Welcome to September, the gateway to fall, and hopefully cooler temps! I have been binge watching shows on Netflix and Apple+ and Amazon, with some forays into Disney+ and Hulu, while simultaneously gathering a huge new TBR of 30 books that I need to read posthaste! Still, with asthma and allergies and Crohns all giving me fits these past couple of weeks, I've had a rough time staying focused on reading, with the exception of a mystery series I've been reading on my Kindle Paperwhite. But hopefully things will get better by the end of the week, and next week I will be hosting my library book group via Zoom, in style. Here's a couple of tidbits and some reviews.
I totally empathize with Kate here, because I feel the same way!
Kate DiCamillo: 'Booksellers Help Us Find Our Way Home'
"When I am asked to define myself,
the first word that pops into my head is 'reader.' I am first and foremost a
reader. And to go into an independent bookstore and find myself among books and
other readers--I feel like I have come home. Thank you--to everyone who puts a
book into a reader's hands. It's an act of connection, love. It matters. It
helps us all to find our way home."--Kate DiCamillo, author.
RIP to this amazing author...I remember reading part of In Praise of Older Women when I was 11 years old, and I really didn't understand it at all, but I felt very grown up trying to read it anyway. My mother persuaded me to take it back to the library and try again when I was older. I never did get around to it, which I regret now.
Obituary Note: Stephen Vizinczey
Hungarian-Canadian novelist and critic Stephen Vizinczey https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz49623516, who "was a distinguished member of the diaspora that fled Hungary after the revolution of 1956" and, as the author of In Praise of Older Women (1965), "also belonged to the select band of writers who invent a book title that becomes familiar to millions who will never read the book," died August 18, the Guardian reported. He was 88.
Vizinczey's life and work "were informed by his first two and a half decades in Hungary, which left him fearless and ready to take on all comers," the Guardian wrote. After his escape, he arrived in Canada with "no more than 50 words of English and no money, but gradually picked up the language and found backers for a new magazine in Montreal, Exchange, featuring unpublished Canadian writers, among them the young Leonard Cohen." When the magazine folded, he moved to Toronto and eventually married Gloria Harron, a program organizer at the CBC, with whom he went to London in 1966 to promote his first novel, In Praise of Older Women.
"It became a key book of the '60s, a bestseller in France, and a Penguin Modern Classic in 2010," the Guardian wrote. Vizinczey produced two more novels, An Innocent Millionaire (1983) and If Only (2016), "meticulously working to make them as perfect as possible, writing and rewriting over five decades.... No one wrote more keenly about the mean abuse of power or the cruelty of the rich. To these are here added fantastical elements in the spirit of Swift and Mark Twain."
Vizinczey also wrote regularly for the Times in the late '60s and early '70s, and later for the Sunday Telegraph. His reviews and essays are gathered in two collections, The Rules of Chaos (1969) and Truth and Lies in Literature (1986), which "are both timeless and very much of their time," the Guardian noted, adding that he "measured all modern writing--and his own--against what he called 'the Company of the Dead,' who never failed to inspire him.... He spent his last years revisiting the Company, watching French films of the '50s, keeping watch over the slowly failing Gloria and blogging with new, young readers about the masterpieces he never tired of: King Lear, The Idiot, Candide. Above all, he never ceased to grieve over what he saw as the infantilization and hypersensitivity of the modern world."
The Second Mrs. Astor by Shana Abe is a highly anticipated historical romance novel that is flush with all the gloriously luxurious prose that Abe is known for. I've read everything that this exemplary author has written, and though most of it was paranormal fantasy romance, Abe managed to switch genres with a deftness and ease that is remarkable. Here's the blurb: Jack Astor was American royalty, the richest man in the world, and Fifth Avenue scion of the Gilded Age. Madeleine Force was a beautiful teenaged debutante suddenly and unexpectedly thrust into fame simply for falling in love with a famous man nearly three decades her senior.
From
their scandalous courtship to their catastrophic honeymoon aboard the
Titanic—a tragedy that made them the most famous couple of their
time—their love story is brought to life in this sweeping work of
historical fiction by New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Shana Abé. Perfect for fans of Fiona Davis and Melanie Benjamin.
Madeleine
Talmage Force is just seventeen when she attracts the attention of John
Jacob “Jack” Astor. Madeleine is beautiful, intelligent, and solidly
upper-class, but the Astors are in a league apart. Jack’s mother was the Mrs.
Astor, American royalty and New York’s most formidable socialite. Jack
is dashing and industrious—a hero of the Spanish-American war, an
inventor, and a canny businessman. Despite their twenty-nine-year age
difference, and the scandal of Jack’s recent divorce, Madeleine falls
headlong into love—and becomes the press’s favorite target.
On
their extended honeymoon in Egypt, the newlyweds finally find a measure
of peace from photographers and journalists. Madeleine feels truly alive
for the first time—and is happily pregnant. The couple plans to return
home in the spring of 1912, aboard an opulent new ocean liner. When the
ship hits an iceberg close to midnight on April 14th, there is no
immediate panic. The swift, state-of-the-art RMS Titanic seems unsinkable. As Jack helps Madeleine into a lifeboat, he assures her that he’ll see her soon in New York.
Four months later, at the Astors’ Fifth Avenue mansion, a widowed
Madeleine gives birth to their son. In the wake of the disaster, the
press has elevated her to the status of virtuous, tragic heroine. But
Madeleine’s most important decision still lies ahead: whether to accept
the role assigned to her, or carve out her own remarkable path.
“A touching,
compelling, and haunting love story that will delight fans of
historical fiction and enthrall those of us for whom the Titanic will always fascinate.” –Hazel Gaynor, New York Times bestselling author of When We Were Young and Brave
I was so thrilled to finally get a copy of this wonderful novel that I wasn't as upset as I could have been that they sent me two copies of the book in error. (BTW, if you want a copy for free, email me at archer34@aol.com with your name and address and I will have my extra copy sent to you via book rate postal service...USA readers only, please). I tried to read it slowly, to savor it's rich paragraphs, but, as with most delicious things, it was over far too soon. I loved the characters and the details of life as a rich person at the turn of the 20th century, as well as details of the "unsinkable" Titanic and the aftermath of the demise of the ship and most of it's passengers. The only small niggle that I had with the book is that we never find out what happened to Madeline and baby Jack after his birth. What she does with her life, what he grows up to be, etc. I was so engrossed in their story that I assumed we'd find out in the end, but the end was just the birth of the baby and nothing more. Still, I felt this marvelous novel deserves an A, and I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in the famed Astor family, in late in life romance, and the Titanic disaster.
Murder at Half Moon Gate, Murder at Kensington Palace and Murder at Queen's Landing by Andrea Penrose are the 2nd, 3rd and 4th mysteries in the Wrexford and Sloane series of historical romance/mystery novels. I read the first in this series in one sitting, because it was so engrossing, with fantastic prose and a whip-smart, cracking plot, that I couldn't put my Kindle down for hours on end. So I wasn't surprised that the next book in the series, Murder at Half Moon Gate, was equally engrossing, with more great banter and serious sleuthing on the part of the main protagonists, Lord Wrexford (a sort of Sherlock Holmes of the aristocracy) and Charlotte Sloane, later to be known as Lady Charlotte, who, along with their street urchin wards and a host of fascinating side characters, take on one gruesome murder after another and eventually foil the bad guys with but moments to spare! Here's the blurbs:
Half Moon Gate: When the eminent scientist Lord Wrexford discovers the body of a gifted
inventor in a dark London alley, he promptly alerts the authorities. But
Wrexford soon finds himself drawn into the murder investigation when
the inventor’s widow tells him that the crime was no random robbery. Her
husband’s designs for a new steam-powered engine went missing the night
of his death. The plans could be worth a fortune . . .and very
dangerous in the wrong hands.
Joining Wrexford in his
investigation is Charlotte Sloane, who publishes scathing political
cartoons under the pseudonym A. J. Quill. Her extensive network of
informants is critical for her work—and for tracking down the occasional
killer. The suspects include ambitious assistants, greedy investors,
and even the inventor’s widow. And when another victim falls, Wrexford
and Sloane know they are on the trail of a cunning and deadly foe.
Kensington Palace: Though Charlotte Sloane’s secret identity as the controversial
cartoonist A.J. Quill is safe with the Earl of Wrexford, she’s ill
prepared for the rippling effects sharing the truth about her background
has cast over their relationship. She thought a bit of space might
improve the situation. But when her cousin is murdered and his twin
brother is accused of the gruesome crime, Charlotte immediately turns to
Wrexford for help in proving the young man’s innocence. Though she
finds the brooding scientist just as enigmatic and intense as ever,
their partnership is now marked by an unfamiliar tension that seems to
complicate every encounter.
Despite this newfound complexity,
Wrexford and Charlotte are determined to track down the real killer.
Their investigation leads them on a dangerous chase through Mayfair’s
glittering ballrooms and opulent drawing rooms, where gossip and rumors
swirl to confuse the facts. The more Charlotte and Wrexford try to
unknot the truth, the more tangled it becomes. But they must solve the
case soon, before the killer’s madness seizes another victim.
Queen's Landing: When Lady Cordelia, a brilliant mathematician, and her brother, Lord
Woodbridge, disappear from London, rumors swirl concerning fraudulent
bank loans and a secret consortium engaged in an illicit—and highly
profitable—trading scheme that threatens the entire British economy. The
incriminating evidence mounts, but for Charlotte and Wrexford, it’s a
question of loyalty and friendship. And so they begin a new
investigation to clear the siblings’ names, uncover their whereabouts,
and unravel the truth behind the whispers.
As they delve into
the murky world of banking and international arbitrage, Charlotte and
Wrexford also struggle to navigate their increasingly complex feelings
for each other. But the clock is ticking—a cunning mastermind has
emerged . . . along with some unexpected allies—and Charlotte and
Wrexford must race to prevent disasters both economic and personal as
they are forced into a dangerous match of wits in an attempt to beat the
enemy at his own game.
I fell in love with grumpy but logical Wrexford and artistic and independent but insecure Charlotte and their "weasels" (street urchin wards) during the first book, and I felt very invested in the outcomes of their inquiries, because the danger they face together always seems so real that I'm not sure the whole cast will make it to the next book in the series (number 5 comes out a couple of months from now). Victorian London was a dangerous place,apparently, and full of evildoers both common and noble. The whole tense love story was drawn out a bit too long, but considering the era, I suppose it was about right for the protagonists to fear what a relationship could do to both their careers and their households. Still, I am so glad that I found this series, which is similar to Deanna Raybourne's "Veronica Speedwell" mysteries and Jacqueline Winspear's "Maisie Dobbs" mysteries that have strong female protagonists fighting against rigidly sexist roles forced on women by society while carving out decent lives and roles for themselves. I'd give this whole series a strong A, and recommend it to anyone who is interested in the above mentioned sleuths and their work-arounds of the roles that women are expected to play in society.
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