Reviews Archives – Page 17 of 17 – Elisabeth Grace Foley

Abner was silent for a moment.

“It is the law,” he said, “but is it justice, Dillworth?”

“Abner,” replied Dillworth, “how shall we know what justice is unless the law defines it?”

“I think every man knows what it is,” said Abner.

“And shall every man set up a standard of his own,” said Dillworth, “and disregard the standard that the law sets up? That would be the end of justice.”

“It would be the beginning of justice,” said Abner, “if every man followed the standard that God gives him.”

I saw this one day in the “Recommended for You” or “Customers Also Bought” section of the Kindle Store, I can’t remember which, and since it was inexpensive and looked interesting, I picked it up. I’m glad I did! Published in 1918, it’s a collection of eighteen excellent mystery short stories in a unique setting—rural Virginia in the early 1800s.

Comparison to G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown stories, which I’ve been reading and enjoying, are apt, though the two detectives in many respects are polar opposites—one a small, mild, English Catholic; the other a big, stalwart American Protestant. There is a strong religious element to the Uncle Abner stories. Abner’s faith is at the root of his belief in justice that drives him to find the correct solutions to a variety of crimes. Justice is the theme of the collection as a whole. Some of the stories demonstrate the limits of human law, while still reinforcing its importance, but above all stress the existence of a higher justice, and the conviction that all guilty parties will meet the justice of God even if they are beyond the reach of human law.

As a reader of Westerns, a number of elements in the description of life in Virginia at this period struck familiar chords—the grazing, driving, selling (and sometimes stealing) of cattle and journeys on horseback. A number of the stories involve disputes over land, another familiar feature in the Western. “A Twilight Adventure,” a neatly constructed story concerning cattle thieving, demonstrates the dangers of both lynch law and circumstantial evidence. Last year I read Frank Lawrence Owsley’s Plain Folk of the Old South, and the Uncle Abner stories reminded me of Owsley’s description of the livestock-raising economy of the early South, which bore a strong resemblance to that which later developed in the West.

The stories are narrated by Abner’s young nephew, who is present at the scene of some of them, and relates the others second-hand. There is also a foil for the detective in the person of Squire Randolph, the justice of the peace, an honest but talkative and pompous man who is continually baffled by Abner’s line of reasoning until the moment when the truth is revealed. Abner’s methods are similar to Father Brown’s in that he sees the truth a lot sooner than the other characters or the reader, but drops cryptic remarks along the way that all make sense in the end. He also frequently deals with skeptics who deny the existence or power of God. There’s a great historical flavor to the whole book, and the writing is also excellent, with some beautiful, atmospheric descriptive passages equal to those in Chesterton. Definitely a great read for anyone who loves classic, old-fashioned detective stories; a fine piece of entertainment with deeper, edifying elements as well.

Although most episodes of The Waltons had moments dealing with books and writing strung through them, there are certain episodes that were based around or portrayed events in a writer’s life particularly well. These three are my favorites:

The Typewriter

Coming near the beginning of the first season, “The Typewriter” was one of the first episodes to concentrate specifically on John-Boy’s writing ambitions. When he submits his first story to a magazine (the now-defunct Collier’s Weekly), it’s returned because they don’t accept handwritten manuscripts. So he borrows a prized antique typewriter from the eccentric Baldwin sisters…and manages to lose it. Some of my favorite scenes in this episode come near the beginning: where John-Boy dares to show someone his story for the first time (yes, they point out the grammar errors first and you have to nervously ask how they liked the story itself), and where the rest of the family, who know he’s always writing but aren’t really aware of what he’s writing about, start to ask questions and become more interested.

The Book

In the third season, now attending college, John-Boy begins a new writing class and is properly overwhelmed by his classmates’ matter-of-fact descriptions of their highbrow and high-concept projects and their condescending questions about his ‘themes’ and ‘approach.’ Hoping to bolster his confidence, Olivia takes some of his stories to a ‘publisher’ she saw advertised, who claims they’d like to publish his collection. John-Boy’s exultation carries him a little too far, affecting his work, his behavior toward his family…and causing him to overlook some of the fine print in his contract…

One thing I find rather interesting is that the problems presented in the first half of the episode are never really resolved as such. John-Boy’s snobbish classmates are happy to accept him as soon as they find out he’s going to be published, apparently forgetting their low opinion of his work. Similarly, John-Boy no longer has any worries about the quality of his own work as soon as he knows it’s going to be published. Publication means validation. This still seems to be a common view, but when you really look at it in light of a situation like that in “The Book,” it’s extremely subjective.

The Prophecy

This episode is not specifically about writing—the main story is about John Walton Sr.’s reluctance to attend his high school reunion, feeling like a failure beside his more financially successful former classmates. But meanwhile, John-Boy is once again down in the dumps because a well-meaning and pessimistic professor gave him a personal lecture on how writers, no matter how good they are, never make a living from writing. This is a fine example of how the most skilfully-written episodes of The Waltons used a subplot to echo themes from the main plot, as Johns Sr. & Jr. both come to understand that the meaning of true success is not measured by money.

As a sidenote, I was amused at how, in spite of his struggles with the literary elite in “The Book,” John-Boy displays a little snobbishness of his own while trying to compile a list of writers who make a living. When Mary Ellen suggests Mary Roberts Rineheart (whose debut novel The Circular Staircase I read over the weekend, incidentally), he explodes indignantly, “Oh, be serious! I’m not talking about people who write murder mysteries.” Mary Ellen sensibly retorts, “We’re talking about writers making money, and lots of it.”

What are your favorites writing-related episodes or moments from The Waltons? Or other favorite TV shows?

Book Review: Uncle Abner, Master of Mysteries