's more realistic children does make me think about how their depiction in literature changed over the course of the follwing decades. I still remember the horribly creepy child in Doyle's THE COPPER BEECHES, who spends his time torturing and killing little animals. Most of them are not that bad, but their depiction does change even by the end of the century,Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-70702631194580200812016-03-22T01:05:43.198+00:002016-03-22T01:05:43.198+00:00Due entirely to Moira's recommendation I bough...Due entirely to Moira's recommendation I bought the <i>Pimlico Companion to Fashion</i> and just last night finished the section on children's clothing.<br /><br />How on earth did these poor little mites ever learn to dress themselves? No wonder large families needed a nurse AND a nursery-maid. Or two.Shayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16527241089629026268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-84486677757152959412016-03-21T19:17:58.227+00:002016-03-21T19:17:58.227+00:00Just reread that one - so good! the bit with the c...Just reread that one - so good! the bit with the cats is quite terrifying.Lucy R. Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08632983296994349550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-76994099176164254222016-03-21T19:17:06.700+00:002016-03-21T19:17:06.700+00:00It's called Tommasini, by Mary K Richardson. P...It's called Tommasini, by Mary K Richardson. Published in the early 60s. So no personal experience of a crinoline!Lucy R. Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08632983296994349550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-31872403561145561822016-03-21T19:05:55.264+00:002016-03-21T19:05:55.264+00:00oh that's perfect, that must be exactly what s...oh that's perfect, that must be exactly what she meant. I do love Nesbit for that, her children are full of surprises and aspects that seem quite modern.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-69226307809968074972016-03-21T19:05:06.513+00:002016-03-21T19:05:06.513+00:00I should have mentioned you as someone who would l...I should have mentioned you as someone who would like this one. Yes please, love the idea of the nun....Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-15431267773678775032016-03-21T19:04:42.020+00:002016-03-21T19:04:42.020+00:00That's the linguistics expertise in you Margot...That's the linguistics expertise in you Margot! I'm sure it was seen as quite normal then, but it does read oddly to our modern eyes.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-60293663811767625302016-03-21T19:04:06.453+00:002016-03-21T19:04:06.453+00:00You are right Prashant - and it was seen as an acc...You are right Prashant - and it was seen as an accepted part of life then, in a way that has probably gone forever. People took it for granted - they wouldn't now.Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-64087794978049762182016-03-21T18:42:01.654+00:002016-03-21T18:42:01.654+00:00This made me think of The Phoenix and the Carpet w...This made me think of The Phoenix and the Carpet when one of the children comes across a burglar in the house and makes up her mind to speak to him but hesitates, not because she's scared but because: 'In the stories and the affecting poetry the child could never speak plainly, though it always looked old enough to in the pictures. And Jane could not make up her mind to lisp and 'talk baby', even to a burglar.' <br /><br />Presumably this is the kind of thing Nesbit meant. Victoriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18022928844376170229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-74595423733411216382016-03-21T12:22:23.471+00:002016-03-21T12:22:23.471+00:00I think I've read a scene where he tries to dr...I think I've read a scene where he tries to dress the boys - with hilarious results - worth it for the description of what children wore then! I had another book that described minutely a Victorian girl getting dressed in layer after layer and buttoning her boots with a hook, and one about a nun where she has to go undercover wearing a crinoline she's not used to. Fine until she sits down suddenly on a bus... If the titles ever float to the surface I'll pass them on.Lucy R. Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08632983296994349550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-77213859434762496652016-03-21T12:07:54.047+00:002016-03-21T12:07:54.047+00:00This does look like, if nothing else, a really int...This does look like, if nothing else, a really interesting look at the times and the customs, Moira. And the thing that caught my eye right away was the way the children's language is written. I've seen that in a few other places, and I find it fascinating. We depict children so differently in today's stories, I think.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6129427507761315524.post-22949822834910317312016-03-21T12:02:10.449+00:002016-03-21T12:02:10.449+00:00Moira, I have seen the Bible creep into a lot of n...Moira, I have seen the Bible creep into a lot of novels from that era and even much earlier including Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe." Actually, in Crusoe's case it's understandable. Where else do you turn in the depths of despair?Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.com