Historical Fiction

The Secret Book of Flora Lea

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By Patti Callahan Henry

Loved the title. Loved the cover. Loved the premise. The book was a real mess. I usually don’t rate books as low as 2 stars simply because I usually quit reading them well before I feel qualified to pass judgment on them. But this started off well and despite my irritations which built up as the book went on, I was intrigued by the mystery and so I stuck with it, hoping for a big payoff at the end.

Hazel works in a rare bookstore in London but this is her last day as she is about to go to her dream job at Sotheby’s after a short vacation to Paris with her long-term boyfriend. She is sad about leaving because the owners are like her family. Alone in the office, Hazel opens a shipment of rare books and much to her shock they include a manuscript of a children’s fantasy book called Whisperwood and the River of Stars by Peggy Andrews.

When Hazel was a teenager she and her little sister, 6-year-old Flora, were sent to a little farm near Oxford under Operation Pied Piper. This was a scheme at the beginning of WWII to send many of the children away from London to keep them safe from the bombings. Hazel and her sister are fortunate in that they are taken in by Bridey and her son Harry who are very cool and kind. Hazel and her sister are devoted to each other and are further bonded by a fantasy story that Hazel has created and shares with Flora. They “go into” their fantasy story quite often. It is about a land called Whisperwood and is a great secret between just the two of them. Flora relies on Hazel telling her the story whenever she needs comfort and security and is quite enamored with it. Hazel and Harry become infatuated with each other and one day they leave Flora alone asleep in a meadow by a nearby river. The river plays a role in Whisperwood and Flora is attracted by the “river of stars and galaxies” and falls in. She is never seen again and is presumed drowned though her body is never found.

When Hazel looks at the book in the bookstore office it is her secret fantasy story come to life but expanded and embellished with illustrations. Since no one but her and Flora knew about Whisperwood she concludes that Flora must have survived the fall in the river and somehow told the story to someone who told someone else who wrote a book about it. Or could someone have somehow learned about the story before Flora’s disappearance? Or could Flora actually be Peggy Andrews the American author?! The rest of the book is trying to find and talk to the very private and elusive Peggy and chasing down all of the people she knew way back when who might somehow have heard about Whisperwood. This includes her teenage crush, Harry, whom she rejected out of guilt that she was with him instead of watching after her little sister.

There are many reasons why this book did not work for me, but there are several main ones. First of all the details told about Whisperwood interspersed throughout the novel were too precious. I largely skipped over all the twee descriptions. I don’t want to hear about the weird dream you had last night, either. I didn’t like how Hazel fell back with Harry whom she hadn’t seen in 20 years and didn’t really know anymore. She treated her long-term boyfriend shabbily, professing her love to him right to the point where he rightly didn’t believe her and walked out in hurt and frustration. Hazel rubbed me the wrong way from the minute she stole the valuable manuscript from her employer who was supposedly like family and kept delaying fessing up to him until it was too late. “I can explain” is a refrain we hear too often from Hazel about many of her bad decisions.

**Major Spoilers Ahead**

But the absolute most frustrating thing was that the whole book was about the quest to solve how Hazel’s story made its way to America and Peggy Andrews, but in the end, it was nothing but a wild goose chase. A good bit of the book is spent with Peggy, her secretive mother, and their troubled relationship. Twenty-five-year-old Peggy is the same age Flora would be and the reader is teased constantly that Peggy is Flora. Why else would we spend so much time with them and her romance with her boyfriend, “Wren”? But in the end, all of that time and effort came to nothing. The solution to the mystery of what became of Flora came from out of left field from another source entirely. In fact, Flora and Hazel could have been reunited a year before the events of the book even started. But Hazel being Hazel, she sourly refused to be interviewed by a journalist who was writing a series about the lost children of Operation Pied Piper.

So after Hazel, her mother, and Flora are reunited and all of the circumstances of Flora’s disappearance are unraveled and examined, everyone keeps blathering on to everyone else about the wonder of “Whisperwood” landing on Hazel’s desk and how it was a miracle which led to finding Flora. Hazel is told that even the famous illustrator of the book read an “article in the Oxford Mail about your story, about the stolen illustrations and how they led to the solved cold case of your lost sister, the River Child, as they call her.” This false narrative made a good story but it was all nonsense and very irritating. I kept saying, “Wait, What?! What are they talking about?” I read the chain of events over again, to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. And to be fair, they do learn that Flora did survive the river, but Hazel had already come to that conclusion. Because of the brick wall Hazel and company ran into with Peggy and the book, her frustrated mother talks Hazel into meeting with the journalist who has been “hounding” her (Hazel’s words) for over a year.
I paraphrase:
“Gee Hazel, maybe you should meet with that journalist after all.”
“Absolutely Not, Mum! Why drag all of that tragedy up all over again? It would be too painful”.
“But Hazel, someone might read the story, and know something.”
“Oh. OK, then.”
And that meeting is what solves all of the mysteries and gives the book its happy ending for Hazel and Flora (who had been only a phone call away long before this story even started.)

To add to the pointlessness of it all, we learn at the end that distraught teenage Hazel was in the same local chapel that Flora was hidden in right after she was rescued from the river. Hazel even heard her calling out but she was so wrapped up in her own grief and drama that she dismissed the cries she heard as an owl. So Flora needed to never have been lost to begin with if Hazel hadn’t been so self-involved and oblivious.

When I finally came to the end I felt like I had been on a long trip to nowhere. Instead of The Secret Book of Flora Lea it should have been called When a Respected Journalist Wants to Write About What Became of Your Lost Little Sister who Disappeared 20 Years Ago, Take the Call.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Arabella

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by Georgette Heyer

What a joy after recent reads to fall back on an old favorite that has one of the most lovable and admirable heroines in all of the great Georgette Heyer’s works. Not to mention one of my favorite heroes. I listened to this on Audible and the narration by Gemma Whelan was excellent. When I am asked what my favorite GH regency is, without thinking twice I usually point to this one. Sometimes another, but most likely this one. I believe it may be the first one I ever read back when I was probably 12 or 13. I am proud of my tween self, too used to the obvious romance and strict formula of contemporary and historical gothics, for pushing through the strange words and mannered sentence structure and so much else, to recognize the sheer brilliance and entertainment value of Georgette Heyer. I became a lifelong devotee and gobbled up the rest of her books like candy.

I won’t go into the plot too much because it’s really not all that important. Heyer’s genius is the world she builds, her wit, her comedy, and her characters. Particularly her secondary characters. The setting is my favorite of the several that Heyer usually employs  It’s not a road trip, at an Inn, or at a country estate. It is set in the glittery world of London at the height of the season where the elite of society engage in all manner of entertainments and activities with an eye to marrying off their daughters to eligible bachelors who, in turn, need heirs to carry on their line.

Our heroine, Arabella, a country vicar’s daughter, is sent to London to be brought out by her society matron Godmother. On her way to the big city, she meets Robert Beaumaris when she is forced to ask for shelter at his hunting box due to a carriage breakdown. Mr. Beaumaris is the richest, most admired, and feted Corinthian in the land and is constantly being pursued by hopeful young females. He assumes that Arabella is one of their ilk and she overhears him explaining this to his guest Lord Fleetwood. Being a girl of spirit, she is mightily offended and is goaded to portray herself as a fabulously wealthy heiress to disabuse him of his false assumption and to teach him a lesson.

She contrived, without precisely making so vulgar a boast, to convey the impression that she was escaping from courtships so persistent as to amount to persecution; and Mr Beaumaris, listening with intense pleasure, said that London was the very place for anyone desirous of escaping attention.

Of course, he sees right through her and it amuses him to make her the belle of the season which he can do by merely not looking bored in her presence.

Because of Mr. Beaumaris’s flattering attentions, Arabella’s season fast becomes a success beyond her wildest dreams. When she and her Godmother become aware that the whole of London believes her to be fabulously wealthy, it certainly explains why gazetted fortune hunters are hanging around a poor vicar’s daughter. Arabella, whose conscience is finely honed thanks to her upbringing, feels terribly guilty and to make matters more awkward, she is falling for the sophisticated Mr. Beaumaris. She can’t bear to tell him what a lying silly fool she was. Not to mention his power, with a glance, to squash all of her popularity and her mother’s hopes of her attracting an eligible suitor. As for Mr. Beaumaris, much to his bemusement, he unexpectedly finds himself wound around her little finger. He has grown to realize that not only is Arabella beautiful and unspoiled, but she is a person of great moral and physical courage. In short, the girl he has been looking for all of his life. Not that he was looking for such a girl of course, but someone of substance who would not bore him. The scenes where Arabella, in his presence, rescues a chimney sweep from his cruel master and routs a gang of boys torturing a dirty mongrel, are two of the most entertaining and heartwarming scenes in all of Heyer. The scenes in which the cool and sophisticated Mr. Beaumaris agrees to provide each of these unattractive unfortunates with safe havens and their subsequent effect on his formerly peaceful household (and him) follow closely behind.

The delights of this book are many. Some of my favorites other than those mentioned above, are:

The scenes with Arabella’s large and loving family at the beginning and Mr. Beaumaris’ description of his visit to her family in the wilds of Yorkshire to ask permission for her hand at the end.

Arabella, her sister, and her mother’s preparations to ensure Arabella is not viewed as a country bumpkin when she is introduced to society. And Arabella’s  astonishment and secret amusement at the irony when Mr. Beaumaris compliments her on setting an example of taste and modesty in her jewelry and attire that her fellow debutantes are trying to copy.

Mr. Beaumaris’s conversations with and asking for the advice of Ulysses, the rescued mutt that immediately becomes slavishly devoted to him. Heyer’s detailed descriptions of Ulysses’s behavior make him one of the most entertaining characters in the book. The author’s lifelong love and knowledge of dogs shines through.

Chase that cur out of here, Joe! …‘Do nothing of the sort, Joe!’ interrupted Mr Beaumaris.
‘Is he yours sir?’ gasped the landlord.
‘Certainly he is mine. A rare specimen: his family tree would surprise you!’

Mr. Beaumaris’ visit to his grandmother, one of the great dames of her time, to prepare her for his impending marriage, if Arabella will have him.

When the book takes a long side trip to deal with the cautionary tale of Arabella’s brother Bertram’s arrival in London, I resented, in the past, the time away from Arabella’s adventures and romance. But this time, thanks to the narration, many of the scenes of Bertram’s descent into danger and probable disgrace were highlights. His desperation in trying to gamble his way out of debt in an exclusive gaming house playing at a table banked by none other than “The Nonpareil” himself. And how Beaumaris navigates the dilemma of how to handle the situation. And Arabella braving the squalor and danger of the most poverty-stricken area of London to rescue him. Leaky Peg! Quattern Sue! (and her gin-drinking baby!)

In thinking about Arabella, I wonder whom of Georgette Heyer’s many wonderful heroines would take on the salvation of dirty climbing boys, abused horses, mangy curs, sick parlor maids, or slatternly prostitutes. That is, should they be so unhappy as to come across them, of course. At the end of the book, I took a minute to envision Arabella’s and Robert’s future life beyond the pages of the book. As well as a devoted society wife and mother, I am convinced she will become a famous philanthropist and a great lady who will tackle the many evils of the day. But in large ways as well as small. In this, she will be ably assisted by her husband who, though not getting his hands dirty, will unfailingly support and defend her against the disapproval of their peers with his great wealth and influence. Perhaps he will even run for office with Arabella’s persistent encouragement?

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The Lantern’s Dance

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By Laurie R. King

I usually read Laurie R. King’s Russell/Holmes mysteries in book form so I can look for clues and check for understanding as I read. And I collect, and therefore buy, her books in Hardback because they, or at least the dust jackets, are so beautiful. I read this one on Audible because I had a credit I kinda needed to use. Nevertheless, I enjoyed listening to this 18th in the series. Forgetting the well-done audible performance, the book itself was extraordinary. To me it was right up there with her first three: The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, A Monstrous Regiment of Women, A Letter to Mary, and her 14th book, The Murder of Mary Russell. King peoples many of her novels with real-life historical personages who intermingle with fictional icons which adds so much to their appeal. In the course of the series, we meet people such as Lord Peter Wimsey, Kimbal O’Hara (Rudyard Kipling’s Kim) Dashiell Hammett, Cole Porter, Elsa Maxwell, T.E. Lawrence, and J.R.R. Tolkien. But like The Murder of Mary Russell, one of the most compelling aspects of this book is the exploration of the backstories of Arthur Conan Doyle’s creations by way of Laurie R. King by way of Mary Russell’s journals. In King’s books, Sherlock is not a fictional character created by Doyle but a real person whom his friend Watson (who is only mentioned in passing a time or two and whom Mary calls “Uncle John”) has based a series of famous detective stories. The resulting fame is sometimes very much an irritation and inconvenience to the real detective. The books begin after Holmes has “retired” to the country and meets 15-year-old Mary Russell, who gives him a new lease on life. He takes her on as an apprentice and later marries her. Or she marries him, maybe I should say.

In The Murder of Mary Russell King delved into Mrs. Hudson’s eye-popping history. In this one, the curtain is flung open on Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes’ family background and a past childhood tragedy. Of course, this tale of Holmes’s past is not based on ACD canon. All we know from the creator of Sherlock Holmes is that Sherlock’s grandmother was the sister of non-fictional French Artist, Horace Vernet. From that little nugget, King weaves a fantastical yet meticulously researched tale that is grounded firmly in Sherlockiana lore and respected speculative theories concerning the great detective. I won’t go into detail, but I will just say that Laurie takes it to a whole new level. I was blown away by the great reveal at the end which I suspect that I would have suspected had I been able to carefully read the book rather than listen to it. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Having just arrived home from Transylvania, Holmes and Russell are looking forward to a quiet visit with Holmes’ son, the artist, Damian Adler, and his little family. But it is not to be. The Adler home was broken into by a machete-wielding intruder shortly after some mysterious trunks and crates had arrived for Damien. Now the Adler family has gone missing. Mary, hobbled by a broken ankle is left to her own devices while Sherlock tracks down his son. Of course, Damian’s mysterious boxes are not safe from Mary’s curiosity. What she discovers in the trunks keeps her well-occupied in decoding and translating the fascinating journals of a girl named Lakshmi. We are introduced to her as a child as she is transplanted from France to India. The journals end with her settled in England after fleeing India under great danger. But what does she have to do with the Vernets, Sherlock Holmes, or Damian Adler? Or is the connection with his mother Irene?

The answer is both intriguing, moving, and even amusing. I had a lump in my throat and at the last, was chuckling. And I can’t wait for King’s next entry in the series. I hope and trust the plot will pick up where this one leaves off and build on the last sentence: Well,I thought, This is certainly going to make for an interesting conversation when next we see Mycroft.”

Rating: 5 out of 5.


The Girl You Left Behind

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By Jojo Moyes

“Conned any other women out of their valuables lately ?” she says quietly, so quietly that only he will hear it.
“Nope. I’ve been too busy stealing handbags and seducing the vulnerable.”
Her head shoots up and his eyes lock on hers. He is, she sees with some shock, as furious as she is.”

**spoilers**

As well-written and compelling as some parts of this book were, it took me well over a month to get through it. I chose to do other things rather than return to it. I looked at a lot of movies and some TV series. Plus Christmas. But the main reason was that I was just so utterly disgusted by the behavior and choices of the present-day main character in the novel, Liv. And her travails take up most of the book. I just wanted to avoid her because she just made me mad. The story of the WWI character, Sophie, was very tense and involving throughout her story. But I felt like she was on a path that was as disastrous as it was inevitable. So I can’t say I enjoyed it, exactly. I cared about her greatly, and we leave her at a cliffhanger in her life to begin the modern-day half of the story. Not my favorite device. On the whole, I can recommend the book because although the last part of the book was dragged out, it ended well and with a surprising game-changing appearance at the end. The unsurprising long-suspected truth about the provenance of a painting that links the past with the present is dramatically and touchingly revealed.

In this dual timeframe plot, we begin in a small village in France during WWI. We follow Sophie LeFevre who, with her family, runs an inn that has been taken over by the German occupiers. Her beloved husband, a talented artist is a prisoner of war. The powerful Kommandant is a refined gentleman and art lover who covets Sophie’s husband’s painting of her that hangs in the Inn. And it becomes evident that he also covets Sophie.

Part two is set in 2006 London. The painting, The Girl You Left Behind, now hangs in a young widow’s house which was designed by her husband, a brilliant and famous young architect. Liv cherishes the beautiful painting for its own sake but also because her husband David gave it to her on their honeymoon. Reclusive Liv is still grieving David after 4 years and knows she must get on with her life, but seems incapable of doing so. We also are introduced to Paul, who is a lawyer specializing in returning stolen Nazi art to their rightful heirs. Liv meets Paul, also a single father, when he chivalrously rescues her from an embarrassing situation. They are attracted to each other and Liv is continually struck by what a kind and good man he is. Thanks to Paul, Liv starts to come out of her shell and live again. On Paul and Liv’s first night together he sees her painting hanging in her bedroom and is shocked to the core. It is the same painting he and his company have been trying to locate for their clients, the descendants of the artist, Sophie’s husband. What follows is a court case with Paul and the heirs on one side and Liv on the other. Her lawyers are non-entities who we don’t get to know. This was one reason that the courtroom drama which should have been compelling, wasn’t.

As I mentioned, Liv all but ruined the book for me. She is determined to keep the painting because it’s hers, god damn it. Her husband bought it in good faith and she loves it. She doesn’t care that all signs indicate that it had been stolen from the artist’s family during World War I and was probably also caught up in the Nazis’ evil web of stolen art during WWII. The family understandably wants the painting, now worth millions, back. Liv irrationally blames Paul treating him like a criminal who is trying to rob her of her painting instead of a good guy trying to do an honorable job. Her behavior to him was just shabby and made no sense. Until near the end of the book, that is, when she decides she needs a booty call. That over, she turns on him again. She will not see reason from anyone who has her best interests at heart and in fighting the family’s claim, loses her house, her friends, her reputation, and most sadly, her dead husband’s legacy and reputation. I kept hoping for growth, change, and wisdom to descend on her from the blue, but was continually disappointed.

When she finally has somewhat of an epiphany (pretty much out of nowhere), it is too little too late. When the true story of the painting comes out thanks only to noble Paul’s heroic efforts, it leads to the revelation that Liv has been in the right all along. Not in her actions and decisions, but only by happenstance and luck. In the end, she gets her totally undeserved happy ending.

What rescues the book plot-wise is that we finally learn what became of Sophie and her adored Edouard. But it’s kind of like a bone the reader is thrown. Even the most potentially fascinating detective work at the end is skipped over even while the mystery leading up to the climax is drawn out way too long. The positives were just not outweighed by the pain, injustice, and sadness in the story.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

The Mystery on Judy Lane (Judy Bolton #13.5)

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by Beverly Hatfield

Judy sighed. I can’t decide if this mystery is interfering with Christmas or if Christmas is interfering with the mystery.

Before going to the third book in the Judy Bolton series, we take a short detour to celebrate the season, with The Mystery on Judy Lane, which is set during Christmas time. This book is a later addition to the series and was written by Beverly Hatfield who co-authored book # 39, The Strange Likeness (A Judy Bolton Mystery, #39).. It is set in 1940 between The Name on the Bracelet, in which Judy and Peter become officially engaged, and The Clue in the Patchwork Quilt, which sees the death of both of Judy’s grandparents, The Smeeds. Of natural causes, I hasten to add. So this one gives us an opportunity to see Judy and Peter as a newly engaged couple and their working relationship in Peter’s Roulsville office as attorney and secretary. It is also a fond farewell to kind hard-working Grandpa Smeed and loving but moody and somewhat intimidating Grandma Smeed.

The mystery involves the Pipers of The Unfinished House and Ruth Piper’s mother-in-law, Ella. Mrs. Ella Piper comes to visit Peter to sign her will, which seems to have some complications and mysteries attached to it. Earlier, while Judy was shopping for Peter’s Christmas present, she senses she is being spied on by a strange woman. What follows is a mystery involving the Roulsville Paper Mill, a land dispute, threats against Peter’s law practice, and finally criminal mischief in the form of rocks through windows. Why are Judy and Peter being targeted? Both Mrs. Piper and George the owner of the stationary store where Judy bought Peter’s present fall under suspicion, as well as Ruth’s cousins-in-law who are possible claimants to an inheritance. Interspersed with the sinister goings-on are the Christmas secrets and plans of Judy and her friends and family. We get to spend valuable time with the Smeeds when Horace and Judy are stranded there overnight during a snowstorm. Finally, with the help of Horace’s investigative reporting skills, Arthur’s inside information, Honey’s spying from George’s store, and Judy’s derring- do (and female intuition), all is solved satisfactorily for all just in time for Christmas. And of course, Peter helps too.

Though not written by or based on any input from Margaret Sutton, this book fits right into the series perfectly. Past mysteries are referred to and future mysteries and occurrences are foreshadowed, and sometimes quite poignantly. The writing style perfectly mirrors the original author’s and all of the characters’ personalities are faithful to her original creations. One can tell a lot of knowledge, love, and respect went into this one. Like Margaret, Beverly incorporated true events in her own life into this story. After reading this, Margaret Sutton’s daughter gave her blessing to its publication and asked Beverly to co-author The Strange Likeness which so successfully brought closure to the Judy Bolton series.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Black Sheep

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By Georgette Heyer

“She thought, in touching innocence, that in Miles Calverleigh she had found a friend, and a better one by far than any other, because his mind moved swiftly, because he could make her laugh even when she was out of charity with him, and because of a dozen other attributes which were quite frivolous – hardly attributes at all, in fact – but which added up to a charming total, outweighing the more important faults in his character.”

“I love you, you know,’ he said conversationally. ‘Will you marry me?’ The manner in which he made this abrupt proposal struck her as being so typical of him that a shaky laugh was dragged from her. ‘Of all the graceless ways of making me an offer – ! No, no, you are not serious! you cannot be!’ ‘Of course I’m serious! A pretty hobble I should be in if I weren’t, and you accepted my offer!


I can’t deny Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer 5-star status. It was formerly a 4-star and thus relegated to second-tier status (for a Heyer). This is not a book I re-read over and over like These Old Shades, Frederica, Cotillion, or Arabella to name a few. It was one of her later books (though the book right after Frederica, one of my favorites,) when her powers were not at their height. The one after this was the almost universally disparaged Cousin Kate, and the one after that was the boring and flat Charity Girl, and the one after that was Lady of Quality, which is really just a pale imitation of this one. And we will let the unfortunate My Lord John lay there undisturbed out of respect. But this one is a fan favorite and when it was on sale at Audible with a new reader, Natalie Simpson, I bought it and took the opportunity to reacquaint myself with it and discover what is behind its popularity. And I did.

The reader was “unexceptional” which in Heyer-speak means perfectly fine. I won’t go into the plot except that it revolves around our heroine coming to Bath to prevent a disastrous misalliance between her much loved 17-year-old niece and Stacy Caverleigh, a suave and charming cad and fortune hunter. She tries to enlist the help of his uncle, Miles Caverleigh, who has recently returned from 20 years of exile in India. Unfortunately for Abigail, if Miles had any religion, it would be against his to get involved.

He was not a rebel. Rebels fought against the trammels of convention, and burned to rectify what they saw to be evil in the shibboleths of an elder generation, but Miles Calverleigh was not of their number. No wish to reform the world inspired him, not the smallest desire to convert others to his own way of thinking. He accepted, out of a vast and perhaps idle tolerance, the rules laid down by a civilised society, and, when he transgressed these, accepted also, and with unshaken good-humour, society’s revenge on him. Neither the zeal of a reformer, nor the rancour of one bitterly punished for the sins of his youth, awoke a spark of resentment in his breast. He did not defy convention: when it did not interfere with whatever line of conduct he meant to pursue he conformed to it; and when it did he ignored it, affably conceding to his critics their right to censure him, if they felt so inclined, and caring neither for their praise nor their blame.


Abigail and Miles are perfect for each other from the very beginning. Their attraction to each other was palpable throughout. I particularly loved Miles. He kind of reminded me of Rhett Butler: Somewhat of a “loose screw”, but ultimately a good man who goes his own way and doesn’t care two hoots about the silly conventional rules of society.

But, we come to learn, he respects the feelings and values of people who really matter to him (when they aren’t being swayed by pesky outside influences, that is.) By people who matter, I mostly mean Abigail, of course. As beloved as she is to her older clingy sister Serena, and her young niece, Fanny, to the rest of her conventional conservative family, she is almost as much of a Black Sheep as Miles is to society at large. He turns out to be the missing piece she didn’t know she lacked to break her free from her constricted life and become truly free and happy. Which will only happen after the final delightful scene in the book.

As for Miles, it is through his machinations which we only suspect are going on behind the scenes, and then not until the book is in its final chapters, that things work out to the satisfaction of all of those we like, and the disgruntlement of those we don’t. Young Fanny is saved and is well on her way to a suitable love match with another, Stacy, the villain, is vanquished in 6 different ways to Sunday, society and conventional forces are flouted but will soon be brought to heel, and those that love and depend on Abigail a little too much are gently set aside. As for Abigail and Miles they will embark on a marriage and a life that we imagine will be filled with passion, adventure, and even peace when it suits them. And it is all pretty epic.
Other than Venetia, I think it is one of the most romantic of Heyer’s Novels. Brava to the genius of Georgette Heyer.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Indiscretion

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by Jude Morgan

The family had long been prosperously settled in Huntingdonshire. If they were notable at all, it was for a habit of not distinguishing themselves; and as no firmer warrant for respectability could be imagined, they continued to enjoy the widespread esteem of their acquaintance, to be buried with due formality in the vault at Wythorpe church when they died, and to be absolutely forgotten straight afterwards.

Caroline did not lack for partners in the succeeding dances, and one flushed young man who had drunk too much wine repeatedly informed her, with more gallantry than exactitude, that she was a magnificent Tigress. It was partly to escape the attentions of this zoological gentleman that she withdrew to the card room.

This definitely started off slowly and it took me some time to get reconciled to the idiosyncrasies of the writing. Obviously influenced by Georgette Heyer’s incorporation of the dialect and words of the era, it seemed a little try-hard.

Mrs Catling’s personal maid— a little pinched comfit-chewer with a look of settled, not to say lifelong discontent.

It took me a bit to get used to the cadences and the wordsmithing, but once I did, I appreciated the quality of the writing, for sure.

Mr Leabrook seemed to find nothing in her silence or awkward looks to disconcert him, however; and proceeded in his soft yet precise voice, like the purposeful padding of cat’s feet.

He still tended to speak too partially of his own feelings, and to suppose that his idiosyncrasies were of necessity interesting; whereas she could not be convinced, even by ever so emphatic a manner, that a violent dislike of onion-sauce called for any special comment, still less admiration. But he was sincere and well-meaning, of that she was sure; and she felt for his difficult situation. Indeed, it was this that made Caroline his partisan.

He was one of the few men she had seen who suited the fashionable Windswept style that his thick black hair was dressed in— perhaps because he seemed always caught in a gust of emotion.

He never uses a common word when a more obscure one will do, but that didn’t bother me and my vocabulary appreciated it.

We follow in our 20-year-old heroine Caroline Fortune’s wake as she navigates through three distinct spheres of the Regency World, always doing so with grace, humor, kindness, and common sense. We first meet her as the loving but frustrated sole companion of her father and living in a seedy section of London. They are devoted to each other but are destitute thanks to her handsome father’s irresponsibility with what little income they have from his military pension. Her mother is eight years dead. She came from a respectable and well-off family but was disowned when she followed her heart and married Captain Fortune, itinerant actor, and former military man.

One step ahead of Debtor’s Prison and desperate to save his daughter, Captain Fortune secures a paid position for her as the companion to the widow of his old Colonel, Mrs. Catling, an old battleaxe if ever there was one. He escapes to Bath as Caroline settles in Brighton with her new employer. She meets and becomes friendly with Mrs. Catling’s niece and nephew who visit her frequently and are dependent on her financially to maintain their semi-fashionable lifestyle. She also becomes friendly with their friend, Mr. Leabrook, a handsome and smooth wealthy landowner who shows every indication of admiring Caroline very much. Unfortunately, he eventually proves to be not the paragon he first appears to be. Our heroine rubs along very well thanks to her composure in dealing with Mrs. Catling’s ways. Her situation changes once again about a third of the way through the book when she receives word of her father’s reconciliation with her late mother’s sister and her husband but also his unfortunate sudden demise. When Mrs. Catling refuses to allow her time off to attend her father’s funeral, she quits, and we follow her to the third and last stop on her journey: her life with her loving Aunt and Uncle in the country parish where he is the rector. It is at this point that the book really picked up for me. It was just such a relief to have the deserving Caroline find a safe haven.

She had moved amongst many circles in her life, some clever, some stupid, some moneyed, some threadbare, but all more or less sophisticated, and not inclined to expect much virtue in others, or to cultivate it in themselves. It came as a revelation, not quite commensurate with the proven existence of the fairies, but almost as charming and bewildering, that all the time there had been this other race of beings: kind, gentle, reliable, unworldly.

It is there that she meets and becomes close to the aristocratic Milner family particularly Isabella, of her own age, who becomes her good friend. Besides Isabella’s bossy and abrasive stepmother and her Navy Captain cousin, that household also includes Isabelle’s free-thinking and unconventional younger sister Fanny and her eccentric brother Stephen who would rather be exploring archaeological sites than staying home tending to his business there. To Caroline’s dismay, she also learns that Isabella’s oft-spoken-of but temporarily absent-from-home fiance is none other than the morally suspect Mr. Leabrook.

The book is dense with intrigues and subplots, but the main strength of this book is the characterizations. All of those who revolve around Caroline were extremely well drawn with many layers and complexities and amusingly described.


She was a garrulous woman who had long been listened to with rather too much indulgence, and who was a little too inclined to consider herself a Character, on no greater evidence than a continual compulsion to talk about herself, and some large rings.

Many turned out to be quite different from what they at first seemed. Mrs. Catling first came across as a prototypical curmudgeonly old dragon: tough and demanding but admirable in her own way. By the end of our time with her she has proven to be just nasty and mean.

As to why Mrs Catling should play this unpleasant game, perhaps no further reason needed to be sought than that it gave her pleasure to meddle, mar, and hurt: this human propensity not being so uncommon as ever to excite surprise when detected.

Two of the characters owe a good bit to Jane Austen’s Colonel Brandon and Lydia Bennett. But they don’t start out that way. Another character starts out to be very unsympathetic and cold but proves her mettle when the chips are down.
The character of the hero surprisingly was a problem for me. He was obviously intelligent, even intellectual, yet his conversation, particularly with Caroline was often silly and prattling with no purpose other than to amuse himself and call attention to his “wit” and famous quirkiness. But then, perhaps he was nervous around her? Even our heroine has to tell him to just shut up at one point near the end despite her love for him and their mutually enjoyable banter.

I definitely recommend this book to those who have read and re-read Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, but crave some fresh delights. But a modicum of patience might be required and a few weaknesses overlooked. Lord, I guess a bit of Jude Morgan has rubbed off on me.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.


Mary Jane

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by Jessica Anya Blau

“… I hadn’t understood that people you loved could do things you didn’t love. And, still, you could keep loving them.”

Imagine the most reserved, squarest, whitest, most buttoned up, and buttoned down family you can and multiply by 3. At least 3. Let’s say one multiplication for each member of the family. And, our heroine, 14-year-old Mary Jane is the product of how she was raised. She is no rebel. In fact, she is an old-fashioned girl even for the exclusive enclave in Baltimore in 1975. She loves music and sings in the choir but is only vaguely familiar with the more famous rock and roll groups of the day. She prefers Broadway show tunes. She is also intelligent, sweet, dutiful, and open-hearted. She is excited to have a summer job as a temporary Nanny to a local doctor’s little girl, 5-year-old Izzy. Her insular structured world is about to be blown to smithereens.

The Cone family is everything that Mary Jane’s parents are not (or not everything the Dillards are.) At home, Mary Jane and her family bow their heads in prayer before every home-cooked, planned-out, well-balanced meal.

“Thank you, Jesus, for this food on our table and for my wonderful wife and obedient child. God bless this family, God bless our relatives in Idaho, God bless President Ford and his family, and God bless the United States of America.”

Mrs. Cone doesn’t cook or clean. they go out to eat or order out. An old bumper sticker on the door says “IMPEACHMENT: Now more than ever.” Their home is chaotic, disorganized, and a mess. Even dangerous to a little 5-year-old. The Cones are free spirits and free with their emotions. They are Jewish but prefer Buddha to God. Having Maryanne exposed to a new way of living and thinking at the Cone’s bohemian household would have made a great premise for a coming-of-age story by itself. But Jessica Anya Blau ups the ante. The reason why the Cones need a Nanny this particular summer is because Dr. Cone, a psychiatrist specializing in addiction, has cleared his schedule so he can treat and house his latest patient, a famous rock and roll star, Jimmy Bendiger, and Mrs. Cone, Bonnie, will be entertaining his equally famous and beloved movie star wife, Sheba.

As Mary Jane becomes more and more entwined with the Bohemian Cones, Jimmy, and Sheba, she comes to love them as they come to love, rely and depend upon her as she whips their household into shape and cooks them nutritious and delicious meals just as her mother taught her. She gives little Izzy stability and makes learning fun. And she starts to see her family in a different light. It starts to dawn on her that her parents have racist attitudes, are close-minded, and have questionable priorities. Mary Anne’s adventures in her new world and her ruminations on her two families are mostly light-hearted and funny, though sometimes, of course, serious and thought-provoking. And all the while, she is able to keep the truth about the Cones and their famous guests from her parents. Then one fateful day she gets her picture in the paper visiting a record store in the wrong (black) neighborhood of Baltimore with the famous rock star and his famous wife. And it all comes out.

“EXPLAIN.” He banged a fist on the table and I jumped. I thought of Izzy Cone. How she’d probably never had even a second in her life when she felt afraid of her parents.

Why would the Cones be so careless as to let a known drug addict into their home with a little girl and you?’

Why is a heroine addict traipsing around town with you anyway?

Has this man deflowered you?

Why did you go to the record store with them? Why would they take you to that store?
“Because it’s the best record store in town.” My mother snorted. “I highly doubt that.” “It is. The people in that store know all about every kind of music. The owner loves Guys and Dolls, just like me. And there was a whole wall of classical music and opera.” “On North Avenue? No, dear. Don’t lie to me.” “I’m not lying, Mom.” I was almost embarrassed for her. Did she think Black people only listened to the Jackson 5?

And with that, Mary Jane’s relationship with the Cones is at an end. Or is it?

Although I believe most readers are meant to love the Cones and disapprove (at the very least) of the Dillards, the author makes it clear that neither family is all right or all wrong. One family is generous with hugs, kisses, “I love yous” and sincere, if extravagant praise. But Izzy, though loved, is not cared for. Their home is a disaster area and the refrigerator, until Mary Jane gets there, is full of spoiled inedible food. The other family never says I love you, but Mary Jane is protected, nurtured, nourished, cared for, and taught important things. Her mother invests her time in the home and in carefully and thoroughly teaching Mary Jane the very skills and values that the Cones and their guests depend on. They are why they admire her so and partly why they love and value her. Mrs. Dillard’s love for her daughter and the love of music that they both share lead to her nascent transformation by the end of the novel. Not so for Mrs. Cone.

A word about Church, which is an example of one of the reasons I so admired the author’s characterizations. It would have been so easy for the author to portray the church in general and Rowland Park Presbyterian that the Dillards attend in a negative light, another way in which poor Mary Jane is oppressed and indoctrinated. But Blau does not take the easy predictable path with any of her characters or this institution. Church is good. Sheba the movie star was raised in the church and appreciates it. Mary Jane is the star of her choir, and her mother plays guitar for the Sunday School. The choir director likes to throw a few modern tunes into his repertoire like from Jesus Christ Superstar and John Lennon’s Imagine (with the lyrics slightly changed, of course!) The Dillards dread going to church the Sunday after Mary Jane’s ignominy is blasted on the front page of the local paper. But the parishioners are only excited and impressed at her intimacy with such two mega-stars. Jimmy, Sheba, The Cones, Mrs. Dillard are all complex with hidden depths both positive and negative. Even Mr. Dillard doesn’t always do what you would expect from the villain of the piece if there is a villain.

Mary Jane has gone through a summer like no other. And she will emerge with her horizons expanded and her future at her feet. She will take the best from both worlds and turn her back on the worst.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Lessons in Chemistry

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by Bonnie Garmus

Calvin happened to be at the window when he saw Elizabeth strolling toward the house, a dog following a respectful five paces behind, and as he watched her walk, a strange shudder swept through his body. “Elizabeth Zott, you’re going to change the world,” he heard himself say. And the moment he said it, he knew it was true. She was going to do something so revolutionary, so necessary, that her name—despite a never-ending legion of naysayers—would be immortalized. And as if to prove that point, today she had her first follower.

This one kind of reads like a Fractured Fairy Tale. It really does. Through its whole tone and narrative voice as well as in the elements of the plot, the hint of magical realism, and the way all of the mysteries and seeming coincidences come together at the end in an extraordinary way. And like a fairy tale, it had some very dark and dangerous moments. Also enraging and frustrating. Partly due to the marketing, it wasn’t really what I was expecting, and was pretty shocked at one event. Despite the description being upfront about Elizabeth, the main character’s circumstances throughout the book, I made some assumptions and I was really taken by surprise. Honestly, had I known about some of the occurrences in this book, I’m not sure I would have read it or I probably would have put off reading this book for even longer than I did. I don’t pursue books that are likely to enrage and disgust me. But had I not read it, I would have been the loser. Of course, I know that, to quote one of my favorite authors, Milly Johnson, “The Greater Your Storm the Brighter Your Rainbow.” (forgive me) In fiction anyway. And Elizabeth does triumph in the end. She and her unusual family have a happy ending, though a bit tinged with sadness and the knowledge that many challenges still remain.

Very briefly, Lessons in Chemistry is about Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant chemist, who has to function in and fight against the rampant and sometimes virulent sexism and backward attitudes of her time, the 1950’s through 1961. During her journey, she finds her soulmate, loses him, and has a little girl who is just as unusual as she is. We get to know the many people who help and hinder her along the way. Unfairly fired by the laboratory she works at, She astonishingly becomes the host of a daytime cooking show, where once again she has to fight injustice and ignorance. Incredibly, she is embraced by the 98% female American audience precisely because she doesn’t talk down to them. She does not belittle them but empowers them, kind of without them noticing it. But despite her power and popularity, her story is never an easy one. She is uncompromising.

I enjoyed this book very much and loved the main characters: Indomitable Elizabeth, her young genius daughter Mad, and her dog, Six-Thirty, who knows 981 words and through whose eyes we see some of the people and happenings that make up the story. It was often very funny and while, yes, it has some infuriating parts, also had many satisfying and heartening moments as well. The supporting characters added much to my enjoyment: Calvin, her world-famous and lauded husband and fellow chemist, Dr. Mason, her obstetrician and fellow rower, Mad’s, later Elizabeth’s friend, Reverend Wakely who struggles with his profession and his faith, Harriet, her neighbor and Mad’s babysitter, hapless Walter, who produces Elizabeth’s cooking show, and Miss Frask who has the most extreme character arc of all. And let’s not forget the Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Franklin Roth, who tries to tell Elizabeth’s true story.

Men of the 1950s in general take quite a beating in this book, but when I look back on it, there were as many positive male characters as negative ones. The negative ones are very evil indeed, but mostly the bad and stupid males are in the background. The positive ones have substantial roles. God and religion take quite a beating as well. I wish the author had done the hard thing and presented faith and religion in a more balanced way. Criticizing the Catholic Church of the 50s is like shooting fish in a barrel. She even manages to work in the Magdelene Sisters. Even the Presbyterian minister who is a very very good man does not believe in God. Oh well. Elizabeth’s life’s work is Abiogenesis, the hypothesis that life created itself from inorganic material, thus “more proof that there actually is no God.” The book ends with Elizabeth, fully funded with her own Lab, declaring “Abiogenesis, Let’s get started.” If you believe in God, it is some comfort that Elizabeth failed. Over 50 years later, in 2023, Abiogenesis remains unproven.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The Last Hellion

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By Loretta Chase

This was my second book by Loretta Chase and it does measure up to Lord of Scoundrels. I listened to it on audible read by the very talented Kate Reading who has a voice perfectly matched to both of the dynamic couples in the books. I wearied of Historical Romances quite some time ago, but Loretta Chase reminds me of why I used to gobble them up. When I finished the first novel, I was hoping that it wouldn’t be the last I saw of the unforgettable Lord and Lady Dain so I was very pleased to see them again in this, and not just in passing. Not to mention the large and very surprising role the dutchess’s hapless silly brother Bertie has in it!

In 1820s London Lydia Grenville is a crusading journalist who also writes best-selling serials in secret. She meets our bad boy hero Vere Mallory, Lord Ainsworth, after practically running him down in her carriage while in hot pursuit of a bawd who has kidnapped still another young innocent country girl for nefarious purposes. He follows her with mayhem in mind and they face off in a dark alley which ends with the Amazonian Lydia, as always accompanied by her mastiff Susan, knocking him down in the mud. In full public view. Coralie temporarily escapes Lydia’s wrath but the rescued country girl, genteel and well-educated Tamsin, becomes Lydia’s girl Friday. There are many subplots in this which makes the book a bit episodic. It is very action-packed. Lydia continues to pursue and outwit Coralie, the infamous and evil madam, steals back Tamsin’s stolen rubies, rescues a pitiful new mother from prison, participates in a dangerous and exciting carriage race, and foils a kidnapping. Somehow Ainsworth always seems to be around to either lend a hand or to complicate matters, to Lydia’s frustration. It is a passionate battle of wills and they are evenly matched. They fall in lust, then love, quarreling and fighting every inch of the way right up to the altar (she lost a bet). Meanwhile, we learn about their tragic backstories and uncover the mystery of Lydia’s parentage. Tamsin is no slouch either and has her own story and romance as well.

It’s a wild ride and very entertaining with lots of caustic and amusing banter, comedy, adventure, and drama. Social conditions and women’s issues are given due attention. To top it off, the passionate and satisfying romance was free from silly misunderstandings, deceptions, and stupidity. They were made for each other for many reasons, but mostly because they both hide hearts of gold.

Rating: 4 out of 5.