Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
Monday brought an endless battery of medical tests to Madeleine’s life, convincing her and her mother that getting to the diagnosis was worse than than the disease itself. Finally at 1630, the doctor decided to release Madeleine, convinced that they had little additional to contribute, and satisfied that the des Cieux could give her sufficient …
Continue reading "The Ten Weeks, 21 December, The Doctors Have Done All They Can Do"
Without Carla, the des Cieux had to take up the slack of supplementing what the hospital could do for her. Pierre brought in a small shortwave radio and they were able to listen to broadcasts from back home, dispensing with the non-functional television. The family took times about going home to rest, to get more …
Continue reading "The Ten Weeks, 20 December, Arguing With the Bishop"
Pierre and Yveline were still asleep when the phone rang about 1000. “Allo!” he said, not fully aware as to what country he was in. “Mr. des Cieux?” the girl’s voice came back. “Yes, it is.” “It’s Carla. Madeleine is awake. Her fever has broken. She’s awake, soaking wet and hungry.” There was a long …
Continue reading "The Ten Weeks, 19 December, A Miracle, Even With a Baptist"
Raymond was the early bird the next morning; he had arranged an early morning tennis match with Deidre, so her mother came and got him before Pierre had the chance to arouse himself with East Island coffee, closer to what he was used to than the more American brew the Verecundans drank. Arthur came a …
Continue reading "The Ten Weeks, 18 December, At Death’s Door in the Midst of Lead Paint"
Pierre was unusual in that he was a second-generation expatriate; his father worked for the same company that he did, and Pierre himself was born in China where his father had been posted after surviving the trenches of la Grande Guerre. After two generations of des Cieux going abroad, Pierre had the deep sense that, …
Continue reading "The Ten Weeks, 17 December, Schmoozing the Elites the Old Way"
The Amherst Estate was, after the Royal one, the single largest holding in the Kingdom of Serelia, especially since those of their rivals the Cavitts and Masters had brutally passed into the Crown’s holdings. The nerve centre of the estate was the family mansion, situated at the end of a spur off of the Old …
Continue reading "The Ten Weeks, 16 December, At the “Plantation”"
The laughter and good times drowned out the gentle ocean surf in the background at the Serelian royal palace, situated as it was on the seashore. Evening had come and so had the time to put aside affairs of state and enjoy good times with old friends. Around the table at the end of dinner …
The Ten Weeks is at its simplest a story about several teenagers—and their parents—who are forced to deal with change, not only from within but from the world around them. To get some idea of what they went through, and what their response meant, we need to look at the political situation of the nation …
Now that we're off, below is a "preview" series that I did ten years ago (for the fortieth anniversary of the novel's setting): Week One (13-19 December): In the Clutches of Nationalised Health Care Weeks Two and Three (14 December-2 January): A Lovely Catholic Confession, An Ugly Secularist Rejoinder Week Four (3-9 January): Dinner with …
Continue reading "The Ten Weeks, A Preview of What’s to Come"
Today is the beginning of many things. It's the First Sunday in Advent, the beginning of a new liturgical year for Anglicans, Catholics and others who follow such things. It's also the eve of St. Andrew's Day, which is appropriate because my experience at the prep school named after it was in part the inspiration …
Continue reading "After What We’ve Been Through, It’s Time for “The Ten Weeks”"
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