 | |
| A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver |
I got From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler from my late grandmother, a woman who had an uncanny knack for giving me books I loved. My introduction to E.L. Konigsburg and L.M. Montgomery were both thanks to my grandmother.
Reading From the Mixed-Up Files was eye-opening for a little girl from Delaware, a true suburban dweller. I didn't necessarily want to run away to New York and live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art--but I sure did understand Claudia's frustrations as a fellow mother's helper. Jamie's tightwad tendencies always makes me think of my dad, too.
In sixth grade, I came across A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver, the book that introduced me to the fascinating Eleanor of Aquitaine. I still remember my mom special-ordering the book for me from the local Waldenbooks, because I had to have my own copy. To this day, it's my favorite Konigsburg--a fact I was lucky enough to share with her at Book Expo America a few years ago. I still hope, someday, that someone will write a book about Eleanor's granddaughter, Blanca of Castile, who was chosen by Eleanor to be queen of France, all based on Konigsburg's amusing version of this story.
A lesser-known but really amazing book by Konigsburg is Father's Arcane Daughter. For a children's book, it's not watered-down (a highlight of all her books, really): there's flashbacks, adult narrators, and a compelling look at how we pity those who are different from us, those that we see as less than us. I also see it as a bit of a love letter to Pittsburgh, a city where Konigsburg lived and that she recreates in the book. Father's Arcane Daughter has a lot of similarities to the later Silent to the Bone. (Gah! I just saw on Amazon that there's a Kindle edition of Father's Arcane Daughter, retitled to My Father's Daughter. Talk about missing the point . . .)
E.L. Konigsburg
1930-2013
Posts
