How appropriate that my introduction to Dean Faulkner Wells would come in a copy of Southern Living Magazine.
The back issue of the all things southern periodical contained the introduction to Every Day by the Sun by Ms. Faulkner-Wells. She, as of January 2010, is the sole surviving link to the great southern novelist William Faulkner. Being on a southern adventure of my own, immediately I requested the library to order the book for the system.
The first chapter poignantly is also the first chapter in
her young life up until her mother’s remarriage. The book begins with the death of her father Dean
Swift Faulkner, the youngest of the Faulkner brothers, who died in a plane crash
in 1935. Brother William had supplied the plane and flying lessons in order to help the
younger Faulkner get a job. After the fatal barnstorming crash he carried out a
life-long devotion to his niece.
Even her birth, which came a few months after the accident, was one of only two hospital births recorded in 1936 in Oxford, Mississippi. It hints to the privilege to which she was exposed. There are also glimpses of the author’s early life as she grew up in the home of her grandmother "Nannie" Maud Butler Faulkner. Her grandmother had a strong sense of propriety and strict standards, and the author shares how she was warmly cared for in true southern gentility, surrounded by family.
Even her birth, which came a few months after the accident, was one of only two hospital births recorded in 1936 in Oxford, Mississippi. It hints to the privilege to which she was exposed. There are also glimpses of the author’s early life as she grew up in the home of her grandmother "Nannie" Maud Butler Faulkner. Her grandmother had a strong sense of propriety and strict standards, and the author shares how she was warmly cared for in true southern gentility, surrounded by family.
Wells then lays the closet bare regarding the genealogical
part of her family’s history by revealing unspoken truths about Nannie's Butler
side of the family. The Faulkners and the Butlers had rivaling status in the
community and at times the Butlers had been even wealthier. There were even some names that Dean did not
realize until adulthood, that had been passed down from the generations before and
she divulges the personal habits and traits of each predeceasing owner--thieves, murders, abandoned women, skeletons and all. The story then moves forward to her
grandmother’s marriage to Murry Faulkner, the birth of their sons, and the strong
bond between them as there are particular stories of William’s doting connection to young
Dean despite, or perhaps because of the ten year age difference. It encompasses William’s life as a young man,
how his family felt about his writing as a career, first books published, his
marriage to Estelle, the birth of his daughters, the WWII years to name a few,
all with personal insight. It also
includes her own school days, relationships with other family members, pays
homage to the relationship with her surrogate father Pappy following the
family photographs included within of the Faulkner clan.
It felt to me as if Ms. Faulkner Wells tell hers story in a
fashion that seems to circle like a plane does before it lands. It had a wonderful rhythm to it. Perhaps
the spirit of her father may have guided her or was it merely her intent? Though simply written, Every Day by the Sun
gives true insight into a family’s soul and reminds us that we are all the sum total
of our family experiences formed by our ancestors and the people closet to us. I recommend not skipping the footnotes as they further
shed light on events in the book. I hope
it inspires you to set to paper some of your own family history.
If you like this book you may like to explore:A personal account written by William Faulkner's brother: My Brother Bill by John Faulkner.
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