A Literary Mystery

I am a hopeless fan of classic literature. Before Christmas my husband gave me a copy of Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. It's a "vintage" copy of the book that was passed on to him by a friend.

 In the front of the book there is an inscription: "To my dear Mildred who is so faithful in her devotion. Frances Mjolsness Christmas /44". I've no idea who Mildred and Frances are, but I love the mystery of it. I can imagine stories about the two of them. Perhaps they were mother and daughter and the daughter had to move to the city to work while her husband was away at war. Or, they were two sisters struggling to raise children, but who supported one another through the good times and the bad. Maybe they were best friends and Mildred kept some terrible secret for Frances.

It makes me grateful that my husband and I always write an inscription in the front of books when we give them to each other. It is a way of ensuring a tiny bit of mysterious immortality for us. Long after we are gone someone will pick up one of my books and invent a history of Rena and Erik. Like Mildred and Frances live on in a tiny sentence written on the front-piece of a book. My husband asked if I wanted to try to find some of the family of the two women and selfishly I said, "no". Part of me would like to know the real story of Mildred and Frances, but the bigger part of me likes the romance of inventing a history for them that is likely way off base... besides I don't want to give up my book!