I may be writing this review to watch myself write because virtually every reader I know has already read Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See. Ostensibly, my excuse is, this Pulitzer Prize winning novel originally published in 2014 is being re-released in paperback. But really? WHY did it take me this long to read this wonder of a novel? I have no decent reason. ... Read More...
The Enemies of Versailles
The Enemies of Versailles is the final novel in Sally Christie’s Mistresses of Versailles trilogy. When we left King Louis XV, Madame de Pompadour, one of his longest lasting mistresses had died and with her went the reign of mistress as advisor. The fact that she was able to keep her exalted position long after their affair ended was due to the fact that she had no ... Read More...
Marie Antoinette: Mix and Match
It's no secret I'm not a huge reader of non-fiction, but often I am led to it by fiction or movies about real life subjects. For whatever reason, I need to be led to non-fiction by shiny objects and visual effects. Plus, when I do read it it is often about the aristocracy (dreams of a previous life as an Empress, maybe?). So, it's no surprise that I've found Marie Antoinette to ... Read More...
The Shadow Queen
Louis XIV may have been a fascinating king but thankfully for readers, author Sandra Gulland prefers to focus on the woman behind the man. In The Shadow Queen, that woman is Athénaїs de Montespan, an aristocratic beauty who is able to pull the King’s interest away from his longtime mistress and claim him for herself. Forget the Queen, apparently she is too shy and ... Read More...
Hunting and Gathering
For every one of us there is a point when we know we are in love with a book and for each of us it is different. For me, it was page 17 in Hunting and Gathering when the anorexic Camille crumpled up a note from a well-meaning young doctor asking her to call him so he could take her to dinner. One sentence, no special words and yet, to me, it so perfectly encapsulated this ... Read More...
Ignorance
In a small Catholic village in Occupied France, Jeanne and Marie-Angèle attend the local convent school. From the beginning they are distinctly different girls from their backgrounds to their current family life. Marie- Angèle is the blonde-haired, blue-eyed daughter of the local grocer while Jeanne is a small, dark and intense girl whose mother has been reduced to cleaning ... Read More...
