Music to read by: Sounds of the House of Brede

Well, okay, Brede isn't a real place, but if you want to get a sense of what Dame Cecily was singing, go to NPR for samples of Ancient Music Revived at the Lune Convent. Three selections are available; don't miss the Choral Music for Palm Sunday: 'Miserere' down at the bottom of the page. Wonderful! Okay, and this: Palestrina: 'Kyrie' from Missa Papae Marcelli (Choir of Westminster Abbey). Sublime! One more: Bach's Mass In B Minor: A Cathedral In Sound. Enjoy!

5/18/09 - I found another style of chant music on an album in English: To St. Xenia of Petersburg, Two Canons and a Canticle. Check out 'God is the Lord.'

Another question about In This House of Brede

As you were reading, did you find yourself wondering what in the world was a "pleached alley"? I looked it up. Encyclopedia Britannica says it's a "garden path, on each side of which living branches have been intertwined in such a way that a wall of self-supporting living foliage has grown up. To treat each side of a garden walk, or alley, with pleaching and thus make a secluded walk was a favourite device of the 16th and 17th centuries. Although most pleaching is done by gardeners, it can also occur naturally. Maples, sycamores, and lindens are commonly pleached." 'Pleached' refers to plaiting or braiding.

Questions for Discussion: In This House of Brede

I finished In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden in mid-April to make sure it was a good selection for Captive Thoughts Book Club's May discussion. You can read my review here, and I hope that everyone enjoys it as much as I did. Some background information on the author, Rumer Godden, can be found here.

Even though there are discussion questions on the publisher's website, I thought a few more might fuel our discussion, and at least one is specific to our reading schedule this year. I'll post them here in case any other readers or book clubs might find them helpful too. Please add any additional questions in the comments.

1. Do you think the book is more Phillippa's story or the story of Brede monastery? Does the individual or the community have more prominence? What aspects of or examples from community life can be applicable to any type of community or relationships?
   


2. How are the themes of forgiveness and redemption woven throughout the story? Where and how does grace fit in the life of the nuns?


3. What are some similarities or differences between In This House of Brede and other books that we've read this year? For example, contrast the view of Catholicism here to that in Angela's Ashes or La Reine Margot; compare "The Membership" in Hannah Coulter to the monastic community, especially the idea of enclosure; or compare the role of the nuns to the place of women in the Bronte novels.


4. When the prioress Dame Beatrice, asked Abbess Catherine, "Which is worse, Dame Veronica exalted or humble?" the Abbess replied, "Humble is more dangerous." (318-319, ch. 16). In light of Dame Veronica's character and personality as well as the incidents in which she was involved, what do you think the Abbess meant by that statement?


5. Do you think Sister Cecily made the right choice in Chapter 17?


6. Has your view or understanding of Catholicism, particularly monasticism, changed after reading this book?