Anne Youngson
Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson takes the form of a series of letters from Tina Hopgood, a farmer’s wife in East Anglia; and Professor Anders Larsen, the curator at Silkeborg Museum in Denmark. Their connection is forged around a mutual interest in the Tollund Man, a 2,000-year-old corpse unearthed in a peat bog in Jutland in 1950.
Tina initiates the letters with questions about the Tollund Man’s remarkably well-preserved corpse housed in the museum. To her surprise, Anders Larsen responds to her query. This launches a correspondence lasting a little over a year.
From the opening, formal exchange, the letters become increasingly intimate in tone with personal revelations about spouses and children, habits, likes and dislikes, and details about everyday lives. The two become familiar and comfortable with each other, freely admitting to thoughts and feelings not shared with anyone else. Tina discloses some of the doubts she experiences about her life choices; Anders discloses his struggle with the death of his wife. Their friendship flourishes. They share their joys, their dreams, and their hopes; they seek one another’s advice; they help one another sort through their thoughts. Even though they have never met face-to-face, they come to know one another more intimately than people they interact with daily. When Tina shares a shocking discovery about her marriage at the end of the novel, Anders calmly outlines her available options. The novel’s conclusion is open-ended and hopeful with Anders’ letter, once again, inviting her to visit the museum to share the experience of seeing the Tollund Man together.
The epistolary nature of the novel allows for self-revelation as each character gradually peels away the layers to disclose more of himself/herself. The strengthening bond is apparent in tone and diction. The letters are heartfelt, genuine, and touching. In their 60s, both characters reflect on their past, on lost opportunities, and on the circumstances that led them to make the choices they did. They have the maturity to figure out what is important in life and to support each other in making the necessary changes. Their intimacy is palpable; their honesty refreshing; their connection genuine.
In writing that is poignant and reflective, Youngson has produced a charming novel about the power of words to generate an intimacy between two people who have never met.