I THOUGHT I WAS TO WRITE A BOOK
By HUBERT BEYER
VICTORIA – It was a coffee club like tens of thousands of others in Canada. We’d meet at Smitty’s Pancake House in Victoria’s Bastion Square every morning, having a coffee and a gazillion refills, all for 65 cents at the time. There was Jas, the stock broker, Al, the contractor, Peter, the hairdresser and the guy whose name escapes me right now, who asked everybody what sign he was born under, and me.
And then there was Bob. Bob Whittle, that is. Bob was a Yorkshireman if ever you met one, a storyteller extraordinaire, whose lilting tones could transport you into any land of fantasy or reality, for that matter, you could imagine. Or not.
That hour over coffee was very special. We’d argue about politics, art, religion or anything else that struck our fancy. Our opinions ranged from extreme right to the far left. There was more substance to our debates than you will ever find on the parliamentary channel.
Bob used to admonish me for not making any attempts to write a book. My experience as a kid in Nazi Germany, living through the war years, my new life in Canada, the myriad of interviews I have done over the years, he said time and again, cried out for a book.
Bob was an engineer by profession. He had worked on big projects in a dozen countries. When he more or less retired to Canada, he still dabbled in a number of businesses and made a go of them all.
The coffee club has long since died. We’ve all gone our separate ways, having coffee with different people in different restaurants.
Then, a few years ago, I read in the local paper that Bob had written a book, a novel about a young girl in early 19th century London who wins against all odds. Lizzie was the title. I thought I should get a copy and write about it, but somehow, I didn’t get around it. A while later, he and his wife wrote a children’s book, Leprechaun Magic.
Now, a month or so back, another story appeared in the paper, a review of a book by J. Robert Whittle, titled Bound by Loyalty, subtitled, Book One of the Victoria Chronicles.
Unlike his previous books, the plot is set in the early 20th century, and this time not in London but in Victoria. Bound by Loyalty is the story of four-year-old, Nancy Wilson, a girl from England who is dropped off at a Victoria orphanage by her father who goes to find work in another town. Nancy blossoms into a beautiful and vivacious young woman who captures the heart of anyone who encounters her.
Bob did a lot of research. His method of weaving historical figures and Victoria history into the plot makes reading the book a sheer delight, particularly if you’re in the least familiar with British Columbia’s capital city. Nancy’s introduction to her first cricket game in Beacon Hill Park, where the game is played to this day, is a riot. The description of the first automobiles on the streets of Victoria, deemed not to have a bright future by many, is priceless. His description of the early days of Victoria’s grand hotel, the Empress, gives you a true taste of what its addition to the city must have felt like at the time.
But what impressed me most was the heartfelt and warm tone in which the book is written. Bob didn’t tell me so, but I know how he feels: if you want to read about sex, buy Playboy. If you want violence, go to the movies.
One reviewer said Bob manages to deliver gentle moral lessons without a wagging finger. His heroines are young girls who succeed despite the odds fate stacked against them. And they do so with integrity, honesty and a cheerful outlook on life.
Although I suspect the book appeals especially to teenagers, adults could do worse than acquaint themselves with it.
After reading Bound by Loyalty, I wished I could have met Nancy, the beautiful, red-haired beauty of Bob’s imagination who became a much-admired citizen of Victoria.
So, Bob, here then is my partial repayment for the many hours of your company at those coffee club sessions which left me the richer.
Bound by Loyalty can be found on Robert’s website. http://www.jrobertwhittle.com.
Hubert had a regular political (etc.) newspaper column which appeared in many Canadian newspapers prior. He is missed.
