Tea & A Good Book Brewing- Installment 27, A Memory of Violets

It is said that you learn something new every day.

Well, today I learned that in the language of flowers, or floriography, a peony means anger!

Funny, because I am writing in a kitchen scented with peonies and the last emotion I feel toward that lovely vase of blooms on my table is anger!

Nor would I consider them a good flower of choice to give to someone I was angry with, so don't get worried if I show up on your doorstep with a vase of peonies!!!

So I guess it can be deduced that not all flowers speak the same language!

May's book of the month, A Memory of Violets, by Hazel Gaynor, talked a lot about flowers, and, in particular, showed the contrast between the beauty of flowers and the poverty of the flower sellers of London.

I must say that this book never become a favorite. While the history in the story was interesting, and I enjoyed reading about London and the flower sellers during the Victorian Era, I like a book that I can't put down, and with this one I had to push myself to keep reading. I think it may have something to do with the style of the book and the fact that the author used a lot of cliche and was pretty predictable with various parts of her plot.

Nonetheless, the book is finished, I don't regret having read it for something different, and here are a few thoughts...

I am picking and choosing from the questions in the Reading Group Discussion Questions section found in the back of the book, so if you joined me in reading the book this month, you may do the same or just comment on the book and what you thought of it! I would love to hear from everyone who read it (and I know there are a few out there!)

 1. The role of the "little mother" was very common among London's poor, with the eldest siblings (often no older than six or seven years themselves) taking responsibility for younger sisters and brothers. What was your response to reading about Flora's life and her relationship with Rosie? What are your thoughts about the lives of child street sellers in Victorian England?

Flora cared for Rosie in a way that was touching and endearing, and yet I find it heartbreaking, too! No child should have to fill the shoes of a parent, and it is doubly sad when the child must do so because a parent is not fulfilling their duty.

A child street seller just seems sad all the way around, and when I picture my own children out there trying to sell things to strangers it puts it all in perspective: children are resilient & adaptable, but they don't belong on the street.

2. Marguerite Ingram is determined to raise Violette as her own child. Do you think she is justified in her conviction that this is the best thing for her child? Is she right to keep the truth from Violette for so many years?

It may have looked like the best thing from a reasonable point of view, but it's easy to confuse what's best for us and what's best for the child, and Marguerite had ulterior motives. Taking a child out of it's "natural environment" must be done with due concern to where the child is going to thrive, not only physically, but emotionally.

No, she isn't right in keeping the truth from Violette. Dishonesty has a way of coming back to bite us, and the sad truth is that it not only bites the dishonest one, but everyone in the circle who was touched by the lying.

3. One of the main themes of the story is forgiveness. Do you think Violette should forgive Marguerite for hiding the truth about her past? Should Tilly be forgiven for her feelings toward Esther? Should Esther forgive Tilly for the accident? Should Tilly forgive her stepmother for her feelings toward her? 

This is going to sound like I am giving a pat answer, but for the Christian there are not multiple choice answers to these questions, so the answer to all of them is "YES!"

The book could have come out much stronger on some themes of redemption and forgiveness, but it was not coming from a Christian perspective, so that was left largely lacking and unexplored.

4. Through flower making, the girls and women of the Flower  Homes were given a way out of hardship and a way to become independent. Why did Albert Shaw insist on the girls working for a living rather than simply providing them with charity?

Working gives a sense of fulfillment that charity cannot give. Giving them life skills also enabled the girls to give something back to society rather than just being takers.

There's a quote that goes like this: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." I think that was Albert Shaw's philosophy.

The author of A Memory of Violets, Hazel Gaynor, based the Albert Shaw character on a "real" man by the name of John Groom, and this site has some interesting things to say about his work in London.

From my spot in my peony-infused kitchen, the harsh life of flower sellers in London seems far away.

And in reality, it is, for times have changed and the London of this book no longer exists.

But when it did exist, some people ignored the needs and some, like John Groom, did something about it, so lest I fold my hands in slumber and dismiss the needs of the London of today, so to speak, I want to take this thought away from the book:

The needs may be different and the scene may be different, but there are still needy children the world over.

And if there's something new I can learn today, let it be how I can reach out to them.