Ordinary People

 Foyle's War is my favorite mystery series. It's being rerun on the Acorn channel. I like it because of its superb acting, plot line, and the faithfulness to historical accuracy. 

The series is set in England before, during, and after World War II. Foyle is a Detective Chief Superintendent who quietly serves as a policeman for a small English village. The complexity of war and the depiction of ordinary life on the home front is often heartbreaking. 

I had not realized how many children living in Londan were sent to the historic "great houses" and had to live in the countryside during the bombing. I hadn't thought about the number of Englishmen who had relations living in Germany and the ache of having to break off communication with those who believed in Hitler's aims.

Ordinary life is the backbone of literature. We are all enriched when persons from different time periods and countries understand and share the details of their culture. Throughout literary history, talented writers have given us a glance of ordinary life. Even a partial list would be too long for this blog.  

Last year, one of the Edgar finalists, Before She Was Helen, was especially intriguing to me because of the author's bio. It was about as modest and unassuming as it could be. Caroline B. Cooney taught Sunday School and helped with a choir. And she wrote this superior book set in a retirement community.

Wow. Some authors' credits are awe-inspiring. I'm quite wistful when I read of their travels and adventures and their interesting occupations. I would love to be able to follow in their footsteps. But then when I read Cooney's bio, I realized life is right under our noses. 

The rich and famous may be intriguing, but so are the ordinary people all around us. It's a matter of paying attention.