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Ringing the Changes: An Autobiography
First published in 1957, Mazo de la Roche's last autobiography is a vivid recreation of her life in Ontario, and a parting shot at her critics. Mazo, born in 1879, was an only child until her parents adopted her cousin Caroline. The two became very close, sharing a childhood filled with tragedy, gallantry, and humour. Their friendship was said to have become intimate, with people speculating on the real nature of their relationship to the present day. In this memoir, de la Roche comments on her childhood and her desire to be a boy, and how that affected her efforts in the literary world. She confesses her personal connection with her character Finch Whiteoak, and details her romantic struggles. "Ringing in the Changes" is the closest insight we have into Mazo de la Roche's innermost thoughts and the private life she typically kept hidden.
- GenresNonfictionBiography
360 pages, ebook
First published June 13, 2015
1 person is currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
Mazo de la Roche
339Ìýbooks56ÌýfollowersMazo de la Roche, born Mazo Louise Roche, was the author of the Jalna novels, one of the most popular series of books of her time.
The Jalna series consists of sixteen novels that tell the story of the Canadian Whiteoak family from 1854 to 1954, although each of the novels can also be enjoyed as an independent story. In the world of the Whiteoaks, as in real life, people live and die, find success and fall to ruin. For the Whiteoaks, there remains something solid and unchanging in the midst of life's transience--the manor house and its rich surrounding farmland known as "Jalna." The author, Mazo de la Roche, gave the members of her fictitious family names from gravestones in Ontario's New Market cemetery, and the story itself balances somewhere between fact and fiction. Critics think events in the novels reflect de la Roche's dreams, moods, and life experiences. As the daughter of a traveling businessman, she may have seen the Jalna estate as the roots she never had, while the character Finch, from Finch's Fortune, is thought to be a reflection of herself.
The Jalna series consists of sixteen novels that tell the story of the Canadian Whiteoak family from 1854 to 1954, although each of the novels can also be enjoyed as an independent story. In the world of the Whiteoaks, as in real life, people live and die, find success and fall to ruin. For the Whiteoaks, there remains something solid and unchanging in the midst of life's transience--the manor house and its rich surrounding farmland known as "Jalna." The author, Mazo de la Roche, gave the members of her fictitious family names from gravestones in Ontario's New Market cemetery, and the story itself balances somewhere between fact and fiction. Critics think events in the novels reflect de la Roche's dreams, moods, and life experiences. As the daughter of a traveling businessman, she may have seen the Jalna estate as the roots she never had, while the character Finch, from Finch's Fortune, is thought to be a reflection of herself.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 4, 2023
I really enjoyed this peek into the life of Mazo de la Roche. I read the Jalna series of books several times as a teenager and just recently finished re-reading them as an adult. Still loved them, but my opinions of some of the characters changed. De la Roche's life story told in her own words was very interesting. I could see glimpses of some of her Jalna characters in the descriptions of some of her relatives. She moved a whole lot during her life both in childhood and as an adult. Her descriptions of all of the places she lived are wonderful and her descriptions of her family and friends are great as well.
November 16, 2015
The new edition of Mazo de la Roche's autobiography, Ringing the Changes, is enhanced by Heather Kirk's well-documented introduction. It answers a number of questions and provides dates for many events; de la Roche told the things she thought important.
Her autobiography might have been easier to write, the author contends, if her forebears had been other than “distinguished-looking nobodies.� This is typical of her ability to laugh at herself; her sense of humour is evident throughout. Written by a novelist, the book is filled with intriguing characters and dramatic scenes.
The story begins with the arrival of Mazo's young cousin, Caroline Clement, as part of the household in Newmarket, Ontario. The two little girls become lifelong companions.
Both children are artistically inclined; Caroline plays several musical instruments, and Mazo says she herself was born to write. She tells of an idyllic childhood. Her father, though often absent from home, was a reader, a dog-lover, sensitive yet enthusiastic, a man who doted on his young daughter. Her vivid description of her agony over his death is heartrending.
Mazo, “an eternal sketcher�, attended the Ontario School for Art for a time and took some lectures at university. She wrote her first successful story longhand and in pencil. It was accepted by Munsey's Magazine and Mazo was paid $50.
As well as having her own job, Caroline was Mazo's secretary, taking dictation, making travel arrangements for their many trips abroad, and often going house-hunting for the pair.
Throughout her life Mazo de la Roche suffered from “illness of the nerves�, sometimes losing her ability to write. She insisted on seclusion, and at the end of WWI had a cottage built in the woods. At Trail Cottage she was inspired to write Jalna, the book that won her the prestigious Atlantic Monthly prize.
Ill health continued to plague her. Once they were better off financially, Caroline was able to quit work and stay home with Mazo. She found joy in writing again, especially the stories of the Whiteoak family of Jalna.
She and Caroline travelled extensively, falling in love with the English countryside and renting houses in Devon and Cornwall. But they always found themselves longing for Canada. In 1931 Mazo adopted a little girl and a baby boy, and together they returned to Devon. Mazo enjoyed visits to London and meeting other writers. Eventually, they took a house just around the corner from Buckingham Palace. Still, Canada beckoned.
They returned to Erindale, a few miles from Trail Cottage. When they heard that de la Roche's book Whiteoaks was to be produced as a play in London, they went back to England again. RKO made her novel Jalna into a Hollywood movie.
De la Roche was an indulgent parent, providing her two children with nannies and governesses. The household included a cook, a parlour maid, a gardener, and a chauffeur.
In 1938 in Toronto, she received the Lorne Pierce Medal, presented by the Royal Society of Canada for distinguished service to Canadian Literature.
After surgery to remove a cyst from her throat she returned to Vale House to recuperate. But the threat of war and the fact that they lived dangerously close to London made them return to Canada and a house near the village of Thornhill. There, in 1939 de la Roche finished her autobiography, saying she had no urge to write about life after the war. One wishes that she had.
Mazo de la Roche was seventy-five at the time. Over her lifetime she wrote a total of thirty-seven books, sixteen in the beloved Whiteoak family saga. She and Caroline lived in the Thornhill house for many years. Mazo de la Roche died in 1961.
Her autobiography might have been easier to write, the author contends, if her forebears had been other than “distinguished-looking nobodies.� This is typical of her ability to laugh at herself; her sense of humour is evident throughout. Written by a novelist, the book is filled with intriguing characters and dramatic scenes.
The story begins with the arrival of Mazo's young cousin, Caroline Clement, as part of the household in Newmarket, Ontario. The two little girls become lifelong companions.
Both children are artistically inclined; Caroline plays several musical instruments, and Mazo says she herself was born to write. She tells of an idyllic childhood. Her father, though often absent from home, was a reader, a dog-lover, sensitive yet enthusiastic, a man who doted on his young daughter. Her vivid description of her agony over his death is heartrending.
Mazo, “an eternal sketcher�, attended the Ontario School for Art for a time and took some lectures at university. She wrote her first successful story longhand and in pencil. It was accepted by Munsey's Magazine and Mazo was paid $50.
As well as having her own job, Caroline was Mazo's secretary, taking dictation, making travel arrangements for their many trips abroad, and often going house-hunting for the pair.
Throughout her life Mazo de la Roche suffered from “illness of the nerves�, sometimes losing her ability to write. She insisted on seclusion, and at the end of WWI had a cottage built in the woods. At Trail Cottage she was inspired to write Jalna, the book that won her the prestigious Atlantic Monthly prize.
Ill health continued to plague her. Once they were better off financially, Caroline was able to quit work and stay home with Mazo. She found joy in writing again, especially the stories of the Whiteoak family of Jalna.
She and Caroline travelled extensively, falling in love with the English countryside and renting houses in Devon and Cornwall. But they always found themselves longing for Canada. In 1931 Mazo adopted a little girl and a baby boy, and together they returned to Devon. Mazo enjoyed visits to London and meeting other writers. Eventually, they took a house just around the corner from Buckingham Palace. Still, Canada beckoned.
They returned to Erindale, a few miles from Trail Cottage. When they heard that de la Roche's book Whiteoaks was to be produced as a play in London, they went back to England again. RKO made her novel Jalna into a Hollywood movie.
De la Roche was an indulgent parent, providing her two children with nannies and governesses. The household included a cook, a parlour maid, a gardener, and a chauffeur.
In 1938 in Toronto, she received the Lorne Pierce Medal, presented by the Royal Society of Canada for distinguished service to Canadian Literature.
After surgery to remove a cyst from her throat she returned to Vale House to recuperate. But the threat of war and the fact that they lived dangerously close to London made them return to Canada and a house near the village of Thornhill. There, in 1939 de la Roche finished her autobiography, saying she had no urge to write about life after the war. One wishes that she had.
Mazo de la Roche was seventy-five at the time. Over her lifetime she wrote a total of thirty-seven books, sixteen in the beloved Whiteoak family saga. She and Caroline lived in the Thornhill house for many years. Mazo de la Roche died in 1961.
October 18, 2024
As good as any of her novels
A delightful, enthralling read. I loved it as much as her Jalna novels, and maybe a bit more. I was enjoying it so much that I didn’t want it to stop!
A delightful, enthralling read. I loved it as much as her Jalna novels, and maybe a bit more. I was enjoying it so much that I didn’t want it to stop!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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