A Girl Walks Into a Bookstore...

Pages: 250 Original date of publication: 1941 My edition: 1999 (NYRB Classics) Why I decided to read: How I acquired my copy: Joseph Fox bookstore, Philadelphia, January 2012 Herself Surprised is the story of Sara Monday, who narrates her story from girlhood onwards. The novel opens in a courtroom, where a middle-aged Sara is on trial for a crime of which we’re not given the details, so I thought it was interesting to see how Sara gets to the place she’s in. As a young woman, she works as cook, where she attracts the attention of Mr. Monday, who marries her; many years later, Sara develops a relationship with an unreliable bounder and artist named Gulley Jimson, who continues to plague her life despite not being all that good for her. On the back of the book, Sara is frequently compared to Moll Flanders, another kind of fallen woman. There are certainly a lot of similarities between the two stories for it to be coincidental: the servant who marries the master of t...

Pages: 361 Original date of publication: 2007 My edition: 2008 (Anchor Books) Why I decided to read: How I acquired my copy: LibraryThing Secret Santa, December 2010 Elizabeth Marsh was truly an interesting and remarkable woman. Conceived in Jamaica and born in 1735, Marsh literally traveled from the time she was in the womb. She visited Morocco, the Mediterranean, Florida, and India. The books covers not only Elizabeth’s story, but her family’s and, by extension, world history. Because her father and grandfather were shipbuilders, Marsh’s life was linked to the English Royal Navy and the world of the British Empire. It was a time when there was a growing awareness of and connections between various cultures of the world, and Marsh’s story in some part personalizes that experience. In some ways, her life and adventures were similar to those of Eliza Fay, who wrote her “Letters” from India roughly a generation later. Both were lower-middle class (if you could use th...

Pages: 223 Original date of publication: 1950 My edition: 1983 (Virago) Why I decided to read: How I acquired my copy: February 2011 Our Spoons Came From Woolworths is the story of a young woman, Sophia, who marries an artist at a very young age. She and her husband Charles live in poverty, eventually having a child together. Sophia’s life becomes more exciting when she has an affair with an older art critique, but she eventually comes to regret bother her marriage and affair. It’s a pretty depressing book; not much good happens to Sophia except for a little bit of a windfall towards the end. Sophia is the kind of character who allows things happen to her rather than the other way round, so I didn’t really feel any sympathy towards her—as awful as that sounds, considering what happens to her. Sophia’s narration is a bit flat sometimes; the story is presented in a very unemotional way. But This disaffected style serves the novel well, in a way; it highlights the chilliness of Charles a...

Pages: 133 Original date of publication: 1959 My edition: 2003 (NYRB Classics) Why I decided to read: How I acquired my copy: The Strand, NYC, July 2011 Barbara Comyns’s novels are hard to explain. They’re very dark and macabre; she writes about very tough subjects with a very detached eye, unemotionally writing about people and the things that happen to them. The Vet’s Daughter is one of them. The story is told from the point of view of Alice Rowlands, who lives in a London suburb with her abusive father and sick mother. When her mother dies, her father takes up with a bad woman, who attempts to lead Alice down the wrong track, so to speak. Eventually, Alice discovers that she has a secret talent, which eventually leads to what might be her salvation. As I’ve said, Barbara Comyns’s novels are very unemotional, despite the fact that she writes about tough subjects. What I liked about Alice’s character is that she’s so detached from all the horrible things that happen to her. I think a...

Pages: 135 Original date of publication: 1980 My edition: 2000 (NYRB Classics) Why I decided to read: it’s on the list of NYRB Classics How I acquired my copy: The Strand, NYC, July 2011 In A Month in the Country , a young art conservationist comes to the remote Yorkshire village of Oxgoodby to restore a medieval wall mural. The novel is set in the summer of 1920 andTom Birkin is still scarred by the Great War and the breaking-up of his marriage. A Month in the Country is written in almost poetic language and in a slow, lazy style, almost like the summer month in which the book is set. As JL Carr says in his introduction, “my idea was to write an easy-going story, a rural idyll along the lines of Thomas Hardy’s Under the Greenwood Tree.” There’s definitely a feeling of reminiscing about this book and wistfulness on Tom’s part as he looks back on that summer form a distance of several decades. The novel is populated with a number of interesting, rounded characters, not the least of whi...

Pages: 305 Original date of publication: 1922 My edition: 1987 (Virago) Why I decided to read: It’s on the list of VMCs How I acquired my copy: bookstore on 10th st., Philadelphia, August 2011 The Camomile is the story of one young woman’s coming of age in 1920s Glasgow. Having just spent several years studying music in Germany, Ellen Carstairs returns to Glasgow to teach, meanwhile realizing her ambition of being an author by keeping a diary of her experiences and writing letters to a friend. I liked the idea of the novel, but I just wasn’t all that interested in the way the narrator talks about her experiences. She wasn’t compelling enough as a narrator for me to quite like her as much as I wanted to, which was disappointing considering that Carswell based Ellen’s experiences on her own, and held correspondence with many famous people, among them DH Lawrence, Vita Sackville-West, and Rebecca West. Ironically, I think maybe the story might have been better if it hadn’t been written i...

Pages: 511 Original date of publication: 2011 My edition: 2011 (Sourcebooks) Why I decided to read: I’m a huge Elizabeth Chadwick fan How I acquired my copy: review copy from publisher, June 2011 Lady of the English tells the story of Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I. Although Henry made his barons promise to uphold Matilda’s claim to the English throne, his barons aren’t ready for a female ruler. The novel follows Matilda’s struggle to uphold her claim, pitting her against her father’s cousin, Stephen. The story is told alternately between Matilda’s point of view and that of her stepmother, Adeliza, from 1125 to 1149. With the civil war between Matilda and Stephen, I always got the impression that Stephen was the kind of guy you’d invite over for dinner, and Matilda was more ice queen. It’s true that Matilda has been portrayed in historical chronicles as somewhat of a virago, so I was interested to see how Elizabeth Chadwick would vindicate her. I liked how she handled...

Pages: 314 Original date of publication:1891 My edition: 1987 (Virago) Why I decided to read: LibraryThing recommendation How I acquired my copy: Awesomebooks, February 2011 The Three Miss Kings of the title are Elizabeth, Patty and Eleanor, three young women from provincial Victoria, Australia. After their parents die, the three sisters move to Melbourne, chaperoned by one of society’s matrons, who, having no children of her own, adopts the girls as her own. While in Melbourne, the sisters become acquainted with Paul Brion, a newspaperman towards whom Patty instantly develops antagonism. The novel follows the girls through a year in their lives as they deal with the ins and outs of Melbourne society—developing, as they do so, romantic interests. It’s a novel based on the classic Victorian sensationalist format; these books invariably have a case of hidden identity, a thorny legal problem, and a “will they or won’t they get together?” romantic storyline. This novel has all three of the...

Pages: 473 Original date of publication: 2003 My edition: 2008 (Sphere) Why I decided to read: I needed a good comfort read How I acquired my copy: Amazon UK, May 2009 After reading the harrowing Wish Her Safe at Home , I needed a book that was going to be comfort reading, and so I turned to a sure thing: Elizabeth Chadwick’s The Falcons of Montabard , a book that’s been sitting on my bookshelves for ages but was waiting for the right time to be read. The story opens on November 25, 1120, the eve of the sinking of the White Ship. Sabin Fitzsimon is a young knight who, having seduced one of the mistresses of the king and murdered a man, is put into the service of Edmund Strongfist. Strongfist takes his entourage to the Holy Land, taking with him his daughter, Annais. Sabin is strongly sttracted to Annais, but he has promised his employer, and himself, that he’ll stay away from her. True to form, however, they keep being thrown together, and the result is almost predi...

Pages: 151 Original date of publication: 1947 My edition: 2000 Why I decided to read: Ebay How I acquired my copy: Found it on Ebay, January 2011 Sisters by a River is an odd little book. Based closely on the author’s childhood, the book is told from a child’s point of view (although references are made later in the book to the main character’s teenage years), complete with erratic spelling and punctuation, and run-on sentences. This way of telling the story is unique and charming, though I could see why it might get tiring after a while (probably the reason why this novel is only about 150 pages long). Understanding Barbara Comyns’s childhood is the key to understanding the context of this book. According to the preface of the Virago Modern Classics edition, she was the fourth of six children, having a childhood that was “both an idyll and a nightmare” (some of this is reflected in Sisters By a River, albeit told from a child’s skewed perspective). Comyns’s father ...

Pages: 678 Original date of publication: 2000 My edition: 2007 (Sphere) Why I decided to read: I’m trying to read everything Elizabeth Chadwick has written How I acquired my copy: Waterstones, Piccadilly, London, September 2009 Lords of the White Castle is one of Elizabeth Chadwick’s longer books. Set during the later part of Richard I’s reign and King John’s, this is the story of Fulke Fitzwarin, a young squire who acquires the enmity of Prince John. Fulke and his family have lost their family home, and Fulke and his brothers spend a good deal of the novel fighting to regain it—becoming, at one point, outlaws. Moreover, Fulke falls in love with Maude le Vavasour, a noblewoman at court and the wife of his mentor, Theobald. As I’ve noticed in the past, Elizabeth Chadwick’s books follow a certain formula. The romance aspect of the novel takes center stage, but despite this, the book really works as a historical novel. I’ve said this over and over again, but Elizabeth...

Pages: 463 Original date of publication: 2006 My edition: 2007 (Allison and Busby) Why I decided to read: I’m a fan of the author’s novels as Susanna Kearsley How I acquired my copy: from the author, December 2009 Des cription fr om Amazon: When an old man strikes up a conversation with her on the steps of St. Paul's and makes a mystifying mention of murder and an oddly familiar comment about her grandmother, Kate Murray is intrigued. But she never gets to hear the rest of Andrew Deacon's tale. Shocked by his unexpected death, she wonders whom this strange, old man is, and what the odd reference to her grandmother could mean. Interest piqued by the story never told, Kate becomes drawn into an investigation, uncovering secrets about the grandmother she thought she knew and a man she never did. Soon she is caught up in a dangerous whirlwind of events that takes her back into her grandmother's mysterious wartime past and across the Atlantic as she tries to ...

Pages: 540 Original date of publication: 2010 My edition: 2010 (Sphere) Why I decided to read: I’ve had this on my TBR list since hearing it was going to come out How I acquired my copy: Bookdepository, April 2010 To Defy a King is the story of Mahelt Marshal, eldest daughter of the famous William Marshal—who appears as the main character in two of Chadwick’s previous novels, and a minor character in a handful of others. As the oldest daughter of one of the most famous men in England, Mahelt married Hugh Bigod. The novel covers a period of about ten years, from Mahelt’s marriage to Hugh up through the Magna Carta. I do love Elizabeth Chadwick’s novels; her writing really takes her reader back in time. But for some reason, I just didn’t love this one quite as much. Maybe because there’s so much less known about Mahelt than about her father, her character seems a lot sketchier here. Still, I thought Chadwick did a wonderful job of trying to ring her and Hugh to life....

Pages: 271 Original date of publication: 2010 My copy: 2010 (Riverhead Books) Why I decided to read: two years ago I greatly enjoyed her other collection of essays How I acquired my copy: review copy from the publisher, May 2010 How Did You Get This Number (apparently, no question mark in that title) is a collection of nine essays, ranging in topic. In the opening essay, Crosley takes an impromptu, off-season jaunt to Portugal for no apparent reason, and meets a troupe of clown college students; later, she discusses the relative merits and demerits of Alaska, when she attends a friend’s wedding in “Light Pollution;” and later still she discusses getting thrown out of Paris (“I do not think you should come to this place again”), and having a dealer of furniture who will get you things “Off the Back of a Truck.” These essays are always witty and sometimes funny. There’s no real connection between any of them, but Crosley has a way with words that is often poignant and...

Pages: 406 Original date of publication: 1999 My edition: 2006 (Sphere) Why I decided to read: it’s Elizabeth Chadwick; what else can I say? How I acquired my copy: Waterstone’s bookshop, Piccadilly, London, September 2009 Miriel is an unruly, headstrong girl, whose stepfather places her in the convent of St. Catherine. While there, she comes into contact with Nicholas de Caen, a rebel against King John. While still a prisoner, Nicholas rescues John’s infamous treasure from the swamp, and attempts to run away—accidentally (or not) taking Miriel with him. Their adventures, together and apart, take place over the course of about five years, as hate eventually turns to love. It’s true that Elizabeth Chadwick’s books, especially those about fictional characters, tend to follow a certain pattern: two would-be lovers are torn asunder by circumstances beyond their control, and they must battle against the odds to eventually return to one another. The main female character usually is very head...

Pages: 390 Original date of publication: 2010 My edition: 2010 (Putnam) Why I decided to read: heard about it through LTER How I acquired my copy: review copy via Amazon Vine, February 2010 Sofonisba Anguissola was one of the foremost female artists of the Renaissance. Born in a small town in Italy, she studied in Rome under Michelangelo, and became a lady in waiting and art teacher to Elizabeth of Valois who became Queen of Spain when she married King Filipe. While there, Sofonisba witnesses the budding relationship between Elizabeth and the King’s young half brother, Don Juan. If you’re looking for a story that’s solely about Sofonisba you might be a bit disappointed. She’s more of a witness to what’s going on around her, rather an active participant in the story. Although Sofinisba led an interesting life herself, it’s Elizabeth, Felipe, and the Spanish court that take the stage here, and it’s an excellent story, well told. Like another reader here, I was very surprised by, and inte...

Pages: 474 Original date of publication: 1998 My edition: 2006 (Time Warner) Why I decided to read: It’s Elizabeth Chadwick, what else can I say? How I acquired my copy: Purchased through bookdepository. The Love Knot is the story of two young lovers, set during the civil war between Stephen and Matilda. Oliver de Pascal is knight just returned from pilgrimage, who rescues the widow Catrin from a village destroyed by raiders. A romance develops between them, but “forces beyond their control” cleave them apart, helped in part by a difficult decision that Catrin must make. Years later, after war has devastated England, they are drawn back together. The ending is a bit predictable, but it’s the getting there that’s the fun part. Elizabeth Chadwick’s novels, at least her earlier ones, are a little formulaic. Of course there’s the romance aspect, and there’s a bad guy who’s usually a mercenary soldier. Throw in lots of historical detail and famous persons from the period, and that’s usuall...

Remarkable Creatures is the “remarkable” story of Elizabeth Philpot and Mary Anning, two female paleontologists living in 1810s and ‘20s Lyme Regis, England. They were two different women: one a lady who moves to the seaside in light of her spinster status (at age 25, which made me laugh); and the other a working-class girl, twenty years apart in age but drawn together by their love of fossils. I read this book in one sitting—sitting in the backseat of a car driving across Pennsylvania, within the space of four hours or so. I’m lucky that this was one of the books I brought along on my trip; this is the kind of story that really draws the reader in. What I love of Tracy Chevalier’s novels, both this one and her previous ones, is that she’s so versatile. She really gets to know her subject matter, researching it thoroughly. Paleontology is not my thing, but Tracy Chevalier makes it interesting for even the lay person to read about. And yet, this book isn’t solely about paleontology; it...

This novel opens with a murder. In its aftermath, feted soprano Sabine Conrad flees her life in New York in the late 1870s to start a new one in Seattle, as Marguerite Olson, a few years later. She takes a job at a boxhouse, first as a cleaner and later as the theater’s joint manager. Her partner, Johnny, dreams of turning the boxhouse into a real theatre, but Marguerite always fears that her past life and actions will come back to haunt her—as indeed it does. The novel is told through diary entries made by Sabine, and also later, when she is Marguerite. Right from the very first sentence of this novel, I was hooked on this book. I’ve read three of Megan Chances novels, and they’ve all been enjoyable, fast-paced reads. Prima Donna , like The Spiritualist and An Inconvenient Wife , is well-researched, and draws you in to the Victorian era like few other novels can. It’s an extremely absorbing novel that I never really wanted to put down. Her previous books have a bit more suspense to t...

Lucy Jo Ellis is an aspiring designer who moves to New York to work in the sweatshops of the Fashion District in order to get her foot in the door. After the city nearly chews her up and spits her out, Lucy meets Wyatt Hayes IV, who has a bet going with his best friend that he can turn the average girl on the street into one of New York’s most sought-after socialites. OK, so the author borrows directly from My Fair Lady for the plot of her book. But it’s really an enjoyable story. So there definitely is some predictability here. But Lucy Jo is a character with a lot of heart, and passion for what she loves best. Nearly all of these characters are a lot more three-dimensional than those in Clark previous novel, Because She Can . There are characters in the book, especially Wyatt and his best friend, who are undeniably flawed, but that makes them all the more real. Wyatt’s ex girlfriend is a bit of a caricature, but other than that, I enjoyed reading about these people. Nonetheless, the...