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A long road to attain redemption
I began with Illyrian Spring in 1986, right after Laura and I had returned from a trip to Dubrovnik, the site of the story.
Years later, I read Jeffrey Archer's best-selling novel, Paths of Glory, an account of the life and death of climber George Mallory on Mount Everest in 1924.
Among the credits at the back of the novel, Archer listed Mary Ann Sanders, the author who wrote under the name Ann Bridge. She was, Archer said, a friend of the Mallory family, and some characters in her books were loosely based on Mallory.
Because I enjoyed Bridge's stories - long out of print, but available by special order - I decided to continue reading her works and hoped that I'd run across a Mallory-model character. I'd read several without finding any hint of Mallory, until now. Singing Waters, 1946, is about rich and beautiful woman, Gloire Thurston, the widow of a renowned mountaineer who died in the Himalayas.
It is not only an intriguing account of that dangerous profession, it is the best Bridge novel I've yet read yet. It's a rich, complex work, filled with marvelous characters, who have a variety of perspectives of modern life. It's set in rural Albania in 1936. Bridge's settings are always accurate, because her husband was in the British Foreign Service and they lived all over the world. Hence, her narratives are also travelogues.
A brief account of Gloire's story will, perhaps, give you a hint of its drama.
Gloire meets Nils Nielsen, a Swedish lawyer, on the Orient Express. They're both headed for Istanbul. Nils prides himself on his ability to size up people by how they walk, dress, conduct themselves and other mannerisms.
While walking behind Gloire to the dining car, Nils decides she's either a climber or a skier. She rolls gracefully with the abrupt motions of the train. The waiter in the dining car thinks they are together, and sits them at the same table.
She's indifferent to that, but she's not in the mood to converse with Nils. However, he wants to prove to himself that he knows a bit about her. He begins asking her where she's going and why. She's instantly annoyed and impatient, but reluctantly answers his questions. He continues with further questions until he realizes she's offended. He then apologizes and confesses that he's perhaps too interested in other people's business.
She finds that amusing, and they go on to a friendly discussion about this and that. However, he renews his cross-examination. She puts up with it, and being rich and beautiful, she doesn't care what he thinks.
Along the way, he tells her women like her can afford to do anything and go anywhere without realizing they are living superficial lives. He says, you go to Paris, Rome or Athens. You know all the best hotels and restaurants, but you know almost nothing about the countries or the people. He asks, what's the point?
She disagrees, but adds, “I like to travel, and I pay my way." He asks about her husband. Then she tells him she's a widow and her money comes from her husband's estate.
Nils suddenly remembers the headlines when Tony Thurston died on the mountain. He gently reminds her she must somehow honor her husband's memory with some sort of repayment.
For the rest of the story, Gloire travels a long, difficult journey before she discovers that her repayment must be in service to others.
Charlie Langdon is the Herald's senior critic. He can be reached at langdons@gobrainstorm.net.
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