Playing with History

Playing With History is a monthly column dedicated to books that are history based, but with a fictional plot. I tend to gravitate toward Henry the VIII's England or the Italian Renaissance, but here or there I plan to step out of my usual if the plot sounds promising enough. I will use our usual rating of Bookshelf, Library Bag or Donation Box.

In Kathleen Tessaro's The Perfume Collector Grace Munroe receives a mysterious letter informing her that she's the beneficiary to a will. The problem? She doesn't know the deceased. Grace leaves her life in England, a life where she's barely happy in social circles she doesn't want to be in and married to an absent, and probable cheating husband, to travel to Paris to find out more about the woman, Eva D'Orsey who has left her a fortune. In doing so she starts unraveling a mystery that spans from New York in 1927, to Monte Carlo in the 1932 to rural England in 1935 and back to Paris in 1955.

I was charmed by this book. It swaps from Grace's story to Eva's in a way that you're learning about this mysterious woman along with Grace instead of knowing things the main character doesn't which can get a little frustrating. Eva's history is spell binding. She's not a completely pure character, but she's got the right motivations. To see where she starts and how she ends up is a pleasure in story telling. Grace also gets to go through great character development. I actually found myself at the end surprised I was there already and wishing for more.

There were a few things I really enjoyed about this book. One was that it was about perfume, which is really funny because I rarely wear it and when I do, it's one scent that I buy over and over (I'd tell you what it is, but then you'd accuse me of product placement). Much like The Language of Flowers did with flora, Tessaro makes perfume about more than just smelly stuff that causes people to sneeze, but about the meaning of the scents. How different smells can bring out memories, both good and bad. 

The second thing I really liked about this book was that it wasn't about a woman needing to do something for the love or even approval of a man. Grace and Eva both did things for themselves. Grace's husband is, for the most part, a foot note in the book. She leaves for Paris with barely a thought, forget about permission as might have been the law of the land in those days. And Eva...Eva lived for Eva, but I wouldn't say in a selfish way. She might have taken up with men, but it was never for them unless she wished it to be. 

The Verdict

Bookshelf

Playing With History

Playing With History is a monthly column dedicated to books that are history based, but with a fictional plot. I tend to gravitate toward Henry the VIII's England or the Italian Renaissance, but here or there I plan to step out of my usual if the plot sounds promising enough. I will use our usual rating of Bookshelf, Library Bag or Donation Box.

The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell is a fictional account of a woman who left her parents' home to start over after her husband abandons her. Leaving her daughter, with the intention of sending for her later, Lucy cut off her hair, put on her brother's clothes, and began a school of dance for young ladies all while living as a man named Joseph. After awhile Lucy actually becomes Joseph, identifying as male. Joseph is found out and leaves, but it is only the beginning of his adventures as he goes into the territory of Minnesota to guard a land claim over the harsh winter and then attempts to start a horse farm. He also faces a trial for impersonating a man after he's (again) found out to be a woman. The novel follows the journey which includes some instances in his life where he's plagued with mental illness, but also the attempts to regain his daughter, Helen and his struggles with religion and what it meant in those days. 

I am outside my comfort zone with this book, not because of its content at all, but because of its time period, which is just where I like it. As with last month's post where I reviewed a book which takes place on a Southern Plantation, I am trying to read more that I wouldn't have reached for previously, expand my horizons. Sometimes I'm disappointed, but a lot of what I've tried this year has delighted me.

The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell is one of the latter. I had to force myself not to stop reading and Google everything about this incredible historical figure. I am intrigued by anyone who breaks the mold they are told they must live in and Joseph does this incredibly. William Klaber takes fiction and what he was able to find in letters, newspaper articles and other documents and weaves them into something that is engaging and riveting. 

Reading it in the current time where gender identification is still a taboo and complicated matter, it was incredible to read about someone who was able to live as he wanted even though society was against him.  The relationship between Joseph and Marie (Joseph's wife) is both comforting and beautiful. I also enjoyed when Joseph would read books we now would refer to as classics and give his opinion of them. Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is mentioned as is Adam Bede by George Eliot. 

The Verdict

Bookshelf: I had a hard time starting the  book which had nothing to do with the content, but only because I was not in the mindset for a historical fiction. Once I started, however, I couldn't put the book down. This was a well written tale of a individual who was brave and honest even though others thought he was being deceitful. Now, I'm off to find out more about the true story!

*Review is based off a galley provided from netgalley.com

Playing With History

Playing With History is a monthly column dedicated to books that are history based, but with a fictional plot. I tend to gravitate toward Henry the VIII's England or the Italian Renaissance, but here or there I plan to step out of my usual if the plot sounds promising enough. I will use our usual rating of Bookshelf, Library Bag or Donation Box.

 The Kitchen House is a novel by Kathleen Grissom about Lavinia, a young Irish immigrant who is sold into indentured servitude on a Southern tobacco plantation when her parents die aboard the ship on the way over to America. She's immediately put to work in the kitchen house alongside the slaves who are assigned there. They take her under their wing immediately, including Belle, the illegitimate daughter of the captain, who is the owner of the plantation. The novel tells both Lavinia's story as well as Belle's throughout the next thirteen years as Lavinia finds her place in plantation society and Belle fights to be free.

I haven't read a lot of books about the South, but I thought this one sounded interesting because I hadn't heard a lot about the indentured servants that came over to this country. Their plight was not nearly as terrible as those of the slaves, but it did open up an avenue we don't usually hear about. Lavinia's story is no different. She embodies the idea that hate is learned as it wasn't until she was a lot older that she understood the difference between her lot in life and those of the slaves. They were her family. That was that. 

The book does fall on typical stereotypes that come from this era, but I was able to forgive that because I liked the characters, even when I didn't. I felt a myriad of emotions for Marshall, the plantation owner's son was both heartbreaking at times, yet acted so reprehensible it was hard to remember that pity. Lavinia was a interesting heroine to follow as was Belle, the secondary narrator, who for all intents and purposes, becomes Lavinia's mother. The trials and tribulations of being the captain's daughter by a slave was tragic, especially as the captain's family had no idea of her relationship to him, thinking her his mistress.  

I would like to see a sequel to this story if even just to see Ms. Grissom leave the stereotypes behind and take us into a different direction and maybe a story that not so many horrible things happen that you become just a little desensitized. 

The Verdict

Bookshelf: I had a hard time picking between bookshelf and Library Bag, mostly because this book did have its faults; however, when a book stays with me even after I finish reading it, I think that gives it something extra. It isn't a perfect story, but one I would like to revisit.

Review: Blood Between Queens

In her fifth installment of the Thornleigh series, Blood Between Queens, Barbara Kyle is once again in Queen Elizabeth's court. This time her focus is on Justine Thornleigh, ward of Richard and Honor from the first book in the series, The Queen's Lady.

Mary, Queen of Scots has fled her kingdom hoping for asylum under her cousin Elizabeth. What she receives, however, is house arrest, with Justine as her lady's maid. Unbeknownst to Mary, Justine has been put in the position as spy to Elizabeth. In addition, unbeknownst to Justine, Mary is in cahoots with Justine's father, who is believed to be dead and is a traitor to the English crown, a relationship also hidden from Justine's fiancé, Will. Justine is constantly in limbo between her loyalty to Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary, her fiancé and foster family, and her father. 

I admit, I didn't read the first four books in the series, but it mostly felt as if this could be read as a stand alone. Kyle gives the reader enough information to know what the previous stories were about, and I really didn't feel that I was missing anything. 

Even so, I felt the story ran a bit slow, and it started to read more like an historical romance, rather than historical fiction. The intrigue didn't feel, well, intriguing at first. In the latter part of the book, the pace quickened a bit and I was more interested to see what would happen. The story felt like there was filler that could have been cut out. Blood Between Queens read more like a book that just happened to take place during the Elizabethan era than one about Queen Elizabeth's reign, which would have been more interesting.

The Verdict

Library Bag: This will appeal to readers who like the Elizabethan era, but not to those who like stories about the actual historical individuals (like Elizabeth, Cecil, et al) to take more of a central role.

*(review based on galley received from netgalley.com)

Review: Blood & Beauty

In Sarah Dunant's latest offering, she's giving us the Borgias in all their glory. Here is where I usually give you a synopsis of the book, but the Borgias's story is so well known it seems redundant. Here is the story of Rodrigo Borgia, better known as Pope Alexander VI and his children, Cesare, Lucrezia, Juan, and Jofre and their family's reign in Renaissance Italy.  

While Blood & Beauty doesn't offer new information that no one has ever heard before, it doesn't matter. Instead, Dunant gives us a story to sink into and immerse our lives into the Rome that was trenched in treachery, betrayal, and politics. 

Why do we keep coming back to the Borgias? They've had countless books, a show on premium television and even an appearance in a popular video game series. My answer? The Borgias were the soap opera family of their times. They were scandalous, daring and decadent. Pope Alexander was more politician than pontiff, more concerned with using his children to gain alliances with surrounding countries and city-states than with the spiritual well being of his people. Cesare, an unhappy cardinal turned soldier, is manipulative and just a little too attached to his younger sister, although the crime of incest doesn't actually occur. The only character you feel sorry for is Lucrezia. There is no indication of the poisoning calculator who makes appearances in previous incarnations of the Borgias story. She is a victim of her family's machinations. 

The storytelling was rich and the characters believable. Dunant gives her version of this infamous family with color and verve. Historical fiction the way I like it, with the historical individuals taking center stage. 


The Verdict

Bookshelf: You love the Borgias? The Italian Renassiance?  Scandal and intrigue? Read this book. 

*Review copy was rewarded through LibraryThing.com Early Reviewers program*

Friday @ the Forums

April is here and we're bringing in spring with Brave New World along with an optional read of any of the works of William Shakespeare. Here's what else is going on in the forums.

San Francisco Meet & Greet and companion Google Hangout - Just a reminder that we're going to be in SF on Saturday, April 6th from 3:45-5pm at the Downtown branch of the SF public library. More details can be found her and make sure you R.S.V.P whether you'll be in person or via Google Hangout.

Fairy Tales - Not a lot of info on the forums, but check out Thisseas's thread to find out more.

Gadfly - Our Shelftator Angie is organizing an optional read in July for the book The Year of the Gadfly. The more who participate the better. 

Historical Fiction Help - After reading Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald this week, it got me wondering about other historical fiction written with famous authors as the main characters. I'm trying to get a list started if anyone can help with some titles. 

Fridays @ the Forums: March 29th

Here's what's happening on our Goodreads forums. We're in the last few days of reading Sherlock Holmes stories. Monday we start Brave New World. 

SF Meet & Greet - We are officially going to be in San Francisco to check out a few bookstores for our new podcast segments "CWAtC on the Go." If you can make it, we'll be at the downtown branch of the SF Public Library at 3:45pm (PST). If you cannot make it, that's ok as well because we will be doing a Google + Hangout at 4pm (PST). Please RSVP on the forums if you plan on joining us and follow us on Google+ for the invite.

Source: Apple Maps

June Book Selection- The poll closed today. Looks like Solaris is the winner after a really close race to the finish. This weekend we'll open July's poll in the pre 1910 category.

Virtual Book Discussion - Speaking of polls, we want to see if anyone is interested in doing a virtual book discussion at the end of each month on Google+. Vote now!

Historical Fiction Help! - Booktator Karena is looking for fictional accounts of the lives of famous authors. Help a Tator out?

Books for Future Consideration - Have a book that's been published after 2003 and think it may be a future classic? Share it here!