I've occasionally driven by her former home, a wonderful farmhouse--a friend lives in the area--and I know who presently inhabits it.
When I was little, Tasha's illustrations brought to life the things I loved most--roses, dolls, and animals. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett was my favourite book, closely followed by A Little Princess.
I also read stories about dolls. Some she wrote, like The Dolls' Christmas.
Some she illustrated, like the English ones by Rumer Godden: The Dolls' House. I didn't own that one, but often checked it out of the local library.
There was something about her drawings, a grace and charm, that--at least in my view--kept them from being twee. Meaning I can look at them now, as an adult, and still be as delighted with them as I was so many years ago.
It wasn't till much later that I discovered that the imaginary world Tasha had drawn for me, were to her and her offspring quite real and tangible. She dressed, kept house, gardened, and raised her family as a woman of the 1830's--first in the New Hampshire farmhouse, then on her Vermont property. No electricity. Virtually no mod cons. To some it might seem an eccentric choice. To me, it was a fascinating one.
Her stories inspired me to collect dolls, from a young age. Not just any dolls--the sort of old-fashioned dolls she drew so prettily:
Here's one of mine.
So, for Tasha, and in memory of her, here is this morning's bouquet of Shailer's Provence, also known as Gracilis, a rose dating from 1796.
In this season of roses--and robins, though mine look very different than Mary Lennox's friend--I feel a need to take A Secret Garden down from the shelf again. At a meeting last night I met a Yorkshireman. Talking to him at length I was reminded of my days roaming the moors, to which I was first introduced by Burnett's story.
To any Tasha Tudor friends out there, what was your favourite book, written or illustrated by her?
No comments:
Post a Comment