I knew I liked Lani Jordan the first time I met her, at the Pioneer Inn in Oshkosh, b’Gosh. But the friendship was cemented for keeps when I visited her house in Green Bay a few months later and saw Betsy’s Wedding by Maud Hart Lovelace displayed prominently.
For those who aren’t in on Maudmania, the series takes Betsy Ray, our lovable heroine with a ready smile and teeth that part in the middle, from her fifth birthday into her first year of marriage. Supporting characters include her lifelong best friend, Tacy Kelly, with red hair in sausage ringlets. Betsy knew she was going to be a writer since she was a virtually babe in arms and asked her mother, “How do you write, going down the street?”
The books are set primarily in Mankato, Minnesota, in the early 20th century. Betsy’s based on Maud herself, and there are entire books written about who was really who in the series. But the friendship thing is the most important.
I was pretty involved in Betsy-Tacy doings when I lived in Chicago. That’s how I met two other writer friends I treasure dearly: Blythe Gifford and Letitia Suk, not to mention a whole bunch of other great women (including one with who I performed “The Cat Duet” in costume at the Chicago Historical Society, but that’s another story).
I drifted away from the Betsy-Tacy organization for a lot of reasons, but I’ll never drift away from Betsy herself. I still read Betsy Was a Junior, in which Betsy finds out cliques hurt people, every year. Unlike most of the other devotees, Betsy’s sister Julia was the character I most identified with, the beautiful, self-confident older sister who seemed to overcome most challenges life threw at her with aplomb and new sheet music. (Kind of like how in Little Women, I wanted to be Beth; I most identified with Meg; and I didn’t get that tomboyish Jo.) But it doesn’t matter with whom you identified. There’s a certain kinship with other women who actually know about these books (including a woman in my prayer group, from a different generation and area of the country). Because, to paraphrase Breakfast at Tiffany’s Holly Golightly, if someone likes Betsy-Tacy, nothing really bad can happen between the two of you.
So true! I love spotting an “old friend” on someone’s bookshelf. All of a sudden our relationship takes a big leap. It doesn’t happen too often with the beloved Betsy-Tacy books (BTW, I write because of Betsy) but I have so enjoyed getting to know other Madeleine L’Engle aficionados. When she died a few years back I gathered a potpourri of her local fans in my home for a tribute to her life and books. She was our common thread and weaved quite a lovely tapestry that night.
Then nothing really bad can happen between the two of us! : )