Churchill Defiant

This biography of Winston Churchill's postwar years was fascinating. Churchill Defiant outlines the triumph and tragedy of the postwar/early Cold War years as Churchill confronts medical setbacks, political defeats and unfinished plans. Thrown out of office as Prime Minister in the middle of the Potsdam talks of 1945 on a tidal Labour party victory over the Conservatives, Churchill must leave important negotiations to lower-level ministers, setting the stage for historical events that continue to impact us today. His continued efforts for high-level peace talks with the Russians were met with opposition from his own Cabinet as well as from a fearful, fumbling Eisenhower. Read this (and perhaps someday, Churchill's own multi-volume memoir of WWII) for a perspective on today's world situation and political intricacies. I wish the author had included photos from key events in the book rather than simply describing them; they would have greatly amplified the text.

Teacher Man

It's been a good while since I read Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes and 'Tis, but it wasn't long into Teacher Man that I fell back into his style: lilting Irish, but all at once "in your face". The man who must write the longest sentences in modern prose describes his days as a high school English teacher, and a brief stint at the community college level, as well as a failed attempt at a doctorate degree at Trinity College, Dublin. The failures are many for McCourt, but he gives a glimpse of the triumphs as well in teaching teens to think and create. As a parent of a teen, I wish all teachers would spend more time teaching children at all levels of study to think and create, rather than to spew information on a standardized test.

Mistress of the Art of Death

A medieval mystery? Yes, and Mistress of the Art of Death delivers a great story, historically accurate details and gripping characters, all set in the 12th century town of Cambridge during the reign of Henry II the Plantagenet. Not being one to read murder mysteries, I started this one with caution, but was rewarded with a heroic leading lady rushing to solve grisly tortures and murders of children before another is snatched for a certain death. And a love story too? Oh yes. Twists and turns? Oh yes. Looking for Franklin's next book, The Serpent's Tale starring the same leading lady? A third, emphatic yes.

Narrow Dog to Carcassonne

A retired Englishman and his wife take their canal boat on the trip of a lifetime. Canal boats apparently are NOT robust enough for a sea journey, but Terry and Monica's dream is to chug along the English canals, out the Thames, across the Channel, pop into Calais, down the French canals, through Paris, down to Carcassonne. (Why Carcassonne? It sounds nice.) Accompanied by their narrow dog, Jim the whippet, they accomplish just what they set out to do, sharing the peculiarities of modern canal travel as they go. We meet unsavory characters, hard-working but sparse lock captains, town fair patrons, bartenders, mayors, other narrow and wide dogs, and everyday people rather surprised to see an English canal boat out of its usual environs. The eighteen French phrases at the back of the book to keep on hand when traveling are not to be missed. This book is a charming keeper, especially if you have experience traveling to any of the locales it describes, or have a dream to do so.

The Pirate Queen

Made it through nine chapters of this book on Queen Elizabeth I and her pirate adventurers in the early years of her reign. It's historical non-fiction; I knew that going into it. But very HEAVY on facts, very LIGHT on story. More like a history final than a "Pirate Queen". I'm going back to Alison Weir for my English history fix.

The Red Queen

By one of my favorite authors, The Red Queen details the story of Margaret Beaufort, heir to the Lancastrian house at the time of the Wars of the Roses, York vs. Lancaster, for the British throne in the 1480's. From the birth of her son, Henry Tudor, to the battle at Bosworth Field in 1485, Margaret fights for her house and her son to rule England. Was she responsible for the death of the York princes in the Tower of London? Did she marry Lord Stanley only to gain position for the long battle to the throne? Did she love Jasper Tudor, younger brother of her husband Edmund? Like her ancestor Katherine Swynford, her life was full of intrigue, romance, defeats and victories. While this book is a novel, recurring themes of historical fiction ring true for Margaret Beaufort. If you like this book, read The White Queen by the same author, or the first (and some say greatest) book of historical fiction/romance, Katherine by Anya Seton.

The Age of Innocence

Set in New York upper society in the 1870's, The Age of Innocence spotlights Newland Archer, a young "man of means" bound to cultural duty and restraint. Engaged to cousin May, he cannot put down his unbounded feelings for Countess Ellen Olenska, his wife's cousin in an abusive marriage to a European lesser noble. "His whole future seemed suddenly to be unrolled before him; and passing down its endless emptiness he saw the dwindling figure of a man to whom nothing was ever to happen." This passage describes the role of a man in society of the time: emotionless, cool, restrained, robotic. Archer predictably chooses the life he was born to lead. But the last chapter describes his eldest son's opposite character born of rebellion to the society life, and Archer's last encounter with the path not chosen. Wharton's language and style eloquently describe the time, which pervades even the word choices she makes. Would we have chosen differently, given the circumstances?

Notwithstanding

Notwithstanding is a collection of short, but related humorous articles about the eponymous hamlet in England. You might consider it the "Lake Wobegon" of country England. I enjoyed reading this one on my recent trip to England, where the vestiges of small-town country English life appeared only if one looks very closely. There are no more men wearing bowler hats commuting into the City, but there may very well be nuns disregarding the speed limit, 42-year-old men living with their mothers, and cats chasing marauding moles. This book is a delightful summer read!

The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England

If you read a lot of English history, play medieval RPGs, or enjoy learning about other times and cultures, this is an interesting take on the days of knights and chivalry. Written like a travel guide, this book gives the background to medieval practices and beliefs. The culture of knights is explained thoroughly, as well as the roles and relationships between medieval women and men. The various castes of English society are explained, and the motivations of each toward religious practice, crime and their "betters". A fascinating read! I enjoyed reading this book during my recent trip to London, where the history came alive by seeing the places where it happened.

Persuasion

Haven't read Jane Austen in a while, and felt like tackling Persuasion, which I have never read. Jane spins an intricate tale as usual, setting the story in familiar territories of Kellynch manor, nearby Uppercross, Lyme and Bath. The Elliot family, led by Baronet Walter Elliot, takes little notice in daughter Anne since her mother died. Having been persuaded to break an engagement by her friend Lady Russell to Wentworth, since he has little prospects and no titles, Anne lives life waiting for something to happen. Eight years later, on the verge of another proposal from her heir-apparent cousin, William Elliot, and perhaps another from family friend Captain Benwick, now-Captain Frederick Wentworth returns, a rich and respected navy veteran. Who will persuade Anne now?

The Women

The Women is a rather depressing novel of the three women Frank Lloyd Wright made his mistresses over the course of several decades after ending his marriage to wife Kitty. Told from the perspective of one of his draftsman students Sato Tadashi, the book hurtles through the lurid details of Wright's various ill-fated love affairs, but in reverse historical order. We first encounter Olgivanna, then Miriam, then Mamah, the most famous of the group and the subject of the other popular book, Loving Frank. While the other book makes you like and pity Mamah, this book leads you to revile all three women and indeed, Wright himself. I liked Loving Frank much better than this book, even though it probably romanticized an ugly situation concerning a man who started a love affair with his client's wife before officially finishing his marriage. While some allowances have to be made for a time when most men were not engaged fathers or necessarily expected to be faithful husbands, The Women portrays Wright as a near-depraved egomaniacal spendthrift who happened to design nice houses. I can't believe that accurately portrays Wright's personal or professional lives, although perhaps that's why it's a novel.

Stealing Athena

Stealing Athena traces the parallel stories of Mary, Lady Elgin, wife of Thomas Bruce, Lord Elgin of the famous Elgin marbles, and Aspasia, courtesan of Pericles, general and statesman of the ancient Greek era of the building of the Parthenon. Mary and Aspasia are two women who devote themselves to the fulfillment of their mates' aspirations for fame and glory, despite the trials they have to endure. The Elgin marbles were collected during the reign of George III. The beautiful carvings and friezes from the Parthenon risked ruin by conquering Ottoman armies. The Elgins, posted in Turkey on an ambassadorship, risk all to collect the priceless marble carvings under Napoleon's very nose, to cart them back to England to enrich the fine art of the country. Not all agree that the marbles are worth collecting, or even that they are the original works. But Thomas holds fast to his dream, despite losing virtually everything in the process. The Elgin marbles are viewable today in a dusty corner of the British museum, but the story behind them is far from dusty. While this is a novel, the historical setting and much of the action is true. The story of Pericles and Aspasia is fainter in recorded history, but the parallel tale of the mind behind the building of the Parthenon and his improbable lover lends focus to both stories of women experiencing love, loss, jealousy, suspicion and manipulation for their partners' greater glory.

The Queen's Lover

The Queen's Lover takes readers back to Catherine of Valois' world of intrigue, indulgence and madness amid the reign of her father and mother, Charles VI and Isabeau. The French King is mad, the Queen accused of a life of debauchery. Their children are forgotten until Catherine is pegged for a royal marriage to the larger-than-life King of England Henry V. A royal messenger catches her eye, Owain Tudor, displaced member of the royal house of conquered Wales. Love rules Owain's and Catherine's relationship from the first, although it cannot be realized because of her royal marriage. Her son Harry (later Henry VI) inherits the combined kingdom of England and France, the first ruler to do so, but her brother Charles has his own claim on the French throne. When her husband dies an untimely death, does the door to love open after all?

Her Highness' First Murder

Thirteen-year-old Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth I) and Simon, teenage son of the former physician to Henry VIII, search for clues in a string of strange murders in Her Highness' First Murder. This book weaves lots of period details into a great detective story set among the waning years of Henry's reign. The religious upheavals in the period have created fear and uncertainty among both the hidden Catholics and bold Protestants. A killer roams the London area, showing religious fervor in a murderous way. Is the killer a commoner, or a gentleman? Elizabeth and Simon team up with the Captain of the King's Welsh Guard to solve the heinous crimes before another victim appears. A great page-turner!

The Ninth Daughter

Picked this one up at Mount Prospect Public Library... The Ninth Daughter is the first in a new series of Abigail Adams mysteries. A woman is murdered in Boston at Abigail's friend's home, amid the prelude to the Boston Tea Party. Abigail plays detective to retrieve the codebook critical to communications among the Sons of Liberty, and to save her friend, who has mysteriously disappeared. Abigail Adams was an educated, beautiful woman who played her own critical part in the Revolution while juggling a household of young children. Founding fathers, hah! Hail to the founding mothers!

The Lost Continent

I was drawn to this book after reading the author's story of his hike over (not quite all of) the Appalachian Trail, A Walk in the Woods, a funny, poignant, harsh look at the folly of two middle-aged tenderfoots (or is that tenderfeet...) taking a hike for hundreds of miles with tents and meager provisions. This effort, The Lost Continent, details Bryson's attempt to reignite childhood family vacation memories by taking a drive around the USA in his Chevette. A Des Moines, Iowa native, Bryson moved to England for almost two decades, then returned to the States. Unfortunately, what could have been another great travelogue ended up as a whiny diatribe against modern America. Yes, we have more drive-up windows, guns, obese tourists, giant RVs, bad visitor centers, greasy diners and "roach motels" than merry olde England, but there must be more than five picturesque places around America. He can only find compliments for a few small towns of perfect quality, and predictably, the old hometown, Des Moines. I guess he's never been to the America I've seen. Chalk this one up to "you can never come home again." Pass the slow traffic in the right lane and read something else.

The Know-It-All

The Know-It-All follows the endeavor of Esquire writer A.J. Jacobs to read through the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica. Fascinating overarching themes emerge across the historical record chronicled in the encyclopaedia articles: artists' and writers' suicide, war, invention, marrying your cousin, syphilis (not necessarily related to the prior item), insight, genius, luck. Jacobs interweaves his concurrent life story among the alphabetical review of EB material, and often, as it is said, life imitates art. This funny, cerebral, irreverent look at the world's premier body of accumulated facts [in thirty-two volumes, four pounds each, 33,000 pages, 65,000 articles, 44 million words, $1,400] will keep you laughing and thinking.

Daughter of York

Daughter of York tells the story of Margaret of York, born in 1446, sister of Edward IV and Richard III, wife of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. The great thing about historical fiction is that it takes great characters of history and adds plot elements and characters to augment the story. This book does both well. A rousing love story between Margaret and Lord Rivers, Anthony Woodville, brother of Elizabeth, England's Queen, adds the romantic element. Charles is definitely the villain...or is he just a mama's boy and misunderstood? Edward is the larger-than-life older brother...or is he a murderer? Fortunata is a dedicated servant...or is she a witch? Imagine your way through late medieval England and Burgundy in Daughter of York.

Mayflower

Mayflower recounts the story of the Pilgrims preparation for, landing in, and early colonization of New England, but perhaps not the story with which you are familiar. This is the story, based on the historical record, of the Pilgrims' real motivations and exploits in the Plymouth colony. Mayflower also shows the distinct differences between the early colonies in religious persuasion and ethnic heritage, and their role in the growth, survival, and destruction of Plymouth. The story of Pilgrims and Indians living in harmony at the first Thanksgiving is a fable, and the forgotten story of "King Philip's War", the first and bloody war between various Indian tribes and the English settlers is told here in its confusing detail. Shifting sides and broken promises result in the highest death toll in a war (as a percentage of population) ever fought on American soil, and was higher than many foreign wars as well. Still, the small band of English settlers who arrived on the Mayflower and survived the first year sired many present day descendants. Philbrick writes, "In 2002 it was estimated that there were approximately 35 million descendants of the Mayflower passengers in the United States, which represents roughly 10 percent of the total U.S. population." But this book shines a light on the brutal, stubborn, narrow-minded English men, the so-called "Pilgrim fathers", fleeing religious persecution, but full of religious and ethnic intolerance of their own. The more things change, the more they stay the same, it seems...

Downtown

Downtown chronicles the fast-paced life and loves of Maureen "Smoky" O'Donnell, a magazine writer in 1960's Atlanta. Working at a frenetic city magazine called Downtown, Smoky experiences the sometimes violent reactions of a Southern city to the civil rights movement, hippie counterculture, the sexual revolution, and the war in Vietnam. The people she meets in the big city are worlds away from her childhood Irish working-class Corkie neighborhood of Savannah, Georgia. And the man she ends up with is quite the opposite of her first love, from the tony Buckhead section of old Atlanta society money. Take a trip back to bell-bottoms and go-go-boots in Downtown!

Fallen Skies

Fallen Skies is by one of my favorite authors, Philippa Gregory. Her typical stories occur in Tudor England, but this thriller is set in post-WWI Portsmouth, England. Lily Pears meets and marries the rich and handsome, but unbalanced, war hero Stephen Winters, breaking with her dream of singing on the stage. The doting Charlie Smith, another war veteran, loves Lily but cannot fulfill her dreams of a future with him. The mysterious Coventry, Stephen's batman from his war command, lurks mutely near, loyally serving his commander Stephen. All is undone when Stephen and Lily's baby, Christopher, disappears amidst a failed marriage, strained family relationships, and Stephen's unwinding mental state. A great read for a wintry weekend!

The Seekers

The Seekers was a bear to get through. This book takes a sweeping ride through the ages describing the times and views of great wisdom seekers and philosophers, including the ancient Greeks, Martin Luther, Hegel, and many more. Although I learned new information about the ancient Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle that will be useful for the Jeopardy test someday, I had to bail after the chapter on Karl Marx about 2/3 of the way through. Don't tackle this one unless you have a heart for philosophy, or a bad bout of insomnia!

New feature: books I have read

Hi! Today I added a list to my blog: books I have read. I love to read, mostly US or European history, science, historical fiction. So let's get started with my first finished book of 2010...

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society combines a rollicking story set in the post-World War II timeframe, a touching (if not misdirected) romance, and a slice of little-known history into one volume. The writing style uses a flow of letters back and forth among the characters. It's hard to follow at first, until you become comfortable with the characters and their interrelationships. But once you catch the drift, the story unfolds easily, with a few great turnarounds along the way. Touching, funny, surprising, sad, all in one. Even the acknowledgments and afterword in the back of the book touched my heart. Thanks, Michele, for recommending this one!