Scaling Mount TBR

Reading Anthony Trollope on my brand-new Kindle

2011-03-26T20:17:00.002-06:00

I have spent most of a deliciously lazy Saturday settling into The Eustace Diamonds on my new Kindle (and scratching the cat behind the ears and under the chin.)

It was only a matter of time before I caved and got an e-reader. I'd already purchased some digital books to read on my phone. I cannot resist the allure of cheap or free public-domain classics.

In particular, I've acquired a few of the Mobile Reference collections available at the Kindle store containing multiple works by 19th and early-20th Century authors. Yes, the books could be had for free, but $2-$5 is a small price to pay to have dozens of works in a single file, with a clickable table of contents and all the convenience of the Kindle format. I especially love being able to access word definitions instantly.

Reveling in all the literary goodness at my fingertips put me in the mood to sink into a big, fat Victorian novel. After considering Dickens, or Wilkie Collins, or Elizabeth Gaskell, I was ensnared by the opening sentences of Anthony Trollope's The Eustace Diamonds:

"It was admitted by all her friends, and also by her enemies - who were in truth the more numerous and active body of the two - that Lizzie Greystock had done very well with herself. We will tell the story of Lizzie Greystock from the beginning, but we will not dwell over it at great length, as we might do if we loved her."

I'm just 10 chapters in, but already I'm inhabiting the world Trollope created. I am fascinated by the avaricious, utterly wicked Lizzie and rooting for the good-hearted governess, Lucy Morris, to win the man she loves. I'm impatiently waiting for Frank Greystock to come to his senses and propose to Lucy, already, and I'm hoping the ever-correct Lord Fawn will untangle himself from his ill-considered engagement to Lizzie.

Already I'm impressed by the multifacetedness of Trollope's characters. Take Lord Fawn, for instance. From his first appearance, I shared Lizzie's view of him: A dull, none-too-bright peer unlikely to go far in life, and as guilty of seeking a marriage for money as Lizzie herself. But Trollope began awakening my sympathies by explaining the burden carried by a noble, yet poor, man constrained to live among the wealthy. Then after Lord Fawn discovers his intended is a greedy, scheming liar, Trollope dropped this scene on me:

"It was a Saturday evening, and as there was no House (of Lords), there was nothing to hurry him away from the office. He was the occupier for the time of a large, well-furnished official room, looking out into St. James's Park, and as he glanced round it he told himself that his own happiness must be there and not in the domesticity of a quiet home. The House of Lords, out of which nobody could turn him, and official life - as long as he could hold to it - must be all in all to him. He had engaged himself to this woman, and he must marry her. He did not think that he could now see any way of avoiding that event. Her income would supply the needs of her home, and then there might probably be a continuation of Lord Fawns. The world might have done better for him. ... He was a man capable of love, and very capable of constancy to a woman true to him. Then he wiped away a tear as he sat down to sign the huge batch of letters."

That last sentence made me catch my breath, and then say, "Awwwww," while shaking my head over Lord Fawn's plight. Trollope got me. In that instant, he made me care about a character I had found ridiculous and annoying.

Earlier in the novel, a scene occurs in which Frank Greystock, a member of the opposition party in the House of Commons, makes a speech on behalf of the "Sawab of Mygawb," a dispossessed Indian prince. I found myself chuckling and nodding my head in agreement at Trollope's summary of the purpose of political invective:

"We all know the meaning of such speeches. Had not Frank belonged to the party that was out, and had not the resistance to the Sawab's claim come from the party that was in, Frank would not probably have cared much about the prince. We may be sure that he would not have troubled himself to read a line of that very dull and long pamphlet of which he had to make himself master before he could venture to stir in the matter, had not the road of Opposition been open to him in that direction. But what exertion will not a politician make with the view of getting the point of his lance within the joints of his enemy's harness?"

Right on, Anthony! Doesn't that description completely fit today's politicians, who argue based on what will advance their own and their party's interests, rather than on what is best for the people they are supposed to represent?

(By the way, the lovely feline in the photograph is my cat Bella relaxing by my feet as I read.)

If The Eustace Diamonds continues as excellently as it began, I may just have found a new author addiction. I also want to mention my appreciation, compared to other Victorian novelists, for Trollope's smooth, easy-to-read writing. I've never had to stop to parse out the meaning of a sentence going on for half a page, as I sometimes have to with Dickens or the Brontës.

The Queen's Man by Sharon Kay Penman

2011-02-07T10:58:00.005-07:00

Sharon Kay Penman is an author revered by many historical fiction fans for her huge, all-encompassing novels that make the past truly come to life. She has written several books, most recently a trilogy (soon to be a quartet) on Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine and their "devil's brood" of scheming children.

On a smaller scale, Penman also wrote four medieval mysteries, set during the period in which King Richard was held captive by his enemies in Europe, his mother Eleanor ruled England as regent and his younger brother John plotted to seize the throne. I just finished the first of these books, The Queen's Man.

I have mixed feelings about Penman's mystery debut. Her characterizations were strong, and her grasp of time and place second to none. She obviously knows this period inside and out. I particularly enjoyed how she wrote the formidable Eleanor of Aquitaine. However, I found the mystery a bit thin and the ending a letdown.

The Queen's Man introduces Justin de Quincy, bastard son of a bishop, who as the story begins has no income or prospects. By chance, he witnesses a murder on the road to London and discovers a secret letter for Eleanor hidden in the victim's tunic. The letter informs the queen of what has befallen Richard on his return from the Crusades. Eleanor, fearing the French king's involvement in intrigue against her son, charges Justin with discovering the truth behind the killing.

The book's first half was a quick, easy read, introducing several possible suspects and motives for the murder. Unfortunately, Penman abandoned those plot threads in the second half to place her focus solely on a hunt in London for a hired killer. I prefer my mystery novels to have more twists and turns that take me on a wild ride, before pulling everything together and springing surprises on me at the end. The ending of The Queen's Man, however, left me saying, "Is that it?" The few surprises were rather tepid and unexciting.

Justin was an appealing protagonist, a sort of "fish out of water" living by his wits and sometimes requiring help from those with more knowledge of the criminal underworld. The supporting characters were strong and kept me turning the pages even while the main plot dragged.

The book did spark my interest in learning more about the captivity of Richard the Lionheart, as well as the antagonism between Richard and John. I have heard subsequent novels are better, so I'll continue with the series for now.

My grade: C+

The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley (Did Not Finish)

2010-09-06T10:03:00.002-06:00

Oh dear. I feel like a party pooper. Jennifer Ashley's The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie has gotten great reviews. I expected to like it. But I won't be finishing it.

I usually enjoy stories with characters who don't fit into their societies, who must learn how to cope with the difficulties that brings while remaining true to themselves. I looked forward to getting to know Lord Ian, who suffers from Asperger's syndrome in Victorian England, a time and place that would label people like him as, at best, eccentric, and at worst, mad. I wanted to see if Jennifer Ashley could write a believable romance given Lord Ian's social limitations.

But I just didn't find the heroine, Beth, at all believable in the 85 pages I managed to read.

Ashley boxed herself in by establishing right up front that Lord Ian and his brothers are regarded as disreputable, scandalous, even dangerous. So much so that any unattached woman seen in their presence would immediately be ruined socially.

Ashley gave me no hint in 85 pages WHY the family has such a bad reputation. But putting that aside, she makes it clear Beth is aware of Lord Ian's reputation. Added to that is the hero's imposing physical presence (big, broad shouldered) and his puzzling, even threatening social behaviors (not looking anyone in the eye, no observing of social niceties). Ashley sets up a situation in which any prudent heroine, no matter how sympathetic to Ian's sufferings, would behave with at least SOME caution.

So how does Beth, the vicar's widow recently come into wealth, behave? (Remember, the book is set in 1881, in the middle of Queen Victoria's reign.)

First meeting: Ian, deciding he wants Beth in his bed, reveals her fiancé not only keeps mistresses but has some unusual sexual tastes. He then promptly proposes to her himself. Beth not only allows him to kiss her passionately but comes very close to accompanying him home for the night.

Second meeting: Ian kisses Beth, nibbles her earlobe and asks her a deeply personal, intimate question. Which she ANSWERS. Then Ian tells Beth he wants no other man touching her. (Danger, Will Robinson, danger!) She responds, "I don't think I mind that."

Between the second and third meetings: Beth learns Ian is the prime suspect in the stabbing deaths of two prostitutes. (Oh, but she knows Ian CAN'T be a killer. She trusts him. She certainly lusts after him.)

Third meeting: Beth blatantly offers to become Ian's mistress.

I don't care that Beth enjoyed sex with her first husband and misses a man's touch. I don't care that she feels sympathy for this misunderstood, tortured hero (whom she's just barely met). Beth is Too Stupid To Live.

Also, Beth accepts drawing lessons from Lord Ian's brother (another social pariah she meets once) and agrees to share lodgings with his estranged wife (again, after meeting her once). Yep. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Need I mention the repetitive, sloppy writing? (In one scene, Beth is described as a mediocre pianist with stiff hands, then her "nimble fingers" are "tripping across the keyboard.") Or the book heading in the direction of "clichéd murder mystery the heroine will try to solve, get herself in danger and have to be rescued by the hero" rather than the character-driven story I expected?

Sorry. I just have too many problems with this book to finish it. My grade: DNF

Last Night's Scandal by Loretta Chase

2010-08-29T16:27:00.008-06:00

Last Night's Scandal was nearly all I wanted for a follow-up to Lord Perfect. Only some pacing issues and a slight lack of character depth compared to Loretta Chase's other Carsington books kept it from being as good as Lord Perfect. Still, I enjoyed this sequel very much.

Peregrine Dalmay, Lord Lisle, returns to England for a visit from his Egyptian excavations. His irrational parents blackmail him into restoring a crumbling old castle in Scotland said to be haunted by ghosts. Lisle is initially determined to resist his parents' demands, but Olivia Wingate-Carsington, a childhood friend grown into a devilishly beautiful young woman, tricks him into journeying to Scotland with her. The unconventional Olivia is determined to have one last adventure before she is forced to choose a husband and settle into a life of stifling domesticity.

The first three Carsington books featured some wonderfully funny moments, but Chase outdoes herself here. Last Night's Scandal was hilarious, especially in the first half. Many of its laugh-out-loud moments came from the Ladies Cooper and Withcote, two wicked old women Olivia brings along as "chaperons." (Two more unsuitable chaperons could not exist, according to Lisle, outside of a brothel.) Olivia, with her penchant for "noble quests," also made me howl with laughter. She was like a combination of two of my favorite Georgette Heyer characters: Arabella, with her tendency to become enraged and act without thinking, and Sophy, with her good-hearted gift for manipulation.

What was most fascinating about Olivia as a character was she was utterly unsuited to live a conventional, respectable English upper-class life, with its endless round of tea parties and carriage rides and balls. Adventure and romance were like air and water to her. Lisle, also, was an unconventional man unsuited to an ordinary gentleman's life, but he could act the part when needed, while Olivia could not. She needed him to ground and calm her, while he needed her to remind him to live out his true desires.

Unfortunately, the novel began to drag when the characters arrived in Scotland, with the mystery of the castle's ghosts and hidden treasure drawn out too long. Chase also wrote scene after scene in which Olivia and Lisle succumbed to their attraction to each other and sternly told themselves they would never do it again, only to fail at the next temptation. The story did pick up in the last 100 pages, and Chase brought the romance to a tender, successful conclusion.

Olivia and Lisle's love story did not resonate with me as powerfully as those in the previous Carsington books. Because they were so young compared to the other couples and had fewer obstacles to overcome, their romance wasn't as rich. Their self-imposed reasons for staying apart seemed trite in comparison.

Still, Last Night's Scandal was a fun read, and if Chase wants to follow these characters back to Egypt, I will willingly take the journey. My grade: B

Lord Perfect by Loretta Chase

2010-08-05T18:29:00.002-06:00

Benedict Carsington is the perfect English aristocrat: controlled, honorable, ever mindful of duty and obligation. His behavior is always impeccably correct, and he possesses the bored, arrogant demeanor expected of a man in his high position. Son and heir to the Earl of Hargate, Benedict keeps his emotions firmly in check ... until he meets HER.

Bathsheba Wingate is a notorious widow, a member of the "Dreadful DeLuceys," the perpetually misbehaving branch of an otherwise noble and respectable family. Bathsheba's marriage to the younger son of an earl created a huge scandal that resulted in her husband being disinherited. Her closest relatives are all smugglers, gamesters, thieves or swindlers, but Bathsheba lives respectfully, earning a small income as a drawing instructor and striving to give her daughter Olivia a chance at a better life.

The roguish Olivia forms a secret friendship with Peregrine, Benedict's nephew, and confides to him her plans to seek the fabled DeLucey treasure, reputedly buried on the family's estate by a pirate ancestor. Peregrine tries to stop her, but when he fails he finds, as a young gentleman, he cannot allow Olivia to travel on her own.

Benedict and Bathsheba set out in pursuit, and soon the oh-so-well-mannered Benedict finds himself behaving in inexplicable ways. Kissing the lovely Bathsheba when he knows it can only bring trouble. Drinking far too much wine while listening to stories of her outrageous relatives. BRAWLING with common drunkards in the streets to defend Bathsheba's honor. What is happening to him? And why doesn't he feel shame? Why, indeed, is he having the time of his life?

Lord Perfect is my favorite so far of the Loretta Chase novels I've read. It is the story of a man discovering how to enjoy life after allowing duty to overburden him. It is also a story about weighing a deep love for an "unsuitable" person against the probable consequences: being scorned and rejected by society, disappointing one's relatives and sullying the family name.

As she did in Miss Wonderful, Chase examines these deeper issues while keeping her tone light and her story warm and engaging. Benedict and Bathsheba exchange much witty banter as they begin to understand and come to care for one another. Both of them have shouldered too much responsibility in their lives - Benedict because he is heir to a great estate and Bathsheba because she has had to raise a daughter alone while making her own way in the world. Benedict learns from her what it's like to live without others to fetch, carry and smooth the road for you. She learns from him that wealth and privilege go hand and hand with grave responsibilities.

I adored this pair, as I have all the couples in the Carsington series thus far. Chase's lead characters are such likable, genuine people. Benedict, despite his somewhat arrogant manner, is warm hearted and sensitive, with an appealing, self-deprecating sense of humor. Bathsheba is hilarious whenever she lies to protect Benedict's reputation. She's terribly bad at it; others can see right through her.

Benedict and Bathsheba find not only a lover, but a friend and confidant, in each other. The palpable chemistry between them is not just sexual, but emotional, rooted in empathy and understanding.

Olivia, 12, and Peregrine, 13, are just as appealing as the main couple. Peregrine, a precocious, endlessly inquisitive lad who wants to become an Egyptian explorer, strives to emulate his uncle and to act like a young gentleman toward Olivia. Clever and opportunistic, with a quick temper, Olivia resembles her mother more than Bathsheba would like to admit. Chase's newest novel, Last Night's Scandal, focuses on these two as adults. I'm very much looking forward to reading their story.

As I approached the end of the novel, I worried about how Chase would give Benedict and Bathsheba their happy ending without inventing some hard-to-swallow scenario. I hoped she wouldn't let them off the hook too easily but would test their mettle by having them make difficult choices and face the consequences. Without giving too much away, I don't think Chase could have handled the ending any better. It was pitch perfect and consistent with what she has previously written about the characters involved. It was a bit fanciful, but this is a romance novel, after all. As such, it provided near-perfect escapist entertainment with some depth to it.

My grade: A.

Mr. Impossible by Loretta Chase

2010-07-25T23:22:00.006-06:00

Daphne Pembroke needs a man with quick wits as well as brute strength to help her find her kidnapped brother and a stolen papyrus that might reveal the location of a pharaoh's treasure. NOT the big, dumb oaf the British consulate in Cairo foists on her (however handsome he may be). Still, Daphne figures she has enough brains for two. Perhaps Rupert Carsington will prove useful if heads need to be knocked together. Now if only she could think clearly in his presence ...

Rupert Carsington reckons helping an intriguing young widow is preferable to digging in the hot desert looking for artifacts for his scholarly cousin. Especially when the widow is devastatingly attractive. And if playing stupid makes her explode with temper in such an adorable way ...

This seemingly mismatched pair soon embark on the adventure of a lifetime, in which falling in love becomes the greatest thrill of all.

So begins Mr. Impossible, the second book in Loretta Chase's series about the Carsington brothers. While the previous book (Miss Wonderful) grappled with weightier issues, such as the physical and emotional scars of war, Mr. Impossible was a fun romp from start to finish, the in-print equivalent to watching a two-tubs-of-popcorn adventure movie.

Sailing down the Nile in pursuit of kidnappers, Daphne and Rupert unwittingly stumble into the middle of a showdown between rival Egyptologists.

The Frenchman Duval believes Daphne's brother Miles can translate the hieroglyphics on the stolen papyrus and lead him to a tomb filled with treasure. But Miles isn't the brilliant linguist most believe him to be. He acts the part to shield his sister, the true genius of the family, from prejudice against female scholars.

The Englishman Lord Noxley, known as the Golden Devil, pursues Duval and his men, hoping to rescue Miles and thereby win the heart of Daphne. Unscrupulous and ruthless, Noxley (or "Lord Noxious," as Rupert calls him) believes Daphne's fortune and Miles's linguistic talents will help him become the premier Egyptologist of the age.

During their Nile journey, while facing perils including dark, labyrinthine tombs, murderous brigands and deadly vipers, Rupert and Daphne grow uncomfortably aware of their attraction to each other. They are both brave, resourceful people but novices when it comes to love. The easygoing Rupert, with his devil-may-care attitude toward life, has always loved women and left them. He has no names for the emotions Daphne stirs in him and is bewildered by the loneliness he feels when he cannot be by her side.

Daphne is coping with the aftereffects of an unhappy first marriage to a man nearly three times her age. Her late husband, jealous of her intellect and passionate nature, convinced Daphne she was a damaged, unwomanly creature who needed to tame her "base" instincts. Her intense desire for Rupert shames her at first, until Rupert convinces her, bit by bit, that he loves her for who she truly is.

Rupert and Daphne's love story forms the core of the novel, but Chase also included a great deal of action, humor, witty dialogue and hair-raising escapes, as well as a wonderful cast of supporting characters. They include the comically pessimistic Leena, Daphne's maid, who reacts to all difficulties with pronouncements of gloom and doom; Tom, Rupert's adoring servant, who convinces others his master is a genie able to call down curses on his enemies; and Ghazi, the Golden Devil's right-hand man, a cheerfully efficient killer. Chase also included many intriguing details about life among the Egyptians to give the story a strong sense of place.

The only thing that annoyed me was the number of times Chase reminded me Daphne and Rupert had the hots for each other and wanted to tear each other's clothes off. I got that the first dozen times she brought it up. Still, Chase scores points for writing passionate, believable and sexy love scenes. My grade: A-

Miss Wonderful by Loretta Chase

2010-07-17T22:33:00.005-06:00

I'm realizing, much to my surprise, that I really enjoy historical romances ... especially when they are as well written, witty, sexy and touching as Loretta Chase's Miss Wonderful.

The lovers in this novel had me from its very first pages. Alistair Carsington, third son of an earl, must either find a suitable occupation or a rich heiress to marry if he is to avoid becoming a constant drain on the family finances. Hailed as a hero after his return home from Waterloo, he cannot remember the carnage of battle or the brave acts he is supposed to have performed.

In his father's eyes, however, Alistair is a wastrel and a waste. Before Waterloo, he constantly needed to be extricated from disastrous romantic entanglements, and after the battle, he has run up astronomical tailor's bills. Alistair's attention to his clothing has become his means of coping with a permanent limp after suffering severe war wounds, as well as the emotional trauma of having nearly died face down in the mud and blood, with corpses piled on top of him.

Alistair forms a partnership with his best friend, Lord Gordmor, to construct a canal in rural Derbyshire that will transport coal from Gordmor's mines. He encounters immediate opposition from Mirabel Oldridge, who has managed her father's estate for more than a decade. The canal must run across the Oldridge's land, but Mirabel will not have it; she has worked too hard and given up too much to let the estate's beauty be spoiled.

Years ago, Mirabel chose rescuing the estate from an unscrupulous overseer over marrying the love of her life and traveling to Europe with him. Practical and resourceful, she has done a man's work for so long, she has forgotten what it is like to be a woman, or to be in love. Her clothing and hairstyle are so shockingly unfashionable, it drives Alistair to distraction. (In one of the book's funniest scenes, Mirabel comes to dinner dressed so badly, Alistair cannot focus on the arguments he is making in favor of the canal.)

Despite their differences, they fall in love, but their opposition over the canal is not so easily solved. Alistair strives to find a solution, anxious to prove his worth both to Mirabel and his father, while at the same time dealing with vivid nightmares that bring the horrors of Waterloo back at the most inopportune of times. Mirabel discovers the warm, sensual woman she has locked inside herself for so long and must decide what is most important to her: her cherished family estate or a second chance at love.

Loretta Chase wove humor and sparkling wit throughout her story to lighten the somber mood. She also turned romantic cliches on their heads by allowing Mirabel to be the aggressor in some of the novel's sexy, tender love scenes. (Mirabel even climbs a ladder and through a window to reach her beloved's bedchamber, and the seduction scene that follows is laugh-out-loud funny.)

My only quibbles with the novel were the plot dragged in spots, and Chase sometimes took too long to reveal important information about the characters. The book also was marred by the late, somewhat awkward appearance of a villain and a kidnapping. But I enjoyed the story so much, I was willing to overlook these flaws. I will certainly read more of Chase's books, including the rest of the novels featuring the Carsington brothers. My grade: B+

Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter by A.E. Moorat (Did Not Finish)

2010-03-06T20:39:00.012-07:00

How could I resist a book with the title Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter? I requested a copy from my local library as soon as it arrived, hoping for a rollicking, B-movie-style romp with its tongue planted firmly in its cheek.

But alas, I got hopelessly bogged down in a confusing mish-mash of plot threads and put the novel aside for two weeks. I returned to it this weekend, read a few more chapters and realized I just didn't care to finish it.

The book doesn't live up to the promise of its title or the wickedly funny portrait of Victoria on the cover. I expected an entertaining, over-the-top tale about a queen who rules her country by day and kicks demon butt by night. What I got was a rather tepid account of Victoria's early days as queen and her romance with Prince Albert, sitting uneasily aside plot threads concerning zombies, demons and werewolves.

Victoria learns on the night of her accession that Lucifer's minions still walk the Earth, sowing evil and discord among humankind. A Royal Protektorate of demon hunters watches over the monarchy and thwarts the plots of nefarious beings. Meanwhile, in London, a certain Lord Quimby and his manservant, Perkins, have been re-animating corpses. McKenzie, a journalist, discovers Quimby's preoccupation with zombies, as well as hints of evil goings-on at the palace. In the meantime, descendants of Baal (who include several members of the royal family) plot to take over the British empire by placing a half-breed demon on the throne.

My synopsis makes about as much sense as the book did. The various plot threads seemed merely an excuse to introduce different kinds of monsters (succubi, werewolves, bloodthirsty rats, zombies and demons) and to have them disembowel as many people as possible. While Victoria makes goo-goo eyes at Albert back at Buckingham Palace, many of her subjects die excruciatingly painful deaths. Despite all the blood (and yes, guts) the story dragged, with the point of view constantly changing and the subplots never meshing into a coherent whole. The characters were flat, and the writing, while it had flashes of humor, was never funny or daring enough to make reading this book at least a guilty pleasure.

I gave up about halfway through, at the point where Prince Albert is kidnapped by werewolves, and Victoria morphs into an action hero. She finally gets to kick butt, but her sudden combat prowess and acrobatic skills are, quite frankly, unbelievable. (She hasn't had any monster-slaying training, after all.) I flipped to the end of the book to read the ending, which unsurprisingly made no sense at all. It concerned a secret Albert was keeping from Victoria that was revealed to the reader early on, sapping all suspense.

Thank goodness I borrowed this book from the library instead of buying it! My grade: DNF.

Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer

2010-01-24T21:45:00.009-07:00

A young nobleman sprawls nonchalantly inside his coach, despite the dangerously fast pace at which it is traveling. When highwaymen hold up the coach, his demeanor does not change. Without a second thought, he pulls the trigger of the small pistol in his pocket, blowing a hole through both his coat and an unfortunate robber's head. In a bored voice, he commands his coachman to drive on, leaving the body in the road.

With this opening scene, Georgette Heyer tells the reader all they need to know of Dominic Alastair, Marquis of Vidal. He is cold-blooded, reckless and quite dangerous. However, the frivolous beauty Sophia Challoner and her greedy mother do not recognize this. Both imagine Sophia can behave scandalously with the marquis and eventually force him to propose marriage.

Only Mary, Sophia's sensible sister, recognizes who would come out the worse from such an encounter. When she intercepts Vidal's note instructing Sophia to meet him late one night so they can run away together, Mary decides to disguise herself and take her sister's place. She imagines the marquis will let her return home once he discovers the deception and will think twice about approaching Sophia again.

What Mary does not realize is Vidal has been sent into exile by his father after nearly killing a man in a duel. Vidal intends to go to Paris, where he plans to make Sophia his mistress. When he finds Mary in his coach, he imagines she has the same loose morals as her sister and forces her onto the boat instead.

So begins another delightful romp by the incomparable Ms. Heyer, featuring a deliciously tangled plot filled with romantic misunderstandings, in which true love wins out over all.

Vidal soon realizes the practical, resourceful Mary is no lightskirt but a lady of quality. Chagrined (for he does not make a habit of abducting virtuous women) he offers her marriage as a way of salvaging her reputation. To his shock, she refuses. He cannot help but grow intrigued by this unusual miss who seems to know just how to manage him. Before long, he's desperate to wed her, not out of duty, but for love.

Mary, meanwhile, resists Vidal at every turn despite her growing affection for him. She believes the marquis's family will never accept a lowly gentleman's granddaughter as a spouse for their son. While staying in Paris with Vidal's cousin, Juliana, Mary becomes involved in the relationship between the flighty girl and her sober, correct suitor, Mr. Comyn. The different romantic plotlines become hopelessly entangled, and Heyer once again shows how deftly she can get her characters into trouble, then get them out again.

Yes, Heyer charmed me with another witty, wonderful tale. I wasn't sure she would be able to redeem the marquis, who if anything was even more wicked than his father, the Duke of Avon (introduced in These Old Shades). But by subtle degrees, she showed he did, indeed, have a heart. I greatly enjoyed becoming reacquainted with several characters who played key roles in These Old Shades, including the Duke of Avon, still head-over-heels for his lovable wife, the Duke's mischievous brother, Rupert, and of course, the irrepressible Leonie, Duchess of Avon.

My grade: A.

These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer

2010-01-10T16:54:00.033-07:00

Like The Masqueraders, Georgette Heyer's These Old Shades is another unabashedly romantic, exciting adventure story set in Georgian times, with one extra element. The novel is most importantly a tale of redemption. The hero, Justin Alastair, Duke of Avon, is an amoral, jaded, ruthless nobleman, proud of the nickname "Satanas" given him by polite society. But even this dangerous, dishonorable man has a flicker of goodness left in him, which shines forth when he falls in love despite himself.

Avon impulsively rescues a Paris street urchin from a life of poverty and abuse when he notes the youth's resemblance to the Comte de Saint Vire, his old enemy. Avon makes "Leon" his page, knowing all along "Leon" is really "Leonie," a young woman dressed as a boy. What's more, Leonie is the Comte's daughter. Desperate for a male heir, the Comte placed the infant girl in the care of a peasant couple and passed the couple's newborn son off as his own.

Nursing a grudge decades old, the Duke of Avon intends to use Leonie as an instrument of revenge against the Comte. He brings her to his English estate as his ward and charges a female cousin with teaching her to become a lady. Slowly, Avon's thoughts turn from his own revenge to restoring Leonie to her rightful place. The young woman's innocence, mischievousness and forthrightness awaken tender feelings in him, and her love for Avon as her rescuer makes him strive to be the man she believes him to be.

I was afraid at first Heyer would make Leonie too wide-eyed and adoring for my tastes, but she balanced those elements of her character nicely with stubbornness, hot-headedness and an ability to take action on her own behalf. (In one of my favorite scenes, Leonie backs Avon's brother into a corner with a fencing foil, enraged the young man called the Duke "Satanas" in front of her.) When Leonie's father, the Comte, tries to kidnap her, she proves more than capable of engineering her own rescue. The romance between her and Avon at times seems more of a parent-child relationship, but she is able to stand up to the Duke when she wants to and is sometimes wiser than him, despite their 20-year age difference. She is definitely a heroine who knows her own mind.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the story was seeing Avon's acquaintances and family members reacting to the change in "Satanas." Many of them had reason to mistrust or even hate the Duke, but they all became his allies in the end because they cared for Leonie. Avon finally revealed Leonie's parentage to the world in a tense, exciting scene, with the villainous Comte getting his just desserts.

I very much enjoyed this unusual romance and look forward to reading the sequel, Devil's Cub. My grade: A.

These Old Shades is one of a handful of Heyer novels recently reissued both by Harlequin Books and Sourcebooks Casablanca. (The Sourcebooks cover is on the left, while the Harlequin cover is at the top of the post.) I hope Sourcebooks eventually will republish all the Heyer novels now being reprinted by Harlequin. The Sourcebooks versions are of higher quality and much more durable than the flimsy Harlequin releases, which don't hold up to repeated readings.

The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer

2010-01-02T16:58:00.008-07:00

What a wonderful way to begin a new year of reading - lost in the pages of yet another excellent novel by Georgette Heyer. The Masqueraders might just be my new favorite; it certainly equaled The Grand Sophy and Arabella. Luckily I had New Year's Day off; I could barely put down this Georgian-era, wildly romantic adventure story.

Prudence and her brother, Robin, have lived their lives at the center of their opportunistic father's wild plots and intrigues. Their involvement in the recent Jacobite rebellion has left Robin with a traitor's sentence hanging over his head, so they decide to hide in plain sight - mingling in London society, Robin disguised as a fetching, vivacious young woman, and Prudence as a dashing young man.

The siblings play their roles to perfection but inwardly begin to chafe at the masquerade, especially when both lose their hearts - Robin to the enchanting Letitia Grayson, and Prudence to Sir Anthony Fanshawe, a distinguished mountain of a man. Then their flamboyant father arrives in London to launch his most daring scheme yet - to claim the title and riches of a viscount. Will he succeed in making himself and his children respectable? Can Robin and Prue ever abandon their disguises and declare themselves to their true loves? Is this a Georgette Heyer novel?

The plot was deliciously convoluted, humorous and suspenseful, but once again, Heyer's wonderfully drawn characters charmed me the most. I adored Prue, who played the part of a courageous young man with such wit and resourcefulness, but retained a womanly desire for a lover to cherish her, and even to take care of her. I also loved how her brother Robin threw himself so unreservedly into a woman's role, even while inwardly itching to cast aside his petticoats in favor of a sword or pistol.

The siblings' adventurer father was an absolute scream: a man of unshakable confidence and breathtaking audacity who puffed himself up like a peacock and proclaimed his genius to anyone who would listen. (And, darn it, the way he brought his intrigues to a successful conclusion made at least some of that bragging justified!) My favorite character, though, was the seemingly indolent Sir Anthony, an endlessly fascinating man with a sharper eye and quicker wit than anyone suspected and with the capacity, beneath his respectable surface, to throw himself headlong into danger for love's sake. He and Prue were well matched, indeed, and I will admit, their romance set my heart all aflutter. Sigh.

My grade: A+

2009 reading wrap-up

2009-12-30T21:26:00.009-07:00

Wow, it's time to write another "end-of-year" post? 2009 went by way too fast, and I did not get as much reading done as I wanted. (At least I beat my 2008 total of only 14 books!) Here is my 2009 reading list:

Charity Girl by Georgette Heyer
In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker
Sky Coyote by Kage Baker
A Rose for the Crown by Anne Easter Smith
A Crowning Mercy by Bernard Cornwell & Susannah Kells
Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn
Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn
The Princess of Celle by Jean Plaidy
Queen in Waiting by Jean Plaidy
Caroline, the Queen by Jean Plaidy
The Crimson Thread by Suzanne Weyn
Arabella by Georgette Heyer
April Lady by Georgette Heyer
Compromised by Kate Noble
The Prince and the Quakeress by Jean Plaidy
The Season by Sarah MacLean
The Third George by Jean Plaidy
Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran
Memoirs of a Hoyden by Joan Smith

My favorite read of 2009 was Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn, followed closely by Arabella by Georgette Heyer, Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn and A Crowning Mercy by Bernard Cornwell and Susannah Kells.

Jean Plaidy's The Prince and the Quakeress was my most disappointing read of the past year, simply because it was dull and repetitive. It in no way inspired the kind of loathing I've felt in recent years after finishing really bad books (Philip Pullman's The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, Suzannah Dunn's The Sixth Wife). I am finding as the years pass that I'm much less likely to finish a book that's really bad. I have too many books I want to read to waste time with those I'm not enjoying.

Memoirs of a Hoyden by Joan Smith

2009-10-07T16:45:00.007-06:00

I discovered the prolific Joan Smith through a list of favorite authors at Good Ton, a Regency romance Web site. Smith has written more than 80 Regencies, a few of which I promptly ordered from Paperback Swap. Good Ton particularly recommended Memoirs of a Hoyden, so when it arrived first, I began reading it as soon as I tore open the package.

This humorous, highly entertaining novel may not linger in my memory long, but I sure had a lot of fun while I was reading it. It livened up a cold, rainy, dismal Sunday, spiriting me away to the coast of England for a story featuring a coach robbery, spies, smugglers, a handsome and capable hero and a stubborn, forthright and funny heroine. (Oh, and also a cleric who keeps naughty drawings hidden in the pages of a book of sermons.)

Miss Marion Mathieson has recently returned from her travels in the East and is giving lectures in England to promote her new book, A Gentlewoman's Memoirs of the Orient. When highwaymen hold up her coach, she suspects they are after more than money or jewels and throws herself headlong into an effort by the Marquess of Kestrel to catch a ring of spies intercepting military orders dispatched to the coast.

The suspense plot is somewhat cliched, but Smith's characterization of Miss Mathieson is where the book really shines. Marion, the story's narrator, thinks very highly of herself and wants to give everyone else the benefit of her superior expertise. She reminded me quite a bit of Amelia Peabody from Elizabeth Peters's series about a family of Victorian Egyptologists. Marion simply cannot keep her nose out of other people's business if an adventure is to be had (even though she may exaggerate just a tad when it comes to recounting her own hair-raising escapades in the East.)

In the wrong hands, Marion could have been incredibly annoying. Instead, she reminded me of an eccentric aunt whom you can't help but love because she's always saying or doing something completely outrageous, and you just have to know what she'll do next. Marion was a classic unreliable narrator, amusing instead of exasperating because of Smith's light, humorous touch, which encouraged the reader not to take Marion too seriously.

Miss Mathieson fell a bit short, however, of Amelia Peabody as a character because I was never convinced she was Kestrel's true equal. She simply wasn't as smart as Peabody. She and Kestrel fall in love, of course (this is a Regency romance). In a story where a couple's adversarial relationship eventually leads to love, I want to see a meeting of equals, in which neither individual is able to get the better of the other for long. But Kestrel was quietly competent and perfectly capable of catching the spies without Marion's "assistance." Every deduction Miss Mathieson made about the identity of the book's villain was wrong, and at one point she did something so boneheaded I rolled my eyes in exasperation. Although Smith allowed her to "save the day" at the end, Kestrel never would have been put in a dangerous position without her "help." I wish Marion had been right at least some of the time. It would have made her a stronger character.

Still, Memoirs of a Hoyden was enjoyable and the perfect length (170 pages) for an afternoon's escape. It had so many little sparkling touches that made it funny and appealing. My grade: B

Regency GLOM!

2009-09-27T19:10:00.012-06:00

For the past week, I have been ordering one Regency romance after another from Paperback Swap. I can't stop myself - PBS has what seems like an inexhaustible supply of these little novels. (Luckily, I had built up a pretty sizable credit reserve!) I have 11 ordered, two on their way to me and several more on my reminder list. Now let's see if I can be patient while waiting for them all to arrive!

Lest you think I've been ordering willy-nilly, with no regard for QUALITY, I have been making good use of the review archives at All About Romance. Most of the books I've ordered or plan to order received their stamp of approval with an A or B grade. I also found a few Regency recommendations at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books (a really fun blog to visit, especially when it comes to reviews of bad books! Some of their D and F reviews had my belly aching with laughter.)

So just when will I make the time to read all these books, you say? Well, I feel a Regency reading glom coming on! My only dilemma is deciding what to read first. (Fortuitously, in Jean Plaidy's Georgian Saga, I have reached the books detailing the exploits of the Prince Regent himself. I plan to work a couple of those into my romance-reading time, as I'd like to finish the entire saga by the end of the year.)

So, to those who read my humble blog, if Regencies aren't your thing, I apologize in advance for the plethora of reviews I'll be posting. Bear with me. I expect that within a matter of weeks I'll return to my regularly scheduled reading.

(Although I am thinking of starting 2010 with a historical-mystery glom. Consider yourself warned.)

Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran

2009-09-22T11:28:00.003-06:00

Michelle Moran's newest historical novel, Cleopatra's Daughter, was one of those rare books that completely swept me out of my 21st-century life into another place and time. Reading it was like hopping into a time machine for a guided tour of Octavian's Rome. The teeming, dynamic city was so vividly and realistically portrayed, I felt as though I were walking the streets with the characters.

Because Moran was so good at immersing me in ancient Rome, I am finding this a difficult novel to review. After I put it down and thought back over the story, more and more aspects of it bothered me. The book has some flaws. I didn't mind them so much when lost in Moran's Rome but couldn't help thinking about them after finishing the novel.

Cleopatra's Daughter follows the children of Cleopatra and Marc Antony across the Mediterranean after Caesar Octavian (later known as Augustus) defeats their parents and adds Egypt to his sprawling empire. Much of the story concerns Selene and her twin brother, Alexander, coming of age and learning to survive in a culture very different from their own. Rome is portrayed through the eyes of Selene, the narrator, as a chaotic, debauched, often frightening place, yet vibrant and swelling with confidence and pride in its own accomplishments.

Although the twins are taken into the household of Octavia, Caesar's sister, and treated as guests, they remain painfully aware they live only at Octavian's whim, and he will destroy them without a thought if he perceives them as threats to Rome. The figure of Octavian -- brooding, superstitious, possessing more brains than brawn -- loomed over the entire novel, not only as the person who ultimately controlled Selene and Alexander's fates, but as the one man who, with political acumen and ruthlessness, might be able to hold the Roman empire together.

Yet Selene and her brother experience kindness and friendship from some of the members of Octavian's large, extended family, including Octavia's son, Marcellus, and Octavian's daughter, Julia, who are close to the twins in age. With Marcellus and Julia, the twins attend school, go shopping, watch chariot races and enjoy the summer holidays at Octavian's villa on Capri. Vitruvius, Octavian's architect, even teaches Selene how to design buildings after seeing her impressive sketches of Alexandria, her native city.

Because she lost her own home and parents, Selene sympathizes with the plight of the downtrodden, especially the slaves brought from conquered countries who make up one-third of Rome's population. She eagerly follows news of the Red Eagle, an unknown rebel who posts anti-slavery messages on the doors of temples and shops. When the messages stir unrest, suspicion falls on members of Octavian's inner circle, as it is obvious from the notices the Red Eagle is an educated person with access to the richest areas of the city.

Moran's Rome was not sugar-coated; she unflinchingly depicted the sufferings of slaves and the poor and the cruelties of the gladiatorial games enjoyed by ordinary Romans as entertainment. Life in Rome certainly typified the phrase "nasty, brutish and short." In fact, I felt a bit beaten about the head by all the ugly, unsavory aspects of everyday life. Moran could have toned it down a bit and still gotten her point across.

Other issues I had with the novel concerned Selene's love life. I grew impatient with her teenage mooning after Marcellus (who she knew from the start was promised in marriage to Julia). Selene seemed too mature and intelligent a character to fall for a man with so little in common with her. (Marcellus's all-consuming interest was betting on chariot races.) Selene finally realized which man truly deserved her love and loyalty, but the development of their relationship was rushed and not entirely convincing. The story lost a lot of steam two-thirds of the way through. Moran could have spent more time in the last 100 pages on Selene's discovering who really captured her heart, rather than having her feeling sorry for herself because of Marcellus's wedding.

I also had problems with the resolution to the mystery of the Red Eagle's identity. The rebel turned out to be a person I had a hard time believing would put Caesar or his family at risk. (The Red Eagle's messages provoked violence and even an assassination attempt.)

I loved Moran's depiction of ancient Rome, its culture and its people so much, I was willing to forgive these flaws while I was reading. She must have done a staggering amount of research, but I never felt pulled out of the story by an author showing off her knowledge of the period. The first half of the book was nearly perfect, but the second half needed tightening and a more focused plot. Despite this novel's flaws, Moran is definitely a writer to watch, and I'll be sure to read her other books.

My grade: B-

The Third George by Jean Plaidy

2009-09-13T21:14:00.008-06:00

The Third George was a return to form for Jean Plaidy (following the disappointing The Prince and the Quakeress in her Georgian Saga). The novel focuses on the reign of the king best known for losing the American colonies and for his eventual madness. Plaidy's George III was a somewhat pathetic figure -- a king with the best of intentions but not politically astute enough to rule particularly well.

The novel begins with George placing his royal duty above the dictates of his heart, as he decides to make a state marriage with a plain German princess. After the wedding festivities and a somewhat comical coronation (marred by bad planning), George gets down to the business of ruling, with his longtime advisor, Lord Bute, at his elbow.

The ambitious Lord Bute, craving more power, convinces George's ministers to stand against the brilliant, popular William Pitt, which prompts Pitt to resign from the government. George's subjects grumble against Bute, especially when he proves inept at governing. The common people recognize George has allowed himself to become the puppet of Bute and of his domineering mother, the Princess Dowager (who has long been Bute's lover). They derisively call the pair Jackboot and Petticoat and make it dangerous for either of them to venture into London.

Bute eventually admits his ambitions have outstripped his political abilities, and when he steps down, George brings Pitt back into the government. But the once-great statesman has grown old and ill, and he, George and the other ministers make a long series of disastrous decisions. Continually mocked in broadsheets of the day, George only finds happiness by retiring to the country to play at being a gentleman farmer and to spend time with his growing brood of children. A strict moralist, the king is continually beset by scandals involving his siblings and, later, his eldest sons. His mental health deteriorates as his anxieties increase.

Throughout the story, I most sympathized with George's queen, Charlotte, one of the book's best drawn characters. (The portrait to the right was said to be an excellent likeness.) She is hand-picked by Jackboot and Petticoat to be a meek wife who will not challenge their power. The day she arrives in London, she is told she will marry George, whom she has only just met, that very night! A short, thin woman, she has to be pinned into her wedding dress.

The Princess Dowager continually meddles in the queen's household, deciding for her on matters as petty as whether Charlotte will wear jewels to church or what attendants will serve her. (Talk about a mother-in-law from hell!) As the queen learns English, she becomes more interested in state affairs and encourages George to confide in her. George shuts her out, as he is determined no woman will rule him as George II was ruled by his queen. (He seems to forget this when it comes to his mother, however.) Charlotte grows increasingly frustrated as she is left with nothing to do but to bear child after child. (The couple eventually had 15!)

The novel dragged somewhat in the middle, and the last several chapters were a hurried, workmanlike account of several important events, as though Plaidy were impatient to get to the end. The American Revolution, unfortunately, was one of the subjects given cursory treatment; I would have liked to read more about British reactions to it. Plaidy also touched very briefly on a couple of the scandals involving the Prince of Wales; the next few books in the series focus more on him and his love affairs.

Plaidy ended the book with one of George's episodes of madness, which was both terrifyingly and touchingly portrayed. I am looking forward to the series finally arriving at the Regency years. My grade for The Third George: C+

My reviews at Georgette Heyer Challenge and Jean Plaidy's Royal Intrigue

2009-09-12T21:31:00.012-06:00

As though I needed any more encouragement to read Georgette Heyer! I will be cross-posting my Heyer reviews to the Georgette Heyer Challenge blog. Hosted by Becky at Becky's Book Reviews, the challenge is a perpetual one, with no official start and end dates. If you already love Heyer or need more encouragement to read one of her books, please visit! Reviews of many of her Regency romances, mysteries and historical novels already have been posted there.

As I work my way through Jean Plaidy's Georgian Saga, I am cross-posting my reviews at Jean Plaidy's Royal Intrigue, which is hosting a 2009 Plaidy reading challenge. This Website offers a whole slew of Plaidy goodies: a bibliography, reading discussions, a cover gallery, a blog and more!

The Season by Sarah MacLean

2009-09-09T10:16:00.003-06:00

The Season was a lighthearted romp through Regency England from an author with an obvious affection for the period. At its center was a sweet, believably written romance, with a espionage subplot added for spice. I devoured the book in two sittings, enchanted by the author's playful language and glittering scenes of high-society life.

Alexandra Stafford, the 17-year-old daughter of a duke, is dreading her first London Season. She has no interest in marrying an insufferably boring British peer and suspects most men want a docile, empty-headed woman (something she most assuredly is not!) Constant teasing from her three mischievous brothers about her beaus just makes her situation more intolerable. Luckily, she has the unwavering support of her two best friends, Vivi and Ella, and the sympathy of Gavin, newly titled Earl of Blackmoor, with whom she grew up and who is practically another brother to her.

However, in the Season's whirl of balls, dinner parties and carriage rides, Alex and Gavin develop feelings for one another that go FAR beyond brotherly or sisterly affection. Misunderstandings inevitably arise as the pair struggle to understand their new emotions. Through Gavin and Alex's interactions, Sarah MacLean brought to life all the joy, confusion, jealousy and uncertainty of first love. Anyone who can remember what it was like to be a bewildered teenager will certainly identify with this couple.

Complicating their blossoming romance is Gavin's suspicion that his beloved father's death was not an accident. In fact, the late earl had uncovered evidence of a ring of spies selling military secrets to the French. About two-thirds of the way through the book, after Alex overhears a conversation proving the earl was murdered, the suspense kicks into high gear, culminating in a showdown at Gavin's country estate in Essex. The mystery was not as fleshed out as I'd like, and the villain was fairly obvious as well as a bit dim. (He never seemed able to decide on his next course of action.)

However, MacLean held my attention with her sympathetic and often funny characters, clever dialogue and affectionate descriptions of life among the ton. At times, I felt I was inside the story with Alex, gossiping with her friends at a ball or riding with Gavin through Hyde Park. My favorite scene was one in which Alex's maid helped her dress for a party. I could picture her donning each intricate layer of clothing like a knight suiting up in his armor, before doing battle for the hearts of young men.

My grade: B+

The Prince and the Quakeress by Jean Plaidy

2009-09-07T17:25:00.013-06:00

Whew! I have finally finished The Prince and the Quakeress by Jean Plaidy, the fourth book in her Georgian Saga. What a slog! I struggled with it for weeks. It didn't hold my attention for more than a chapter or two at a time. All of Plaidy's strengths -- easy-to-read prose, brisk pacing, and a knack for helping readers understand her characters -- seemed to desert her in this novel. At the same time, her weaknesses -- repetitive scenes, cursory treatment of important events and "tell-not-show" writing -- were very much in evidence.

The Prince and the Quakeress covers the life of George III as Prince of Wales and focuses mainly on his alleged first love affair with Hannah Lightfoot, a Quaker woman and niece of a linen draper. Historians disagree on whether the two ever were involved and whether George might have secretly married her or had children by her.

At 12, George becomes Prince of Wales, when his father Frederick dies soon after being struck in the head by a tennis ball. His mother, the Dowager Princess Augusta, takes a lover, Lord Bute, and together the two scheme to keep the future king dependent on them. At first their task is not difficult, as George is docile, easily manipulated and none too bright. But the young prince soon shows his stubbornness when it comes to matters of the heart.

He arranges to secretly meet Hannah Lightfoot after seeing her several times sitting in the window of her uncle's shop. When her family discovers their clandestine affair, they quickly marry her off to a grocer. However, George arranges to have her spirited from her family's home the day of the wedding to a grand townhouse, where the two continue their affair for years.

And ... that's really all there is to the story. Hannah is kept a virtual prisoner in the townhouse, afraid if she ever ventures out, her family will find her. Plaidy never fleshed out Hannah's character, and I never understood why she would give up her freedom for George, or even why she loved him, as she was quite a few years older than he.
Most of the book's scenes from this point on concerned one of the following events:

George and Hannah proclaim their undying love for one another while experiencing crippling guilt over their adulterous union.
Lord Bute and the Princess Augusta bemoan George's devotion to Hannah and scheme about how to bring him back under their control.
The king, George II, becomes angry with a family member or one of his ministers and gives a speech on the perfection of his late, lamented queen.

Plaidy barely mentioned William Pitt, the Great Commoner, who at this time was setting England on its course toward becoming a world power.

Finally, Lord Bute brings an end to George's affair with Hannah, determined the Prince will wed a German princess who cannot speak English and who would be unable to wrest control of George from himself and Princess Augusta. After George II obliges his family by finally succumbing to a stroke, young George briefly asserts he will marry Sarah Lennox, a vibrant, frivolous girl he has become infatuated with. But Lord Bute soon brings him to heel.

I really think Plaidy could have handled Hannah Lightfoot's story in a few chapters of a longer novel on George III, rather than basing nearly an entire book on it. Although The Prince and the Quakeress is my least favorite novel so far in the Georgian Saga, Plaidy did succeed in making me sympathize with young George. He really had no chance with all the wolves of court ringed around him. Essentially an honest, simple, loyal young man, he implicitly trusted those trying to manipulate him. He might have been much happier as a gentleman farmer, devoted to his wife and children, than as a prince and king.

My grade: D

My Regencies experiment (Help, I'm browsing the romance section!), plus a review

2009-09-02T17:59:00.022-06:00

"I don't do romance." For years, that statement has been one of my reading mantras.

But my newfound love for Georgette Heyer, and by extension, the Regency period, has led me (somewhat shamefacedly) to browse the romance section looking for more stories like hers.

My reasons are twofold. First, although I've only read four of her novels so far, I am acutely aware Heyer wrote only a limited number of Regency romances. I'm trying to pace myself on reading them so they last longer. Therefore, I'm looking for other authors to help satisfy my Regency obsession.

Second, as witty and delightful as they are, Heyer's books require mental alacrity. Her characters' words and actions convey multiple layers of meaning, requiring my full, focused attention. Sometimes, I just want an escapist read I can breeze through, without stopping to ponder the implications of a piece of dialogue or to look up some obscure Regency phrase. If Heyer's books are like slowly savoring a five-course meal at a renowned restaurant, perhaps other writers can supply the literary equivalent of chocolate-chip cookies.

What kept me away from the romance section of my local Barnes & Noble for so many years? After all, I've been known to occasionally wander to the romance shelves in used-book stores, looking for forgotten historical-fiction gems, ever since I learned many beloved writers were saddled with book covers like this:

(I certainly don’t remember THAT scene from my recent reading of this novel. In fact, I can’t picture Jean Plaidy writing a scene like that.)

I've also enjoyed many novels in which romance plays an important role, such as the Lady Julia Grey books by Deanna Raybourn.

I suppose I've assumed most romance novels were “porn for women.” I'm no prude, but when I pick up a book, I want to read a good story, not a flimsy plot on which to hang sex scene after sex scene after sex scene … Too much raunchiness in a novel makes me feel numb. Give me something to anticipate, something to imagine. Let's have some erotic tension, for God’s sake.

However, I am all for well-written sex scenes that advance the plot or contribute to character development. Just go easy on the purple prose, please. Don’t make me want to giggle in disbelief or vomit (or both).

I also may have been put off by a few romance novels I attempted to read in my younger years that had "heroes" who were slightly too alpha (i.e. psychotic). I have been reliably informed the 80s were a particularly dismal decade when it comes to weak, fawning heroines and cruel, brutal, narcissistic heroes.

Therefore, in my quest to find more authors of Regencies, I've done some review reading at Amazon, Paperback Swap and on blogs and have acquired a tidy little pile of books to try. For the next several months, I plan to read a few different writers and to report back here on how crossing over to the “Dark Side” of romances has worked for me.

Which leads me to my first review of a non-Heyer Regency: Compromised by Kate Noble.

I stumbled across this novel at a used-book store and bought it on a whim after reading the back-cover blurb. It took me just two days to read, and I am somewhat surprised to say I really enjoyed it. While it was no Heyer, it was briskly paced and amusing, with characters who grew more complex and interesting as the story progressed.

Seduced by spring moonlight, ethereally beautiful Evangeline Alton exchanges a kiss with the darkly handsome Maximillian (Viscount Fontaine) in the conservatory during her coming-out ball. Unfortunately, they are seen, and rumors quickly fly about the young couple caught in a compromising position. To head off disaster, Evangeline’s father Sir Geoffrey (an up-and-coming diplomat), and social-climbing stepmother Romilla decide the two must marry, after a month of courtship designed to give their relationship a respectable air.

Maximillian is dismayed when Romilla informs him either she or Gail, Evangeline’s irksome sister, will chaperon all his outings with his intended. Maximillian previously met Gail in Hyde Park, where his runway horse and her impetuous actions resulted in both of them being tossed into a lake. The tart-tongued, provoking Gail gets under Max's skin whenever they meet. Hoping to distract her so he may better court the lovely Evangeline, Maximillian asks his friend, Will Holt, to accompany him whenever he calls on the sisters.

I immediately saw where this was going, but Kate Noble gave me much to enjoy while getting there (although I sometimes just wanted the characters to get on with realizing who loved who). For the first quarter or so of the book, the plot was a little too contrived for my taste, but as the story moved from drawing room to ball to dinner party, I got caught up in it, as Noble revealed surprising depths to characters who could easily have turned into caricatures.

Gail – intellectually curious, adventurous and passionate, yet socially awkward – was a great character. I'll admit, I can't resist a bluestocking heroine, especially one as well drawn as Gail. She was smart, witty and even worldly in some ways, but still somehow vulnerable and innocent. And how could I not love Max – handsome, charming, a bit arrogant – yet with surprisingly deep feelings, a wonderful sense of humor and a thirst for new, challenging experiences? Noble's secondary characters also were well drawn, even those who made only brief appearances in the narrative. (I was particularly surprised – and delighted – by a plot twist featuring Romilla, the character I had been most disposed to dislike.)

The novel had some sex scenes, but they were tastefully and believably handled and showed different facets of the characters involved.

As for complaints, I ran across a few things that didn't seem quite historically accurate, but since these were minor points, I was willing to let them go. My one frustration with the novel was it really needed a good proofreader. I came across way too many typos, misplaced commas and mixed-up homonyms (aisle/isle, fair/fare).

So, my first non-Heyer Regency read turned out to be an enjoyable success. Compromised was not perfect, but it was a lot of fun. My grade: B

April Lady by Georgette Heyer

2009-08-30T13:27:00.007-06:00

At the heart of April Lady lies a cautionary tale about how suspicion and resentment can grow when spouses do not communicate with one another. However, there was nothing preachy about this enjoyable novel, told with Georgette Heyer's customary wit.

Nell is a 19-year-old bride, madly in love with her husband, Lord Cardross. She fears, however, that this worldly, much older gentleman married her only because he needed a wife and found Nell more amiable than other ladies of the ton. She cannot forget her mother's admonitions not to hang on Giles and to look the other way should he take a mistress. So she holds him at arm's length ...

Giles is head-over-heels in love with Nell but suspects she only married him for his vast fortune. After all, he brought the dibs into tune again for her impoverished father and brother (i.e. got them out of debt). His suspicions grow after Nell overspends her quarterly allowance and seems to be concealing something from him. So he holds her at arm's length ...

Nell finds herself in debt partly because she lent her brother Dysart, a chronic gambler, 300 pounds, something which her husband had asked her not to do. She believes Giles has settled all of her bills, but she forgets one tucked at the back of a drawer: 300 pounds for a lavish court dress. Ashamed and fearful of Giles's reaction, she asks her brother to raise the money for her. Of course, complications ensue.

The reader is aware all along Giles would forgive his bride if only she told him the whole truth. But she is young, lacks confidence and is terrified of losing any affection he may hold for her. Nell could have been a tiresome character, but in Heyer's hands I found myself rooting for her. Toward the end of the novel, she finds her confidence and strength, which was a joy to see.

Two subplots concern Letty, Giles's flighty, naive half-sister, who is determined to marry a young man of no fortune and position, and Dysart, a well-meaning rouge who has fallen into bad company. Heyer deftly resolved these plot threads with a great deal of sparkling humor. Dysart, in fact, helps Nell out of her difficulties in ways she never expected.

Once again, Heyer's characterizations were one of the best things about the novel. Even when the characters exasperated me, I sympathized with them. They were all likable despite their many flaws. Heyer's characters are so vivid, they seem to live on after I have reached the final page.

My favorite minor character was a cousin of Letty's who helped her and her beau meet and make plans behind Giles's back. The cousin, Selina, imagined herself as the heroine of a Gothic novel, complete with melodramatic dialogue. Her scenes were laugh-out-loud funny (even my husband thought so when I read one aloud to him.)

My grade for April Lady: A-

This novel was packed with Regency slang. I'm getting much better at figuring out what these phrases mean in the context of the story. Here are some of them:

Plant a facer: Punch in the face

Cents per cent: Moneylenders

High in the instep: Haughty, proud

Never have a feather to fly with: To never have any money

Banbury tales: Wild stories, tall tales

Cream-pot love: Pretending to love someone in order to get something from them
Hell: Gaming establishment outside of the elite gentleman's clubs that might take advantage of inexperienced players

Crim.cons: Extramarital liaisons

Loose in the haft: Used to describe a man who cannot be depended on, has many vices & little respect for propriety

Pluck to the backbone: Brave

Foxed, top-heavy: Drunk

Arabella by Georgette Heyer

2009-08-24T18:02:00.008-06:00

It’s official: I love Georgette Heyer. I just finished another of her Regency romances, Arabella, and was once again enchanted by her lovingly drawn characters, witty and entertaining plots, brilliant dialogue and painstaking depictions of Regency life. I even enjoyed getting on the computer every couple of chapters to look up Heyer's many colorful, often baffling, Regency expressions (although I grumbled good-naturedly to my husband about it.)

Heyer’s Cinderella story concerns the London debut of Arabella, the beautiful daughter of a Yorkshire vicar of modest means. Arabella’s titled godmother has agreed to sponsor her during the Season, and if Arabella can attract a proposal from a well-to-do bachelor, she might be able to give her seven siblings a more comfortable start in life. I could not help loving Arabella from the very first chapter. She was just so ADORABLE, with her naivety, lack of town polish and habit of getting herself into scrapes whenever her anger was aroused.

Arabella’s carriage breaks down en route to London outside of a hunting lodge belonging to Mr. Beaumaris, the “Nonpareil,” as he is known in society circles. Mr. Beaumaris is the man everyone in London imitates (he starts a dandelion craze when he wears one in his buttonhole for three days straight.) He is THE arbiter of fashion and good taste, able to launch a debutante into a brilliant Season simply by smiling at her, or to make her a wallflower if he turns his back. He is also fabulously wealthy, quite jaded and very, very bored.

When Arabella overhears Mr. Beaumaris speculating she is another scheming girl after him for his wealth, she invents a wild story (with the help of too many glasses of champagne) that she is herself a great heiress and thus uninterested in his fortune. When she arrives in London, she finds to her dismay the story has spread, and she must fight off fortune-hunting suitors of her own. Simultaneously, Mr. Beaumaris decides to amuse himself by paying a great deal of attention to Arabella, thus making her the toast of the town.

But as he gets to know this innocent, charming girl from the country, Mr. Beaumaris is surprised to find himself falling for Arabella. He is utterly enchanted by her refreshing honesty, her strong character and her determination to do what she knows is right, no matter what society might think. Before long, he is going to any lengths to win her esteem: for example, taking in and finding a trade for an ill-favored chimney sweep’s apprentice whom Arabella rescues from an abusive master. (Her incandescent rage when she confronts the cruel sweep and frightens him into giving up the boy is a joy to behold.)

One of the great delights of this novel was experiencing Mr. Beaumaris’s transformation from a complete cynic into a man in love, traced humorously through monologues directed at his dog, Ulysses (another charity case Arabella foists on him). The scenes between the dignified Mr. Beaumaris and the scruffy mutt were some of the best in the novel.

Arabella, meanwhile, develops her own feelings for Mr. Beaumaris, enjoying his company much more than that of any of her tiresomely persistent suitors. But how can his attention to her be any more to him than a diverting game? And how can she ever confess to him she is not rich at all? Arabella’s brother Bertram becomes the means toward solving her problems when he visits London with well-heeled friends and spends as if he too were affluent, and Arabella must devise a scheme to keep him out of debtor’s prison.

Arabella was a very satisfying read that made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. I wish Heyer had written a sequel, as I would love to see other adventures befall these delightful characters. I can’t think of any higher praise I could give to a novel. My grade: A+.

As a postscript, I just have to share some of the Regency phrases I learned from reading this novel:

To enact a Cheltenham tragedy: To make a big deal out of nothing

Coxcomb: A vain, conceited person or a fool

To gammon: To deceive someone with nonsense or humbug

Gudgeon: A person who is easily deceived or imposed upon

On dit: Gossip

Laced mutton: A woman of easy virtue

Punting on the River Tick, swallowing a spider, getting into Queer Street: To be in debt.

Regency slang is almost as much fun to learn as Shakespearean slang!

The Crimson Thread by Suzanne Weyn

2009-07-04T13:34:00.007-06:00

Bridget O'Malley and her family arrive in New York City in 1880 with little more than the clothes on their backs, hoping for a better life than what they left behind in Ireland. They struggle at first, working in sweatshop conditions and living in a dismal tenement apartment. But when opportunity knocks, in the form of Bridget's position as a seamstress in the home of textile tycoon J.P. Wellington, it seems fortune will smile on them at last.

To Bridget's dismay, her imaginative father boasts she can make dresses so spectacular, they will create a sensation and bring the Wellingtons untold riches. Bridget's skills are not equal to the task, but she has an unexpected ally. Ray Stalls, a kind but enigmatic young man from her neighborhood, practically spins straw into gold, launching Bridget into a brilliant new career and the sort of fairy-tale lifestyle she only dreamed of. Until it all unravels.

Suzanne Weyn's young-adult novel, from the "Once Upon a Time" series, is an imaginative reworking of the Brothers Grimm tale, "Rumpelstiltskin" She embroiders her story with the merest hint of magic as she relates how Bridget finds all she has ever thought she wanted and loses it, only to discover riches much more precious and lasting.

The most intriguing aspect of this fairy-tale retelling was how Weyn turned Ray Stalls into a hero rather than the villain. He is the story's most sympathetic character and Bridget's true prince, although it takes her the length of the novel to realize it. Weyn incorporated elements from the original tale - straw spun into gold thread, a quest to discover Stalls's true name -in surprising ways. Bridget was a resourceful, strong-willed character, especially when Ray Stalls vanished from the narrative for a time, leaving her to her own devices.

Weyn portrayed the prejudice many immigrants had to overcome in order to succeed in the New World. She also explored the working conditions of the Industrial Revolution, showing how tycoons built their wealth on the backs of poorly paid employees, and examined the beginnings of labor movements and unionizing.

The book was not without flaws. Bridget's father was the stereotypical Irishman - hot headed and full of blarney. (At least he didn't drink). The plot relied too much on coincidence, and Weyn crammed so many important occurrences into the last 60 pages that my head spun. But I was willing to overlook these problems. It's a fairy tale, after all, with an appropriately romantic and happy ending.

My grade: B+

Caroline, the Queen by Jean Plaidy

2009-06-28T19:44:00.006-06:00

Caroline, the Queen, the third book in Jean Plaidy's Georgian Saga, opens with the death of George I, Caroline of Ansbach's tyrannical father-in-law. Finally, Caroline takes the helm of the ship of state. For years, she has honed her ability to manipulate her husband, George II, a conceited, hot-tempered, selfish little man. With the help of the astute politician Sir Robert Walpole, Caroline sets England on the course of peace and prosperity.

However, her life remains far from easy. She must constantly coddle her insecure husband and make him believe that he, not she, is the true ruler of England. Her health begins to fail as she grows older, which she must hide from George, who cannot abide his wife showing signs of illness. And she must always contend with her and Walpole's enemies at court.

Unfortunately, Caroline is not nearly as successful a mother as she is at ruling. She is estranged from her oldest son, Frederick, who remained behind in Hanover when she and George came to England. As a consequence, she has lavished all her affection on her younger boy, William, and wishes he were the eldest son and Prince of Wales. Frederick and his parents grow to despise one another, especially as George II's popularity wanes. George makes the same mistake his father made: He prefers his principality of Hanover, where he is absolute ruler, to England, where he must win the approval of Parliament.

I grew a bit impatient with Plaidy's "just the facts" prose style while reading this book, which probably means I need to take a short break before moving on to the next. She packs a lot of information into fairly compact novels, and while she gives a good overview of each reign, I sometimes wish she would spend more time describing the personalities and politics involved. The novel also seemed a bit repetitive, perhaps because George and Caroline's hatred of their son mirrored George I's hatred of them a generation before.

However, I felt I got to know the formidable Caroline well through the pages of this novel. She was a complicated, fiercely intelligent and steely woman and must certainly have been one of the most influential queens-consort in British history. My grade: B-.

Queen in Waiting by Jean Plaidy

2009-06-14T13:43:00.007-06:00

Queen in Waiting, the second book in Jean Plaidy's Georgian Saga, focuses on a fascinating woman, Caroline of Ansbach: wife of George Augustus of Hanover, the Princess of Wales and future Queen of England.

Caroline was a much more interesting protagonist than Sophia Dorothea, the central figure of Plaidy's previous novel, The Princess of Celle. Unlike Sophia Dorothea, Caroline was fiercely intelligent, crafty and determined not to become a victim. She knew she had only to wait for the death of her loathsome father-in-law to become the power behind the English throne.

Raised as the ward of Sophia Charlotte, sister of George Lewis of Hanover, Caroline agrees to marry George Lewis's son, George Augustus, in order to remain close to her beloved guardian. The first half of the novel shows how Caroline learns to navigate the treacherous court of Hanover, which her vindictive father-in-law rules with an iron fist, and also to make herself indispensable to her conceited, hot-tempered, childish husband (whose tantrums involve him throwing his wig to the floor and kicking it around the room.) Despite her husband's failings, Caroline develops an affection for him, especially when she discovers she can manipulate him to her way of doing things, while making him think it was his idea all along.

The novel offered a fresh perspective on Duchess Sophia of Hanover, who featured prominently in The Princess of Celle. Caroline learns from the formidable, intellectual duchess how to get her way without running afoul of men with power over her. Duchess Sophia also passes along to Caroline her fierce love for England, where the duchess hopes to rule before she dies. The granddaughter of James I, Sophia is next in line in the Protestant succession because of Queen Anne's inability to produce an heir. (The English seem unlikely to allow the Catholic son of James II to take the throne.)

The duchess dies scant weeks before Queen Anne, leaving her son, George Lewis, heir to the English throne, and George Augustus and Caroline the Prince and Princess of Wales. The rest of the book details how the couple strive to ingratiate themselves with the English people while living under George Lewis's thumb. Possibly the most unappealing monarch ever to sit on Britain's throne, George I never bothers to learn English and openly expresses his preference for his principality of Hanover. He keeps his throne with the help of wily ministers and plain dumb luck. He hates his son and daughter-in-law for their popularity with the people and heaps all the indignities he can on them, including taking Caroline's children from her care. But Caroline, a survivor, bides her time positioning herself to eventually take the throne.

I am enjoying Plaidy's portrayal of the grand Georgian soap opera. Her no-frills writing is smooth, easy to read and packed with information, although I can understand why some readers find her dull. Plaidy paid inordinate attention to minor episodes in Caroline's life (intrigues among her ladies) while glossing over larger ones (the Jacobite rebellions). However, she mostly provides an enjoyable trip through the foibles and follies of history. My grade: B

The Princess of Celle by Jean Plaidy

2009-05-28T18:29:00.015-06:00

I've managed to learn a great deal about the British monarchy from reading historical fiction, but I still have huge gaps in my knowledge when it comes to the Georgian period. (Just how did a bunch of Germans end up on England's throne, anyway?) I have been wanting to read more of Jean Plaidy's novels, so I decided to start on her Georgian saga. These 11 books begin with the story of Prince George Lewis of Hanover, later George I, and continue through the early life of Queen Victoria.

The Princess of Celle actually takes place almost entirely in Germany, with scant coverage of George I's English reign. No matter. The story of the family of German dukes who eventually produced the English heir was fascinating enough in its own right. The novel is a sprawling, absorbing family saga which chiefly tells the tale of how Sophia Dorothea came to marry her coarse, vindictive cousin George Lewis and eventually was imprisoned by him for 30 years.

The events of the book revolve around four women:

Duchess Sophia of Hanover - Mother of George Lewis and cousin to Charles II of England, she is an intensely practical woman with fixed notions of how nobility should conduct itself. She ignores the affairs of her husband, Duke Ernest Augustus, as long as she reigns supreme at their court. However, she never forgets how Ernest's brother, George William, her original betrothed, spurned her, giving up his birthright and inheritance to Ernest if he married her in George William's place. Because of that rejection, she harbors an irrational dislike of George William's beloved duchess, Eleonore, and of her daughter, Sophia Dorothea.
Eleonore d'Olbreuse - A French noblewoman with whom George William unexpectedly falls in love after committing himself to a life of bachelorhood. She causes George William to regret his rash promise to his brother that he would never marry or have children to claim his lands and titles. She works tirelessly for the interests and happy future of their only child, Sophia Dorothea, the Princess of Celle.
Clara von Platen - Ernest Augustus's scheming mistress who endlessly plots against Sophia Dorothea, first to put the girl's dowry in her lover's hands and then to ruin her utterly because Sophia loves a man Clara desires, Count Konigsmarck of Sweden.
Sophia Dorothea - The beautiful, pampered daughter of George William and Eleonore whose life takes a tragic turn when she is forced to marry her despised cousin George Lewis.

The first half of the book focuses on the brothers George William and Ernest Augustus, who shared adventures in their youth traveling around Europe and bedding beautiful women. When their older brother's wife proves barren, it falls to George William, the second eldest, to produce a heir for their family. Horrified by the idea of marriage, George William begs his younger brother to marry in his stead, promising that Ernest Augustus and his children will eventually inherit everything.

However, the brothers' relationship becomes strained when George William falls in love with Eleonore and endangers their agreement. George William also retains his dukedom of Celle, a richer province than Ernest Augustus's Hanover. Although Eleonore plans a marriage for her daughter to another German prince, Ernest Augustus, his wife Sophia and mistress Clara scheme together to persuade George William to give her to her cousin, the thoroughly disagreeable and ill-mannered George Lewis, so the wealth of Celle will eventually come to their family. George William, a weak and easily manipulated man, agrees, a decision which will have tragic consequences and lose him the love of his wife and daughter.

The book's second half focuses on how Sophia Dorothea tries to make the best of her marriage to the uncouth, philandering George Lewis. She is continually made wretched, however, by George's flaunting of his mistresses and Clara's constant scheming. Clara is a thoroughly evil character and, consequently, one of the most interesting in the book. I wish Plaidy had told more of the story from her point of view and explored her motives in more depth. Clara is like the wicked stepmother in Snow White - she wants everyone to consider her "the fairest one of all." Sophia Dorothea's youth, beauty and charm all threaten her. When Sophia falls in love with Count Konigsmarck, a man Clara desires, the princess's fate is sealed.

Sophia is the weakest of the book's primary female characters because of her impossible position. Her story serves to highlight how miserable life could be for noblewomen in unhappy marriages - their husbands could philander at will, but if they took lovers, they risked losing everything. Her sheltered childhood left her utterly incapable of dealing with the cunning plots of others, and her happiness with Count Konigsmarck could not be anything but short-lived. I felt sorry for her throughout the book as I knew her story would have a tragic ending.

Plaidy's prose became a bit dry at times, and I felt she rushed through the last quarter of the book, but the novel was an absorbing read overall that made me want to continue to the next in the series. My grade: B

Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn

2009-03-30T12:55:00.013-06:00

Sigh. I absolutely loved Silent on the Moor. I think I savored it all the more knowing it will be the last book for awhile in this wonderful Victorian mystery series. Deanna Raybourn is finishing a standalone novel before returning to Lady Julia's adventures. She tied up so many loose ends in Silent on the Moor, it would make a fitting conclusion to a trilogy should she so choose. In particular, the question of whether Julia and Nicholas Brisbane will finally be together - overcoming his secretiveness, her impetuosity and their stubborness - is at last resolved. Don't get me wrong, however. I very much want Raybourn to write more about this fascinating duo!

Determined once and for all to discover Brisbane's intentions toward her, Julia follows him to the Yorkshire moors, where he has recently acquired a crumbling manor house. The former owners of Grimsgrave, the Allenbys, are a fiercely proud family claiming descent from Saxon kings. However, Lady Allenby and her two daughters, Ailith and Hilda, are now virtually peniless. Redwall Allenby, the last male heir, squandered the family's fortune on his collection of Egyptian antiquities before his untimely death.

The visitors - Julia, her sister Portia and brother Valerius - live uneasily alongside the unhappy Allenbys and a brooding Brisbane. When she decides to catalog the pieces in Redwall's collection, Julia discovers the Allenbys have plenty of skeletons (and mummies) stacked in their closets. What's more, Brisbane's fate seems mysteriously entwined with that of the Allenbys. Julia is convinced Brisbane loves her, but he continues to push her away for unfathomable reasons. She cannot control her curiosity, of course, and as she unravels the tangled threads of the Allenbys' secrets, she comes closer and closer to discovering a horror deeper than anything she has faced before.

Silent on the Moor was the perfect book to read on a chilly afternoon with the wind howling outside, perhaps with a steaming cup of tea at hand. Raybourn knows how to keep me turning pages by revealing just enough information at the right times. She built an almost unbearable level of suspense throughout the novel; I could not read fast enough. I longed to discover at last the dark past tormenting Brisbane. I had to know if he and Julia would find happiness together or be consumed by the dark mysteries of Grimsgrave.

Raybourn has a wonderful gift for creating characters. Even minor characters (and even the pets) had their own fully realized personalities. Raybourn skillfully reveals the inner workings of each character through their actions, reactions and dialogue. The Allenbys were everything a reader could want a mysterious family in a Gothic thriller to be. None of them turned out to be what they seemed at first glance.

The novel's ending was quite satisfying, and if everything was resolved just a little too perfectly to be quite believable, I did not care. It was a delight to see things turn out so well for characters who certainly deserved it. When Raybourn returns to Julia and Brisbane's world, I will willingly follow wherever she leads, even to the ends of the earth in a white petticoat.

My grade: A+

Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn

2009-03-26T16:25:00.012-06:00

Silent in the Sanctuary, the second book in Deanna Raybourn's Victorian mystery series, built on the strengths of its predecessor. Raybourn created a vivid, intricate plot populated with well-rounded, believable characters. She allowed her readers to peek at the darkness festering beneath the veneer of Victorian propriety and allowed her appealing heroine, Lady Julia Grey, to develop fully as a headstrong, independent woman.

Recuperating in Italy after nearly losing her life at the end of Silent in the Grave, Julia is summoned home for Christmas along with her brothers, Plum and Lysander, and Lysander's fiery new bride, Violante. Accompanying the siblings is Alessandro, a young, dashing Italian gentleman with an obvious romantic interest in Julia.

Julia, however, still carries a torch for the handsome, enigmatic Nicholas Brisbane, the inquiry agent who helped her unmask her husband's killer. Despite the sparks that ignited between them, she has not heard from Nicholas in months. To her dismay, she finds him among her father's houseguests at the family's ancestral estate, accompanied by his new fiancee, Charlotte King.

Also among the guests are Julia's unconventional sister, Portia; their impoverished cousins, Emma and Lucy; Sir Cedric Eastley, Lucy's much older fiance; Henry Ludlow, Cedric's cousin and secretary; Lucian Snow, a lecherous village curate; and Aunt Dorcas, an opinionated, cantankerous old woman.

As a blizzard buries the estate, intrigues abound among the guests, as Lucian is found bludgeoned to death on the floor of the chapel, and Lucy claims responsibility for the murder. Lucy and Emma are poisoned, Aunt Dorcas vanishes, Julia's priceless pearls are stolen and a ghost wanders the dark hallways. Julia puts her agile mind to the task of unraveling these mysteries before the snow clears and the family is exposed to scandal.

Raybourn once again managed a complicated plot with nary a misstep, drawing me completely into the story and into the larger tale of Julia becoming her own woman, beholden to no one and demanding Brisbane treat her as an equal. I also enjoyed the opportunity to get to know better some of the members of Julia's large, unconventional family.

Silent in the Sanctuary was my third and final read for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. My grade: A.

March reading

2009-03-03T12:11:00.006-07:00

February was not a good reading month for me ... so bring on March! I have a stack of books set aside in the bedroom that I can't wait to dive into.
A new blog, Royal Intrigue, has just appeared to celebrate the writings of Jean Plaidy. The blog authors are sponsoring a 2009 Plaidy challenge. I put the banner on my sidebar to remind myself to read some more Plaidy in the months ahead.

I'll be back with more reviews as soon as I get some reading done!

A Crowning Mercy by Bernard Cornwell & Susannah Kells

2009-02-03T14:53:00.003-07:00

I waited far too long to read another Bernard Cornwell novel after devouring his Arthurian trilogy in the late 90s. A Crowning Mercy (written with his wife, Judy, who used a pseudonym) was a rollicking read, filled with romance, peril and high adventure. It definitely whetted my appetite for more Cornwell!

Campion, the story's heroine, is a young woman raised in a dour family of English Puritans, who have taught her to fear a God of wrath and terrible punishment. Despite their strictures, Campion believes in her heart in a God of love and joy. Her encounter with the handsome Toby Lazender beside a stream gives her a first taste of how divine love can be, but she must face the worst of human cruelty and greed before she finds her own heaven on earth.

Campion's fate is inextricably entwined with the mysterious Covenant, symbolized by four beautiful golden seals that could unlock an inheritance of unimagined riches.

A Crowning Mercy is, at its heart, a very well written and intricately plotted adventure story, filled with despicable villains I wanted to boo and hiss and good-hearted heroes I wanted to cheer. The pages flew by as Campion faced one peril after another: a family plot to wed her to a pathetic man, a kidnapping, a siege, the death of a kind benefactor and the wounding of her true love, and a trial and near execution for witchcraft.

The novel examined deeper themes amid all the derring-do. The Cornwells explored how people sometimes use religion as a justification for fear and hatred, especially of women. The witchcraft trial scenes were harrowing and made me pity the real women and men throughout history who were falsely accused, tortured and executed. Our society may have moved beyond burning witches, but the story reminded me that such unreasoning fear and hatred, cloaked in religion's mantle, still exists today. The Cornwells also wove a thematic struggle throughout the novel between the notion of a God who delights in people's pain and a belief in a more kind, loving Creator.

The Cornwells also skillfully used the backdrop of the English Civil War to give the reader a good sense of the radical politics and religious fanaticism sweeping the country at the time.

A Crowning Mercy was my second read for the Historical Fiction Challenge and the February book of the month for the Historical Fiction forums at Paperback Swap. I thorougly enjoyed this novel and closed it with a sigh of regret that I had to leave its captivating world behind. Bravo, Mr. and Mrs. Cornwell! My grade: A.

A Rose for the Crown by Anne Easter Smith

2009-01-25T22:33:00.007-07:00

History records Richard of Gloucester (later King Richard III) fathered at least two illegitimate children. We do not know their mother's identity. Anne Easter Smith has imagined her as Kate Haute, Richard's first love, to whom he was faithful until his noble birth forced him to marry another. Smith tells Richard's turbulent story through Kate's eyes in her first novel, A Rose for the Crown.

Kate spends her earliest years on a humble farm until one of her mother's relatives takes her to his manor as a companion for his daughter. She tolerates her first, arranged marriage to a much older man, a prosperous merchant, who soon leaves her a wealthy widow. Kate then marries her dashing cousin George for love - or so she thinks. George wants her only for her money and prefers the company of the stable boy. During a visit to her neighbors, Sir John and Margaret Howard, loyal supporters of the house of York, Kate begins a passionate affair with Richard of Gloucester. Richard truly loves her and his children but makes clear he will eventually have to end their relationship to marry someone of noble birth.

The novel had its flaws but was an enjoyable and intriguing read overall. It kept my attention for all of its 600-plus pages, which is no mean feat, especially for a first-time novelist. Smith's writing was smooth and for the most part well paced, and the pages flew by despite the book's length.

Smith was best at evoking the textures of late medieval England - the clothes, the rich tapestries, the food, the music - as well as less pleasant realities of life - sickness, the stench of towns, the fleas and lice that plagued everyone. Her characters were well drawn and true to the times in which they lived. Kate and Richard's romance was sweet without being cloying, and Kate's domestic life, whether visiting Richard in a palace or playing with her children in her cozy cottage, was lovingly described.

Unfortunately, Kate was something of a "Mary Sue." She was far too perfect to be totally believable. Even her supposed flaws - outspokenness and stubbornness - endeared people to her. Most everyone in the novel just loved her, even when she should have made them angry. (The handful of characters who did not love her were the obvious, one-dimensional villains.) Richard, too, was portrayed as the perfect, chivalrous lord. Smith didn't have to turn him into Shakespeare's hunchbacked murderer, but a realistically flawed Richard would have made her story more believable and interesting.

Also, Smith tried to cram too much history into the novel's last 100 pages, which covered all the events from Edward IV's death to Richard's defeat on Bosworth Field. She skimmed over the juiciest parts of Richard's story and only mentioned in passing important characters such as the Duke of Buckingham, Margaret Beaufort and the Stanleys. Henry Tudor wasn't developed at all and the reader given scant information about why he invaded England to take the crown. I was disappointed Smith hurried through the climactic events of Richard's life. But overall, I enjoyed the story enough to eventually try another by this author.

A Rose for the Crown was my first read for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. My grade: B.

Sky Coyote by Kage Baker

2009-01-15T23:46:00.007-07:00

Sky Coyote, the second novel in The Company series by Kage Baker, was a better read than the first. Baker seemed to find her feet as a writer, spinning a witty, satirical tale of how the operative Joseph saves a Chumash Indian village from encroaching white settlers.

Joseph has worked for The Company for 20,000 years, ever since he was recruited from a prehistoric European tribe. After a brief stay at a Company spa in the Mayan jungle, Joseph is sent to California in 1700, where he must convince the entire population of a seaside village to follow him into a Company enclave. (The Company's agents rescue works of art, rare plants and animals and cultural artifacts from destruction by humankind, so The Company can "rediscover" them in the future for its rich clients.)

Mendoza, the operative Joseph recruited in 16th-Century Spain, joins the California mission. (And yes, she's still bitter about how her last assignment with Joseph, in Tudor England, turned out.) However, the story focuses mainly on Joseph, describing his interactions with the Chumash while revealing his background and the doubts in his mind after centuries of service to The Company.

Joseph describes himself as having "a keen appreciation of the ludicrous." His wry, world-weary sense of humor colors the novel as he describes his efforts to lure the Chumash to the "sky canoes" that will take them to a new paradise. To facilitate his mission, Company technicians use implants, makeup and prosthetics to transform him into Sky Coyote, a Chumash trickster deity.

Baker wrote conversations between Joseph and the Chumash in modern idiom. At first, I thought it sounded odd and wasn't sure I liked it. But Baker soon had me chuckling with the wittiness of her dialogue. Her funny scenes gave me a sense of Chumash culture while reminding me humans have had the same flaws and foibles throughout history.

(For example, one scene had the tribe's holy men arguing heatedly with each other about how to interpret their deity's every word and action. Another had the village's tradesmen asking Coyote whether the gods might be interested in their merchandise.)

The Chumash remind Joseph of his own, long-vanished tribe as he reflects on his life as an operative. He and many of the other immortals are no longer sure their mortal masters are the wise, benevolent architects of a better future, as they were schooled to believe. Why are the mortals who travel back in time so narrow-minded and fearful? Why have some operatives disappeared after apparently outliving their usefulness to The Company? And why does the historical knowledge given to operatives end with the year 2355?

Baker's stories do require much suspension of disbelief, which I found easier with this second novel than I did with the first. Very little is revealed about how time travel works, or how exactly The Company makes certain select humans immortal. The Company's futuristic infrastructure operates alongside less advanced human societies, without humans ever becoming aware of it. (Could they really keep it all hidden for millennia?) What's more, some mortals, like the Chumash, become employees of The Company, somehow adapting to an utterly alien way of life even though they have no cultural or technological context for it.

Sky Coyote occasionally stretched my credulity a little thin. However, I enjoyed the story enough to put my quibbles aside. The novel was good enough to make me want to read further in the series, but not so good that I'm compelled to read the remaining books right away. I plan to take a break for other reading before I pick up the next Company novel.

My grade for Sky Coyote: B+

In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker

2009-01-08T15:02:00.015-07:00

I just finished reading In the Garden of Iden for Carl's 2009 Sci-Fi Experience, and it was an intriguing if somewhat frustrating experience, to say the least. It's definitely one of the more unique stories I've read in awhile.

The premise is terrific. A few hundred years into the future, a global conglomerate, Dr. Zeus, Inc. (known as The Company) has invented time travel. Its agents turn children from different historical periods into immortal cyborgs and trains them to act as The Company's operatives. These immortals collect old manuscripts, works of art and rare plants and animals that otherwise would be lost or go extinct. The Company produces these "rediscovered" treasures at appropriate times ... for a price.

The botanist Mendoza is one such operative, rescued from the dungeons of the Spanish Inquisition. Like other agents, she believes her work will ultimately benefit humankind by saving mortals from their own destructive tendencies. She has little regard for humans, perceiving them as violent, unreasonable apes.

I flew through the first third of the novel, which introduced Mendoza and her associates and revealed a little of The Company's methods for creating operatives. Part human and part machine, operatives have heightened senses, lightning-fast reflexes and the ability to heal rapidly, as well as centuries-worth of knowledge.

At age 19, Mendoza receives her first Company assignment. She, her mentor, Joseph, and another operative are sent to Mary Tudor's England to collect samples of rare plants from the garden of Sir Walter Iden, a country gentleman.

Unfortunately, the plot slowed to a crawl once the group arrived at Iden's garden. At the country manor, Mendoza falls in love with Nicholas Harpole, Iden's secretary, an idealistic young man with heretical beliefs not at all welcome in Bloody Mary's England. Their relationship gives Mendoza a new perspective on mortals and eventually leads to her questioning much of what The Company has taught her.

The problem with this portion of the book was that very little happened. Mendoza and Nicholas simply roamed the garden (when they weren't having sex) for page after page, conversing earnestly about God, spirituality and the human condition. Their discourse was so tangled, I had trouble making sense of it. I still haven't quite figured out Nicholas's religious philosophy. It certainly wasn't quite Protestant, or Catholic, or any other creed I recognize from that time. (And I've read a lot about Tudor England.)

I have enjoyed other novels that wrestle with theological concepts. Kage Baker just didn't present them in a way that was enjoyable for me to read. I found my eyes glazing over whenever Mendoza and Nicholas had one of their "chats."

However, I'll admit it was refreshing to have two characters fall in love with one another chiefly for their minds, rather than because they matched some ideal of physical attractiveness. And I liked how Baker described their physical intimacy - joyful, playful and as natural as breathing.

Also, Baker has a knack for writing scenes filled with sly wit and dark humor. A few of these scenes kept this section of the novel from being completely tedious. I also chuckled at how the operatives enjoyed modern conveniences in secret. (For example, the group has a radio disguised to look like a reliquary, and they listen to other agents doing live broadcasts of historical events.)

After reading the first 200 pages, I didn't know if I wanted to continue with The Company series. But then, the plot fired up again, beginning with a humorous section on Iden's Christmas revels and the operatives' reactions to them. Right after that, Iden makes a surprising decision, and at the same time, Queen Mary begins burning Protestant heretics. The Company's mission is endangered, while Mendoza, fearing for her lover's life, frantically tries to find a way to save him. The novel's climax was quite dramatic and thought-provoking, and the epilogue left me wanting to follow Mendoza and Joseph to their next mission.

Without its sagging middle section, this would have been a very good novel. In the end, it did intrigue me more than it frustrated me, so I will continue with the series for now. My grade for In the Garden of Iden: B-

Charity Girl by Georgette Heyer

2009-01-03T21:01:00.008-07:00

I enjoyed The Grand Sophy so much, I had to try another novel by Georgette Heyer. Charity Girl, the story of a penniless orphan and her would-be rescuer, did not disappoint. It wasn't as good as The Grand Sophy but was still an enjoyable read, populated by idiosyncratic characters and filled with tantalizing details about Regency life.

It's to Heyer's credit she managed to take a formulaic premise for a novel and make something out of it, while springing a few surprises on the reader along the way.

Viscount Ashley Desford, known as a man-about-town but who has kind intentions and a good heart, encounters Charity (Cherry) Steane on the road to London. Cherry is running away from her cruel aunt and cousins, who have treated her as a drudge. She hopes her irascible grandfather will have pity on her and give her a home long enough for her to find some way to earn her own keep.

Ashley gives the young woman a ride to London, but when they find her grandfather has left town, all sorts of comic complications arise. Ashley must decide how to give Cherry some sort of respectable future while guarding her reputation, and his own, from gossip, as their unchaperoned journey has given rise to rumors he has less than honorable intentions toward her. Adding to his troubles is the fact that Cherry is the daughter of a disreputable man treated as a pariah by those in high society.

While Ashley searches for Cherry's grandfather, he leaves Cherry in the care of his dearest friend, Henrietta Silverdale. Henrietta's hypochondriac mother and a pair of jealous servants bring new dilemmas to Cherry and Ashley's lives. Everything comes to a head when Cherry's father, thought dead, re-enters her life with schemes to wring money or a marriage proposal out of Ashley. But all ends well, of course, with two characters discovering a long-delayed happily-ever-after.

Heyer has a gift for creating engaging, believable characters whose voices I can hear while I read and who make me chuckle with their all-too-human foibles. Her light, engaging prose carries me easily through her stories and into a bygone world of handsome gentlemen, fashionable ladies and genteel manners.

I just wish I had some sort of Regency glossary to consult while I read. Charity Girl was peppered with period slang I could only sometimes decipher from context. It was especially frustrating during conversations between young, single gentlemen speaking of their amorous adventures. I felt like a child listening in on an adult conversation I could only half understand!

My grade for Charity Girl: B+

It's 2009! Time for new reading challenges.

2009-01-01T15:34:00.008-07:00

It's a brand-new year! A clean slate. I can put aside the disappointing reading year I just had and start fresh. I'm proud to say I'm already halfway through my first read of 2009! (It's only 250 pages, but still ...)

I have until Monday before I return to work, and the extra free time is really helping me to jump-start my reading. My plan for the coming year is to get back into the habit of reading every day and to try to average at least one completed book a week.

If you glance at my sidebar, you'll see I've already signed up for a few reading challenges.

Carl V. at Stainless Steel Droppings is once again hosting The Sci-Fi Experience from Jan. 1st through Feb. 28. He is encouraging readers to explore the world of science fiction, with no pre-determined goals or book requirements. In that spirit, I will not post a list of science-fiction books I hope to read. We'll see where the next two months take me. However, I am eyeing (to start) two novels focused on time-travel. These will dovetail nicely with a second challenge I am participating in: the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge hosted by Royal Reviews. I could not resist a challenge focused on my favorite genre (and look at that sexy challenge button!)

The challenge is to read three historical fiction books between Jan. 1 and March 31. Again, I won't post a reading list. (I've found I do better with challenges if I just read where my mood takes me.) One of my books for this challenge will probably be A Rose for the Crown by Anne Easter Smith, which is the Book-of-the-Month reading selection of the Historical Fiction group at Paperback Swap. I'm hoping to complete it so I can participate in the discussion on the forums.

That's it for now! Can you tell I'm excited to begin a new year of reading?

My 2008 reading

2008-12-30T23:07:00.010-07:00

I didn't have nearly as good a reading year in 2008 as I had hoped. I finished just 14 books - not even half of my 2007 total. Most of my reading came in spurts - in March, July and the final four months of the year. I picked up a lot of books that I just could not finish. My attention wandered, or the books themselves were not that good.

I have plans to help myself refocus on reading in 2009, including joining a couple of challenges I'm anxious to start.

Of those books I did finish, I enjoyed the vast majority of them immensely. I finished only one book I truly despised: The Sixth Wife by Suzannah Dunn, which turned Katherine Parr's story into a piece of really bad chick lit.

The best book I read all year was Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz - a wonderful collection of children's monologues that took me back in time to the Middle Ages. Other favorites include Ariana Franklin's two historical thrillers, Mistress of the Art of Death and The Serpent's Tale, and Georgette Heyer's sparkling Regency romance, The Grand Sophy.

Read in 2008:

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz
Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn
The Sixth Wife by Suzannah Dunn
The Bad Seed by William March
The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
My Lady of Cleves by Margaret Campbell Barnes
The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen
A Stir of Bones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
The Ghost Writer by John Harwood
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

2008-12-30T21:52:00.004-07:00

Georgette Heyer's Regency romance, The Grand Sophy, a novel bubbling over with mirth, was just what I needed to shake me out of my recent reading doldrums. I thoroughly enjoyed the hours I spent in the company of the irrepressible heroine, Sophy Stanton-Lacy, and her relatives and acquaintances.

I had never before read a Heyer novel, as I typically shy away from anything labeled a "romance." (This one even had the Harlequin logo on the cover!) But after seeing glowing reviews of her novels posted at Historical Tapestry and other blogs, I decided to give her a try, and I'm so glad I did! Her prose was witty and sparkling, her plot deftly spun and her characters mostly endearing. (Those who were not at least made me chuckle!)

A pall of gloom has settled over the Ombersley household. Charles Rivenhall, the eldest son, has used a large inheritance to bring his family from the brink of financial ruin (caused by his father's gambling debts). Consumed with worry over the future of his siblings, he has become joyless and humorless and - worse - has gotten himself engaged to Miss Eugenia Wraxton, an intolerably prim and proper young lady who never hesitates to let others know of her breeding and virtue.

As if that weren't enough, Charles's sister, Cecilia, is infatuated with a handsome poet who writes very bad verse and is a dead bore, to boot. Her romantic notions have blinded her to the virtues of a much worthier man who not only has money and position, but truly loves her. And younger son, Hubert, has gotten himself into financial trouble, which he naively hopes to rectify by betting on horses.

Into this mess storms cousin Sophy, with her unconventional forthrightness, boundless energy and determination to set everything to rights. Arriving for an extended stay after her father goes to Brazil on a diplomatic mission, Sophy immediately takes the measure of each family member. She has a kind heart, a keen intelligence and a gift for manipulation, and she uses these traits to nudge her relatives toward what she knows will make them happy (even if they have not realized it themselves). Charles is offended by her unconventional ways and frequently clashes with her, but Sophy refuses to back down, and despite his claims of intense dislike for her, a spark soon ignites between the two.

Sophy always stays one step ahead of Charles as he desperately tries to rein her in, but in the end, she finally meets her match in him. All is resolved in a perfectly choreographed scene, with each major character arriving at an Elizabethan country manor and pairing off with the right person.

Heyer sketched the personality of her characters with crackling dialogue. I could hear their voices in my head and predict how each character would react in different situations. The plot moved at a brisk pace and never got bogged down. I always enjoyed returning to Sophy's world and discovering what she would do next.

If Heyer's other novels are half as much fun to read as this one, I will have found a writer to treasure. My grade: A.

R.I.P. Challenge Review: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

2008-10-29T16:07:00.011-06:00

Strange characters living alone in old houses, guarding dark family secrets, are a staple of horror literature. In We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson shows us what it might be like to live with some of those creepy characters. This novel was a deliciously unsettling read, with terrors originating not from any supernatural phenomena, but from within the human heart.

Merricat Blackwood, her sister Constance and Uncle Julian live on the family estate behind locked gates. Six years before the story begins, four other Blackwoods died from eating blackberries sprinkled with arsenic-tainted sugar. Uncle Julian survived the poisoning with ruined health. Merricat had been sent to her room that evening without supper. Constance cooked the meal but never ate berries. Constance was tried for the murders but acquitted. Uncle Julian and Constance keep to the house and garden, while Merricat braves the stares and whispers of the hostile villagers twice a week to get groceries and library books.

Jackson’s words create the perfect macabre mood as she slowly reveals more about the surviving Blackwoods, their lives and the family’s past. The characters are wonderfully eccentric and totally believable. Uncle Julian constantly relives the day of the murders, pouring over old newspaper clippings and making copious notes on his own recollections. Constance cooks, gardens and cares for Uncle Julian, seemingly content. Merricat, our narrator, is 18 but behaves like a child in many ways. She buries small valuables around the property and insists on perfect adherence to order and routine, imagining she can conjure up magic to keep the three of them safe.

The reader gradually discovers Merricat is more sinister than she seems at first, and something is not quite right about the surviving family members (beyond their obvious oddities). The tense mood intensifies after Cousin Charles arrives with designs on the family fortune. Merricat resents his intrusion into her neatly ordered world and fears his suggestions that Constance leave the house and build a normal life for herself. Merricat attempts to drive Charles away, and Charles threatens her whenever Constance and Uncle Julian are out of earshot.

By the time Jackson reveals who put arsenic in the sugar bowl, the family is in crisis. The book’s ending compels readers to feel a strange sympathy for Constance and Merricat, driven even further into isolation and surviving the only way they know how.

I wanted to know more about the Blackwood family after finishing this story. Jackson dropped so many tantalizing hints about their lives before the reader meets them. I plan to obtain a nice copy of this novel for my keeper shelves, as I believe it will reward repeated readings. My grade: A.

R.I.P. Challenge Review: The Ghost Writer by John Harwood

2008-10-20T14:56:00.004-06:00

A novelist who hopes to dazzle readers with an ingenious surprise ending walks a fine line between impressing them with his cleverness or thoroughly confusing them. In my opinion, John Harwood crossed that line with his muddled denouement in The Ghost Writer (which is a shame, as the book was otherwise well-written, absorbing and spooky).

I think I have the ending pieced together, but I had to read an online discussion of the novel to figure out exactly what happened. I also looked at several reviews and found I was not the only reader scratching my head.

I enjoy it when authors leave something to the reader’s imagination, but deciphering Harwood's ending was too much like work, with few clues offered to fill the holes in the plot. After a superb buildup, the ending seemed truncated. If any book ever screamed for an epilogue, this one did.

The novel is narrated by Gerard, an introverted librarian living in Australia. Gerard grows up under the thumb of his domineering, overly fearful mother, who insists she is protecting him from some unknown danger. Gerard’s only happy memories of his mother are of her stories about her idyllic childhood in the English countryside. But after she catches him snooping in her bedroom dresser, her stories abruptly cease.

Gerard’s only friend is his English pen pal, Alice, with whom he falls passionately in love. Alice is an orphan who uses a wheelchair after being paralyzed in a car accident. She refuses to let Gerard visit her, saying she does not want him to meet her until she can walk again. When Gerard’s mother dies, Gerard travels to England to find Alice and to seek the truth about his mother’s family history.

Interspersed throughout the novel are short stories written by Gerard’s great-grandmother, Viola, which Gerard keeps discovering. These stories were truly creepy. Written in a distinctive voice quite different from Gerard's, they successfully evoked Victorian Gothic tales. Viola’s stories were my favorite parts of the novel (although one of them, the longest and potentially most intriguing of all, was left unfinished.)

Harwood excelled at creating atmosphere. The entire book had the feeling of an old-fashioned ghost story from the 18th or 19th century, despite its modern-day setting. (The atmosphere was so effective, it was jarring to encounter references to airplanes, computers and e-mail.)

Alert readers will figure out that Alice is not who she says she is, and that Gerard’s mother has plenty of family skeletons in her closet, long before the hapless narrator does. Often, Gerard seemed too credulous, even for a sheltered, unsociable man. However, Harwood created plenty of palpable suspense. I longed for Gerard to untangle all the mysteries and was quite disappointed in the end.

If Harwood learns to better handle his endings, he will be a writer to watch. His new novel, The Séance, comes out next February.

My grade: B-

R.I.P Challenge Review: A Stir of Bones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

2008-09-22T22:32:00.014-06:00

In Nina Kiriki Hoffman's novel, young Susan discovers freedom, friendship and trust ... in a haunted house.

Her own home is a true house of horrors. Susan's rigid, authoritarian father demands she live up to his notions of perfection. When she falls short, he punishes her by hurting her mother.

To survive, Susan has learned not to feel, and not to give others any indication of what happens in her home. She learns about who she really is on the inside, and finds out what it means to have friends, after she accompanies three other children on an expedition to a haunted house.

I thoroughly enjoyed this unusual ghost story, my first read for Carl V.'s R.I.P. Challenge. Hoffman skillfully contrasted the elements of a haunting tale - a decaying old house, a resident ghost, strange rituals in the attic - with the real-life perils of a child growing up in an abusive home. My heart ached for Susan throughout the book, as she slowly learned to trust others and to hold onto her authentic self, despite her father's attempts to mold her into his perfect "Princess."

Susan's new friends included Nathan, a ghost who died at about her age, and the haunted house itself. To Susan, House is a living, breathing entity with feelings and a mind of its own. House welcomes Susan and the other three living children, allowing them to use its rooms as a sort of sanctuary, a place to explore their passions and to share their secrets.

Hoffman's writing had the quality of a vivid dream. It painted pictures in my mind as I read: of Susan's oceanside town, of House, pulsing with life and love, and of Susan, desperately struggling against her own fears while reaching for the things everyone wants: friends, acceptance, a place to call her own.

My only quibble with the book was I wished it was longer. I wanted to know more about Susan's empathic relationship with House, about Nathan's life, even about how Susan's father became so twisted inside. A Stir of Bones is a prequel to two other novels by Hoffman, featuring many of the same characters, that I hope to read soon.

My grade: A

A time to imbibe peril

2008-09-18T12:40:00.020-06:00

Wow.

Just look at that banner.

I think that's the coolest banner I've ever seen for a reading challenge.

It doesn't hurt that Jack Skellington is one of my favorite movie characters of all time, or that I love to read spooky stories at this time of year.

How can I resist joining Carl V's annual R.I.P. (R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril) Challenge?

In exploring the world of reading challenges this year, I discovered I am miserable at sticking to a predetermined list of books. I want to read where my whimsy takes me, and a reading list feels like a chore.

So I loved Carl's suggestion to post a "pool" of potential R.I.P. books to give myself a place to start, but to feel free to deviate from the list. I think I'll use that approach with any reading challenges I join from now on.

I will be embarking on ...

... for which I will read four shivery stories.

A quick look at Mount TBR revealed many perilous tales to choose from:

1. Dracula by Bram Stoker

2. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

3. A Stir of Bones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

4. Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle

5. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

6. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

7. Coraline by Neil Gaiman

8. The Ghost Writer by John Harwood

Those of us participating in the challenge will post links to our reviews on an R.I.P. blog.

I have already started reading my first book for the challenge, but which book is a secret ... for now. A secret hidden in the darkest, dustiest, forgotten corner of the attic, in an ancient leather chest covered by cobwebs and secured by a rusty padlock ...

As you can see, I'm getting in the spirit!

Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

2008-09-03T12:47:00.014-06:00

I had hoped for a bit more wit and sparkle from this mystery novel, set among British aristocrats in 1932. (Just look at that cover. I can't resist an eye-catching cover like that.)

Unfortunately, Her Royal Spyness was just an average read (so I'll give it a C grade). It was diverting enough when I picked it up in idle moments, but the story didn't leave me in any hurry to get back to it.

Lady Georgiana, one of innumerable royal relatives and 34th in line for the British throne, fears her family intends to marry her off to a tedious, fish-faced foreign prince. She bolts for London, where she intends to make her own way, but without servants, she is left to muddle through tasks such as lighting a boiler and preparing meals. (Baked beans on toast are all she can manage.)

The book didn't really succeed as a mystery. The body of a French gambler appears in Georgie's bath about halfway through, but the novel did not focus on the murder until its final third. Instead, most of the story concerned Georgie's efforts to provide for herself and the endless round of parties among those of her social set.

Georgie decides to do light housecleaning for aristocrats needing their London homes "freshened." Because honest work is considered beneath those of Georgie's class (even those who are penniless) she runs the risk of scandal if she bumps into any of her clients at social events. Bowen played this situation for laughs, but I thought the novel could have been much funnier if the author had viewed her characters with a more satirical, rather than sympathetic, eye. I found it hard to muster up much sympathy for whiny aristocrats with no practical skills or productive ways to spend their time.

The book also featured an utterly typical romance, with Georgie falling for a handsome, not-quite-suitable rogue who might or might not be trouble.

This plot had the necessary elements for an enjoyable social comedy, but without sharp authorial wit, it fell rather flat. Bowen was way too easy on her characters when she should have skewered them. A Royal Spyness was really just another ho-hum story about a plucky, determined heroine living by her wits, with little to distinguish it from other variations on this theme.

(To reiterate) My grade: C

The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin

2008-08-10T15:11:00.014-06:00

Rosemund Clifford, beloved mistress of Henry II, lies dead in her tower, a victim of poisoning. Because of traitorous letters she wrote to Eleanor of Aquitaine, and because Henry believes his queen responsible for her death, war threatens to break out between them. Desperate to prevent this, Henry's loyal bishop, Rowley Picot, summons Adelia Aguilar, mistress of the art of death, to investigate.

Adelia travels with Rowley to Rosemund's tower, surrounded by an intricate hedge maze, where her investigation is interrupted by Eleanor herself, who plans to join rebel forces in nearby Oxford. Caught in a terrifying blizzard, the queen, her mercenaries and Adelia find their way to Godstow Abbey, where more murders occur. Adelia must discover how the murders are related and find the killers before civil war breaks out in England.

I really enjoyed Mistress of the Art of Death, Ariana Franklin's first medieval thriller featuring Adelia Aguilar. The sequel was even better - an intricately plotted, intriguing story filled with excitement, horror, pathos and wonderful characters.

For Adelia and for all of England, the stakes are much higher in her second adventure. The country once again faces the horror of monarch fighting monarch, and people fear they will suffer as they did during the war between King Stephen and Matilda, Henry II's mother.

Into this tale of politics and dynastic ambitions, Franklin wove a secondary theme: The limitations imposed on women in medieval society, from merchant's daughters to queens. Emma, a ward of the convent, is forced to marry against her will, while Adelia is labeled both a whore and a witch. Adelia is torn by inner turmoil, as her desire to see justice done for the dead wars with her desperation to keep her baby daughter safe. Her relationship with Rowley (who is now sworn to chastity) gains unexpected depths as they face danger together.

I don't want to say more about the plot for fear of revealing too much, but I have to add the story ends with clever dialogue between Henry and Eleanor that pays tribute to the classic film, The Lion in Winter.

I hope Adelia will have many more fictional adventures. Another novel by Franklin, Grave Goods, comes out next March, according to Amazon. I am guessing it will be the third book in this promising series.

My grade: A.

My Lady of Cleves by Margaret Campbell Barnes

2008-07-27T18:21:00.011-06:00

Historians have long debated exactly what about Anne of Cleves was so distasteful to her husband, Henry VIII of England. After all, the portrait that inspired Henry to send for her as his fourth bride shows a comely enough woman - not beautiful, but pleasant to look at, with heavy-lidded eyes and a serene countenance. Yet Henry infamously proclaimed "I like her not" after meeting her and quickly obtained an annulment.

Margaret Campbell Barnes proposed an ingenious solution to this historical conundrum in her novel, My Lady of Cleves. Hans Holbein, the court painter sent to Germany to capture Anne's likeness, fell in love with her and painted what he saw: A beautiful soul who had captured his heart.

Until Holbein's arrival, Anne lived a placid, uneventful life in the duchy of Cleves. Anne and her family all believe Henry will pick her attractive sister, Amelia, to be his bride, and all are shocked when Henry instead sends for Anne.

Touched by Holbein's exquisite miniature of her, and awakened to a belief in her own inner beauty, Anne returns the painter's love, but because of their differing stations in life, their passion can never be consummated.

The novel follows Anne to England where, determined to please her family by making a success of her royal marriage, she works hard to learn the English language and court customs. After her rejection by Henry, she fulfills her domestic urges by becoming a trusted friend to his daughters and by efficiently managing the large income and household Henry awards her for her compliance with the annulment. Barnes shows how Anne became perhaps the luckiest of Henry's wives; not only did she keep her head, she lived out her life as an independent woman who always had a place at court as a sort of honorary Tudor.

Barnes portrayed Anne as an attractive, intelligent, practical and warm-hearted woman not deserving of the insult hurled at her by Henry of "Flanders mare." As the story progresses, Henry's nobles and finally, Henry himself, come to recognize her worth.

Barnes's novel had a warm, cozy feeling to it as it told the story of a royal wife neglected by history - not as stubborn or principled as Catherine of Aragon, nor flashy and tempestuous as Anne Boleyn, nor youthful, silly and reckless as Catherine Howard. I enjoyed the opportunity to get to know Anne of Cleves a bit better through the lens of fiction. My grade: A-

My Lady of Cleves will be republished in September.

Read-a-thon post-event survey

2008-06-29T12:23:00.005-06:00

Sorry, all! I just could not wake up enough this morning to get any more reading done during the read-a-thon. My bed was way too comfy! However, when I did get up, I grabbed My Lady of Cleves and have already read two more chapters. I may just finish it today and will post a review within a few days.

I'm a bit disappointed in my paltry page count, which averages about 28 pages per hour for 10 hours. I knew I was a slower reader, but not THAT slow! How will I ever scale Mount TBR reading that slowly? In my defense, I tore through the 120 pages of The Uncommon Reader in a bit more than 2 hours and dealt with many more distractions while reading My Lady of Cleves (including the refrigerator mishap). I also tend to get slower and slower at reading the more tired I get. I should have switched to a lighter book with larger, brighter type after I got about one-third of the way into Cleves. I'm enjoying the story, but it's just not a quick read (at least for me).

Here are my answers to the post-event survey:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? The haiku hour (Hour 16). Arranging words in my head and counting out syllables on my fingers was the only thing that kept me awake at that point (but I crashed soon after).
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I would highly recommend The Uncommon Reader. It was a great starter book. I also wish I had switched to some manga or graphic novels midway through: More pictures, fewer words!
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Has anyone ever considered doing a Read-a-thon weekend? Readers could challenge themselves to read as many hours as they could while still getting a full night's sleep. A weekend would give participants more time to visit other blogs and to participate in mini-challenges, plus a little more leeway to deal with distractions
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? The mini-challenges and prize drawings seemed to go very smoothly.
5. How many books did you read? One and a half
6. What were the names of the books you read? The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett and My Lady of Cleves by Margaret Campbell Barnes
7. Which book did you enjoy most?
8. Which did you enjoy least? Since I haven't finished Cleves, I can't answer these questions yet. I think Cleves will probably end up getting an A or A- from me, so it ranks up there with The Uncommon Reader.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I wasn't.
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I definitely want to do this again as a reader.

Thank you to Dewey and all the readers and cheerleaders for making this such a fun event! I will be spending more time at all of your blogs in the weeks to come.

Going to bed ... for now

2008-06-29T02:02:00.006-06:00

My previous post and a few visits to other blogs have used up my last reserves of concentration. I'm going to hit the sack. I'll try to be up early enough to fit in a few more hours of reading before the read-a-thon ends.

Updated stats:

Time spent reading: 10 hours

Pages read: 282

Books completed: 1

Now Reading: My Lady of Cleves by Margaret Campbell Barnes

Read-a-thon mini challenge: Haiku

2008-06-29T01:31:00.008-06:00

Dewey has challenged those of us still awake to write a limerick or haiku about one of the books we've read during the read-a-thon.

Here's my poor attempt at a haiku defining a new word I learned from The Uncommon Reader (which has, fortuitously, five syllables).

Amanuensis
Literary assistant
One who copies words

And here's one inspired by My Lady of Cleves. I know it's bad, but I can't resist.

The daughter of Cleves
Divorced, but not beheaded,
Outlived fat Henry.

Read-a-thon mid-event survey

2008-06-28T23:09:00.006-06:00

Dewey posted this survey in Hour 12 for Read-a-thon participants to complete:

1. What are you reading right now?
I'm still reading My Lady of Cleves

2. How many books have you read so far?
One-and-a-half (counting the first half of Cleves)

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
I'm not sure I'll get to it, but I'm eyeing The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
I just asked my husband and stepson to give me the time and made sure not to make any other plans for today.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
My only major interruption occured about half an hour ago. I went downstairs to the kitchen for some ice water and discovered the refrigerator is not working. All of the food in the freezer had thawed and the refrigerator side is warmer than it should be (even though the fridge is getting power. The lights still come on when the door is opened.)

We had to pull all the food out of the freezer and throw it away and then use towels to clean up all the water that had dripped from the thawing food.

I'm dealing with this mishap pretty well (deep breaths help) and trying to get back into the spirit of the read-a-thon, since there's nothing else we can do until morning. I hope we can find a repairperson to come out Sunday or Monday.

Because of this little hiccup, my total page count read has only gone up a bit since my last update, and the extra stress may suck the life out of me earlier than expected. I plan to go to bed when I need to rest and to not force myself to read all night if I'm not up to it.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
I'm surprised by how quickly I got through The Uncommon Reader and by how long it's taken me, by comparison, to reach the halfway point of My Lady of Cleves. The first book had larger type and nice, wide spacing, while the second book has much smaller type crammed onto each page. I didn't really realize before what a difference that can make.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Not yet. ;)

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
Have all of the images I want to post with each blog entry already saved to my computer, to save me time searching the Web for book covers.

9. Are you getting tired yet?
A bit, but I've always been more of a late-night person. I actually took a nap from 3:30-4:30 earlier today when my eyes first got tired.

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
I can't think of any at the moment.

Just checking in

2008-06-28T20:29:00.009-06:00

This is just a quick post to let people visiting my blog know I'm still reading. I'm about a third of the way through My Lady of Cleves. It's pretty good so far but a bit slow going because the print is small and my eyes are getting tired. I've also had more distractions, including joining the rest of the family for dinner, petting the cat and watching a bit of TV.

I have visited several other blogs but haven't had the chance to linger at the computer. I'll certainly revisit many of the participants' blogs when the read-a-thon is over!

Time spent reading: 6 hours, 15 minutes
Pages read: 210
Books completed: 1
Now Reading: My Lady of Cleves by Margaret Campbell Barnes

Read-a-thon mini challenge: Quote a favorite book

2008-06-28T14:12:00.016-06:00

N.Vasillis has posted an Hour 4 mini challenge for the Read-a-thon. Here's my post.

"I looked around. They were standing. All around us, and in the balcony on the opposite wall, the Negroes were getting to their feet. Rev. Sykes's voice was as distant as Judge Taylor's.

'Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passin.' "

From one of my favorite scenes in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (Read-a-thon review)

2008-06-28T13:40:00.009-06:00

Alan Bennett's novella was a terrific choice for my first book of the Read-a-thon. It was a light, humorous read that got me thinking about what it means to be an avid reader and how reading can change lives.

In Bennett's whimsical story, Queen Elizabeth II of England discovers a traveling library visits the palace each week. She initially borrows a book just to be polite, but soon becomes obsessed with reading, throwing the palace staff into a frenzy as her old duties pale in comparison to spending time with books.

Bennett perfectly captures the large and small changes reading can make in a person's life. The queen begins to carry books everywhere with her, becomes habitually late for appointments because of a reluctance to stop reading, talks about books and authors in casual conversation with dignitaries, and gives favorite books to others to read (including the Prime Minister and ordinary subjects). She also experiences the familiar frustration of trying to share the joys of reading with others who are indifferent to the written word.

The queen finds reading enriches her life in ways nothing else can. Her powers of observation grow sharper, she develops a deeper sense of empathy, and she begins to reflect on the meaning and purpose of her own life in new ways.

Those around the queen don't know what to make of her newfound love of books and assume the queen is showing the eccentricities of advanced age. "Thus it was that the dawn of sensibility was mistaken for the onset of senility," Bennett wrote (in one of my favorite lines from the book).

The queen begins to discover her own forgotten voice by writing down her thoughts as she reads. This leads to the novella's surprising conclusion, in which the queen puts aside her royal duties for the larger purpose of making her reflections known.

Bennett accomplished something very difficult with this novella: Writing a profound story that was a quick, pleasurable read. I flew through the pages and never found myself bored or bogged down. My grade: A.

My Read-a-thon stats:

Time spent reading: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Pages read: 120
Books completed: 1
Next book: My Lady of Cleves by Margaret Campbell Barnes

Read-a-thon introductory meme

2008-06-28T10:11:00.008-06:00

Darcie has gotten the ball rolling with an introductory meme. Here are my responses:

Where are you reading from today?

From my home in northern Colorado. I will probably move between my bedroom, the office/computer room and the living-room sofa as the mood strikes me.

Three facts about me:

1. As I get ready to read, I am drinking my morning coffee from my 2002 Colorado Shakespeare Festival mug. The festival was my first time seeing Shakespeare live. The plays were A Midsummer Night's Dream, Richard III, Macbeth and the hilarious parody Shakespeare in Briefs. I am a near-lifelong Shakespeare nut, since I was introduced to him by a forward-thinking English teacher in the sixth grade.

2. I love to cook and will probably take an extended break from reading later today to prepare Asian Spicy Pepper Beef with Rice for my family.

3. My family includes my husband, 16-year-old stepson and 2-year-old tabby cat, all of whom have promised to stay out of my hair today (except for the cat, but she will probably just curl up on my legs).

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?

I have seven books in a stack in the bedroom. If I can get through three of them, I will be thrilled. I don't read as fast as many other book bloggers seem to (to my everlasting chagrin). I purposely picked lighter books to read so I could finish at least a couple and feel like I've accomplished something.

Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?

My goal is to have a good time!

Any advice for people doing this for the first time?

This is my first read-a-thon, but I plan to read, post and read other blogs as the whimsy strikes me and to follow Dewey's advice not to be a masochist.

Ready ... set ... read!

2008-06-28T09:58:00.005-06:00

The 24-hour read-a-thon hosted by Dewey is starting! This is my first time participating in a Read-a-Thon, so I'm just going to play it by ear and see what happens. I plan to take breaks when I feel like I need them, rather than at a set time. I also know I won't read the entire 24 hours, as I plan to visit lots of other blogs and to sleep at some point. Going without sleep makes me incredibly grumpy.

I have a stack of books ready to go. First up will be Alan Bennett's novella, The Uncommon Reader.

See you later!

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

2008-06-22T21:48:00.007-06:00

The Sugar Queen was a near-perfect weekend read. Written with a light touch and just a hint of magic, the novel kept me absorbed in the lives of its sympathetic, likeable characters for hours until I reached the satisfying ending.

The novel centers on a group of emotionally wounded people living in the resort town of Bald Slope in North Carolina. Each of them has been hurt by life, and each is trying, in their own ways, to find love and happiness.

The story begins with 27-year-old Josey Cirrini discovering an unwelcome visitor in her closet. Della Lee, the town's bad girl, insists she just needs a place to crash for a few days while she gets her life together. This brash, opinionated woman serves as a catalyst for the events that follow.

Josey's late father, who built the ski resort on which Bald Slope relies for its winter economy, was the richest and most admired man in town. Josey's mother, Margaret, a bitter, unhappy woman, has convinced her daughter she is fat, unattractive and good for nothing but to take care of her mother night and day. Josey has no friends or social life, but harbors secret dreams of world travel and secretly stashes huge amounts of sweets in her closet.

Della Lee pushes Josey into the outside world, where she meets Chloe, a sandwich-shop owner who has just kicked the love of her life, Jake, out of their shared apartment after he confesses to a one-night stand. Jake, a promising young prosecutor, is desperate to win back Chloe, but she finds she cannot forgive until she reconnects with her own past and the things that are important to her.

Josey secretly loves her mailman, Adam, who is Jake's best friend. Adam has settled down in Bald Slope after suffering serious injuries in a skiing accident, but he both fears and longs for the exciting life he used to live.

These characters' lives intersect in sometimes surprising ways as they all learn about living life fully and passionately while trusting their own instincts and desires.

Author Sarah Addison Allen wove subtle supernatural occurrences into this "magic realism" novel that served to further develop the characters without overwhelming the story or seeming unbelievable. She saved her most surprising bit of magic for the story's end.

I thoroughly enjoyed this enchanting novel. The story made me smile and feel grateful to be alive. My grade: A-.

Blogging again with The Bad Seed

2008-06-08T20:00:00.011-06:00

I can't believe the year is nearly half over ... and I've only finished five books so far! For weeks, I have had a hard time focusing on reading. I've been much more into music. I have been getting reacquainted with the blues (mainly B.B. King and Buddy Guy), learning more about bands that are new to me (Panic at the Disco, Death Cab for Cutie, Robert Randolph and the Family Band) and listening to Dave Matthews Band in anticipation of seeing them play next month at the Mile High Music Festival. The iPod I received for Christmas is about one-third full, and I don't know how I ever lived without it.

My husband will be traveling this week for his job, so I hope, after work in the evenings, to put on some high-energy music and clean my house for a couple of hours, then curl up in bed with a good book.

I have decided to implement a 50-100 page rule to help me get through books faster. If a book has not grabbed me within 50-100 pages, it gets posted on PaperBackSwap. I can be much too stubborn about slogging through books I'm not enjoying and then wondering why I wasted my time.

I also signed up at Dewey's blog to participate in the 24-Hour Read-a-Thon the weekend of June 28-29.

I did finish one novel a couple of weeks ago, William March's classic thriller, The Bad Seed. I had been wanting to re-read it for years. I first read it in the ninth grade in Mr. Horst's honors English class. Mr. Horst assigned some really cool books, and I hope to eventually re-read some more of them. Other reading assignments that year included And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, When the Legends Die by Hal Borland and Bless the Beasts and Children by Glendon Swarthout.

The Bad Seed features one of the most chilling characters I've ever met in fiction: the sociopathic Rhoda Penmark, an 8-year-old, cold-blooded killer. I enjoyed the novel, although it did not make quite the impression on me that it did when I was 15. (I've read too many other creepy books since then.) I can imagine this novel shocked a great many people when it first came out in the '50s.

The book focuses on Christine, Rhoda's mother, who while her husband is away on business for the summer, begins to recognize her daughter's true nature. Christine must face the problem of Rhoda alone, unable to confide in any of her friends, who all see Rhoda as a near-perfect little girl. I often wanted to reach through the pages and shake Christine when she tried to ignore reality and to believe everything would work out all right. But I think many other parents, faced with her dilemma, would react the same way.

I thought March rushed through a subplot in which Christine discovered she had a long-forgotten, dark past (although I remember that aspect of the book affecting me most when I first read it). March was at his best in his characterizations. He populated the novel with intriguing secondary characters. My favorite was Leroy, the bitter, misanthropic janitor who delighted in teasing Rhoda, not realizing he was playing with fire.

My grade: B+

The Sixth Wife as chick-lit protagonist

2008-03-30T16:23:00.011-06:00

Suzannah Dunn's The Sixth Wife was an odd, tiresome and ultimately disappointing look at the last year-and-a-half of Katherine Parr's life. The title is a misnomer, as the book only mentions in passing her marriage to King Henry VIII and focuses exclusively on her relationship with Thomas Seymour.

Dunn chose to tell Kate's story through the eyes of her best friend, Catherine Willoughby, Duchess of Suffolk. That approach could have been an intriguing one, as the historical Catherine occupied her own niche in the grand drama of the Tudors. The daughter of Maria de Salinas of Spain (the faithful friend of Katherine of Aragon) the duchess became a prominent Protestant and the wife of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, who had previously been wed to Mary Tudor, sister to the king.

However, Dunn's Catherine was an unlikeable character whose behavior became more and more preposterous as the novel progressed.

***Warning: Spoilers follow.***

For the first one-third of the story, Dunn portrayed Catherine as disliking Thomas Seymour, convinced her friend made a terrible mistake by marrying him. Then the lovable rogue Thomas plants a quick, unwanted kiss on the back of her neck. Catherine falls instantly into lust, turning into a brainless, besotted, bodice-ripper heroine seduced by sweet words and clandestine sex. For a woman who described herself as self-possessed and unafraid to say what she thought, this was an unbelievable character shift. Catherine continued to protest her undying friendship and admiration for Kate while joyfully schtupping her husband (which just made me want to wring her nasty little neck).

Dunn skimmed over the most interesting parts of the story: Thomas's inappropriate relationship with the teenage Princess Elizabeth, and his subsequent trial and execution for treason. The final third of the book was somewhat touching, with Catherine repenting of her affair with Thomas as Kate succumbed to childbed fever. By then, however, I was impatiently skimming the novel, just wanting it to end so I could read something better.

Dunn turned her characters into cardboard cutouts, especially Kate Parr, who despite her portrayal through the eyes of her supposed best friend, never stepped full blooded from the pages of history, but remained a one-dimensional enigma.

I read historical novels partly to become immersed in the past, but Dunn's annoying use of modern idiom kept pulling me right back into the 21st Century. (The worst offense: Catherine referring to Edward VI, the boy king, as "little Eddie." Groan.) The author's writing style was clunky and overly simplistic, with laughable, tin-eared dialogue. The impression her novel gave was of bad chick lit, with historical personages incongruously shoved into it. Without the names Katherine Parr, Thomas Seymour and Princess Elizabeth, this could have been any tedious piece of romantic fluff.

Katherine Parr - queen, intellectual and author - deserves better than this. My grade: D.

Introducing my new reading buddy

2008-03-23T15:39:00.007-06:00

Meet Bella, the delightful, idiosyncratic feline my husband and I added to our family at the beginning of March. Since mid-October, we have been grieving for 'K,' our 19-year-old kitty who succumbed to old age. When we visited Bella in the shelter, and she divided her time between both of our laps, we knew this 2-year-old cat was the one to fill the void in our lives.

Although she enjoys cuddling, Bella is also an active cat, so I spend much of my reading time turning pages with one hand and dangling a toy in front of her with the other. She has already discovered how much fun it is to nudge at books on the lower shelves until they topple to the floor, where she can sniff them all over. In the picture, she is balancing on the back of the desk chair in our office (a.k.a. book room).

I realized today I made a mistake when signing up for Carl's Sci-Fi Experience 2008. I missed the bottom line of his post where he wrote the challenge would end Feb. 29. I thought I had all year! Whoops. I'll be more careful about signing up for challenges in the future. In the meantime, I still plan to read some science-fiction this year.

I'm behind on tackling "The Chunkster Challenge" but I will start soon. I will probably read some books for the challenge not on my original list, since what I'm in the mood to read keeps changing. But I'll see if I can finish a few more chunksters than the minimum four books required.

Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

2008-03-17T09:58:00.008-06:00

Silent in the Grave begins as a Victorian domestic drama seasoned with a few mystery elements and a dash of social comedy. It gradually builds into a Gothic thriller complete with a brooding, Byronic hero and a heroine whose innocence is slowly stripped away.

Lady Julia Grey, born into a family famous for its adventurers and eccentrics, has convinced herself she wants nothing more than a life of placid domesticity. Her relief at her husband’s death forces her to face facts: Her marriage was unhappy, and she has lost her sense of who she is. The revelation that her husband may have been murdered awakens her latent sense of adventure and launches her on a journey of self discovery.

Julia’s investigative partner, Nicholas Brisbane, who has dark secrets of his own, guides Julia in her search for a killer. Julia soon discovers unsettling truths about her own servants, her younger brother and, finally, the man she married.

The plot built slowly but steadily and became more and more absorbing with each page turned. I read the final two-thirds of the book in two days. With Julia, I explored shadowy worlds far removed from proper Victorian society as she visited a notorious courtesan, searched a gypsy camp and questioned a prostitute.

I figured out the murderer’s identity about halfway through the book, but I got the motive completely wrong and was surprised by many of the book’s twists.

Author Deanna Raybourn skillfully contrasted Victorian respectability with dark desires lurking beneath the surface. I was impressed by her controlled, atmospheric writing and deft handling of the plot, as well as her skill at creating engaging, fully realized characters. Lady Julia Grey already feels like an old friend, and I plan to accompany her on her next adventure, in Silent in the Sanctuary, soon. My grade: A-.

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village

2008-03-15T07:13:00.005-06:00

Earlier this week, I picked up Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! from the library and spent a very enjoyable few hours traveling back in time to the Middle Ages.

Laura Amy Schlitz, a school librarian, wrote the monologues collected in this book for her students to perform. These little gems - in prose, blank verse and rhyme - portray 23 young people living near an English manor in 1255.

The characters sprang from the pages, brought to vivid life by Schlitz's lyrical writing and Robert Byrd's evocative illustrations. I was completely absorbed in the day-to-day happenings of their medieval village. I didn't just read this book; I experienced it. After I closed it, the villagers lived on in my mind with all their joys and struggles.

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! had an absolutely authentic feel. Schlitz did not write dumbed-down or cleaned-up medieval history. Her villeins worried about growing enough food on their strips of land to survive another year. Her women remembered the perils of childbirth and fretted over feeding another hungry mouth. And Lowdy, daughter of a hound-keeper, scratched, slapped and prayed, "God save us from the fleas!"

Schlitz included helpful, unobtrusive notes and essays on medieval life, covering such subjects as the crop-rotation system, falconry and pilgrimages. These fit so well with the main text I was never torn away from the villagers' struggle for survival, but only more enlightened about their lives and their world.

This absolute jewel of a book won the 2008 Newbery Medal, which it more than deserved. My words can't do it justice. Read it, then share it with a child. My grade: A+

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

2008-03-02T21:18:00.010-07:00

Ariana Franklin's medieval thriller centers on Adelia Aguilar, a "mistress of the art of death." Trained as a doctor at the famed medical school in Salerno, Italy, Adelia's life's work is to hear the cries of the dead, not from their mouths, but from the injuries inflicted on their bodies. Through careful examination, Adelia can determine how, when and where someone died.

She is called on to help investigate a series of grisly child murders in 12th-century Cambridge, which the local citizens have blamed on the town's Jewish population. An angry mob has forced the Jews to flee their homes and seek shelter in the local castle, where they live on the charity of the Plantagenet monarch, Henry II. Henry, who relies on the Jews for their tax revenue, wants them exonerated.

I very much enjoyed this unusual twist on the modern forensic thriller. Franklin created a cast of appealing characters, with secondary characters - including an idiosyncratic housekeeper and cook, a stubborn, streetwise boy, and a particularly odiferous dog - sometimes stealing the show.

Franklin skillfully wove together many plot threads while illuminating the culture of medieval Cambridge. I learned about Jewish, Christian and Muslim customs, the lives of knights on crusade and the struggles that sometimes occurred between faith and reason.

Adelia herself was a likable character - a determined woman in a man's world, absolutely sure of her calling - and although I rolled my eyes a bit when Franklin gave her a love interest, that storyline was resolved in a way true to her character.

The climax of the tale was suitably exciting and horrifying. Franklin concluded her story with a dazzling appearance by Henry II himself, once again confounding church authorities while seeking true justice in his kingdom.

My grade: A.

"Wrong woman" covers

2008-01-13T11:47:00.001-07:00

I just purchased Julia Fox's new biography of Jane Boleyn, the wife of Anne Boleyn's brother, George, who is commonly vilified as the woman whose testimony brought her husband, sister-in-law and a second queen, Catherine Howard, to the block.

The book's jacket is nicely illustrated with a portrait of ... wait just a minute! That's the wrong Jane!

The cover image comes from a well-known portrait of Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's third wife. To the right is the full-length portrait.

I can just imagine the cover designer's thought process. "Hmmm, no Tudor-era portraits have yet been identified as Jane Boleyn. What am I going to do about this cover, then? Wait ... here's a portrait of Jane Seymour. Close enough! We'll just focus on the dress and omit her head, and no one will ever know the difference. Besides, headless woman covers are all the rage now."

But as Daphne noted in her comment at Reading the Past, the people most likely to read a book about Jane Boleyn are also likely to recognize the portrait on the cover.

This is not the first time I've spotted the wrong woman on a book cover. Look at this one, for example:

This edition of The Princesse de Cleves, a novel of love and intrigue at the 16th-century French court, features a portrait of Anne of Cleves on the cover. Except ... the story isn't about Anne of Cleves (another of Henry VIII's brides).

The novel is about the exploits of a woman who marries a "Monsieur de Cleves" but later falls in love with a handsome duke at court. Did this cover's designer just Google "Cleves," come across Anne's portrait and slap it on the book without researching who she was?

Here's a puzzling choice of a cover image for Alison Plowden's Tudor Women: Queens and Commoners.

The woman on the cover may have married two Tudors (Arthur and Henry, sons of Henry VII) but she wasn't a Tudor; she was Spanish. Yes, this is a portrait of Katherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's long-suffering first wife.

Technically, I guess you could call Katherine a "Tudor woman" since she married into the family (although she identified herself with Spanish interests rather than English ones her whole life.) But why use Katherine when portraits of many other Tudor women exist: Margaret Beaufort, the matriarch of the family; Henry VIII's two sisters, Margaret and Mary; or the two Tudor queens, "Bloody" Mary and Elizabeth?

Note to book designers: Readers notice these kinds of things. It would behoove you to do a bit more research before putting a portrait of a historical figure on a book.

My first reading challenge and a new reading experience

2008-01-03T22:23:00.002-07:00

Since I started blogging and visiting other reading blogs, I have come across many challenges enthusiastically participated in by fellow book addicts.

Setting goals for my reading appeals to me, but I decided not to enter any challenges last year because I was afraid I would go overboard and try to complete too many of them. (I am obsessive that way.)

But for 2008, I have stumbled across a reading challenge I couldn't resist: The Chunkster Challenge, hosted by Dana at So Many Books, So Little Time.

The challenge is to read four "chunksters" (books that are 450 pages long or more) in 2008. I love to get lost for weeks in a big, thick book, and I have several that qualify on Mount TBR. For the challenge, I have chosen a historical novel, a biography and two classics I've been wanting to read for years:

The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman (936 pages)
The Life of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir (532 pages)
Jane Austen: The Complete Novels: Penguin Deluxe Edition (1,278 pages)
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1,344 pages)

Several other readers have also chosen Tolstoy's weighty tome for the challenge!

I have promised myself I will take on no more than two challenges at once in order to increase the likelihood I will complete them.

Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings has invited others to join him in reading and reviewing books for The Sci-Fi Experience 2008. This year, I promised myself I would read two science-fiction series: the Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold and The Company series by Kage Baker. I read the first five Bujold novels years ago and greatly enjoyed them, but got distracted and never finished the series. (These books are among my husband's favorites.) The historical underpinnings of The Company books intrigue me. (The first book involves time travel to the 16th-century England of Mary Tudor.)

I will keep the blog up-to-date with my progress on both of these reading goals. A big thank you goes out to Marg at Reading Adventures for pointing me in the direction of both these challenges.

Books I read in 2007

2008-01-01T19:54:00.007-07:00

Happy New Year!

2007 was an unusually good reading year. I finished 32 books, beating my 2006 total of 25.

Read in 2007:

Wish Vol. 1-4 by Clamp
R.I.P: Requiem in Phonybrian by Mitsukazu Mihara
Magic Knight Rayearth Vol. 1-3 by Clamp
Magic Knight Rayearth II Vol. 1-3 by Clamp
Face Down Before Rebel Hooves by Kathy Lynn Emerson
Face Down Across the Western Sea by Kathy Lynn Emerson
Man of Many Faces Vol. 1-2 by Clamp
Loving Will Shakespeare by Carolyn Meyer
Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir
Strongbow: The Story of Richard and Aoife by Morgan Llywelyn
The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir
Flaunting, Extravagant Queen by Jean Plaidy
Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versailles by Kathryn Lasky
The Lost King of France by Deborah Cadbury
The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander
Cicada by Jasue Menjivar
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind
Peony in Love by Lisa See
Royal Harlot: A Novel of the Countess of Castlemaine and King Charles II by Susan Holloway Scott
Splendid Slippers: A Thousand Years of an Erotic Tradition by Beverley Jackson
The Reluctant Queen by Jean Plaidy
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

Favorites:

The Lost King of France by Deborah Cadbury
Peony in Love by Lisa See
Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir
Flaunting, Extravagant Queen by Jean Plaidy

Best re-read:

The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir

Most disappointing:

His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman

2007 reading trend: History and historical fiction (15 books)

Final book reviews for 2007

2007-12-31T16:28:00.001-07:00

I have just three books left to review for 2007, with the clock ticking toward 2008 and, hopefully, a new year of great reads!

Perfume: The Story of A Murderer by Patrick Suskind is one of those books I'm glad I read (although it isn't one of my favorites from the past year) simply because it was unlike anything I've ever read before.

Set in 18th-century France, Suskind's dark fable explores the psyche of a man who possesses the world's most powerful and refined sense of smell. Throughout his life, Grenouille is obsessed with scents, longing to name them, to manipulate them, and finally to possess them.

The book moved slowly for me at first, but Suskind's evocative writing and his forays into the depths of Grenouille's black soul kept me turning pages to see how it all would end. Other characters, including Baldini the master perfumer and the amateur scientist Taillade-Espinasse, lent some sly humor to the story.

As Grenouille moved closer to the culmination of his obsession (and to the murders referred to in the title) I turned pages faster and read the last quarter of the book in one sitting. Everything fell into place for a horrifying, but completely appropriate ending. My grade: B+

I looked forward for much of the year to the re-release of Jean Plaidy's The Reluctant Queen, about Anne Neville, wife and queen to Richard III (published by Three Rivers Press in late August). Unfortunately, I found the novel a disappointment.

I hoped Plaidy's telling would better illuminate the life and character of Anne Neville, daughter to the powerful earl of Warwick, "The Kingmaker," who helped Edward IV to the throne before turning his coat and backing the Lancastrian heir, the son of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou. Although the historical Anne had little control over her own fate, she lived in an especially intriguing and colorful age, during the English Wars of the Roses.

However, the Anne of Plaidy's novel was a curiously flat character who spent most of her time fretting about her future, or Richard of Gloucester's destiny, or both. It read a bit like a personal diary kept by a dull woman with no aptitude for writing beyond stating bare facts. Even her frequent declarations of love and devotion for Richard seemed rather muted and uninspiring.

I did appreciate one aspect of the novel. Plaidy did a fine job of making Richard's personality ambiguous toward the end, so I, as a reader, was never sure I could believe Anne's praise of him. Plaidy left the question open of whether Richard murdered his royal nephews, but skillfully suggested Anne might have a blind spot regarding Richard's ambition or his true personality. My grade: C-

Finally, I finished The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman so I could start the new year with a different (hopefully better) read.

When I reviewed The Subtle Knife, I was angry at Pullman for writing such a terrible follow up to The Golden Compass. Concluding the trilogy with The Amber Spyglass just made me sad. The author took what could have been a wonderful fantasy story and lost it in a muddle of plot holes, diatribes against Christianity and logic-defying scenes that occurred so often, it was laughable.

It's such a shame, particularly since The Amber Spyglass contained glimmers of the wonderful writing and strong characterizations that made the first book so appealing.

Will, at least, becomes a more multifaceted character. Lyra regains some of her former spark. Pullman's descriptions are often still beautiful, although his world building is much less effective because he jumps from plot point to plot point without giving anything adequate time to develop.

A few aspects of The Amber Spyglass intrigued me, such as Will and Lyra's journey to the land of the dead, or Mary Malone's discovery of the mulefa tribe. But with a tangle of loose ends left abandoned at the novel's end, these developments seemed rather pointless.

The Amber Spyglass was not as tedious a read as The Subtle Knife, but I stopped counting the plot holes about halfway through and abandoned hope that Pullman would adequately explain anything. (Some quick examples: We never understand quite how Lyra and Will can dominate the harpies in the land of the dead and convince them to abandon their bargain with The Authority. And it's never explained how Mary learned to communicate fairly complex ideas to the mulefa within a matter of days.)

Pullman's chief villain, Mrs. Coulter, inexplicably changed in the final book, sacrificing herself for Lyra's sake at the end. Where in the world did that change of heart come from? I don't buy that this cold, ruthless, power-hungry woman suddenly was overwhelmed by latent mother love.

I had no qualms whatsoever about encountering anti-Christian, anti-religious or anti-authoritarian themes. In fact, I hoped the trilogy would offer strong arguments for discussion. Instead, Pullman chose to rant about the supposed evils of organized religion without backing up his assertions. He made blanket statements such as "The Authority and his churches have always tried to keep (minds) closed." Maybe they have and maybe they haven't, but Pullman offered no examples either way. His "arguments" would not convince the average high-school debate class.

Again, the Church and the Authority seemed like nonentities to most people in Pullman's many worlds. Only Lord Asriel, Mrs. Coulter and the individuals fighting on either side of the war against the Kingdom of Heaven seemed to care about religion at all. Pullman never adequately explained why Lord Asriel wanted to destroy The Authority, or why Mrs. Coulter worked so tirelessly for the Church. (And how did she gain such power in an organization dominated by men?)

The Authority himself appears in only two scenes, with no rationale for why he supposedly strove to dominate people's minds and hearts and imprisoned them after death in a bleak, hopeless existence. Far from being a towering figure of evil, The Authority was portrayed as a decrepit, fragile, senile, harmless angel.

The Authority's second-in-command, Metatron, the prince of angels, a being described as having a towering intellect and centuries worth of knowledge, was done in by a pretty face and a lame seduction. And the eye rolling by no means ended there. After about a thousand pages in the trilogy, the fate of all the worlds rested on a pre-pubescent love affair that read like a teenage romance novel. (Oh brother.)

I'm longing to lose myself in another book to get the taste of these novels out of my mouth. The Amber Spyglass gets a D grade, and the entire trilogy gets an F for beginning with a great story, becoming hopelessly tedious in the middle book and concluding with an utter failure of imagination.

2007 manga reading roundup

2007-12-30T23:03:00.002-07:00

My first forays into reading manga this year were a mixed bag. I haven't read anything yet that makes me say, "Wow, I love Japanese comics," the way Hayao Miyazaki's films made me love anime. The manga volumes I read this year were all short series, most of them by Clamp, an all-female writing/drawing team. My husband is addicted to several longer series I'm eager to try in 2008 that seem to have better fleshed-out characters and deeper themes. I also may have made the mistake of picking manga to read targeted more at children or younger teens.

Wish is the four-volume story of Shuichiro, a young doctor, and Kohaku, the sweet, naive angel who falls in love with him after he rescues her from a prank-playing demon. Kohaku gratefully offers to grant Shuichiro a single wish, but he insists he needs nothing she can give him. Unperturbed, she moves in with him, insisting she will wait for him to come up with a wish. The story explores the comic complications that occur when an angel takes up residence in the human world, and all sorts of demons and high angels stop by for tea. The story was sweet and uncomplicated, although a bit cutesy at times. My grade: B.

Speaking of cutesy, reading Man of Many Faces was like eating way too many Jelly Bellies at once. This sugary-sweet, two-volume manga chronicles the adventures of Akira, third-grader and master thief, and Utako, his kindergarten-aged girlfriend. Akira has two mothers (don't ask; the manga doesn't explain except to say they both lived with his father) and he constantly steals pretty objects the women insist they must have. Hearing adult romantic sentiments come out of the mouths of Akira and Utako was jarring and unbelievable, while the story was just too sappy for my tastes. My grade: C-

I'm having a hard time describing what I thought of Magic Knight Rayearth I and II. This series and its sequel, each three volumes long, tell the tale of three Japanese schoolgirls mysteriously pulled into the fantasy world of Cephiro, where they learn they are the legendary Magic Knights who must save the land.

The first series initially read like the plot for a video game, but it slowly deepened until it broadsided me with a completely unexpected, tragic ending. The darker themes continued in the sequel, when the Magic Knights, faced with a crumbling Cephiro, had to decide if the land was worth saving. The juxtaposition of cutesy humor with deep ethical dilemmas did not always work for me, although I respected what Clamp was trying to do in giving what initially seemed a cliched fantasy saga some thought-provoking twists. My grade: B-

I ventured away from Clamp to read the one-shot story, R.I.P. Requiem in Phonybrian, by Mitsukazu Mihara. In this manga, a suicidal undertaker and a bored angel team up to free the souls of the dead from the unfinished business trapping them on Earth. Unfortunately, the Victorian Gothic costumes of the characters were probably the most interesting thing about the book. Much of the artwork was gorgeous, but the plot was thin and the characters silly and annoying. The first few chapters seemed like a pale imitation of Neil Gaiman's graphic novels about Death. It got better in the last few chapters but couldn't redeem itself completely. My grade: D.

Mixed in with these manga volumes, I read a short graphic novel, Cicada by Jasue Menjivar. It tells the story of a man whose childlike, pathetic desire to be liked leads him into numerous extramarital affairs, and eventually to lonliness and isolation. Menjivar captured very subtle emotions in his art. The story wasn't too deep but worth a look, especially if you're a fan of alternative or "underground" comics. My grade: B-

Kathy Lynn Emerson's Face Down Elizabethan mystery series

2007-12-29T15:21:00.008-07:00

I began reading Kathy Lynn Emerson's Face Down series in 2006 and finished two more of the books this past year. These enjoyable mysteries, set in the England of Queen Elizabeth I, feature Susanna, Lady Appleton, a sharp-eyed, tart-tongued sleuth with little patience for the restrictions her society places on women. Emerson has populated the novels with interesting people and filled them with details about what life was like in Elizabethan times, from the food served at meals, to herbal remedies, to the miseries of travel. While reading each novel, I enjoyed revisiting Susanna's England and catching up with my favorite characters.

Here's a quick recap of the books I've read so far:

Face Down in the Marrow-Bone Pie. Susanna and her husband, Robert Appleton, wage a classic battle of the sexes when she goes behind his back to investigate the death of his steward. This enrages Sir Robert, the typical Elizabethan misogynist with definite ideas about "a woman's place" (even toward his sovereign lady, Queen Elizabeth). Susanna always stays one step ahead of her husband, which irritates him to no end. My grade: A-
Face Down Upon An Herbal. Susanna Appleton investigates forgery, treason and murder in this somewhat convoluted mystery. It is one of the weaker novels in the series but still worth reading for its development of Catherine, Robert's half sister, who becomes a major character from this book forward. My grade: B-
Face Down Among The Winchester Geese. My favorite book in the series thus far, Winchester Geese was a riveting read with an explosive ending. Susanna hunts for a serial killer who murders one woman each year, while Robert pursues a scheme he hopes will give him everything he's ever desired ... but that could lead to his ruin. Lady Mary Grey, sister to the ill-fated Lady Jane, plays a major role in the story. My grade: A.
Face Down Beneath the Eleanor Cross. Robert is murdered, and suspicion immediately falls on Susanna, who must unmask the real killer before she is tried and executed. This page turner was nearly as enjoyable as Winchester Geese. My grade: A.
Face Down Under the Wych Elm. Susanna races against time to save two women unjustly accused of witchcraft, one of whom is a former mistress of Robert's. Emerson enlivens the story with a subplot about Susanna's new romance with the merchant, Nick Baldwin, another terrific series character. My grade: A-
Face Down Before Rebel Hooves. Susanna infiltrates a ring of Catholic conspirators who lead an uprising against the Protestant Queen Elizabeth. The book was another page turner; however, I was dismayed by the ugly behavior of two of my favorite characters, Nick Baldwin and Sir Walter Pendennis, rivals for Susanna's affections. My grade: B
Face Down Across the Western Sea. Susanna investigates murder among a group of scholars researching England's claim to the New World. The mystery itself was confusing and somewhat far-fetched, but several subplots revealed new depths to familiar characters. My grade: B-

After Western Sea, publication of the series shifted from St. Martin's Press (hardcovers) and Kensington Mystery (mass-market paperbacks) to Perseverance Press, which is bringing out new novels in beautiful trade paperbacks. The next three novels, along with a short-story collection, await me on Mount TBR.

For a list of the complete series, visit Emerson's Web site here.

The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

2007-12-21T14:06:00.003-07:00

Shame on you, Philip Pullman.

With the second novel in your fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials, you have committed a multitude of sins against the reader.

You ensnared many in the complex, multifaceted alternate world of The Golden Compass. Like them, I fell in love with Lyra, was intrigued by her quest to discover the nature of Dust and looked forward to joining her and Pantalaimon for the rest of their journey.

Then, with The Subtle Knife, you led me into a morass of sloppy writing, wooden characters, a directionless plot and illogical situations.

First, you gutted Lyra. What happened to this brave, resourceful and charismatic girl who was such an immensely appealing character?

Why, she abandoned her own quest to help a new hero, Will Parry, find his missing father. (Wow, what an original plotline!) Lyra becomes a mere shadow of her former self: quiet, uncomplaining, colorless and very much relegated to the background.

One of the joys of The Golden Compass was the relationship between Lyra and Pan, her daemon companion. He fades along with Lyra, only occasionally speaking or changing shape just to remind the reader he's still around.

This may not have been so infuriating if you, Philip Pullman, had given us a hero as complex as Lyra. Alas, Will Parry is a stoic, apathetic bore with an unappealing violent streak.

Toward the end of the book, Will suddenly declares Lyra is the best friend he's ever had. Gee, you could have fooled me. For most of the story, he seems alternately indifferent to or annoyed by her.

You abandoned the sense of wonder and adventure that propelled me through The Golden Compass. Instead, I got a meandering, confusing plot that did not so much reach a climax as just abruptly stop, without resolving anything.

Not a single character was interesting or believable, and the novel was a chore to read.

On top of all this, you were inexcusably sloppy. I came across so many blatant contradictions and unbelievable scenes, it was laughable. To mention just some:

1. The Subtle Knife introduces Specters, who consume the life force of adults and leave them as indifferent, soulless zombies. Early in the book, a minor character mentions he took refuge from a band of Specters by hiding in a hut. This led me to assume Specters could not enter buildings. However, the philosopher who gives Will the subtle knife later says he will kill himself when Will departs, because the Specters can enter his tower when they are no longer kept at bay by the magical weapon.

2. A young man who wants the subtle knife walks through a city infested by Specters to safely arrive at the tower. After Will and Lyra drive him off, he is consumed by Specters the moment he steps outside again.

3. The villainous Mrs. Coulter reveals toward the end of the book she can see through a witch's spell that causes them to be invisible to others. Yet in an earlier scene, she does not apprehend a witch spying on her while invisible, when doing so might have helped her discover Lyra's true nature.

4. Sir Charles, who steals Lyra's alethiometer, knows of several portals that lead from Will's world to other worlds. Why then does he not notice the disturbance in the air from the portal Will opens in his very own study?

5. Will is seriously wounded about midway through the book and spends the rest of the story bleeding profusely. He fights off a gang of murderous children, travels a great distance and climbs a mountain without passing out or going into shock.

At the end of The Subtle Knife, you, the author, finally reveal the protagonists' plan to wage all-out war against the Authority, or the Creator, or God, or whatever you want to call him. I couldn't see much of a reason why they should. In my comments on The Golden Compass, I mentioned it bothered me that the Magisterium, the book's chief villain, was such a nonentity, playing only a minor role in the story. The Subtle Knife didn't tell me any more about this Church that is supposed to be making everyone miserable. Most characters seemed to live their lives untouched by its influence.

Yes, you had some villains, but I still don't know why they are so nasty and evil or why they are committed to the Magisterium. Sauron, reduced to a giant disembodied eye by the beginning of The Lord of the Rings, had more personality than your evil characters.

I honestly don't understand why so many people praised The Subtle Knife, or looked forward with any pleasure to concluding the trilogy with The Amber Spyglass. I plan to read it only because I'd like to know what all the fuss is about, and I'm curious to see if you can extricate yourself from the giant mess you left behind with The Subtle Knife.

My grade: F.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

2007-11-24T14:23:00.001-07:00

The upcoming release of The Golden Compass movie has prompted criticism from some Christian groups, with Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy labeled as "Narnia for atheists," and the author's motive said to be to "kill God in the minds of children." (For more on the debate, visit Idol Chatter, the religion and pop culture blog at BeliefNet.)

I had heard before about the religious controversy swirling around the trilogy, and with the movie about to debut, I decided to finally read the books.

I really enjoyed The Golden Compass, the first book in the trilogy. Others have said they found the book tedious, especially in the first half, but the novel captured my interest and held it from the opening pages.

Lyra, the novel's 12-year-old protagonist, is a resourceful, mischievous and confident girl who has grown up largely unsupervised at Oxford's Jordan College. Lyra's world mirrors our own but is quite different in many ways. In her world, every person has a daemon, a sort of familiar spirit who takes the shape of an animal and mirrors the person's soul and personality. Not only were daemons a fascinating concept, they proved a very effective storytelling device, as Pullman could reveal a character's thoughts and reactions through the actions of their daemon.

The novel's atmosphere, familiar in some ways but strange in others, hooked me at once. It evoked the feel of Victorian England with a few modern touches. The story, which combined fantasy and science fiction elements, was complex, multilayered and beautifully written.

The story begins with Lyra overhearing a scholarly discussion about Dust, a mysterious, microscopic particle found only in the frozen North that clusters around adolescents and adults. As Lyra eavesdrops, the scholars also talk about a mysterious city that can be glimpsed when the Northern Lights illuminate the sky, a city that appears to exist in a parallel world.

Lyra longs to visit the North to see these things, and she gets her chance when children from Oxford are kidnapped by the sinister Gobblers. Lyra joins a gang of gyptians (riverboat people) to rescue the children from the Northern outpost of Bolvangar, where the Gobblers are conducting horrific experiments on the children and their daemons.

During her journey, Lyra meets witches who fly on cloud-pine branches, warlike armored polar bears and a Texas balloonist before she discovers something of the nature of Dust and sees the city in the Northern Lights for herself.

Pullman's story was both imaginative and quite dark, especially during the book's second half. It seemed targeted more at teens and adults than children. Lyra experiences some horrible things and has her faith in adults shaken to the core. Her unshakable bond with her daemon, Pantalaimon, and their unconditional love for one another, made the dangers they faced more harrowing and their escapes poignant and emotionally stirring. I really cared about Lyra and Pan and felt their wonder and their fear along with them

I had just a few quibbles with the novel. First, I had a hard time accepting the role Lyra's alethiometer (the "golden compass" of the title) played in the story. Lyra could use the device to find the answer to any question, which made her quest too easy at times, in my opinion. It also killed suspense knowing Lyra could solve most any problem she encountered using the alethiometer.

Second, Pullman hinted throughout the book at the absolute power the Church and its Magisterium had over Lyra's world. But the Church played nearly no role in Lyra's life or in the lives of other major characters. Except for Mrs. Coulter (who obviously used the Church as a means to power) characters were neither fervent believers or opposed to Church doctrine. The Church itself played only a minor role in the story until the very end, when Pullman suddenly tossed some deep metaphysical and theological concepts at the reader (including quoting a well-known passage from the Book of Genesis, which seemed out of place). The Church would have been a much more sinister villain if Pullman had portrayed its oppression from the beginning of the story, or had Lyra or other characters believe in Church teachings only to have their faith sorely tested.

That said, however, I did enjoy the book, although I don't see it as the next Lord of the Rings. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy. My grade: A-

The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander

2007-11-17T15:31:00.001-07:00

I read The Kitchen Boy in June and have struggled since then to write a review of it for PaperBackSwap. I'm still not sure how I felt about the ending, or whether I believe the author played fair with the reader. I will try as much as possible to keep my comments spoiler-free, but since my objections have to do with "the big twist," it may be impossible for me not to let something slip that could suggest how the novel ends. If you have not yet read the book, you may want to skip the rest of this post.

The Kitchen Boy tells the story of the last living witness to the events of July 16, 1918, at the "House of Special Purpose," when the Bolsheviks murdered the last Russian tsar and his family. Now an old man, Misha reveals his secrets in a tape recording meant for his granddaughter, describing the relationships he forged with the royal family and what he saw during the terrible night they were massacred.

I enjoyed how author Robert Alexander developed the character of the kitchen boy - a devoted family servant with an observant nature and a deep compassion for this family, who had lost everything but each other. Through Misha's eyes, I got to know the tsar, tsarina, their four daughters and their son. Alexander portrayed them as a brave, close-knit, loving family. Nicholas may have been a terrible tsar, but he was quite obviously a caring father. Throughout the book, Misha's bond with the family deepens as he delivers letters, smuggled into the house in milk bottles, that make them all hope for rescue.

Misha then describes how the family was executed and what happened to their corpses, providing an explanation for why the bodies of Grand Duchess Marie and Tsarevich Alexis were not found in a mass grave with those of the rest of the family. (This past August, members of a Russian history group found two partial skeletons near the mass grave that could be the remains of the missing children.)

But Misha only tells part of the truth. After his death, his granddaughter travels to Russia ... and the big twist occurs. It was well-written and so cleverly handled I didn't see it coming, but it left me with a vague feeling of disappointment. I had come to like Misha and the royal family as he described them, but the ending put everything Misha said in doubt. Also, some key elements of the story that had intrigued me turned out to be complete fabrications. I also thought Alexander pushed the ending's believability a bit too far.

Without that ending, I would have given this book an A-. Alexander truly captured the Russian soul, especially in the psychic torment felt by Misha all his life. Because of my ambivalence about the ending, I am dropping the novel's grade to a B-. I still think the book is worth reading, especially for Romanov buffs, and I eventually plan to read Alexander's second novel, about Rasputin.

Splendid Slippers: A Thousand Years of an Erotic Tradition

2007-11-13T11:22:00.001-07:00

Early in Lisa See's novel, Peony in Love, Peony and her mother assist in binding the feet of a young girl whose mother is too soft-hearted to do the job properly. The scene made me squirm, but what I remember most about it is a stirring speech made by Peony's mother about the importance of footbinding as she mercilessly manipulates the child's broken bones.

She reminds the women in the room they are Han women: proud, refined and altogether superior creatures to the big-footed ruling Manchus. Footbinding is essential, she says, for a woman to be thought respectable, to marry well and to have a good life, and the Manchus cannot make them stop binding their feet

This depiction of fierce cultural pride in footbinding stayed with me after I'd finished the novel. I realized Chinese people once viewed this practice much differently than Westerners do, and I wanted to know more.

Beverley Jackson's book, Splendid Slippers, served as a wonderful introduction to the subject. Jackson makes a real effort to understand footbinding from the perspective of the Chinese. She does not flinch from the horrified reactions it inspires in Westerners, but she also probes the Chinese psyche to reveal how the practice became so essential and desirable.

For a thousand years, Chinese mothers bound their daughters' feet, molding them into unnatural shapes and forcing the bones to break in pursuit of the ideal, three-inch "Golden Lotus." The mothers and daughters then spent hours sewing exquisite, embroidered shoes to cover their crippled feet, creating an erotic mystique men found captivating.

Splendid Slippers contains numerous photographs of these "lotus shoes." The care and attention to detail women put into these tiny works of art were nothing short of amazing.

For the Han Chinese, a woman's bound feet represented security. Desirability. Refinement. Sex appeal. Bound feet played important roles in marriage, prostitution, the theater, the arts and literature. Husbands used their wives' feet to achieve pleasure in the bedroom. Succumbing at least partially to the allure, Manchu women, while they did not bind, wore platform shoes designed to give the illusion of tiny feet.

Some of the elderly Chinese women Jackson met, who tottered on their tiny, misshapen feet, wept when the author showed them pictures of lotus shoes. Jackson portrayed footbinding as a complicated cultural practice, both horrifying and strangely beautiful.

For those who aren't squeamish, this Web site features photographs of an old woman's ideal lotus feet, similar to pictures in Jackson's book.

In Splendid Slippers, Jackson described a meeting Tzu Hsi, the last empress of China, had with a group of European diplomats. The Westerners criticized her for not doing more to end footbinding among her Han subjects, and the Manchu empress responded, Why do you cage your women in corsets, constricting their lungs so they cannot breathe?

This anecdote made me wonder, are the fad diets, plastic surgery and other fashions modern women embrace so much more civilized than footbinding?

My grade for Splendid Slippers: A.

Lust and love in historical fiction

2007-11-07T14:25:00.008-07:00

The title Royal Harlot should have tipped me off.

I picked up Susan Holloway Scott's novel about Barbara Villiers Palmer, notorious mistress of England's Charles II, expecting a certain amount of titillation, but also hoping for an enlightening glimpse into merry Restoration London.

I got smut.

I have no problem with a bit of smut. A well-placed sex scene can liven up any story filled with treaties, treason, war, politics and beheadings. After all, where would Henry VIII be without the beguiling Anne Boleyn or that tart, Katherine Howard?

But a third of the way into Royal Harlot, I already felt bludgeoned by the sex scenes. Reading this novel was a bit like watching Showgirls.

Heaving bosoms and throbbing manhoods do not a plot make. Therefore, I finished the book totally unenlightened about Charles' Dutch wars or his divisive religious policies. Scott spent just a few pages on the Great Plague and Great Fire of London. (I learned more by quickly skimming Wikipedia entries than I did from this book.)

But I did discover Charles II and Barbara Villiers liked sex. A lot. My grade: D

Thankfully, another of my recent reads, Loving Will Shakespeare, brought the past vividly to life while offering a convincing love story. Carolyn Meyer's novel focuses on Anne (Agnes) Hathaway, who became Shakespeare's wife.

Historians know little about Anne, other than Shakespeare bequeathing her the "second-best bed" in his will, and that she was eight years older than her husband. Meyer's Anne is a lonely girl growing up in an unhappy home, who despairs of ever finding someone to love her. She is drawn to Will by his charm, creativity and zest for life and as he becomes a young man, finds herself unexpectedly falling in love with him. Their romance will be bittersweet, as Shakespeare will spend most of his time in London, wedded more to the theater than to his wife.

The novel included many wonderful scenes of rural village life in Elizabethan England, including holiday customs, marriage traditions and the excitement generated by the queen's annual progress. My grade: A-

Morgan Llywelyn's Strongbow: The Story of Richard and Aoife, another novel centering on a love story, left me wanting to know much more about its protagonists. It was an absorbing, touching read, but too short. My grade: B-

Richard de Clare (Strongbow) was a Norman knight denied his lands and titles, who fought on behalf of Aoife's father, the deposed king of Leinster in Ireland. I discovered through a Google search that Richard and Aoife were the parents of Isabel de Clare, who married William Marshal, one of medieval England's greatest knights and statesmen. Does anyone know of any other books focusing on Strongbow or Aoife?

The final book in this love-themed reading roundup is the best book I've read this year so far: Peony in Love by Lisa See. A ghost story, a historical fantasy, a family saga and a coming-of-age tale, the novel immersed me in the unfamiliar world of 17th-century China and captivated me with its beautifully told story.

The novel is set during a time of political and social upheaval in China, when thousands of women left their cloistered existences to pursue intellectual lives, writing and publishing their own work, before society forced them back into their family compounds. A woman's right to express herself is a major theme of the novel.

Peony is a 15-year-old aristocratic girl obsessed with the controversial opera, The Peony Pavilion. During a performance of the opera staged in her family's compound, she secretly meets and falls in love with a poet, Wu Ren. Locked in her room for her transgressions and to await her arranged marriage, Peony becomes so absorbed in writing her thoughts about the opera, she forgets to eat, and dies just before her scheduled wedding.

From there, the novel explores intricate Chinese beliefs about the afterlife as Peony roams the world as a hungry ghost, visiting Wu Ren and influencing his subsequent wives to continue writing about the opera. Peony's story mirrors The Peony Pavilion but also deviates from the opera in unexpected ways. She learns surprising, heartbreaking truths about the women in her own family, and ultimately finds a way to be remembered and honored as an individual.

Peony in Love was a hypnotic, strange fairy tale that required some suspension of disbelief to be enjoyed. I willingly followed the story where it led me, sometimes slowing my reading to savor the beautiful writing, sometimes speeding up in my impatience to discover what would come next. My grade: A+

Treasures from the FOL sale

2007-10-27T17:40:00.001-06:00

In the spring and fall, the Friends of the Loveland Public Library put on the best used book sale I've ever attended. If you live in Northern Colorado, you owe it to yourself to check out this sale. I always find some great books, including out-of-print historical fiction titles.

On Friday, I spent $15 to become a Friends member, which entitled me to browse books for 4 hours before the sale opened to the general public. I bought 23 wish-listed books to post on PaperBackSwap, including several vintage Jean Plaidy and Anya Seton paperbacks and three of Philippa Gregory's popular Tudor novels.

Here are some of the books I bought for myself:

Brief Gaudy Hour by Margaret Cambell Barnes, about Anne Boleyn. Barnes wrote several historical novels set in Plantagenet and Tudor times. Her books are hard to find, although I wonder if any enterprising publishers plan to bring them back into print, as we've recently seen reissues of Jean Plaidy, Anya Seton and Hilda Lewis titles.

The Iron King by Maurice Druon. Tanzanite just reviewed this novel on her blog. Set in the reign of Philip the Fair, the book covers the monarch's attack on the Templar order of knights and the infidelity of his three daughters-in-law. The book is the first in "The Accursed Kings" series. With my luck, I will enjoy the book enough to want to read the rest, which can be expensive to buy secondhand.

The Moneyman by Thomas Costain, "the vivid and dramatic story of Jacques Coeur, who built a vast empire of trade that made him the richest man in all of 15th-century France. But Jacques Coeur wanted more than wealth." Costain wrote a well-known quartet of histories of the Plantagenet monarchs: The Conquerers, The Magnificent Century, The Three Edwards and The Last Plantagenets. I had never heard of this novel, but it looks like a fun read.

Coronation of Glory by Deborah Meroff, about the Lady Jane Grey and her ill-fated, nine days' reign.

At this sale, I always seem to find one or two books I just have to buy for the sake of novelty. This time, I discovered a library discard called Isabella: Young Queen of Spain by Mildred Criss, which, according to the copyright page, was on its 12th printing in 1941. The text on the jacket flap bills it as a book "for older girls and boys.

The book description does its best to make its subject sound appealing. "Astonishing Isabella of Spain! Five hundred years old in history, but young Isabella is not an out-of-date heroine! She was as animated and vigorous as any modern young girl; staunch in upholding her principles; clever in confounding her enemies; affectionate and gentle in caring for her invalid mother; courtly and restrained when she assumed her rightful queenly station."

The jacket flap also praises Isabella and Ferdinand's crusade against the "Infidel" Moors in a way that seems very un-PC today: "Isabella and her knight, Ferdinand of Aragon, pledged themselves to a Crusader's life against mighty forces of greed, hatred and violent oppression. No personal sacrifice was too great to be made, and the result of this determined unselfishness and courage was triumph."

The text on the back of the dust jacket reveals Mildred Criss also wrote books about Mary Queen of Scots, Pocahontas, Abigail Adams and Lafayette. She designed her New Hampshire home "as an exact copy of a French Normandy cottage."

I will definitely blog about this book once I've finished it!

The last queen of France

2007-10-23T22:03:00.001-06:00

I have not yet made time to watch Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette. But early this summer, I finished three books in a row about the much-maligned queen and her family.

Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versailles by Kathryn Lasky is part of the Royal Diaries series for young readers. The novel provided a good introduction to the tragic queen's life.

Maria Antonia's diary begins just before she must journey from Vienna to marry France's dauphin. She leaves everything Austrian behind -- her clothes, jewels, even her name -- only to find her dream prince is an awkward, unattractive youth. Then she must navigate the rigid, often ridiculous etiquette of the court of Versailles.

Kathryn Lasky presents a credible portrait of Marie Antoinette as a girl struggling to hold onto her own, unique identity in a world of royal duty. I only wished the book had shown more of Antoinette's inner feelings as she left her native Austria forever to become a French princess. I am always fascinated by what princesses went through in leaving their homes and countries forever to marry strangers in foreign lands.

My grade: B

Flaunting, Extravagant Queen is the kind of book that makes me wish history could be changed. Jean Plaidy made me care about the doomed Marie Antoinette and her family. Their story is truly stranger than fiction, and Plaidy wrung every ounce of drama from it, leaving me breathlessly turning pages even though I knew Antoinette would end up sans tete.

Plaidy portrayed the last queen of France as a multifaceted, very human woman: good-hearted, fun-loving, dignified and courageous, yet temperamentally incapable of submitting to the rigid etiquette of Versailles. She also brought to life the glittering French court, the disaffected people of Paris and the terrifying days of bloody revolution. While reading the novel, I felt like an eyewitness to the events of Antoinette's life, right up to her last ride to the guillotine. My grade: A

Plaidy, who also wrote as Victoria Holt, Philippa Carr and others, was luckily quite prolific, and I have many other books of hers waiting on Mount TBR. Incredibly, her books span 835 years of English and European history, from the Norman conquest of 1066 to the death of Queen Victoria in 1901.

The Lost King of France by Deborah Cadbury was the best of these three books, although it was horrifying and heartbreaking to read. It focused on Louis-Charles, second son of Marie Antoinette who became heir to the French throne when his older brother died. Within 5 years, he had lost his parents and became the focus of a nation's hatred and abuse. In 1795, revolutionary leaders declared the boy was dead.

Or was he? Rumors sprang up persistently he had escaped, and in later years, several pretenders claimed to be the rightful kings of France.

Cadbury vividly describes the monarchical missteps that led to the French revolution, the royal family's tense days of captivity, the execution of king and queen and the nearly unbearable sufferings of the son they left behind. She ably guides the reader through the years following the dauphin's supposed death, portraying the various pretenders and the many historians and scientists who struggled to solve the mystery. Finally, she presents the results of recent DNA testing on a shriveled heart, believed to have come from the dauphin's body.

I recommend this riveting book to all history buffs. It inspired me to seek out more information on the French Revolution and the royal family -- more for the TBR pile!

My grade: A+

The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir

2007-10-20T17:29:00.002-06:00

Early this year, I re-read one of my favorite all-time books, Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII. I credit this book, along with Margaret George's brilliant novel, The Autobiography of Henry VIII, with turning me into a full-blown Tudor maniac, and by extension, sparking my interest in the history of the English monarchy.

I took a course on the history of England in college and found it dry and disappointing. It took Alison Weir and Margaret George to truly bring these historical figures to life for me.

Henry VIII had a larger-than-life personality, and his six wives were fascinating people in their own right. Alison Weir lets the reader get to know each of them. Who knew Anne of Cleves, who had the shortest marriage, would end up the luckiest of the wives? Or that Katherine Parr nearly went to the block, like two queens before her?

Besides telling the stories of royalty, Weir's book is chock-full of fascinating tidbits on what life was like in those times.

The book is easy to read yet backed up thoroughly by research and scholarship -- a perfect book for someone who finds history dull and unreadable. Through the engaging biographies of the six wives, Weir illuminates the history of Henry himself and the tumultuous times in which he lived. My grade: A+

In March, I read Weir's captivating first novel, Innocent Traitor, about the Lady Jane Grey, great-niece to Henry VIII and the ill-fated nine days' queen of England.

When Henry VIII's teenage son, Edward VI, lay on his deathbed, nobles who feared the accession of Henry's Catholic daughter, Mary, schemed to put Jane, a Protestant, on the throne in Mary's place. However, after Edward's death, the English populace rallied to Mary's banner, and the plot's instigators were imprisoned. Mary later had Jane, just 16, executed to prevent other plots, although she knew Jane had simply been the pawn of powerful men.

Weir chose to use multiple narrators in Innocent Traitor, which I enjoyed immensely as I learned more about each character through their unique voices. Weir's portrait of Jane Grey was of a brilliant, courageous, outspoken, exasperating, dogmatic and determined young woman, who in a different time might have grown up to become a great scholar or religious leader. Jane's mother, Frances, was portrayed as an intensely pragmatic but ambitious woman who little understood her own daughter, but who in the end discovered her fierce love for her. The Lady Mary, later queen, was essentially kind-hearted and practical, yet fanatical in her devotion to Catholicism and determined to fight for her birthright.

Weir deftly wove historical events and her character's recorded words into her narrative, telling an enthralling, tragic story that had me glued to the book for hours. I expect this novel will be one of my favorite reads of 2007. Grade: A.

I am more than a bit peeved that Weir's latest biography, about Katherine Swynford, mistress to John of Gaunt and ancestor of the Tudors, will not be released in the U.S. until 2009. I believe I will put the U.K. edition of the book on my Christmas wish list.

Books I read in 2005 and 2006

2007-10-20T16:08:00.001-06:00

Here's a quick recap of books I've finished since I began keeping a reading list.

Books read in 2005:

The Cater Street Hangman by Anne Perry
Callandar Square by Anne Perry
Paragon Walk by Anne Perry
A Rare Benedictine by Ellis Peters
The Eagle Catcher by Margaret Coel
The Ghost Walker by Margaret Coel
The Dream Stalker by Margaret Coel
The Story Teller by Margaret Coel
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket
The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket
The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket

Favorites:

The Cater Street Hangman: Anne Perry's psychological thriller set in Victorian England convincingly depicts how families are torn apart by doubt and suspicion after a series of murders occurs in their fashionable neighborhood. The novel offers an intriguing mystery and a believable love story, to boot.
A Rare Benedictine: Ellis Peters' chronicles of Brother Cadfael, the 12th-century monk and herbalist, are among the best mysteries I've ever read. This book includes three short stories that showcase Cadfael's humanity, compassion and commitment to justice.
Margaret Coel's first four Wind River mysteries: Coel writes expertly crafted murder mysteries set among the Arapaho living on Wyoming's Wind River Reservation. Her characters are wonderfully and believably drawn.

Most disappointing:

Dead Until Dark: My first paranormal mystery didn't inspire me to read any more of them. Actually, calling this novel a mystery is stretching it. Lots of people die violently ... ho hum. The characters barely care, so the reader doesn't either. And in the end, the heroine solves the "mystery" because she can read minds, and the murderers visit the bar where she works. I found all the characters in the story boring and unlikable, including the vampire Bill. One thing a vampire should not be is boring.

2005 reading trend: Mysteries, historical or otherwise (8 of 14 books read)

Books read in 2006

The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
Mirror Mirror by Gregory Maguire
A Stolen Tongue by Sheri Holman
The Dark Queen by Susan Carroll
The Book of the Lion by Michael Cadnum
Daughter of Witches by Patricia C. Wrede
A Treasury of Royal Scandals by Michael Farquhar
Piratica: Being a Daring Tale of a Singular Girl's Adventure Upon the High Seas by Tanith Lee
The Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket
The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket
Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
The Curse of the Pharoahs by Elizabeth Peters
Nine Days a Queen: The Short Life and Reign of Lady Jane Grey by Ann Rinaldi
Victoria: May Blossom of Britannia (The Royal Diaries) by Anna Kirwan
Face Down in the Marrow-Bone Pie by Kathy Lynn Emerson
Face Down Upon an Herbal by Kathy Lynn Emerson
Face Down Among the Winchester Geese by Kathy Lynn Emerson
Face Down Beneath the Eleanor Cross by Kathy Lynn Emerson
Face Down Under the Wych Elm by Kathy Lynn Emerson
Plain Jane: A Novel of Jane Seymour by Laurien Gardner
The Last Templar by Michael Jecks
The Magic Circle by Donna Jo Napoli
The Safe-Keeper's Secret by Sharon Shinn
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

Favorites:

The Prince and the Pauper: I recommend this book to just about anyone, especially historical-fiction fans. The novel is humorous, witty, adventurous and has a lot to say about the human folly of judging people by outward appearances. Plus, it's a classic that's actually a quick read!
The Book of the Lion: This astonishing novel of the Crusades brings to life the stink, sweat and squalor of the Middle Ages. It is the coming-of-age tale of young Edmund as he embarks on a dangerous voyage to the Holy Land and encounters the horrors of war. With brutal, intense language, Michael Cadnum shows what it must have really been like to have fought in the siege of Acre, alongside Richard the Lionheart in the Third Crusade.

Most disappointing:

Plain Jane: Poor Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII, was plain. Yes, I get it. For page after page, Plain Jane obsessed about her looks. Sometimes she sewed. Often she blushed. This tedious novel became mildly interesting only towards the end, but then Plain Jane died, poor thing.
The Last Templar: Michael Jecks seems to have found a following in America, while novels by many other excellent British historical-mystery writers remain hard to find here. Judging by this first book, I don't understand the accolades Jecks has received. Plodding and dull, with little understanding of the Middle Ages, the book left me unwilling to try any more by this author.

2006 reading trend: Historical fiction and historical mysteries (18 of 25 books read)

As this blog progresses, I will post reviews of the books I've read thus far in 2007.

From the foot of Mount TBR

2007-10-19T22:19:00.002-06:00

TBR stands for "to be read." Most avid readers have a TBR pile. Those of us who are hard-core, unrepentant book addicts often find ourselves staring up the slopes of a veritable mountain.

We have an insatiable urge to acquire books. Nothing stops us - not dwindling shelf space, not the dismayed looks of significant others when we return from ANOTHER trip to the bookstore, not even the stacks of books that threaten to crowd us out of our homes.

The photos tell the tale. These snapshots show just some of my book-crammed shelves. I expect the floor of the "book room" to collapse any day now, spilling unread tomes into the living room below and burying me in stories not yet experienced.

In 2005, I decided to make a sincere effort to fit more reading into my life. As a kid, I swallowed books whole, reading hundreds, both from my own collection and borrowed from the library. After I graduated from college, adult responsibilities whittled away at my reading time. I read about 60 books in 12 years; more, perhaps, than the average American, but not enough to justify my obsessive book hoarding.

I began keeping a reading list to encourage myself to make reading a more frequent habit. In 2005, I read 14 books. In 2006, I finished 25. So far in 2007, I have read 29 books. I hope to keep increasing my number of annual reads and would eventually like to fit in 2-3 books a week.

After posting reviews in various places around the Web and participating in book discussion forums, I decided to create my own reading blog. I plan to share my thoughts about the books I read, as well as tidbits from my reading life.

If you've taken a break from your own reading to visit, I hope you enjoy scaling Mount TBR with me.