Who am I?

My name is Jane, and I live on the Cornish coast, with the Man of the House and a border terrier named Briar.

I was born here and, though I have traveled and lived elsewhere, the sea called me back, and now I live just yards from where I was born.

This is where I write about books, and about other things that interest me.

Art, music, knitting, my dog ….

I read to live other lives and visit other worlds. I have been doing it for as long as I remember and it is as natural as breathing now.

I always knew that the world was full of people who loved books, but I didn’t find many people who shared my particular loves until I looked online.

I used to blog at Fleur in her World, but the day came when I wanted to do things rather differently, and so I moved here.

It isn’t that my tastes in books have changed – I still love Victorians, Edwardians, 20th century women authors, history, mystery, and quite a bit more – but I want things to be simpler, more natural and more diverse now.

My name comes from a poem that I have always loved.

* * * * * * *

They are waiting for me somewhere beyond Eden Rock:
My father, twenty-five, in the same suit
Of Genuine Irish Tweed, his terrier Jack
Still two years old and trembling at his feet.

My mother, twenty-three, in a sprigged dress
Drawn at the waist, ribbon in her straw hat,
Has spread the stiff white cloth over the grass.
Her hair, the colour of wheat, takes on the light.

She pours tea from a Thermos, the milk straight
From an old H.P. sauce-bottle, a screw
Of paper for a cork; slowly sets out
The same three plates, the tin cups painted blue.

The sky whitens as if lit by three suns.
My mother shades her eyes and looks my way
Over the drifted stream. My father spins
A stone along the water. Leisurely,

They beckon to me from the other bank.
I hear them call, ‘See where the stream-path is!
Crossing is not as hard as you might think.’
I had not thought that it would be like this.

Eden Rock, by Charles Causely (1917 to 2003)

* * * * * * *

I’m sure there are other things I should be saying, but I really can’t think what they are right now.

So I’ll just say, please do leave a comment – or email beyondedenrock at gmail dot com – if you see anything that interests you, or if there’s anything you’d like to know.

42 thoughts on “Who am I?”

  3. I loved your blog and I am so happy you will still have a public presence online. Your writing is a pleasure to read and I am glad you will continue to share your thoughts.

    Thank you.

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  4. Hi Jane. I hope your new blog will be a joy and not a chore for you. I know I shall enjoy visiting it. Thank you for sharing it with us.

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  7. Hello Jane! I’m so happy you have welcomed us all in to your lovely new home, and I must say it’s wonderful. Thank you to for that stunning poem from whence has come your new home’s name. It caught my heart and brought tears. The fact I read it sitting on a bus and had to wipe them surreptitiously away is another matter entirely!

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  8. Hello Jane, Your new name comes from a poem that means a lot to me. I hope your new direction is as fulfilling as the path you took me on with your last name for both of us. Keep reading, keep knitting and keep blogging – as and when it suits you.
    From the land-locked old biddy just a few miles away from you . . . . and that beautiful coast.

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  11. I couldn’t leave a comment to your blog upon Henry Dunbar. It seems the perfect summer read when you want a good book in which to immerse yourself or a good winter book when you want to sped a cosy afternoon. And it is differennt from the usual Aurora Floyd and Lady Audley’s Secret you mention. Thank you. Another book to put on my TBR list!

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    1. I’ve ticked the ‘approved’ box now, and I hope that will let any future comments run through. If it doesn’t do let me know by email and I’ll take it up with WP support,

      This would make a lovely autumn read, as you say a little different, but still with the familiarity of the sensation novel and very easy to read and be caught up with the story.

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  12. Hello Jane! I just discovered your blog and I’m looking forward to exploring. I’ve already discovered some interesting books I didn’t know… I also live by the sea, but in Greece!

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  13. Hey! Great blog, I’m enjoying reading your posts. Thanks too for linking to my post about Rebecca and I Capture the Castle, I really appreciate it! Glad you liked the post. Sophie

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  14. “I live on the Cornish coast, with the Man of the House and a border terrier named Briar.” Is that a household of two or three? Your new site looks lovely.

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  15. Hi! Just stopped by to say a much-belated thank you for following my blog. I’ve really enjoyed your posts, particularly “A Much Desired Book” and the recent post on Virago cover art.

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      1. Sorry for the belated reply. 😦 It’s lovely to meet you to. You’re very welcome. I hope you enjoy her writing as much as I do. 😉

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  16. I do love this blog. I should read it each time you post. All your stories resonate with me. Thank you for sharing yourself with others. I live alone mostly — I’m a widow and the comfort and joy and meaning of my existence went with my husband. I have left much that you value: books, meditation, and the things I like to do — not many. I watch movies which you don’t mention. I find the emotional pain of being alive very hard some days and this blog helps.

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  17. Hello Jane, just wanted to thank you for what I suspect will become an inspirational blog for me. As a recent arrival, I am already in love with and inspired by the beauty, wonder and mystery of Cornwall; its people and its heritage as much as the coasts and countryside.

    My fledgling blog has a wide brief and doesn’t include much in the way of books and reading yet, but that’s coming. Stumbling across The Classics Club introduced me to a whole new world of book-loving bloggers! I’ll have my list up soon.

    In the meantime, thanks again. I’ll be stopping by often!

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      1. Thanks so much, Jane – what a beautiful artist Cumming is – have just been looking at his pictures on Pinterest. I was born in Tiverton and lived in Budleigh Salterton when very young, so I know the Teignmouth area well – it’s a wonderful part of the world.

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        1. It is – my parents had friends in Shaldon, on the other side of the estuary and I have happy memories of childhood visits. And I always looked out of the window on that part of the line when I was making regular train trips between Penzance and London.

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          1. Ah yes, one of the most wonderful lines in the country, I’d say. I last travelled along it in January when visiting my sister in Dorset and then journeying across to friends in Bodmin. It was gloriously rugged and wintry, with waves lashing the train windows – fabulous!

            Liked by 1 person

  20. Pingback: August in Review (or, what I read, wrote, photographed, and loved this month) – Reflections of a Reader

  21. Hi Jane, you are invited to participate in my Bookish Time Travel Tag, if you so choose. Check my blog post for more details. Thanks, EnglishLitGeek

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