Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Marg @ The Adventures of an Intrepid Readerand Claire @ The Captive Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they have checked out from the library.  

The last couple of weeks I've only brought one or two books home and been too lazy to do a post so I thought I'd better end the month on a better note. On today's library visit I was browsing the shelves looking for books published in the 20th century for the Century of Books project and decided on these two...

have the men had enough? by Margaret Forster......'once tough, witty and self-reliant, Grandma is now increasingly unable to look after herself.' The minute I read the opening paragraph I knew I had to read this one which sounds as though it will be both funny and sad as a family struggles to cope with Grandma's slide into dementia. (1989)
Valley of the Dolls by Jaqueline Susann.......I read this as a teenager soon after it was first published in 1966. A major sensation at the time it was the sort of book you didn't let your mother see you reading! I thought it would be interesting to reread .

Guard a Silver Sixpence by Felicity Davis (NF).......survivor of an abusive childhood, the author researches her family history and discovers the source of the destructive patterns that have been repeated in her family for over 100 years.
Perfect People by Peter James.......I have to have a crime novel at hand and Peter James is sure to please.

Literary Blog Hop Giveaway Winner!!

Malvina

Malvina has won The Proof of Love by Catherine Hall which is now on its way to Malaysia.

Thanks to all who participated and entered my giveaway. See you next time!

An Honourable Man by Gillian Slovo

It is 1884. General Gordon stands on the roof of his fortress in Khartoum as the city is besieged. At his side is the boy, Will, he rescued from an English dockyard slum - his reluctant last ally.
General Gordon was sent to the Sudan by the British Government to oversee the evacuation of Egyptian soldiers and civilians caught up in the revolt but has vowed to fight to the end despite disapproval towards his actions from England.


Approaching with the Camel Corps is a young doctor who has joined the expedition to rescue Gordon. As the men make agonising progress across the desert, John Clarke struggles to be the hero of his imagining, while thoughts of Mary, the wife he left behind, trouble his conscience. 

Back in London controversy rages over the expedition  fueled by a campaign of support led by the editor of the Pall Mall Gazette, W.T.Stead. the 'father' of tabloid journalism. Newspaper clippings of letters to the editor from 1884/5 are used throughout the story , an original touch that adds interest to the historical background.

Meanwhile, Mary , resentful of her husband's desire for adventure and completely at a loss without his presence around which her life has previously revolved, becomes increasingly dependent on laudanum to get her through each day, an addiction that will eventually lead her into London's darkest corners.

The story is told from three perspectives - Will, John and Mary - with each individual providing an opportunity to explore themes from politics and military campaigns to the conditions of Victorian women. The author ties them all together very skillfully by focusing on the human experience -all of the characters are united by finding themselves in an unfamiliar environment in which they feel isolated and alone. As a civilian doctor John struggles to find a place in the army corps yet has to share the suffering caused to the troops by leaders who demand the men ride camels and issue leaking water bags. Young Will starves and despairs as he watches General Gordon losing his mind and Mary's need for laudanum drives her from the home that has become a prison into the slums of London.


Moving between the menacing, fog-filled streets of London to the blazing heat of the African desert Gillian Slovo really captures the atmosphere of her locations with a  writing style that is straightforward and very easy to read . An excellent historical novel and one I enjoyed very much.


Royal Reviews Regency & Victorian Challenge

The Grand Babylon Hotel by Arnold Bennett

Vintage Mystery Challenge - Location

The Grand Babylon Hotel

Situated discreetly down a side street on the Embankment of London, the Grand Babylon is an exclusive establishment that caters to the wealthy and titled. It is ruled by the three gods - " Jules, the headwaiter, Miss Spencer, the bureau clerk, and, most powerful of all, Rocco, the renowned chef " - and if there is one type of guest they completely abhor it is rich Americans.

When multi-millionaire American , Theodore Racksole and his daughter , Nella, come to stay the sparks begin to fly. It is Nella's birthday and she requests a filleted steak and a bottle of Bass for dinner, an order that Jules and Rocco take great pleasure in refusing. To solve the problem Theodore promptly buys the hotel but soon after strange things start happening. A German prince fails to arrive, Miss Spencer disappears, a young man attached to the prince is found dead........and the body also disappears. With the help of a nephew of the prince, Theodore and Nella set out to solve the mysteries.

What follows is a good old-fashioned detective adventure with a touch of romance thrown in . Highly improbable scenarios, nasty villains, kidnappings, secret passages with spyholes and lots of danger and lucky escapes make very entertaining and amusing reading.

Considering it was written and first published, in serial form, in 1902 I was impressed with Arnold Bennett's heroine. Nella is no timid Edwardian mouse , and although indulged and spoilt by her father, is a very independent and straight talking young woman who has no qualms about setting off alone in search of clues and waving a revolver in the faces of suspects.

Fun! I enjoyed it!

Literary Giveaway Blog Hop

Hosted by Judith @ Leeswammes' Blog

Over 50 blogs participating all offering one or more giveaways of literary (non) fiction or bookish items.

 My Giveaway - International

One winner can choose one book from the three pictured below which will be sent from the Book Depository. The books I've chosen were all top favourites from what I read in 2011. The links will take you to my reviews.

The Mountain Lion by Jean Stafford.......Eight-year-old Molly Fawcett and her ten-year-old brother Ralph are inseparable, in league with each other against the stodgy and stupid routines of school and daily life; against their prim mother and prissy older sisters; against the world of authority and perhaps the world itself.

Bereft by Chris Womersley.......It is 1919. The Great War has ended, but the Spanish flu epidemic is raging across Australia. 

QuinnWalker returns to the small town and the home he fled ten years earlier when he was accused of an unspeakable crime determined to uncover the truth.

The Proof of Love by Catherine Hall........ During the long hot summer of 1976, a young Cambridge mathematician cycles into a

remote village in the Lake District and takes a job as a farm labourer. Painfully awkward and shy, Spencer Little is viewed with suspicion by the community and his only real friendship is with scruffy. clever 10-year-old Alice. When he saves Alice from a mountain fire he begins at last to feel accepted but as he is drawn deeper into the lives of others he also becomes aware of their secrets - and of the difficulty of keeping his own.

To enter the Giveaway please leave a comment which includes

• your email
• which book is your choice if you win.

Entries will close 8am Thursday 23rd (NZ time) - this will be UK 8pm Wednesday 22nd.. The winner will be chosen by random org. , contacted by email and will have 48 hrs to respond - no reply and I'll draw another winner.

A list of all Blog Hop participants can be found here.

Good Luck!


Entries are now closed


Thanks to all who participated.

A Classics Challenge - February Prompt

This month's prompt - ' Write about a character you find interesting, it doesn't have to be your favorite. Perhaps your least favorite or a minor one: choose any.'


I've just finished reading North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell which I loved and wonder why I allowed it to sit so long on my bookshelf unread. My choice of character to write about is..

Hannah Thornton

Level 1:What phrases has the author used to introduce this character? What are your first impressions of them? Find a portrait or photograph that closely embodies how you imagine them. 

Elizabeth Gaskell introduces Hannah Thornton, the mother of John Thornton, with a wonderful physical description...

"A large-boned lady, long past middle age, sat at work in a grim handsomely furnished dining-room. Her features, like her frame were strong and massive, rather than heavy. Her face moved slowly from one decided expression to another equally decided. There was no great variety in her countenance; but those who looked at it once, generally looked at it again; even the passers-by in the street half-turned their heads to gaze an instant longer at the firm, severe, dignified woman, who never gave way in street-courtesy, or paused in her straight-onward course to the clearly defined end which she proposed to herself."

A formidable character and a force to be reckoned with! I had a clear picture of her in my mind but despite a good deal of searching never found an image that quite captured the Hannah I imagined. It isn't anything like Sinead Cusack either, but as I haven't yet seen the TV adaptation and I understand her performance is outstanding, I might change my mind when I do watch it.


 Level 2: How has the character changed? Has your opinion of them altered? Are there aspects of their character you aspire to? or hope never to be? What are their strengths and faults? Do you find them believable? If not, how could they have been molded so? Would you want to meet them? 

Hannah doesn't change and at her age I wouldn't expect her to but as the story progresses and I came to understand the real person behind the severe exterior my initial opinion altered considerably. 

Hannah wears beautiful old lace and carefully mends fine old damask linen which suggests her life before the early death of her husband was materially comfortable. In an age when young women were raised to be dependent on male protection to be left alone with young children meant seriously reduced circumstances  and a continual struggle to survive. Both Hannah and John are examples of the Northern attitude - the ability to focus on the reality of the present and work hard towards a positive future. I really enjoyed the close relationship between mother and son which was more one of equals based on love, trust and friendship.

 Hannah is very shy and dislikes social calls and meaningless chitchat ( I can relate to that) but never allows this trait to overcome her sense of duty or her responsibilities. Her courage and strength of character are shown in two very different incidents. The first when Margaret is injured during the riots outside the Thornton home and Hannah is the only one prepared to risk the danger and fetch the doctor. The second, and one of my favourite passages, as she waits for John's return from proposing to Margaret.

" - her son, her pride, her property. Still he did not come. Doubtless he was with Miss Hale. The new love was displacing her already from her place as first in his heart. A terrible pain - a pang of vain jealousy - shot through her: she hardly knew whether it was more physical or mental; but it forced her to sit down. In a moment she was up again as straight as ever - a grim smile upon her face for the first time that day, ready for the door opening, and the rejoicing triumphant one, who should never know the sore regret his mother felt at his marriage."

I don't think she would be an easy person to get to know and although I would like to meet her I can feel the long embarrassing silences that happen when two shy people find themselves in each others company for the first time. 

Library Loot - 8 Feb

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Marg @ The Adventures of an Intrepid Readerand Claire @ The Captive Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they have checked out from the library.
Here is my loot from today's library visit. 

An Honourable Man by Gillian Slovo - historical fiction about General Gordon and Khartoum, a young doctor on the expedition to rescue Gordon, and the wife he has left behind in London.

The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund De Waal - NF - 'Part treasure hunt, part family saga - a memoir that spans two centuries."

 The House of the Wind by Titania Hardie - " In 2007, one woman will seek a path through sorrow. Centuries earlier, another will find her voice." Past and present woven together in a tale of intrigue and discovery.
What Lies Beneath by Sarah Rayne - " The past cannot remain buried forever". I like Sarah Rayne's mystery thrillers so this should be good reading.


Four doesn't seem many compared to what I used to carry home but my reading pace at the moment is tortoise-like and I fear this may be too many. Some people never learn!!!