A Girl Walks Into a Bookstore...

Pages: 506 Original date of publication: July, 2013 My copy: 2013 (Random House; ARC) Why I decided to read: Offered through Amazon Vine program How I acquired my copy: Amazon Vine program, march 2013 I’ve loved Sarah Dunant’s novels for years, so when I saw that Blood and Beauty was available for review before publication, I jumped at the chance to read it. It tells the story of the Borgia family, specifically Lucrezia, and follows them from Rodrigo Borgia’s ascension to the papacy (and pope Alexander) in 1492 to Lucrezia’s third marriage to Alfonso d’Este in 1502. Rodrigo Borgia’s rise to power was much in keeping with the mores of the time period in which his lived. He even Italianized his name from Borja to Borgia. He and his four children, as well as his mistresses, became symbols of the power, splendor, and decadence of the Papal court in the late 15th century. It’s really, really hard to write fiction about the Borgia family without completely vilifying or ...

Pages: 640 Original date of publication: 2011 My copy: 2011 Why I decided to read: received a copy from the publisher for review How I acquired my copy: Amazon Vine program, 2011 Although I wasn’t too keen on the first two books in this trilogy— The Tea Rose and The Winter Rose —I picked this one up hoping my mind had changed. Each book in the story offers a different perspective on one family at the turn of the century; this book begins just before WWI and focuses on Seamie and Willa. I think the story is meant to be fast-paced and give the reader a good overview of early 20th century history, but the story lines were so unrealistic and predictable that I had a hard time finishing the book. There were so many characters and coincidences that the book got pretty convoluted after a while. The characters’ dialogue also didn’t seem era-appropriate. This might be a good book if you’re looking for a period romance, but be prepared to suspend disbelief at the plot and chara...

Pages: 274 Original date of publication: 1961 My copy: 2004 (Virago Modern Classics) Why I decided to read: How I acquired my copy: The Strand, NYC, July 2011 Castle Dor was the last unfinished work of the critic Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch and finished (at his daughter’s request) by Daphne Du Maurier after his death. The novel is a modern retelling of the Tristan and Isolde myth, re-set to Cornwall of the 1840s. Linnet Lewarne is a young woman married to an innkeeper; she strikes up a relationship with a Briton onion seller named Amyot Trestane. Although not written from the first person point of view, the center viewpoint is that of the village doctor, who recognizes how history is repeating itself, literally. Du Maurier did a fairly good job of finishing the novel—you can’t tell where Quiller-Couch’s writing leaves off and Du Maurier’s begins. She later wrote that she could never hope to imitate Quiller-Couch’s style of writing, but that she tried to adopt his “mo...

Pages: 233 Original date of publication: 1932 My copy: 1988 (Virago Modern Classics) Why I decided to read: How I acquired my copy: Amazon UK, July 2012 Thank Heaven Fasting falls along the same lines of Consequences , EM Delafield’s novel of a young Victorian woman who can’t seem to get her act together. Monica Ingram’s family belongs to upper crust London society, and the novel opens with Monica’s coming-out into society. The title of the novel comes from As You Like It : Thank heaven, fasting, for a good man’s love,” said by Rosamond as she’s posing as a man. At the house in Easton Square, a rigid hierarchy remains in place, personified by Monica’s rather stern mother. The rules are absolute; even being allowed out up her own picture is a sort of victory, a symbol of independence, for Monica. She’s well aware of what’s expected of her: marry or perish, because women of her class weren’t trained for much else. And the goal was to be married within three years, o...

Pages: 302 Original date of publication: 1965 My edition: 2009 (Virago) Why I decided to read: All Virago/All August How I acquired my copy: Watersone’s, Piccadilly, London, September 2011 The Flight of the Falcon is one of Daphne du Maurier’s later suspense novels. Published just after The Glass-Blowers (1963) and before The House on the Strand (1969), The Flight of the Falcon is set in Rome and the town of Ruffano, Italy. Armino Fabbio is a tour guide, or courier, shepherding tourists from England and America (the Beef and Barbarians) throughout the Italian countryside. One evening, he gives 10,000 lire to an old beggar woman in the street, who he later finds out was a) murdered and b) was his old childhood nurse. Deciding to investigate, Armino goes to his childhood hometown, Ruffano, where the town’s university has blossomed. Taking a job as a library assistant, Armino uncovers a secret relating to his own past. All of this is linked to an event, or mystery, th...

Pages: 336 Original date of publication: 1927 My edition: 1988 (Virago Modern Classics) Why I decided to read: read for All Virago/All August How I acquired my copy: Ebay, January 2012 The heroine of The Way Things Are is kind of a prototype for the Provincial Lady . Laura Temple has been married to her husband Alfred for 7 years. The have two small sons together and Laura spends her time looking after her family and engaging in the local affairs of the village of Quinnerton. At heart, though, Laura feels trapped—her husband is a good man but she feels that she’s missing something—until she meets Duke (Marmaduke) Ayland, a friend of her younger sister Christine. On the surface, the book is lighthearted, even funny in some places; but you really experience the boredom and monotony that Laura feels. At the heart of this book is the theme of entrapment—EMD believed that all married women were trapped. EMD approaches the book with detachment; she tried to view the cha...

Pages: 295 Original date of publication: 1960 My edition: 2006 (Virago) Why I decided to read: How I acquired my copy: Amazon, October 2011 The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte is a brief biography of the least-known of the Bronte siblings: Charlotte, Emily, and Anne’s brother Branwell, believed by his sisters to be the most brilliant of all the siblings. Born the only boy in a family of girls, a lot was expected of Branwell; but tied down by his imagination, which he fueled into the fictional world of Angria, a lack of job prospects, a disastrous affair, and a drug addiction, he died at the young age of 31 and was eventually eclipsed by his sisters. Yet Branwell was a moderately good poet and artist. In this short biography, Du Maurier draws from Branwell’s poems, prose, and letters to giver her reader more of an idea of what he was like. And yet, it’s hard to know, trapped as he was in his own “infernal world,” a phrase that Du Maurier uses way too many times in the book but which ...

Pages: 370 Original date of publication: 2010 My edition: 2010 (John Murray) Why I decided to read: I was in the mood to read something Mitford How I acquired my copy: Waterstone’s, York, UK, September 2011 Deborah Devonshire was the youngest of the famous Mitford sisters—last in line after Nancy, Pam, Diana, Unity, and Jessica. In 1941 she married Andrew Cavendish, son of the Duke of Devonshire, and eventually became the Duchess of Devonshire. Deborah helped turn Chatsworth into a popular tourist destination and is the author of several books. She also knew, literally, everyone, as seen from the impressive number of names she drops in this memoir. The memoir is arranged more by subject matter than chronological; a chapter on the Kennedys (who Deborah was related to distantly through marriage; Andrew’s brother was married to Kathleen Kennedy, sister of John F. Kennedy) is followed by a chapter on Deborah’s involvement in public life. It’s a good way to organize the book considering how...

Pages: 322 Original date of publication: 1972 My edition: 2004 (Virago) Why I decided to read: I am a huge fan of Daphne Du Maurier How I acquired my copy: The Strand NYC, July 2011 I’ve found in my experience that you can never go completely wrong with any of Daphne du Maurier’s novels—even this one, which isn’t exactly up my alley. I’m used to her books being historical fiction, suspense, or nonfiction, so I didn’t know how I would like this somewhat-futuristic one. The novel is set on the eve of an ominous US/UK “alliance” in which American marine personnel are stationed in and around a small Cornish town. Emma is a young woman who lives with her grandmother, a famous actress who has a habit of adopting stray children. This is the story of Emma and her family, and how a Cornish town rebels against the US/UK alliance. This book is similar to some of her other books and stories; in particular, the atmosphere of this novel reminds me a lot of the short story “The Birds.” Although the A...

Pages: 421 Original date of publication: 1919 My edition: 2000 (Persephone) Why I decided to read: How I acquired my copy: Persephone subscription, February 2011 Consequences is a totally different book from The Diary of a Provincial Lady , the only other EM Delafield novel I’ve read—but in a good, albeit sad way. Consequences is the story of the eldest daughter of a large, late-Victorian family, well-connected but not particularly rich. The expectation, of course, is that the daughters marry, but Alex can’t seem to get her act together. From convent school to an engagement Alex breaks off to convent life, and then a return to London, Alex never feels quite at home anywhere she goes. She’s always looking for someone who will love her, so she finds someone to cling on to until she realizes (too late) that they don’t feel the same way about her. As a result, Alex fails miserably at nearly everything she does, much to the disgust and embarrassment of her siblings, who are all (but the y...

Pages: 404 Original date of publication: 1931 My edition: 2003 (Virago) Why I decided to read: I’m a huge Daphne Du Maurier fan How I acquired my copy: the Strand bookstore, New York, July 2011 The Loving Spirit is the story of four generations of a shipbuilding family in 19th and early 20th century Cornwall. More specifically, the focus is one four members of the family: Janet, who’s story covers the period between 1830 and 1863; her son, Joseph (1863-1900); his son Christopher (1888-1912); and his daughter, Jennifer (1912-1930). From the bleak Cornwelian landscape to London and back to Cornwall, Daphne Du Maurier weaves a fascinating story, heralding some of the novels that later made her famous. What I love about Du Maurier’s novels is that she really knew how to tell a compelling story. While I didn’t quite buy the spiritual connection between Janet and her son Joseph (which supposedly also connects Christopher and Jennifer but gets dropped partway through the novel), I did enjoy ...

Pages: 320 Original date of publication: 1955 My edition: 2010 (Persephone) Why I decided to read: It’s a Persephone reprint How I acquired my copy: Persephone subscription, April 2011 In The Winds of Heaven , a woman in late middle age is left nearly destitute when her husband dies. Forced to live off her three daughters, Louise spends her time going back and forth between the three of them. One is married to a successful attorney; another to a rural farmer; and the third works as an actress in London, having an affair with a married man. It’s a bittersweet little story; Louise is treated as elderly, although she’s only 57, and treated as though she’s yesterday’s trash by her daughters and their husbands. On the other hand, she begins a friendship with a man who works in the mattress section of a large department store, offering her some kind of companionship in her “old age.” Dudley is the only one who treats Louise really well, not expecting anything back from her, but it’s not unt...

Pages: 332 Original date of publication: 1949 My edition: 1986 (Virago Modern Classics) Why I decided to read: I read it for All Virago/All August How I acquired my copy: found it in a secondhand bookshop near work Cindie tells the story of a young woman who goes to Queensland, Australia, to work for Randolph Biddow, who owns a sugar plantation, his wife, Blanche, and their two young children. Cindie thrives in her new environment, and she rises to become manager on the estate. Sharply in contrast to her is Blanche, who complains ceaselessly about her new life and feels bitter and jealous towards her former maid. It’s a beautiful story, made even more vivid by the lush way in which Jean Devanny describes North Queensland and the people who inhabit it. She highlights beautifully the differences between whites, Aborigines, and Kanakas, set against a real historical event: the creation of the Commonwealth Bill in the 1890s, under which Australia’s Constitution was made legal by Queen Vic...

Pages: 176 Original date of publication: 1973 My edition: Virago (2004) Why I decided to read: I’m a huge fan of anything by Daphne Du Maurier How I acquired my copy: Awesomebooks website, February 2011 I feel as though I can never go wrong with Daphne Du Maurier’s books. Fiction, nonfiction, I haven’t run into a bad one yet. Myself When Young is a memoir based on the diaries that Du Maurier kept from 1920-1932, or from ages 13 to 25, when her first novel The Loving Spirit, was published. It’s a short book, but covers a lot of ground, from her early years living in the shadow of her father Gerald Du Maurier, her schooling in Paris, and her early years as a writer. One of the things I enjoyed most about this book was how Daphne talked about the inspiration for some of her writing—specifically Rebecca , The Loving Spirit , and some of her earliest short stories. I also liked seeing how certain places (Menabily especially, which was in the inspiration for Manderley in Rebe...

Pages: 346 Original date of publication: 1952-1980 My edition: 2008 (NYRB Classics) Why I decided to read: it’s on the list of NYRB Classics How I acquired my copy: Borders, April 2011 Don’t Look Now is a collection of nine short stories that Daphne Du Maurier published between 1952 and 1980. Daphne Du Maurier’s writing runs the gamut from straight historical to suspense/thriller, so I was intrigued to see what her stories would be like. These stories cover much of Du Maurier’s career, and they’re all stunning. She takes what are seemingly ordinary people and subjects and turns the story into something far more sinister. From the arresting opening story, in which a couple are grieving the loss of their child and take a holiday to Venice, to a story in which England’s birds attack the human population, to a story in which a woman has eye surgery and wakes to view the inner beast in humans, these stories are amazing and contain a lot of significance, even though some of them are a coupl...

Pages: 529 Original date of publication: (1930-40) My edition: 2003 (Virago) Why I decided to read: through the VMC group on LT How I acquired my copy: Awesomebooks, March 2011 My copy of Diary of a Provincial Lady consists of The Diary of a Provincial Lad y and its three sequels: The Provincial Lady Goes Further , The Provincial Lady in America , and The Provincial Lady in Wartime . The Provincial Lady (hereafter the PL, since she’s unnamed in the book) is a housewife, mother, and writer, happily ensconced in her country home in Devon. We meet her patient, complacent husband Robert and her two children, Robin and Vicky, as they get older (Vicky is six in the first book, so she must be about sixteen in the last). The PL satirizes the society in which she lives, while patiently dealing with her family and career as a novelist. The series is a combination of Bridget Jones’s Diary (surely Helen Fielding had the PL also in mind while writing her book?), Mrs. Tim of the Regiment , and Hen...

Pages: 368 Original date of publication: 1963 My edition: 2004 (Virago) Why I decided to read: it’s been on my TBR list forever How I acquired my copy: Online, February 2011 The Glass-Blowers is the story of the Bussons, a family of glassblowers in the late 18th century (and ancestors to Daphne Du Murier). The story is told through the eyes of their sister, Sophie Duval, married to a master glassblower. The novel takes the family. Daphne Du Maurier wrote frequently about various members of her ancestors and family members, and this is a fantastic fictional account of the French Revolution and the effects it had on one family. Daphne Du Maurier is one of my favorite authors, but sadly, this to me wasn’t one of her better books. There’s not much about the glassblowing trade in this novel, and the details the reader gets on the events of the period are sketchy. Granted, Sophie Duval spends most of her time out in the countryside, but maybe the story could have been told from the point of...

Pages: 317 Original date of publication: 1937 My edition: 2004 (Virago) Why I decided to read: it’s on the list of Virago Modern Classics How I acquired my copy: Amazon UK, January 2011 The Du Mauriers is the biography Daphne Du Maurier wrote about her family in the 19 th century. The novel more or less starts where Mary Anne leaves off. Mary Anne Clarke’s daughter, Ellen, is the focus of the first half of the novel. Ellen marries Louis-Mathurin Busson du Maurier. Of their three children, their oldest son George (“Kicky”) is the focus of the second half of the biography, and covers the beginning of his career as a cartoonist. In this way, the book covers roughly 50 years of the du Maurier family history—and a very interesting history it is, too. This book is truly written as though it’s fiction—the author puts herself in the position of Ellen and George, writing as though she was witness to her ancestors’ lives (for reference, Ellen and Louis were Daphne Du Mauri...

Pages: 274 Original date of publication: 1979 My edition: 1979 (Ace Books) Why I decided to read: Recommendation from Amazon How I acquired my copy: Amazon.com, February 2010 The Lion of Mortimer is the third in a loosely connected series about the Plantagenet family, in which their story is told from the point of view of those closest to them. This Plantagenet is Edward II, and the story is told from the point of view of the Montacute family. The story takes Edward from his time as Prince of Wales up through his death, and the early part of the reign of Edward III. At only 274 pages, the novel covers a lot of ground, and as such, it’s pretty sketchy on the details of Edward’s life. Therefore, I felt that the characters were not well developed—especially Isabella, who I feel was a much deeper person than she’s portrayed in the book. The author gets Edward’s character down pat, though Piers Gaveston is not as well developed as the other characters and Hugh Despenser...

Pages: 180 Original date of publication: 1940s My edition: 2010 (Bloomsbury Group) Why I decided to read: I’m trying to read all the books reprinted by the Bloomsbury Group How I acquired my copy: Bookdepository, June 2010 Henrietta Sees it Through is a continuation of Henrietta’s War , taking Henrietta, her doctor husband, and their village up through WWII. Like the first book, the story is told through Henrietta’s eyes through a number of letters she writes to her childhood friend, Robert. Many of the same characters appear in this book, especially the indomitable Lady B. I wasn’t quite as charned by Henrietta Sees it Through as I was by Henrietta’s War . This one just wasn’t as funny, especially since most of the book revolved around Henrietta’s friendship with Lady B—touching, at times, but I would have liked to have seen more from Mrs. Savernack, or the Conductor, or even Henrietta’s husband. But there are some truly touching moments in this novel, and even a...