I hope you’ll find good cheer in this season! As my contribution, I’m reviewing a recent novel,The Last Bookshop in London, an inspiring story of the power of books, courage, friendship, and hope as London endures the Blitz during World War II.
London, 1939. Grace, a young woman from a small town in Norfolk, arrives in the big city, desperate for a job. She lands a temporary position at a run-down bookstore, but she’s not a reader and has little interest in books. Then the Blitz, Germany’s effort to bomb England into submission, begins. Britons’ responses often put them in conflict with each other, even as people needed to unite to survive this dire threat to their nation’s existence.
How much of this story is based on facts vs. fiction?
Author Madeline Martin answers this question in a blog post:
“Aside from the characters and Primrose Hill Books itself, everything is as true to history as was possible for me to make it. Even the location of the bombings and when they occurred (with one exception) are exactly how they were recorded in history.”
How did the author come to understand her characters’ world?
She used the following sources:
Books
Personal eyewitness accounts
Photos taken before, during, and after the war
Videos and sound bites
Characters: (a few of the many)
Grace, the protagonist – young and naïve at the start, the story’s events force her to make choices that help her mature
Mr. Evans – owner of Primrose Hill Books, his depression adds to Grace’s doubts about working at the bookstore
Mrs. Weatherford – Grace’s host in London, a support to Grace. In the face of tragedy, she must find new strength and purpose.
George Anderson – Grace’s love interest, he’s a lover of books who joins up to fight the Germans.
Mr. Stokes – an Air Raid Precautions warden partnered with Grace to monitor blackout compliance during the Blitz. His attitude and beliefs challenge Grace.
Jimmy – orphan who hesitates to trust anyone after his parents are killed in the Blitz.
Strengths: The well-crafted plot, telling details, and sympathetic characters combine to create a page-turner that’s both entertaining and educational.
Weakness:Happy endings for the surviving characters leave readers on a positive note, but they seemed a bit unrealistic after the tragedies of World War II and the Blitz.
Content review: Descriptions of death and injuries, but no profanity or physical intimacy.
I recommend The Last Bookshop in London. This novel’s time setting could have made it depressing. Instead, Madeline Martin skillfully weaves a plot that doesn’t avoid the terror and death of this harrowing time, but ends in personal transformation and national unity.
When we need a break from the daily news, Jane Austen and her times provide a welcome respite. Her novels are well known by many, but Jane tried to keep her own life private. Miss Austen, a recent novel by Gill Hornby, provides insights into Jane’s life through that of her younger sister, Cassandra, and their family.
Cassandra (henceforth referred to as Cassy) is the main focus of this novel. Because she and Jane stayed close throughout their lives, their stories intertwine throughout this novel.
Readers familiar with the Austen family will dive effortlessly into this novel, while those of us less conversant must allow time to learn or refresh our memories about the family members and their personalities.
Long before I finished reading Miss Austen, the story attracted and held my interest. Because I didn’t know much about the Austen family, I found the plot twists suspenseful. The author reveals much about Jane’s and Cassy’s lives and emotions through Jane’s letters (imagined by the author). The constraints the female characters faced saddened me, but I enjoyed watching these women develop, interact, and change over time.
Major Characters:
Cassy – Jane’s younger sister; devoted (excessively?) to her family throughout her life; the author fills in details about Cassy’s life and feelings through Jane’s letters
Jane – the only sister and closest friend of Cassy; she was a novelist whose writing never received its proper recognition or reward during her short lifetime; the author skillfully portrays the sisters’ differences and how they complemented each other
Mrs. Cassandra Austen – mother of Jane and Cassy, an opinionated and domineering woman, perhaps an example of an antiquated perspective on life
Isabella – sister of Tom Fowle, Cassy’s fiancé; she was initially cool to Cassy; the development of their relationship was a highlight of the story
Mary Lloyd – the second wife of James Austen, a brother of Jane and Cassy; her dogmatic, non-empathetic personality made her Cassy’s nemesis
Strengths: In addition to an engaging plot, Miss Austen offers an in-depth look into the Austen family, the distinctive personality traits of each member, and their family dynamics.
Weakness: I’d appreciate more clarity about how many of the characters were historical and how accurately they were portrayed. Mrs. Cassandra Austen and Mary seemed almost caricatures, with few redeeming features shining through.
Content review: clean, with no violence; perhaps most interesting to readers of young adult age or older.
My take: I recommend Miss Austen to readers interested in learning more about Jane Austen through the eyes of her sister and interactions with her family members. If you also enjoy a story that slowly develops characters and their relationships, this is the novel for you.
Reader, what’s the most surprising thing you know about the Austen family?
Sometimes the unlikeliest people rise to the moment and surprise the world with their heroism, whether it’s
a Hebrew shepherd boy named David whose only weapons are a sling and stones
a mild-mannered newspaper reporter named Clark Kent
or a comedian-turned-president of a threatened nation
This month, we focus on one such unlikely scientific hero: Rosalind Franklin, an early-20th century British biochemist.
Her passion for science led her down a challenging and improbable path for a woman in that time.
Her research in France and England led to groundbreaking discoveries in science and medicine:
DNA (brought revolutionary advances in understanding disease pathways and genetic disorders, as well as the formulation of new drugs)
RNA (brought great advances in understanding viruses blighting agricultural crops, as well as the virus that causes polio)
What inspired me, a non-scientist, to read Her Hidden Genius, Marie Benedict’s fictionalized account of Rosalind Franklin’s life and scientific career?
Rosalind Franklin was an underdog—a woman forging a scientific career in an era when society and her family pressured her to choose a more traditional, family-oriented life
Her perseverance, work ethic, and scientific rigor, in spite of the skepticism she faced as a woman scientist in her era
Author Marie Benedict maintains an even-handed perspective on Rosalind and the controversy relating to other scientists’ use of her findings without giving her credit. Other writers have portrayed Rosalind either in a negative light or as a saint.
Her conflicts with others revealed hercore principles
Well-painted settings, in Paris and London
A well-written story that humanized Rosalind and held my interest
Strong characters:
Heroes of the story were Rosalind and the men and women who supported her in her life and the race to map the structure of DNA.
The scientists and family members who treated her badly came across as villains. Their attitudes and behavior weren’t uncommon in that era, but still shocked me.
Fyi for this novel:
You’ll encounter basic scientific explanations of Rosalind Franklin’s projects, since science played such a big role in her life
Content Rating—mild + for brief kissing
My recommendation:
If you enjoy a story that immerses you in an earlier time period, takes you inside the main character’s psyche so you experience the highs and lows of her emotions and life, and if you have at least a passing interest in how science progressed, Her Hidden Genius is a book for you.
What would you do if you were a David in a small nation, facing down a Goliath, a giant enemy who appeared to be coming to destroy your town and kill everyone you loved?
Would you try to reason with him, run, hide, or fight?
The Dutch people confronted this dilemma in the last half of the 1500s:
Many of the Dutch had left the Roman Church. Now they followed the teachings of Jean Calvin. They were desperate to keep their freedoms—religious and political.
Emperor Charles V, the Dutch ruler, didn’t interfere with their religious diversity
When Philip II, Charles’s son and a fanatical member of the Roman Church, took overin 1555, he showed the Dutch no tolerance and sent in Spanish troops to consolidate his power.
How did the Dutch respond?
Depending on their ages, occupations, and religions:
Some tried to negotiate with the Spanish
Some fled as Spanish armies approached
Some fought, on land or sea
Dutch Sea beggars were viewed by some as patriots, by others as pirates, and yet by others as a combination of both (similar to Francis Drake in England).
This month I discuss Cecelia’s novel, Sea Beggars. It not only entertains but can help us reflect on how such choices impact the lives of individuals and nations.
Readers, what would you have done? Would you judge the characters as heroes or villains?
Were the Sea Beggars brave freedom fighters or evil pirates? The answer to this question will determine if you view this novel’s characters as heroes or villains.
This novel immediately sets readers in the midst of big trouble, as the vastly under-armed Dutch struggle for independence from the Western world’s dominant military power, Spain, and its ally, the Roman Church.
What’s the magic of this story? Author Cecelia Holland skillfully portrays how ordinary people cope with war’s brutal consequences—in this case, how Spain’s domination dramatically changes the lives of the (fictional) van Cleef family members, each in a unique way. The story follows and builds upon each character’s journey through the tumultuous era.
In particular, the transformation of the youthful characters especially kept me hooked—the daughter, Hanneke, a bright girl who chafes at the restrictions she faces due to her gender, and the son, Jan, who rebels against his father’s approach to life, viewing it as too conservative. I found this novel hard to put down as I became invested in the characters’ fates.
I recommend Sea Beggars to readers who enjoy a well-crafted historical novel with lots of action, accurate to history (except when noted), with period details, and don’t mind some battle scenes, violence, and a bit of sex (all true to the era).
We love to read novels that keep us turning pages, but what keeps you reading? Maybe it’s:
A hero/heroine you identify with and root for
A villain you love to hate
An historical personality (king, queen, pope, rebel) you enjoy observing ‘in action’
But how often does technology drive a novel’s plot, influence the story’s winners and losers, and keep us on the edge of our seats?
Maybe you’ve read a fascinating novel or seen a movie with a plot involving technology, such as:
Enigma encryption device used by Germany (and decrypted by Britain and its allies) during World War II
Wright brothers’ airplane (1903)
Printing press (1440)
Oil painting (~1410)
Compass (in wide use by 1300s)
Magnifying lenses (1200s for weak-sighted, 1500s-1600s for microscopes and telescopes)
Recently, I discovered a fascinating new novel set in the reign of England’s Henry VIII, in which new cannons designed in Italy played a central role in the plot.
King Henry VIII of England orders a new type of Italian cannon to protect his life, family, and reign. Although this novel’s premise may sound dry and technical, it develops into an intriguing plot.
The story is told from the point of view of the heroine, a young Italian woman who accompanies the cannons to England. She turns out to be a sharp-eyed sleuth who turns her attention to a mystery that proves key to Henry’s reign.
Along the way, I learned more about the motivations of Henry’s enemies, both domestic and foreign, who sought to destroy him.
The author’s well-developed portrayal of Katherine of Aragon especially intrigued me—a marked contrast from common stereotypes about her.
An interesting and enjoyable read!
Readers, please share your favorite novels involving a technological innovation!
Lucia, my protagonist, is approaching the end of her next adventure. Along the way, I’ve discovered stories from history that came to life as I read them.
This month, I’ll highlight two fascinating stories:
Fontevraud (English spelling, Fontevrault) is a French Benedictine abbey two and a half miles south of the Loire River, in a wooded valley in the province of Anjou.
Although it contained both male and female Benedictine monastic communities,
the men labored to serve the spiritual and material needs of the women
the women lived a silent life of contemplation
A woman (the abbess) was always in charge of the entire abbey (including the men), overseeing renovation and construction over the centuries.
French kings and queens supported the abbey’s construction projects, including:
Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
Louis XV, whose three youngest daughters were educated at the abbey (after a new complex was built with apartments, chapels, gardens, and an orangerie).
If Queen Elizabeth wanted to ally England and Russia against Spain and the Roman Church, how could she do it? This fascinating adventure story imagines how a betrothal locket delivered to Tsar Ivan the Terrible could lead to a marriage and an alliance.
A suspenseful novel, The Tsar’s Locketis filled with rich descriptions of costumes, scenery, buildings and interiors. It offers a window into travel from England to Russia, and throws readers into the dangerous, violent world of spies and conflicts between nations and faiths in the Elizabethan era.
The main characters offer insights into how different life could be in England for people at this time, depending on one’s place in society. I enjoyed observing how the events of the story changed them.
Note to readers: Romance is also an important element of The Tsar’s Locket. Most of the novel is written at a PG-13 level, but it also contains a small amount of non-graphic sex.
