Helen Humphreys
Author of The Lost Garden
About the Author
Helen Humphreys is the author of four collections of poetry & one previous novel, "Leaving Earth", which won the Toronto Book Award, was a "New York Times" Notable Book, & was published in six languages. "Afterimage" was inspired by an exhibition of Julia Margaret Cameron's photographs. Humphreys show more lives in Kingston, Ontario. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Helen Humphreys
Works by Helen Humphreys
The Last Stoic 4 copies
Visitors 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1961-06-13
- Gender
- female
- Occupations
- poet
novelist
writer-in-residence
professor - Organizations
- Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
University of Toronto - Short biography
- Helen Humphreys was born in 1961 in England and moved to Canada when she was a young girl. She was kicked out of high school in grade 10 and attended an alternative school to finish her education. Humphreys lives in Kingston, Ontario.
- Nationality
- UK (birth)
Canada - Birthplace
- London, England, UK
- Places of residence
- Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Kingston-on-Thames, England, UK
Toronto, Ontario, Canada - Associated Place (for map)
- England, UK
Members
Discussions
Canadian Author Challenge — February: Helen Humphreys & Stephen Leacock in 75 Books Challenge for 2016 (March 2016)
Reviews
I happened to be in Kingston, Ontario, where Helen Humphreys makes her home and found this book in an indie bookshop. It is delightful visually, at 6" x 6" so that it fits comfortably in your hands, with a painting of an icefair on the cover from 1684. Inside it has a pertinent selection of paintings and art. Humphreys herself says that what she wanted to write was a "long meditation on the nature of ice". The Thames froze forty times in recorded history so for each freezing, she wrote a show more short piece beginning with 1142, ending with 1895, and with a postscript from 1927.
She paints a portrait of what happened at each particular freeze so that you can see it clearly, feel what the people felt about the impact of the frozen river on their lives, almost feel the cold seeping off the page. Some of the stories will curl your toes - those are the ones you know must be based on fact as many of the vignettes are based on actual occurrences gleaned from records. Humphreys breathes life - and sometimes death - into these little tales, capturing in a spare yet poetic prose the era and the lives of the people involved. I found it enchanting but sometimes it was also unutterably sad. Frozen birds, hunger, lives lost, the dichotomy between rich and poor, yes, it's all there. There is also the inevitability of nature as a force, of what happens when nature flexes and shows us her power. The Thames was the lifeblood of England. When it froze, everything changed. And when it stopped being able to freeze at London, everything changed again (she explains why in the book).
Humphreys wants us to think about ice, about its importance to our world and about how it is disappearing. It worked with me: this little book did create a very meditative state. I carted it around, dipping into it to read a freeze at a time. Quite unique. show less
She paints a portrait of what happened at each particular freeze so that you can see it clearly, feel what the people felt about the impact of the frozen river on their lives, almost feel the cold seeping off the page. Some of the stories will curl your toes - those are the ones you know must be based on fact as many of the vignettes are based on actual occurrences gleaned from records. Humphreys breathes life - and sometimes death - into these little tales, capturing in a spare yet poetic prose the era and the lives of the people involved. I found it enchanting but sometimes it was also unutterably sad. Frozen birds, hunger, lives lost, the dichotomy between rich and poor, yes, it's all there. There is also the inevitability of nature as a force, of what happens when nature flexes and shows us her power. The Thames was the lifeblood of England. When it froze, everything changed. And when it stopped being able to freeze at London, everything changed again (she explains why in the book).
Humphreys wants us to think about ice, about its importance to our world and about how it is disappearing. It worked with me: this little book did create a very meditative state. I carted it around, dipping into it to read a freeze at a time. Quite unique. show less
Long and immaculate descriptions of nothing happening, people with weirdly muted reactions to things happening around them. It just meanders into tedium, into details of weird people doing weird things, seemingly with no point and no end. I found it difficult to care because no one in the book seemed to care about anything either.
Then, on page 220 or so (out of 248), the fire happens, and the book becomes utterly captivating: Helen Humphreys' style suddenly has a point other than beauty for show more its own sake, and the imagery is gorgeous. But 28 pages from the end is a little too late to hook me.
Also: isn't it a little weird that the book's whole premise is that it's based on real photographs of a real Victorian housemaid, images so strange that Helen Humphreys felt compelled to write a novel about them, yet the cover uses a contemporary stock photo? show less
Then, on page 220 or so (out of 248), the fire happens, and the book becomes utterly captivating: Helen Humphreys' style suddenly has a point other than beauty for show more its own sake, and the imagery is gorgeous. But 28 pages from the end is a little too late to hook me.
Also: isn't it a little weird that the book's whole premise is that it's based on real photographs of a real Victorian housemaid, images so strange that Helen Humphreys felt compelled to write a novel about them, yet the cover uses a contemporary stock photo? show less
Harriet and Maeve first meet in Coventry on the day that Harriet has seen her young husband, Owen off to France during WWI. The two young women spend an afternoon riding the new invention of a double decker bus, enjoying the afternoon in the belief that the war will be over in a couple months. They promise to meet the next day though they have not exchanged names, but Maeve is unable to make it.
The rest of the short novel takes place on the night of November 14, 1940 during the bombing of show more Coventry by the Germans. Harriet, now in her 40's, fills in on fire watch at the cathedral for her injured neighbor and meets Jeremy, a young man of 22. When the bombing begins, they team up and care for one another as they move through the maelstrom, trying to decide what to do. Maeve is also in the city and is at the pub drawing sketches when the air raid begins. It is slowly revealed that Jeremy is her son. The relentlessness of the night is conveyed by excellent writing.
Maeve, Jeremy, and Helen move through that night observing death, destruction, loss, and pain. It is an exploration of private griefs, relationships born of circumstance, and threads of connection that give meaning to lives. Maeve is an artist and Helen is a writer and their observations and expressions through their art add nuance to the story. show less
The rest of the short novel takes place on the night of November 14, 1940 during the bombing of show more Coventry by the Germans. Harriet, now in her 40's, fills in on fire watch at the cathedral for her injured neighbor and meets Jeremy, a young man of 22. When the bombing begins, they team up and care for one another as they move through the maelstrom, trying to decide what to do. Maeve is also in the city and is at the pub drawing sketches when the air raid begins. It is slowly revealed that Jeremy is her son. The relentlessness of the night is conveyed by excellent writing.
Maeve, Jeremy, and Helen move through that night observing death, destruction, loss, and pain. It is an exploration of private griefs, relationships born of circumstance, and threads of connection that give meaning to lives. Maeve is an artist and Helen is a writer and their observations and expressions through their art add nuance to the story. show less
... And a Writer Named Helen
Review of the HarperCollins Publishers hardcover edition (March 8, 2022)
I very much enjoyed Helen Humphreys' non-fiction/fiction mashup Machine Without Horses (2018) a few years ago. So when I saw her latest non-fiction/memoir And a Dog Called Fig I snapped it up immediately. Reading it, I discovered that I had somehow missed the historical fiction Rabbit Foot Bill (2020) in the interim, so will have to catch that up.
In And a Dog Called Fig Humphreys describes her first few months with a new Vizsla puppy, especially the 'teething' pains i.e. biting. All her adult life, Humphreys has had a Vizsla as her canine companion and as she raises Fig, she also reminisces about previous dogs, esp. her favourite Charlotte. Interspersed throughout the book are anecdotes about famous writers and their dogs, usually accompanied by a black & white photograph.
See photograph at https://www.chatelaine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/b7575064440494e81b5a00865b...
Photograph of Helen Humphrey's previous dog Charlotte circa 2012. Image sourced from Chatelaine.
The book is structured in sections (titled Beginnings, Character, Structure, Process, Setting, Pacing, Endings) which describe the early life and the gradual bonding of the puppy with its human. Each of these sections also allows Humphreys to draw parallels between how she raises the dog with how she writes a book. These are often very interesting and practical tips on writing, which I think many would-be-writers would enjoy and from which they would perhaps even gain a few insider tips. Such as:
I enjoyed And a Dog Called Fig immensely and I think fans of books and writers and dogs will also have the same reaction.
Other Reviews
Pick of the Litter by Michael Strizic, Literary Review of Canada, June 2022.
Trivia
I don't know if this list covers all of the writers and dogs mentioned, but based mostly on the photographs alone they were: Virginia Woolf and Grizzle, Thomas Hardy and Wessex, E.B. White and Minnie, James Thurber and Muggs, Gertrude Stein and Basket, Maurice Sendak and Herman, Emily Bronte and Keeper, Zora Neale Hurston and Shag & Spot, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Flush, Emily Dickinson and Carlo, Mary Oliver and Percy, Anton Chekhov and Khina, Alexander Pope and Bounce, Margaret Wise Brown and Crispin's Crispian, Agatha Christie and Peter, J.R. Ackerley and Queenie, Alice Walker and Miles. show less
Review of the HarperCollins Publishers hardcover edition (March 8, 2022)
I started Early - Took my Dog -
- Emily Dickinson - epigram used for And a Dog Called Fig
I remember an elderly friend of mine telling me with great authority that when you are young, you like the bright lights and excitement of a city, but when you get older, the excitement at the bird feeder is more than enough. I laughed at the time, but I can see that the dog walk might devolve into ashow more
similar kind of contentment for me. - pg. 151 excerpt from And a Dog Called Fig
I very much enjoyed Helen Humphreys' non-fiction/fiction mashup Machine Without Horses (2018) a few years ago. So when I saw her latest non-fiction/memoir And a Dog Called Fig I snapped it up immediately. Reading it, I discovered that I had somehow missed the historical fiction Rabbit Foot Bill (2020) in the interim, so will have to catch that up.
In And a Dog Called Fig Humphreys describes her first few months with a new Vizsla puppy, especially the 'teething' pains i.e. biting. All her adult life, Humphreys has had a Vizsla as her canine companion and as she raises Fig, she also reminisces about previous dogs, esp. her favourite Charlotte. Interspersed throughout the book are anecdotes about famous writers and their dogs, usually accompanied by a black & white photograph.
See photograph at https://www.chatelaine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/b7575064440494e81b5a00865b...
Photograph of Helen Humphrey's previous dog Charlotte circa 2012. Image sourced from Chatelaine.
The book is structured in sections (titled Beginnings, Character, Structure, Process, Setting, Pacing, Endings) which describe the early life and the gradual bonding of the puppy with its human. Each of these sections also allows Humphreys to draw parallels between how she raises the dog with how she writes a book. These are often very interesting and practical tips on writing, which I think many would-be-writers would enjoy and from which they would perhaps even gain a few insider tips. Such as:
Another example of the way a dog tells us what to do with them, and if we’re paying attention and not fixated on having our way, by listening to what they’re trying to communicate, we could get along with them better. This is not dissimilar to writing, where it is more effective to listen to intuition instead of trying to force your will upon a piece of work. - excerpt from pgs. 183-184 about SETTING from And a Dog Called Fig
Pacing in a book is what moves the story along. In poetry, I learned that a line will carry the rhythm of the body and will break where the poet takes a breath. Prose doesn’t have the same parameters as poetry, but I believe that its lines also echo the rhythm of the writer and that the metre of the prose holds within it the breath and heartbeat of the writer. That becomes the natural pacing of a story, and sometimes that is adequate, just to go with how a narrative moves organically. Sometimes, though, it is necessary to manipulate the prose, to alter the pacing. If a story is without much action or drama, a writer can speed up the pacing to give the narrative more tension and urgency, to literally make it go faster. This is done by shortening the sentences, chopping things up, rushing the rhythm along. This can also be done by cutting out some of the linkages. A writer once told me to delete every third sentence, as this will remove some of the natural transitions and enliven the language. Though it seems an odd thing to do, it actually works surprisingly well. - pg. 200 excerpt about PACING from And a Dog Called Fig
I enjoyed And a Dog Called Fig immensely and I think fans of books and writers and dogs will also have the same reaction.
Other Reviews
Pick of the Litter by Michael Strizic, Literary Review of Canada, June 2022.
Trivia
I don't know if this list covers all of the writers and dogs mentioned, but based mostly on the photographs alone they were: Virginia Woolf and Grizzle, Thomas Hardy and Wessex, E.B. White and Minnie, James Thurber and Muggs, Gertrude Stein and Basket, Maurice Sendak and Herman, Emily Bronte and Keeper, Zora Neale Hurston and Shag & Spot, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Flush, Emily Dickinson and Carlo, Mary Oliver and Percy, Anton Chekhov and Khina, Alexander Pope and Bounce, Margaret Wise Brown and Crispin's Crispian, Agatha Christie and Peter, J.R. Ackerley and Queenie, Alice Walker and Miles. show less
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- Works
- 28
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 2,996
- Popularity
- #8,515
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 259
- ISBNs
- 162
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