by Cathy Gohlke
Claire stretched her arms skyward in thanksgiving for all that she’d received—the very desires of her heart—and breathed deeply, letting the world fall away and the muse come.
She placed the nib of her pen to her journal’s page, ready at last to begin her novel based on early wartime life at Bluebell Wood. She did not hesitate, but scribbled those magical words she and Aimee loved best, the ones which always began the best adventures and were painted across the window of their family bookstore: Once upon a time.
Note to Readers
ALARMED BY THE PLIGHT OF YOUNG REFUGEES fleeing gangs in Mexico to cross United States borders, and heart-heavy for victims and refugees worldwide who’ve suffered and continue to suffer under oppressive regimes, I looked for a moment in history to tell their tale as I wish it could play out. I didn’t have to look far.
The Kindertransport of 1938–1940 brought ten thousand predominantly Jewish children to Great Britain for refuge from Nazi oppression. Accounts abound of men and women who rescued children through resistance, often at great cost to themselves—even life itself. But what happened next? What happened when those children entered countries of refuge without the parents who bore and loved them? I wondered about the average person and what role they might have played once the children were out of immediate danger . . . and what role we might play in the world’s need today.
World news reported that in 2015, 51 percent of the world’s refugees were children. Scripture tells us to care for widows and orphans. How do we do that from where we live, and as Christians, how do we reconcile this directive with the world’s reality?
Most of us live quiet lives, rarely making decisions that change the world. But what if we could change the life of one person by providing a home and family for them? How would we cope with the everydayness, not to mention the prejudice, public opinion, injustice, necessary sacrifice, and potential crisis? Would we do it? Will we?
Knowing I would set this story in England’s Lake District during World War II, I traveled to England and Scotland in 2014 with Carrie Turansky, my friend and writing colleague. We first toured southern England to see Tyntesfield, where Carrie’s captivating Edwardian Brides series takes place.
For me, we traveled to Windermere and the Lake District to research Beatrix Potter and her renowned Hill Top Farm, to study the poetry and world of Wordsworth, and to learn just what happened to refugees and evacuees in the district during WWII.
As a result I learned more about the Short Brothers’ Sunderland flying boat factory and its village of Calgarth; camps for German prisoners of war, including Grizedale Hall; wartime homes for British evacuees and foreign refugees; the Keswick Pencil Museum and the famous spy pencil; the after-war arrival of the Windermere Boys (children deeply in need of rehabilitation who’d survived Europe’s concentration camps); and so much more.
I ran my fingers over the desk where Wordsworth had carved his name as a boy, visited his burial ground, and fell in love with that poet’s fields of golden daffodils, the heady perfume of lilacs, the glory of woodlands spread in sapphire carpets of bluebells, and month-old lambs tottering over the fells, butting tiny heads against their mothers’ sides in search of lunch. We ferried across Lake Windermere, ate Grasmere’s famous gingerbread, and took tea with jam and bread. Nowhere is the grass greener or the air purer than in the Lake District in springtime.
Beatrix Potter Heelis’s Hill Top Farm, with its rooms and their contents reminiscent of her books, was a real treat. I bought my granddaughter a Beatrix Potter china tea set at their gift shop, a treasure and experience we’ll share one day soon. During WWII, Hill Top Farm housed British evacuees. Beatrix and her husband, William, lived their married lives at Castle Farm in Near Sawrey. For story’s sake, I have the couple living at Hill Top during the war.
Our research trip culminated when we joined a ten-day tour of Scotland’s “Highlands, Islands, and Gardens,” hosted by Liz Curtis Higgs and guided by Karen MacCormick, tour guide in Scotland, and Beverly Henry, independent travel consultant. Forty ladies followed in Liz’s wake as she inspired us through Bible study each morning, then led us through magnificent Scotland by day. We became the Scottish Standby Sisters—forty women who’ve kept in touch, standing by and praying one another through numerous illnesses, tragedies, griefs, and losses, as well as great and joyful healings and accomplishments. What a gift, and what a journey! As a result of that trip, I included in my story a good Scottish doctor, as well as memories of the terrible feud between the MacDonalds and Campbells.
During WWII, C. S. Lewis made a great contribution to the people of England through his series of BBC radio (wireless) broadcasts later compiled into his book Mere Christianity. Due to recycling efforts during the war, most of those broadcast reels were destroyed. One still exists. For sake of story, I did not chronologically time broadcasts or his early writings to the date of their publication or wartime events. The characters in this book, like so many living at the time, are challenged by those broadcasts and writings, their faith fostered or impacted. The letters written by C. S. Lewis in my story are a mixture of Lewis’s actual writings and my own imaginings, inspired by his real correspondence. As part of my research, I reread many of C. S. Lewis’s works, focusing especially on those written before and during the years my story covers. My son and I attended a theatrical production in DC portraying Lewis’s journey from atheism to theism and then to Christianity. By all this research I was abundantly blessed.
Shortly after signing the contract for this book, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and continued treatment ensued. Though I had the story planned, cancer treatments challenged my thinking, energy, stamina, and ability to write. I didn’t know if I’d be able to think clearly enough to write this book.
Day by day the Lord brought me closer to Him, teaching me total dependence upon Him and His grace—hour by hour, minute by minute.
He taught me to fight with a surrendered heart.
He taught me to trust not only that He loves me, but that I am enough for Him as I am—it’s not about what I do or how I serve. He rejoices over broken me with singing, just as he rejoices over you.
He taught me not only to be prepared to die within His grace, but like Miranda in this story, to be willing to live within it, even when life is hard.
He taught me that everything in this life is only a precursor to all that will come, and that each day—now, as then—is an absolute gift from Him, to be treasured, cherished, and lived to the full.
He taught me to celebrate things that give me joy—worship, family, children, stories, flowers, music . . . All these are reflections of Him and His great love.
These lessons, as well as many favorite childhood memories and joys of parenting and grandparenting, have been woven into the pages of this book.
I hope it will bless you and warm your heart. I hope it will give you much to think about, to ponder in your own life: what you might do to reach and help those in need, and how you rejoice in and live deliberately each day—each beautiful, wonderful day that God has made.
In His love and by His amazing grace,
Cathy Gohlke
Discussion Questions
What was your initial impression of Claire? Did that change at all as you got to know her?
Do you think the rejection from her parents made it more difficult for Claire to believe in and trust that her heavenly Father loved her? Have parent wounds affected your view of God? How can we separate the two?
When the story began, Miranda wanted to isolate herself. She wasn’t initially happy with the arrival of Claire and the children. David Campbell, in particular, brought new life and new perspectives to Bluebell Wood. How did David’s intervention both challenge and help Miranda? Claire? The refugee children? What does that tell you about isolating yourself and your thinking?
How did Claire and others at Bluebell Wood help the refugee children cope with the loss of their families? Is there som
ething more they could have done?
Some countries were more willing to take in refugees than others during the Holocaust and WWII. In 2015, it was reported that 51 percent of the world’s refugees were children. Has this story fostered thought or given you insights into the plight of the world’s refugees today? How should we respond to this crisis, especially given Scripture’s directive to care for orphans? (See James 1:27.)
Both Miranda and Mrs. Newsome lost their husbands during the Great War. Contrast their forms of grieving and how they responded to life. What helped Miranda turn a corner in her grieving for Gilbert and Christopher?
What did you think of Miranda’s longtime refusal to acknowledge the love and courtship of Dr. MacDonald?
Though Dr. MacDonald urged her to move forward, Miranda put off needed medical tests and treatments for a long while. Why do you think she did this?
As Miranda’s health worsened, she prepared for the end of this life and even prayed that the Lord would allow her to die with grace and dignity. However, she eventually came to believe that the Lord was teaching her to live with His grace. If you were in her position, do you think that challenge would be difficult? How would you move forward?
Claire journeyed from unbelief, to blatant doubt, to skepticism, to fearfulness, to faith, to joy. What was the turning point in faith for her? Has there been a turning point in your faith’s journey? What difference has it made?
About the Author
THREE-TIME Christy, and two-time Carol and INSPY award–winning and bestselling author Cathy Gohlke writes novels steeped with inspirational lessons and speaks of world and life events through the lens of history. She champions the battle against oppression, celebrating the freedom found only in Christ.
Cathy has worked as a school librarian, drama director, and director of children’s and education ministries. When not travelling to historic sites for research, she, her husband, and their dog, Reilly, divide their time between Northern Virginia and the Jersey Shore, enjoying time with their grown children and grandchildren. Visit her website at www.cathygohlke.com and find her on Facebook at CathyGohlkeBooks.
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