Book Review - Nancy Springer's The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline
The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline by Nancy Springer
Published by: Puffin Books
Publication Date: February 21st, 2009
Format: Kindle, 188 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)
The main reason Enola has been able to keep herself hidden from her brothers is by secreting herself away in the poorer section of London. While sacrificing luxury and safety and a well cooked meal, her landlady, Mrs. Tupper, has become something of a surrogate mother to Enola in her own mother's absence. So when Mrs. Tupper is threatened things hit a little too close to home for Enola's sake and she vows to get to the bottom of things. It turns out Mrs. Tupper isn't at all who Enola assumed, starting with the fact she's far more observant than Enola has ever given her credit for. Enola could have sworn she'd gotten away with all her different disguises, turns out Mrs. Tupper just didn't like to pry. Mrs. Tupper has kept her own history secret so what does she care if her own lodger does the same? But the time has come to tell Enola of her past because whatever "message" the thugs want from her she has no idea what they are referring to. Mrs. Tupper's husband was in the Crimean War. As was often the case she followed her husband to the front because there was no way to send money home and it was the only way for her husband to support her. When he was injured in Scutari, Turkey, Mrs. Tupper met Florence Nightingale, who was trying to help care for the wounded. Byzantine ideas about health care meant that the injured men were left alone all night, the nurses only allowed to work during the day. Mrs. Tupper's husband died one night and Florence Nightingale took pity on the young pregnant war widow who had gone deaf from the bombs at the front. She gave her a new outfit and money enough to return home to England. Sadly Mrs. Tupper lost the baby and in her despair throughy no more of the nice nurse who helped her return home. But as far as she knew there was no message. Yes, she was given a piece of paper, but she can't read and got ride of it. But apparantly that message is very important because Mrs. Tupper is soon kidnapped and Enola is demanding to see the bedridden Florence Nightingale because no one takes her landlady and gets away with it!
In a series that is peopled with fictional characters it's always a bit of a risk to bring in an actual historical figure. People have preconceived notions about what they were like and unless it's a small cameo there's more chance for it to go wrong. Now I'm sure some people actually view Sherlock Holmes as real and hopefully love the way Nancy Springer has portrayed him like I do, but he's real in a different way than say Florence Nightingale. And that was really the sticking point for me in this book. I loved the idea of Florence Nightingale being a spy, I loved the coded message in the crinoline composed of embroidered flowers, once more showing how women can subvert what society thinks of them by using home arts to convey important information, but it just didn't quite work. The version of Florence Nightingale that I have in my head really comes from two sources, Drunk History and Victoria. I know these aren't probably the best sources, but Paget Brewster covered the whole Florence Nightingale taking to her bed and ruling her little world from the comfort of her mattress so I at least knew about that weird little historical detail that actually plays an important role in Enola's case. My problem was more with how Enola talked about Florence being an invalid than necessarily in how Florence herself was handled. Enola views Florence as a strange eccentric who likes to hold everyone under her power by claiming to be an invalid. Of course she eventually admits that her "every inference concerning the remarkable Florence Nightingale proved wrong, as became apparent to [her] within a few minutes." Florence just didn't want to waste time on social niceties and just wanted to get down to work. OK, fine. That's totally believable. What wasn't cool was that Enola's view of invalids was so negative. Yes, she's from the upper classes where invalids are more likely highly strung people looking for attention, but that doesn't mean they can be all classified as malingerers. Her contempt for the ill, and let us make it very clear, we actually don't know if Florence Nightingale was ill or not, left a bad taste in my mouth that all the flowery codes couldn't ameliorate.
The Embroidered Book by Kate Heartfield
Paint with Thread by Emillie Ferris
A Country Escape by Katie Fforde
Desperately Seeking a Duchess by Christi Caldwell
Oswald the Thief by Jeri Westerson
Enola Holmes: The Graphic Novels Book One by Serena Blasco
Midnight Dunes by Laura Griffin
Hide by Kiersten White
Long before Miss Jessica and I created our Jane Austen crafting exchange for the bicentenary of Pride and Prejudice I had made another Jane themed present for her. I had ordered two of the 
At least that's the joy I anticipated when The Jane Austen Centre released their first two kits. Jane and I would be connected through this task! The other kit was a portrait of Jane, and personally, it wasn't the best design. But this design? It's taken from a sampler Jane herself worked probably when she was about twelve years old but adapted here to fit an oval composition. I'd never worked a kit bought from England before, so I didn't know if this is common or not, but they use a different amount of embroidery thread. Usually when cross-stitching, at least stateside, you double the strand so that it doesn't disappear against the ground of the fabric. The kit said to use only one strand. I did try this, but just as I knew would be the case, the thread just disappeared against the background. Luckily I had ordered two kits, so I had double the thread. Which means if I ever get around to making one for myself I seriously need to do some DMC color matching or order myself two more kits, which seems a bit of a waste of money. 
But I seriously love how it turned out. I love that center of flowers and while not a religious person, knowing that Jane is the daughter of a rector growing up in parsonage the religious overtones are to be expected for various reasons. What I really love though is the use of very light yellow and cream threads that give the piece depth while at the same time not making the composition feel crowded. I had it simply but very elegantly framed by my friend Chuck at 
"I Go Uncertain of My Fate" is a piece that is different than all the rest I've done and is actually my most recent. The difference isn't just medium here. This piece starts a shift of the entire series which I hope to continue in future pieces by actually mixing and matching vintage illustrations by the brothers Brock from different sources. While this piece might take it's title and the female figure from Persuasion the little feline companion is actually from Sense and Sensibility. My idea is to use the brothers Brock's consistent style and illustrate new scenes from the works of Austen by interchanging figures from different Austen books but also other books the brothers illustrated. This way I'd not only be bringing my own interpretation of the scene not just through medium choice and omissions, but through new and unique compositions. Stepping even further out of their shadow and trying to make this art even more my own instead of a one-sided collaboration. And while I could say that the reason I chose Anne looking back over her shoulder at a cat instead of at the letter Captain Wentworth is imploring her to read is so she can meditate on her past and the cat is just a friend this would be only half the truth. Because the whole truth is I totally made this piece to showcase the cat and everything else just fit into that narrative. As for the medium? Yes, you're not imagining it, I did embroider it. Well, cross-stitch with some alterations. The hardest aspect of this was actually scaling the piece. I wanted the figure to be the same size as all the figures that came before so this took some time and then I translated that into cross-stitch squares. Only the image was a little blocky, almost pixelated at the edges. So I went over the squares pulling them into a more linear shape. So for those people who have asked me for a pattern... yeah, it's a pattern that only worked to an extent and then my artistic nature and experimentation took over. Sorry. 
