Finished Donohue's "The Stolen Child", which I absolutely adored. Now am re-reading M. Crawford's "The Little Princesses". Very interesting detail about how the royals were raised and educated (or not)and life in the country during WW II, and before. Interesting take on Wallis Simpson and that "scandal" (very understated!).

Waiting on the TBR stand is an autobiography of Lord Mountbatten.

Just finished The Man in My Basement by Walter Mosley for class. Odd book, but really good. When a white man offers to pay the main character (who is black) a large sum of money to be imprisoned in his basement for 65 days some really interesting issues (including the nature of evil) crop up. Fascinating. Can't wait to discuss it next week.

Now, I'm reading some much lighter fare--The Dim Sum of All Things by Kim Wong Keltner which could be categorized as chick lit if it weren't saying so many interesting things about the Chinese American experience. It's funny and thought-provoking.

Finished the 4th Maisie Dobbs book and am wishing there were more. I think I will reread the excellent biography of Queen Mary that I recommended to Freida-Matriarch-to stay in the same time period. I'll have to read Marley and Me soon for the Author's Luncheon and bookclub...for some reason I am not drawn to the book.

CeCe, I've made note of your recommendations about Elizabeth II and her family and will try to get at least one of them soon. Thank you. I read the first Maisie Dobbs; and while I liked it fairly well, it felt as if it was more set-up than mystery, which was what I was expecting. Does the mystery aspect pick up in the later books? As a period piece, though, I think Winspear did very well capturing the flavor.

Well, it looks as though I must get The Stolen Child and figure out why RPers are quite taken with it. I read through the thread -- spoilers don't bother me -- and it does sound more interesting than fantasy usually does, to me. However, I must put preconceived notions out of my head -- I read somewhere that it is "Peter Pan-ish" and Peter Pan is one of the least-appealing characters in children's literature, in my opinion. Of course, the Peter Pan thing may just be some reader's quirk and not truly representative of the story. Guess I will find out.

confused-sounds like we like similar books-I'm half way through my Harry Bosch-trying to savor it- I read The Road also-my first by Cormac McCarthy-what a book! Elizabeth George is another favorite-not sure how the latest will be without the regular characters but I'll read it. Happy reading-Pam

freida:
The mystery does pick up-in the second she investigates a series of murders, in the third she searches for the solution to mysteries from during the war, and in the last, she must determine whether a death is accident or murder. I enjoyed them because of the side stories as much as the core mystery.

I finished "The Little Princesses" by Marion Crawford and found it interesting. As an aside: does anyone know what ever happened to "Crawfie" in later life? Was her marriage a happy one? (after such a rocky beginning!) Did she have children of her own?

Now am am reading "Moscow Stories" by Loren Graham. I'm finding this highly entertaining and interesting: written by an historian, in a journalistic style, compelling true experiences of the author in the former Soviet Union, beginning when he was a student in Moscow in the Sixties, right on up until present times.

I've also checked out: "After Elizabeth: The Rise of James of Scotland and the Struggle for the Throne of England", by Oxford historian, Leanda de Lisle. This looks promising, as well.

Frieda, I do hope you will read "The Stolen Child." IMO, it is nothing like Peter Pan or his ilk....

Woodnymph: Look back up to Oct. 14th. I posted the potted version of Crawfie's "life after royals"
cece

I googled around looking for more info on Marion Crawford, but found nothing more than what Cece described in that earlier post. I do hope she had a happy marriage and a happy life, though it must have been devastating for her once she realized what the results of her book would be and that there would be no forgiveness, ever.

One odd piece of info I found on Wikipedia mentioned that although she was completely shunned, the publishers of the book were welcomed at Buckingham Palace! The book had provided the Royals with a very positive image in America, so in the end they actually benefited from it. Crawfie died in 1988.

I've set aside The Omnivore's Dilemma as all the discussion of genetically modified seeds, monoculture, chemical fertilizers, government subsidies and agribusinesses have rather turned my stomach. (He also covered this in part in Botany of Desire which I read back in August.) It's well written and well-researched, but I'm just not in the mood for it right now.

I'm still on the waiting list at the library for The Stolen Child.

I have just finished Maggie O'Farrell's latest, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. I thought it was very good. The basic story is that a young woman who has power of attorney for her grandmother with Alzheimer's, finds out Grandma has a sister who has been in a mental institution for over 60 years, and is about to be released. The book explores how Esme came to be there.
The style is interesting. There are no chapters and it goes back and forth from different people's points of view, but I didn't find it hard to follow. The only jarring note from my point of view was some of the young woman's life - it didn't seem pertinent to the main story and some of it was actually a bit disturbing, although I might be splitting hairs here since the main story was very disturbing. It seems inconceivable today to think a woman could be sent away on the whim of her father, for being a bit difficult.

I'm currently listening to Alexander McCall Smith's Espresso Tales. I keep shutting off the cd in disgust as there are a couple of characters that I dislike so intensely that I have trouble getting through the sections featuring them. I keep wanting to tell them to get out of the story! LOL How rude of me! Can't wait to finish the darn thing as I have the Thirteenth Tale waiting to be listened to. It was quicker to get the audio than it was to wait for the book so I chose the audio and now I have to finish that other one first, since it's due back sooner.

For reading material, my wonderful husband gave me several herbal books for my birthday and I am having fun browsing through all of them. (growing and using herbs is my favorite hobby) I'm having trouble finding fiction books to read these days; I keep picking up books and putting them down only partially read. I just can't seem to find something that holds my interest right now. Maybe a trip to the library when I have time to browse is what I need.

> It seems inconceivable today to think a woman could be sent away on the whim of her father, for being a bit difficult.

Astro, fortunately we can thank laws written back in the 60s or 70s for this. Otherwise family would still be sending their troubled kin in lifetime hiding.

I also enjoyed the book (I have loved her stuff, generally). My only quibble - it would have played better if the story took place in the 60s, not present time. By the 70s, the vast majority of such abuses had been uncovered and there were laws protecting people from false imprisionment (there is a dark side to the law - it means when someone is a danger to himself or others, it takes an act of god to get him committed...) Anyway, setting it in the 60s would give it more credance.

Another quibble (ok, I have two :) were the parents - I thought they were very flat and cardboard. I needed to know more about them, aside from their evil hate of their own child (tho this book was so tightly written that I am not sure she could have done that withoug messing with the pacing)

As for the granddaughters story - I saw it as how she was living her life as a young adult, in a way that Esme could only dream of. The freedoms she had in present day compared starkly to what Esme had to endure, both in real life and in the institution.
But I did love it and would recommend it to others.

Cindy, I agree that the father was a very flat character, but I had a better feeling for the mother.
My question about Iris was to do with her relationship with Alex (trying not to give away too much). I didn't really see how that fitted in with the rest of the story, and found it a bit prurient.

Again, I think (and could be wrong) that is was a parrelel to the world she lived, with the freedoms she has, and the world that Emse and her sister lived in, with the horrible restrictions and expectations. But having just finished 13th Tale, and felt that way about Margarets story, I do empathize!

Cece, how sad about the fate of "Crawfie" being kicked out of the G & F house, which she so loved. I kept feeling so sorry for her husband-to-be, while he waited and waited for her release from governess duties. I have to say, however, that given her love for her native Scotland, she may well have been happier finishing out her life there....

I kept noticing the Scottish references throughout, the bagpipes, the kilts worn, the vacations in the Highlands and wondered about the English love for a people they had so tromped on at Culloden and elsewhere. Did this love of things Scottish stem from Queen Victoria's adoration of the Highlands and Balmoral, etc.?

re Marion Crawford. It must have been sad for her to lose touch so utterly with the 'Princesses' made more poignant as the house she and her husband lived in was on the route of the Royals when they drove to Balmoral.
I would suggest it was the late Q Mother who saw to it that MC was shunned so totally . . . think how she never forgave Wallis Simpson for causing all the rumpus with the Abdication etc.
MC's final fall, as cece mentioned was when she did a write-up in advance in a 'ladies mag' about Royal Ascot (the main horse racing event of the social calendar) describing all the hats and expensive outfits worn by the ladies, only to find out too late that the event never took place because of a railway strike.
She was never taken seriously again and lost her job.

Mary, re the Scottish thing. I think George IV started a trend towards kilt-wearing etc and then his niece Victoria with Prince Albert carried on and extended the tradition when they bought the Balmoral estate. In those days you could certainly 'get away from it all' in the Highlands . . .and it's still pretty remote today.
Battles such as Culloden etc always sound romantic in retrospect for those on the losing side and I have a theory that Bonny Prince Charlie caused untold damage to the Scots people and the clan system by trying to claim the throne. Once he had run away back to France he left 'his' people to suffer the consequences of his selfish actions while he himself led a life of drunkeness and dissipation.
A silly lot; the Stuarts.
Re Wallis Simpson, I have heard good things about The Darkness of Wallis Simpson by Rose Tremain although I haven't read it.

I see in today's English papers that wealthy New Yorkers are buying Barbour jackets as worn by Helen Mirren in the film The Queen. Will they be wearing headscarves too?

Interesting background, Vee. Then this would make the late Queen Mother rather "two-faced", don't you think???

What on earth is a "Barbour jacket"? ;-)

>Dystopian Fiction:Ray Bradbury, Farenheit 451

In HS, for AP English, you could pick some optional classes usually based on a specific type of reading. The one I loved the most was Utopia. The teacher wasn't the best, but the selection, and class discussion, was amazing. We read everthing from Thomas More and Theoroux, to HG Wells and of course, Fahrenhiet 451. I reread that book a few years back for a book group and was so amazed by how prescient it was. If only the world listened.

Finished Wintersmith, loved it! BTW its marketed as a YA book, but while I can see kids reading it, it wasn't dumbed down or simple at all. He's an author I'd recommend to high schoolers with little reservation.

One thing about Terry Prachett is his subtle way of hooking you in. He starts out very funny, and develops the plot in such a way that you can pick up and put down the book several times during maybe the first half of the book. Then suddenly - you grabbed by the throat, dragged in, and the next thing you know is when you finished the book, 3 hours have passed. Ahhhhhh, splendid.

barbour jackets are the waxed, waterproof dark green jackets worn for "country pursuits." See link
The Queen Mother was once described as steely strength encased in a marshmallow coating. It has also been said that her famous smile did not always reach her blue eyes. She had a wonderful sense of how to connect with the public and was a great support for her husband, who was devastated when he bacame King. However, she had very strongly-held beliefs about duty, family honor and obligation, and did not ever allow them to falter-when her nephew, the Duke of Glamis (title held by her father) married an Irish-Catholic nurse he had met while in hospital "drying out (I think...) the QM refused to ever visit or acknowledge her position as the Duchess, because she felt that her nephew had not "followed the rule of family duty". Even when the woman, driven mad by the loss of a child and the complete ostracism and isolation she had suffered from her husband's family and friends, committed suicide, there was little if any expression of sympathy. QM's scorn of the Windsors came mostly from the derilection of duty and the fact that Wallis had two ex-husbands living. When her second daughter fell in love with a divorced man, even though his wife had been at fault, she could not bring herself to accept the relationship, even though she liked the man personally. In her eyes, Crawfie had not adhered to the code of loyalty. There was no middle ground.

Here is a link that might be useful: barbour jackets

Make that the Earl of Strathmere-they lived in Glamis Castle.

Hmm, I need one of those jackets for the kind of weather we have been having here in Tidewater, recently....

I seem to recall the sad waste of Princess Margaret's life, when she was not allowed to marry Peter Townsend. What a prison the royals lived in. And, as Crawfie pointed out in her aforementioned book, Margaret had a great deal of charm and talent, could it have been channeled into a reasonable direction....I never could understand why divorce was such a big deal, in the C of E.

A friend of my mother's has a Barbour jacket. It's very heavy and smells like a candle from all the wax. Makes me wonder what would happen if one got too close to a open flame while wearing one.

Wow - I still remember my first trip to London, during the QM birthday. She was parading out in her coach with the usual royalty and such around her, smiling, waving. Everyone I talked to said how much they loved her, so much more than the current queen. I was even sad when she died. Gads, what a witch.

She was definitely a product of her time and upbringing. Duty was really everything-I believe that she lost three brothers in the first World War. You just didn't shirk your duty or your responsibility to the family. Personal feelings were weaknesses to be controlled. Her mother-in-law, Queen Mary, when explaining why she had reacted 'non-maternally' to one of her son's peccadillos, is quoted as saying "I can never forget that their father is the King."

Re: the divorce issue as viewed by the C of E ... wasn't the C of E created because King Henry VIII wanted a divorce and the Pope refused him? Unless I'm greatly misunderstanding things (and I probably am!) it would seem that divorce would be allowed?

One would think. Tho the issues that spurred on the Reformation were in the making long before Henry came around. The divorce I think was the spark that set it all off.

re the 'divorce' issue of Henry VIII. He tried to get his first marriage 'annuled' on the grounds that his wife had formerly been betrothed to his older brother (who had died).
All the 'becoming head of the Church IN England' (OF came later) would have been avoided if Anne Boleyn had given in to H's charms and not insisted on marriage and/or the then Pope, to whom Katherine of Aragon was related, hadn't taken 'her side' rather than that of H. Pure 'religion' played little part in these goings-on; they were mostly political.

Mary, you ask why divorce is such a 'big deal' in the C of E. Well the tenets of the C of E are very similar to those of the RC church (although less dogmatic and seen by some to be wishy-washy).
It is re-marriage after divorce that they are against.
Look at the trouble Prince Charles had marrying C P-B (her ex husband is still living) He could not be married in the C of E, but had to have a civil ceremony and then a 'blessing' by the Archbishop of Canterbury . . plus a very public ticking off!
I understand that in the US divorce and re-marriage seems to be fairly casual, but until after WWII it was heavily frowned on in the UK.
I can remember as a child listening to older women (it was always women) doing a 'nudge nudge wink wink . ."so-and-so has got divorced". It has only been in the last 20 or so years that it raises neither eyebrows or much comment.

Cindy as you say the Reformation was well under way in Europe (think Luther) before H got the hots for AB. In fact only a few years before, he had written a strongly worded piece against Protestantism and had been given the title Defender of the Faith by the Pope . . . we still have FD round the edge of our coinage to this day.
Sorry if it is rather early for a history lesson!

All the above is fascinating.

To veer off in another direction: I've just finished a most enlightening read: Loren Graham's "Moscow Stories." The author takes us from his student days in the Sixties at Moscow Univ.right on up through Perestroika and Glasnost, and the eventual collapse of the USSR, with the "New Russians", high crime, corruption, etc. It's a real page turner, as the author describes his sparrings with the FBI, the KGB, the CIA, being followed, escaping surveillance, etc. Well written, with wit and verve. Frieda, I think this is one for you....and for anyone with an interest in Russian culture and history.

thanks-that's the perfect Christmas gift for my nephew, who just returned from 7 months studying in Russia. yeaaaahhhh! One gift down.

I'm reading "Andersonville", it's on my Pulitzer "to read" list. I'll probably still be reading it in November...it's a hunk of a book!

Vee, thanks for the further info. I tend to know just enough about any given subject to be confused by it, lol.

I'm reading another Richardson Wright, The Bed Book of Food and Drink. Written near the start of WWII, it's structured like his Gardener's Bed Book with observations for each day of the year. It's quite charming and is a much better fit for my current reading mood than The Omnivore's Dilemma was.

I just finished Act of Treason by Vince Flynn last night-he is an author that always delivers a gripping novel although I realize political thrillers are not everyone's cuppa-I have really enjoyed all his books and often wonder if there is a real person out there like Mitch Rapp!

Pat

Looking at my TBR stack, I realized I was in the mood for non-fiction. Unfortunately I have way too many books on current events and really am not in the mood for those. So I spotted one that I bought a few years back by Simon Winchester called Fracture Zone, about his visit back to the Balkans after 20 years, to cover the Kosovo war. He looks back through the last thousand years, and tries to find the background to the hatred and bloodshed that keeps occuring there. After reading Birds without Wings, and some other books about the history of that area, Im finding many things connecting. Plus he's just a good writer (also a wonderful speaker. Heard him talk about Krakatoa and I was spell bound. Didn't care for the book, tho, pity)

I just finished "The Other Side of the Bridge" by Mary Lawson (author of Crow Lake). It was a beautifully written book. I hated to finish it. I just began "The Road". We'll see...

Saw a stage performance of Chekhov's Three Sisters. I'm including it here because of how surprisingly funny I found much of it. I know I read it in college and I'm pretty sure I've seen at least one amateur production, but somehow the humor never lifted off the page. Far from the expected grim evening of theatre, I found myself seeing a thoroughly delightful play. Plays really are best seen rather than read.

IÂve just started McCarthyÂs The Road as well! (Sounds like a popular read -- maybe someone whoÂs finished it could start a discussion thread?) The stark prose and nameless, ageless (at least so far through my read) man and boy are haunting. I donÂt think IÂve ever read a post-apocalyptic story portrayed so realistically. Its very realism is what is frightening. You can easily imagine this is exactly what it would be like.

I also recently finished All Mortal Flesh by Julia Spencer-Fleming, which was amazingly good. ItÂs part of a series (the last?) and I think it is her best book. It was really a perfect mystery book, with lots of heart-wrenching twists right up through to the end. If you enjoy mysteries and havenÂt tried this series, I would encourage you to do so.

IÂm also slowing making my way through Christopher MooreÂs The Stupidest Angel. IÂve left it on my bed stand as IÂve learned not to read it in public places, because I laugh out loud at parts and embarrass myself. ItÂs a hoot.

HEe, I love books like that. I remember reading Bill Bryson's book on my first trip to London. I would laugh frequently on the tube (subway) - something that just wasn't done. Same thing happened a few years later when I was in a Pratchett run. I couldn't help myself. Didn't get embarrassed tho, I thought it was funny (and no I wasn't obnoxious, really :)

I do it reading Wodehouse-because I can hear Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie saying the words. The books are funny enough as it is-then with those two nattering on in my head-

cindy, re laughter on the Tube, especially if it is of the maniacal variety and you are carrying a rucksack. . . .just don't do it, please.
If you are a blackbeard-less old woman, at best you may be thought mad; otherwise you might find yourself the only person in the carriage with alarm bells ringing. :-)

Oh, I hadn't thought of that. My last visit to London was pre 2001, so the worst I thought I was doing was making people wonder what that strange woman was reading. The world has changed :) (The idea of that poor Brazilian man who was shot on the tube because the police were so determined to get someone still send shivers down my spine. )

Finished Fracture Zone. If you want a good background on why the Balkans fractured the way it did, you should read this. The lessons here could easily be extrapolated to the Middle East, esp since both areas were 'created' with boundaries at the same time period - post WWI.

I put aside the book I almost finished on Queen ElizabethI and King James of Scotland. I've totally switched gears and have just started Jim Fergus' "A Thousand White Women." It is fiction presented as a factual diary, set in the American West of 1875, inspired by an actual incident with the Cheyenne. Has anyone else read this?

This month IÂve read 1776 and The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid.
IÂm currently listening to 1812 By Niven, but IÂm finding Geoffrey Howard
to be slightly over dramatic in his reading.

I must now confront myself with that task of what to read next. : )

First year of teaching...hardly had time to read. However, I did just finish Gorgon an interesting look at the permian extinction. I enjoyed reading about the research and the development of the theories surrounding the biggest mass extinction on our planet.

Now reading Terry Pratchett's new book Wintersmith, which has been enjoyable thus far. I just wish I had more time to read! Haven't even visited the forum since August when school started.

I am trying to read What Came Before He Shot her, the new Elizabeth George. Although well written I am finding the descriptions of the seamy side of London life and the despair of the young that live in housing quite depressing, so I have to set it aside and do something else for a while, so not reading it as quickly as I should for a library book.

Pat

Pat, I had to put aside Crimson Petal and the White for that very reason. Need to take it in very small dosages.

Now reading Unseen Journey by Jason Elliot, author of the excellent book about Afghanistan "Unexpected Light". This one is about his trip through Iran. Like the last one, a very interesting look at the history, culture and lanscape of this fascinating country. He does tend to be a wee bit verboise when he is tossing out names and dates, or talking about architecture, but skimming that is easy. The rest is really quite worth while.

Just finished The Wal-Mart Effect by Charles Fishman. A while back I read In Sam We Trust by Bob Ortega. Both are thought-provoking and approach the subject differently. Neither is completely anti-WalMart. It is amazing that a store could have so many layers. Fishman points out that "The source of almost all of Wal-MartÂs troubles can be traced not to some evil conspiracy spun out of the home office, but to the slogan printed right on every Wal-Mart bag: 'Always low prices. Always.'"

I'm reading the very enjoyable A Writer's House in Wales by Jan Morris. I'd forgotten how much I like her writing, and dug out my old copy of Journeys which I'd like to read next. However...

All my reserved library books arrived at once on Friday, so I'm now trying to decide which to read first: The Devil is a Gentleman: Exploring America's Religious Fringe by J.C. Hallman, Snobs by Julian Fellowes, or The Hills is Lonely by Lillian Beckwith. Hmmmmmmm.

Finished "1000 White Women" which was enlightening in terms of the history of the American West and the fate of the Cheyenne and other tribes. Very moving.

Now I am reading Doctorow's "The March", which was recommended by some on this forum. I am finding it slow going and hope all the threads of various characters will weave themselves together into a cohesive story. Tell me it gets better.....I always want a book to be "unputdownable."

I'm in the middle of Mary Gentle's 1610: A Sundial in a Grave. It's been marketed as an historical fantasy/adventure pastiche that involves plots to kill both Henry of Navarre of France and James I of England -- and is all that -- but I think more important is its exploration of gender and sexuality. Some might find the romantic relationship a bit too deviant, but I'm finding it quite profound the further it progresses. It's the kind of book that should have been nominated for a Tiptree award, but I don't find it on any Tiptree shortlist. And have I mentioned that Mary Gentle really knows how to write a good sword fight?

wood, it gets better. I actually enjoy books that start out with divergent characters who end up connecting. And they do.