Born the illegitimate daughter of a French courtesan, Sarah Bernhardt didn’t even live with her mother until she was eight years old. When she did move in with her, Sarah caught the eye of one of her mother’s patrons and was shipped off to convent boarding school. Not for her safety, but because her mother didn’t want the competition. When she returned to Paris at 15 her ... Read More...
Miss Austen: A Novel
On Monday I reviewed what was a stunning, but intense book, so it’s with a bit of relief that I’m back with a book I’ll call recovery reading. Cassandra Austen is the older sister of author, Jane Austen. Jane has been dead for many years and Cassandra has felt it was her duty to be the arbiter and controller of her beloved sister’s legacy. To this end, she has been gathering ... Read More...
A Well-Behaved Woman
The Vanderbilt family is one of the great success stories in American history. Author Therese Fowler picks up the line with the third generation in her novel, A Well-Behaved Woman. The woman in question is Alva Smith—a 21-year-old with a perfect pedigree, but no money. Teetering, in fact, on the edge of outright poverty, until her dear friend Consuelo (a Cuban sugar heiress), ... Read More...
The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton
Time passes differently when I'm alone in the house; I have no way of marking the years. I am aware that the sun continues to rise and set and the moon to take its place, bu I no longer feel its passage. Past, present, future are meaningless; I am outside time. Here and there, there and here, at once. In present day London, Elodie is an archivist who comes across a leather ... Read More...
Enchantress of Numbers
What kind of child might you get if you matched a world-famous poet known for his outrageous lifestyle and a genteel woman with a penchant for knowledge and restraint? If it was the early 1800s in England then you’d get Augusta Ada Byron, the only legitimate heir of Lord George Gordon Byron. Enchantress of Numbers is Jennifer Chiavarini’s new novel about Ada’s life—a ... Read More...
October Reading Wrap-Up
Goodbye, October! This was another one of those months where, when I looked up it was the 20th and I had no idea where the days went. Is that an age thing? Because I never used to notice it so much. Anyway, I didn’t read as many books in October, for two reasons. One, I’m continuing to pay less attention to new releases (which is kind of working, in part because I’m only ... Read More...
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