Imagine Violet Blooming by Mary E. HughesMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
In the third book of this delightful series, Violet is now settled as a mother and enthusiastic wife, supporting her husband’s career as the musical conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Frank is also much in demand as a tutor of music and the family is very much a part of the aspiring middle class of the city. Through the same medium of Violet’s letters, to her family and friends, we learn a tremendous amount of information of the comings and goings that occur in their society, as well as much about the world of classical music there. Her family continues to grow, with five children adding to the burden of becoming the wife to a prominent member of the community.
Mary Hughes’ narrative is as skilful as ever when she writes about the typical lives led by the family in those late 19th early 20th century times. The medical matters, family vacations, servant problems, and the entertaining of significant society ladies are all written about so very naturally in the context of Violet’s letters. It gave me a mirror that reflected the charming and cultured life of a pleasant and happy family. It was not without its trials and setbacks, however, and sickness and bereavement were dealt with in a typically sympathetic manner. Violet constantly rises to meet the various challenges in the calm and understanding fashion that we have come to expect from such a competent woman as Violet Welseman.
The ending was quite unexpected and left me feeling sad, and that I would quite miss Violet in the future, since this is to be the last book in the series about the imagined life of the author’s grandmother. I found ‘Imagine Violet Blooming’ a very enjoyable, entertaining and informative book, as well as a most satisfying read: Highly recommended.
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