Autumn Light

" . . . the October
angle of the yellow light, the heart-mangling intensities of the season."

from The Corrections
(p 315)
by Jonathan Franzen
(b 1959)
Contemporary American
Novelist &
Essayist









"It was the middle of October. The summer heat had long departed, the trees were shedding their leaves fast, the sky had an appearance of coming wind and showers; the great stretch of moorland which could be seen best in winter when the oaks and elms were bare, was distinctly visible. The moor had broad shadows on it, also tracts of intense light; the bracken was changing from green to brown and yellow color -- brilliant color was everywhere. At this time of year the moors in many ways looked their best." *

from Polly: A New-Fashioned Girl (p 140)
by L. T. Meade
(pseudonym of Elizabeth Thomasina Meade Smith, 1854-1914)
Prolific Writer of Girls' Stories
Born in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland.

*I'd say true of most places! Certainly true of Philadelphia (see photo above).

As for any former controversy surrounding The Corrections, who cares about the brou-ha-ha with Oprah's Book Club? Just read this fabulous, comprehensive novel for all the beautiful and beautifully accurate descriptions of Philadelphia, if nothing else! Whenever I read Franzen -- same goes for Margaret Atwood & Margaret Drabble -- I feel I'm reading words that will be going down in history, words written by some of our greatest living authors.