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Children
have strong and deep emotions and no mechanism to deal with
them. - Johnny Delany by PL Travers
The foreword
by Victoria Coren Mitchell tells us these short stories were
given to friends and family at Christmas time, but these are
not Christmas stories. They were published privately during
the early 1940s. We also learn Travers did not like the Disney
version of Mary Poppins. She felt it was too cartoonish and
sunny. Mitchell explains the PL Traver's books make room for
the fear and sadness of children, their natural and tragic
awareness of impermanence. Aunt Sass, Ah Wong, and Johnny
Delaney are fascinating stories for all ages.
We find
Aunt Sass is about Traver's great- aunt Helen Morehead Christina
Saraset. The story is about an outspoken aunt who loved her
extended family and kept in touch with them no matter what.
The family was entertained by her escapades and writings.
The second story is about Ah Wong, a thin, old, Chinese cook
who looks like he stepped out of a fairy tale and into the
life of this English family. He becomes more than a cook;
he takes care of the family. It's a charming storing about
two cultures and the characters' fascination with each other.
In the
third story, Johnny Delaney is an Irish man who becomes a
groom, a stable hand, a carpenter, and sometimes a cane cutter
on the family's Australian plantation. He's antisocial, cusses,
and has the gift of telling the future. He grows close to
the family; the children consider him as the third parent.
Each
story is beautifully written, and despite the titled characters'
flaws, we see they are respected and loved. I think children
thirteen and up will enjoy Aunt Sass: Christmas stories.
British actress Catherine Clarke brings this fascinating cast
of characters to life. Clarke's gentle tone matches Pl Travers
beautiful writing perfectly.
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