And I want so much to tell you the story of how I came to possess this special novel; however, I need to backtrack a little before I go on.
Many moons ago, around the time of my youngest daughter's birth, I discovered the charming movie, One Foot In Heaven. I'd been spending many a late night up with the new baby, and finding very little on TV to keep me awake after the evening news and National anthem had finished. Suddenly, the hymn The Church's One Foundation (my favourite hymn) caught my attention and a great discovery was made.
One Foot In Heaven was a WWII era movie based on the best selling book of the same name written by Hartzell Spence. CBC in the late 1980's was digging deep for late night content, and I was to be the recipient of this surprise offering. It starred Frederick March and Martha Scott as the Methodist Reverend Dr. William Spence and his devoted and long-suffering wife, Hope.
The story begins in Stratford Ontario Canada (something else that grabbed my attention) but the action quickly moves to the US mid-west where the Spence family (eventually expanded by the births of daughter, Eileen, and sons, Hartzell and Frasier) relocate and move from challenging parish to even more challenging parish.
The very old, very faded black & white movie gripped me from start to finish; and, the hymn The Church's One Foundation featured prominently throughout was a wonderful bonus. It was, however, a number of years later before I was able to record a copy of the movie for the rest of my family to watch, and we've enjoyed it often ever since.
I'm not really a religious person, but I grew up going to church, so I appreciate a lot of the old music and the positive values and virtues practiced by many.
A number of years ago, I decided to try to find a copy of the book One Foot In Heaven, an easier task than I thought it would be. I quickly found a very nice copy on eBay and tucked it away on a book shelf for reading 'sometime'. That 'sometime' became 'now' last week when I wasn't feeling well enough to do much more that read and relax. And read I did.
One Foot In Heaven, the book, was as enjoyable as the movie: It was longer, more detailed, and arranged differently than the movie, but still a wonderful read! And when I'd absorbed the poignant concluding words and closed the back cover, I suddenly wondered if there were any more books by this terrific author.
Turns out, not only were there more books by Hartzell Spence, there was a sequel to One Foot In Heaven (copyright 1940) titled Get Thee Behind Me (copyright 1942). Now I was on a mission, scouring the internet for better offerings than were currently available on eBay (books without notations or highlighter markings).
I found just what I was looking for on a site called AbeBooks.com where I was directed to a book seller called Shelley & Son Books in North Carolina. Their writeup indicated the, Get Thee Behind Me book they were selling was, "a First Edition, red cloth with black and white illustration and lettering, author's signature on front free end paper, no other writing in the book, full refund if not satisfied." Eureka! So, I bought the book for $25.
The book arrived in 7 days (way ahead of schedule) and is everything I expected. The exterior of the book is in great shape and the interior is pristine. The author's signature makes it even more special to me (I've always been a bit of an autograph hound).
And, by-the-way, it turns out my copy of One Foot In Heaven (blue in colour) is also a First Edition. What luck! The two books together look as though they have been missing each other for many years and I'm glad to have played a part in reuniting them.
I dearly wish I could have met Hartzell Spence, but I feel a little connected to him having read about his life with his parents and siblings as told in his own words. How lucky I am to now own the sequel, in which I can read more about the Spence family I've grown to love.
