Boy of My Heart

[aeri]

I'm new to the forum and found it by accident, but now that I have, I'm wondering if anyone has read Boy of my Heart by Marie Connor Leighton, the mother of Roland Leighton, whom the book is about. I fortuitously acquired a copy of it via Abe Books and, since it was published anonymously in 1916, I'm guessing it had limited distribution and is quite rare. But since there seems to be quite a few devoted Vera Brittain (who is referred to "Vera Brennan" in the book) fans out there, I thought I'd start a new thread to see if anyone has any opinions on this book. I'm halfway through and it's an interesting read, to say the least...

[Michelle Young]

I don't have the book, but in a correspendence with David Leighton, grandson of Marie leighton some years ago he described the book as "rather embarrassingly sentimental, although in its day very popular" Geoffrey Thurlow, a friend of Edward Brittians wrote "How Mrs Leighton could have published that book I cannot understand, tho' I understand her writing it"

[aeri]

It really is! Actually, it almost seems to cross the line of incest at times, though I think that's due more to the style of prose of the time and Marie's zeal in describing her affection for her son. I'll have to post some excerpts. A friend of mine not very sympathetic to this kind of extravagant Victorian writing picked it up and found it hilarious. And it's very interesting that GRYT thought it really embarrassing, too (I missed that in Letters of a Lost Generation, I guess), because at times while reading it I think, poor Roland - if my mother wrote something like this and published it for all to read, I'd have to come back and haunt her. But maybe that was the point. : ) Clare Leighton's Tempestuous Petticoat is next in my queue of books to read, and I'm really looking forward to seeing all this through her eyes. As I understand it, Marie worshipped Roland often at the expense of her two other children, and that is very evident in Boy of My Heart - poor Clare suffers from not-so-favorable character reviews throughout.

A bit off-point, and maybe too prying, but I'll ask anyway: David would have been the son of Evelyn, correct? I keep finding pieces of his insight about the Leightons and Vera here and there on the internet - was/is he very involved in contributing to and perserving the story of his family and Vera Brittain with respect to their place in WWI history?

[rose of picardy]

Hi, I am fond of the various works of Vera Brittain ( chiefly the journals, memoirs and letters) and thanks for the report. It does bear out my suspicions of what this tome would be like from Vera's descriptions of Mrs. Leighton ( she would have been quite the mother-in-law.) Actually, Vera made the Leightons quite angry with her anecdotes in "Testament of Experience." I didn't know Roland's sister had also written a book. Please let us know what her take is on the events described by Vera and Mrs. Leighton! I believe Vera's rather troublesome son, John, also wrote a bio that I would like to read. At least, he was portrayed as a trial to Vera in the Bostridge bio ( hope I got the author right there. I am too lethargic to check the shelf in the other room!).

[Michelle Young]

Hi R o P, John Brittain-Catlins book is called Family Quartet, and fellow forum member Cynthia summed it up perfectly by calling it a petulant book. He ceratinly didn't come across as a very pleasant individual in the book, jealous and whinging IMHO.

I just got Tempestuos Petticoat from Amazon, I have 2 books in the queue ahead of it though, so it will be some time before I get to read it!

[aeri]

Hi, Rose [of Picardy] (and Michelle!)!

I've just finished reading Clare's Tempestuous Petticoat: The Story of an Invincible Edwardian back-to-back with Boy of My Heart. Since the former was written by Clare, at first I thought the book's title was in reference to herself, but it most definitely describes Marie. What's remarkable about Clare's account of her mother is that she describes Marie's egotism, superstitions, classism, hypochondria, and all other sorts of idiosyncrasies with a great deal of neutrality - or, at the very least, Clare impassively indicts Marie for her eccentric behavior. Though Clare herself is deeply imbued in the story, seldom does she quote or reference herself. The book focuses almost wholly on her mother, whom she quotes at great length. In Boy of My Heart, Marie states that Roland had nicknamed Clare The Bystander, and she most definitely lives up to that in Petticoat. It might sound like a criticism, but it seems to give Clare, ostensibly, a fair amount of compassion for her mother, even though Marie rather neglected and relegated Clare to the sidelines because she was a girl and because she wasn't Roland. I couldn't help but be infuriated with Marie throughout Clare's book, until I was near the end in a chapter called "The War Years." The following passage leads up to Clare's mention of Roland's death and almost has a redemptive quality for Marie on behalf of Clare:

She [Marie] walked through the village street, wearing her ermine stole and her sable-trimmed velvet coat, as though she were treading upon the pile carpet of a palace. She sailed into the village post office, carrying her ermine muff. But the Parma violets upon that muff had had, these [wartime] days, to be imaginary. Who was to say that the imagination could not produce Parma violets as magical as any that could be bought at a florist's? And what did it matter that the sable-trimmed velvet coat was growing shappy and worn with time? She looked around her in the village post office, at hobbling Mrs. Gardner who sold the postage stamps, and at rosy-cheeked Mrs. Heathorn who kept the bakery at the far side. She smiled at them and at the doctor's wife who had just entered the shop in severe tweeds; and it was the smile of indulgent graciousness.

As I write this, I find myself back in a pension at Cannes, on the Riviera. This pension was kept by a Russian princess. The man in the green baize apron, who carried my luggage to my room, was her son, with whom she had escaped when he was a few days old. All around me, at the dinner table, sat Russian nobility in exile, dressed in shabby splendor that had belonged to the pre-revolution era. Their minds lived in the past, too. They addressed each other with a graciousness and a courtesy that was very moving. In the next room, upon an easel, stood a large painting of the Tsar and the Tsarina, heavily draped in black. Looking then at these people, I had found myself placing my mother among them. These were the people who had outlived their age. They were people who no longer belonged...They sat there and bowed in exactly the same way in which my mother bowed to the doctor's wife.

There was something all of them carried which life could not strip from them. Inside their hearts they nursed the same desolation. Their worlds had been destroyed. But upon their outward persons they would wear the ermines and velvets of their former glory. No one should ever see what had happened to them.

What's also interesting is that, having read Marie's book and becoming familiarized with her language style after 300 pages, I noticed that Clare's quotations of her mother replicate her exact style and manner, which I think is a testament to the force of character Marie possessed and which Clare so often remarked upon in her book. After reading both books, I feel I've gotten to know Marie well. I don't like her much, and, given her prejudices against those of the lower classes, I doubt she would have liked me, not being an aristocrat, much either. But she is a fascinating character, particularly of that era, which I guess is what Clare ultimately took her for.

About Vera, Clare makes no mention of her. Roland pops up occasionally, as does her younger brother Evelyn, but the book is entirely the Marie Connor Leighton Show. In both books, Marie's worship of Roland is more than evident, as Marie herself readily admits. Roland himself rarely hung around with his younger siblings, whom he called "The Children," though Clare was only two or three years younger than he was, until the younger two were in their teens. Clare says they never despised him for it, though, and revered him like their mother did. And once they were all old enough to enjoy spending time with each other, Roland was sent to the Front and soon after killed.

[sandrastocks]

Hi, I've just found this site whilst I was searching for Marie Leighton's books. I've read Vera Brittain's books, which I found very moving, and Clare Leighton's Tempestuous Petticoat. I've been searching for 'Boy of My Heart' for a long time without success so was interested to read that it is still possible to find a copy. I shall continue to search!

[MartinWills]

Alexandra,

Welcome to the forum - you fill find much useful discussion on all sorts of topics - and you can start your own - so make the most of the expertise (including your own) that can be found here - you never know - someone may even find you a copy of the book!

[aeri]

Hi, Alexandra!

I found Boy of my Heart at http://www.abebooks.com. I remember searching for the title several times before with no luck. Then one day I tried again, not expecting much at all, and found it, to my surprise. In the description, the seller didn't mention Roland's name, nor Marie's, since it was published anonymously, so I don't think s/he had much idea what it was. I kept reading what info the seller did provide over and over to make sure it was what I thought it was. I got it for a great price, too - 38 USD, including shippiing from the UK. So I think ABE books is a good place to check frequently. They also have a lot of the books Marie (and sometimes Marie and her husband) wrote: http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResu...amp;y=0&x=0.

The seller who sold me Boy of my Heart through ABE books was a little company called Little Owl Books, and they seem to have an online presence on this site as well: http://www.biblio.com/bookstores/Little_Owl.html. I've used Biblio before - they're pretty good and I think you can even submit an inquiry for obtaining a book not currently in their inventory. There's an email on that page for Little Owl Books, too, so perhaps sending them an email might help you track down a copy.

[sandrastocks]

Thank you for the information - I'll definitely follow it up.

Does anybody know whether any of Roland's poetry was every printed, other than in Vera's books?

[Michelle Young]

Rolands nephew printed a slim book of his poetry in the 1980s, I have a copy somewhere.

I have read Tempestuos petticoat, Clare apparently had to take two or three drafts to tone down her anger and resentment.

[sandrastocks]

To Aeriadne

I followed up on your abebooks suggestion and have today bought a copy of 'Boy of My heart' from a US seller at a very reasonable price.

Thank you for the tip. I'm looking forward to reading the book.

[aeri]

Hi, Alexandra!

That's great that you finally got your hands on a copy! Please let me know what you think - I'd be really interested to hear about your take on it!

[sandrastocks]

Hi Aeriadne

I've just finished reading the book and I must say that I found it a lot more readable than I was expecting. From previous reviews I've read of the book I thought it would be a bit over the top and sentimental but I think it was Marie's way of writing a memorial not only to her beloved son but to all the other men who were killed in the First World War. Perhaps because of the current situation in Iraq, it seems particularly poignant, and I imagine there are mothers now who would like to write a similar tribute to their sons.

Roland died in 1915 but there are many of us who know him through the books which have been written about him by his mother and his fiancee. In that sense, he has achieved a certain immortality - who wouldn't want that for their offspring?

Anyway, I enjoyed the book, so thank you for pointing me in the right direction. I shall continue to search for the book of his poems.

[MichaelBully]

Just noticed 'Boy of my Heart' is on line.

http://www.archive.org/stream/boyofmyheart00newyrich/boyofmyheart00newyrich_djvu.txt

[Black Maria]

I had not heard of this book until I happened to see a jacketed copy on e-bay and although it's not a book I would normally have purchased, I do like the jacket.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

2 hours ago, Black Maria said:

I had not heard of this book until I happened to see a jacketed copy on e-bay and although it's not a book I would normally have purchased, I do like the jacket.

 

Thanks for posting this, John. A nice drawing of Roland on the cover. Completely new to me as well. Rather rare I fancy. Definitely one for the website.

[Black Maria]

4 hours ago, Dust Jacket Collector said:

Thanks for posting this, John. A nice drawing of Roland on the cover. Completely new to me as well. Rather rare I fancy. Definitely one for the website.

Yes Alan, it's been a while since I've found anything worth sending you and it does seem to be rare, even without it's jacket .

[Dust Jacket Collector]

On 21/02/2017 at 20:42, Black Maria said:

Yes Alan, it's been a while since I've found anything worth sending you and it does seem to be rare, even without it's jacket .

Finally found a copy of this and in the jacket although probably rather more expensive than yours! It’s also the second impression so it must have sold quite well at the time.

[Black Maria]

27 minutes ago, Dust Jacket Collector said:

Finally found a copy of this and in the jacket although probably rather more expensive than yours! It’s also the second impression so it must have sold quite well at the time.

Well done !  My one was about £30 but I think I was quite lucky getting it at that price .