The Book Whisperer

jottings, musings and recommendations of an incurable bookaholic

New Book Challenge – Our Mutual Read January 13, 2010

Filed under: The Victorians — The Book Whisperer @ 12:03 pm
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I’ve found a great new challenge (this one was made for me!). It’s called Our Mutual Read and here are the details:

It’s hosted by Amanda at The Blog Jar. The aim is to read books published during the Victorian times or Neo-Victorian books (books set in Victorian times).  

Next, decide on what level you’d like to participate:
~ Level 1:  4 books, at least 2 written during 1837 – 1901.  The other books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.
~ Level 2:  8 books, at least 4 written during 1837 – 1901.  The other books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.
~ Level 3:  12 books, at least 6 written during 1837 – 1901.  The other books may be Neo-Victorian or non-fiction.

Then, determine if you are up to a mini-challenge:
Period Film Mini-Challenge — watch at least 6 films that take place between 1837 – 1901 (they don’t necessarily have to be based on a book) and post a review.

Short Story Mini-Challenge — read 12 short stories written or taking place between 1837 – 1901 and post a review.

This challenge will run from January 1st, 2010 to December 31st 2010.  And it is completely okay to double-dip, what you read/watch here can count on other challenges!

I’m going to go in for Level 3 and read 12! Ambitous I know, but I think I can do it. For those that don’t know, I co-run the Victorians group on Goodreads so this will tie in nicely with our group reads.

I’ll update as I read.

 

Book Review: Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon January 12, 2010

Filed under: Comfort Reading,Crime/Mystery/Thriller,Mary Elizabeth Braddon,The Victorians — The Book Whisperer @ 11:01 am

Info from Goodreads: “This Victorian bestseller, along with Braddon’s other famous novel, Aurora Floyd, established her as the main rival of the master of the sensational novel, Wilkie Collins. A protest against the passive, insipid 19th-century heroine, Lady Audley was described by one critic of the time as
“high-strung, full of passion, purpose, and movement.” Her crime (the secret of the title) is shown to threaten the apparently respectable middle-class world of Victorian England.”

What I thought: This book was really good fun. A 19th century who-dunnit complete with beautiful but cunning villainess, rambling old houses and an upper-class layabout-turned-detective. Fabulous!

This was one of the first “sensation” novels ever written, and while it doesn’t have the sophisticated and multi-layered plots of today that keep us guessing until the very end and on the edge of our seets, it is nonetheless a great page turner and so much fun. This book was originally serialised in a paper back in 1862, and I can imagine eagerly awaiting the next installment as they would have done back then. The language is not complex either, which makes for an easy and much quicker read than some novels of this era.

I thoroughly enjoyed Lady Audley’s Secret although I am ashamed to say that I had never even heard of the author until I picked this up. I will hopefully read one of her other books this year; probably Aurora Floyd.

 

Author Interview: Leanna Renee Hieber January 9, 2010

Filed under: Historical,Leanna Renee Hieber,Paranormal,The Victorians — The Book Whisperer @ 6:14 pm

Firstly, thank you to Leanna for taking the time to answer some questions about her book The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker.

Here is a bit of info about Leanna before we start: “Award winning and bestselling author, actress and playwright Leanna Renee Hieber grew up in rural Ohio inventing ghost stories.  Graduating with a BFA in Theatre from Miami University, a focus in the Victorian Era and a scholarship to study in London helped set the course for her Strangely Beautiful series. The dramatic, historic, spiritual and paranormal are the primary forces in her lyrical, eerie, atmospheric fiction. 

When not writing or on set, she loves a good Goth club, singing soprano in choir and adventuring about her adopted hometown of New York City, where she resides with her real-life hero and her beloved rescued lab rabbit Persebunny, Queen of the Undereverything. ” (Info taken from Leanna’s website).

So now for the questions:

 
Have you made any new years resolutions and if so can you share any with us? 
Write more.  That’s vague, I know, but an important resolution nonetheless.
 
Which book have you read in the last year that made you think “Damn, I wish I’d written that?”
I’ve recently gone back to Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody series and every time Amelia says something so period, British, utterly outrageous and I laugh out loud, I think that thought.
 
You’re about to be stranded on a desert island and you are only allowed to take 3 books with you: which do you take and why? 
(And this is where Leanna cheats with collected works volumes! Ha!)  The collected Jane Austen, the collected Harry Potter and Fellowship of the Rings.  (With the Collected works of Bram Stoker and Charles Dickens in the wings!)  I would take these books because they represent the most transporting, beautiful reading experiences in my life that each in their own way has been formative to my personality and writing style.

 
Now onto the first book in the Strangely Beautiful series. Where did you come up with the idea for the book and do you believe in ghosts? 
Odd, colourless, dear Percy couldn’t have appeared in my mind at a worse time.  I was working 14 hour days as a performance intern for the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company.  I had no time to start a new novel set in 1888 (writing books set in this year had been somewhat of a lifetime habit of mine, but I’d never finished one). Yet Miss Parker, timid as she was, would not be dissuaded by my busy schedule.
            Deathly-pale, Percy appeared in my consciousness against my default and beloved 19th century backdrop; gliding quietly into Professor Alexi Rychman’s grand office. She spoke nervously about spirits and visions.  She stared longingly at that brooding, intense, enigmatic professor across the room from her. I was hooked like a drug on the two of them. I had to know what made them tick, why Miss Percy looked like a ghost but wasn’t one (the answer, I found with delight, came in Mythology that I take great liberty with).  Toying with a palpably aching power dynamic between two lonely, secretive people who are magical, flawed and gifted in very different ways became my instant obsession.  I knew when Percy and Alexi entered my heart, that my life would never be the same for having met them, and it wasn’t.  In creating The Guard, I gained a family of characters I adore. The story fell into place piece by piece through a sequence of years, set against the eerily beautiful, haunted, moonlit Victorian London I’d always yearned to visit.  And nine years later it’s my dream come true to share it. 
 
And yes, I do believe in ghosts with all my heart.  I have seen things I cannot explain, though I do not see them as Percy or the Guard sees them.  But as the Bard said, and I oft defer to him; “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” The Victorians were huge spiritualists, it’s fitting.
 
What research did you do on London under the rule of Queen Victoria? 
Since childhood I’ve been reading 19th Century literature; the best research of all.  In college I pursued a focus study in the Victorian Era, went on scholarship to London for research (took the Jack the Ripper tour and knew I had to include those murders, supernaturally, in my book) and began adapting works of 19th Century literature for the stage. I surrounded myself with books on the time period, of particular use is “What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew.” My favourite part of the process was researching the ghosts.  Save for the Athens Academy ghosts, every ghost I mention in the series is a real, documented London haunt, all of them taken from ghost stories I learned from the renowned Richard Jones, a foremost expert on such matters.  If you’re interested in these ghost stories, they’re archived posts via the “Haunted London Blog Tour” page of my website.   I’ll have a new Haunted London Blog tour mentioning the new ghosts of Darkly Luminous come April (along with giveaways). 

 
Which are your favourite books and authors from that era and did any of them influence or inspire you while writing your book?
All. In particular, Gothic fiction (from the seminal Castle of Otronto onwards).  Favourites from/near the era, all of them inspirations / influences:  The Picture of Dorian Gray, Les Miserables, Wuthering Heights, The Age of Innocence, the Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, Frankenstein, Jekyll and Hyde, all of Dickens, Austen, Collins, Edgar Allan Poe and all the 19th Century Romantic poets.
 
What is it about the Victorians that fascinates you so much? 
I feel I know them, and was one of them once.  I am compelled by the grit versus the grandeur.  The churning collective consciousness of a self-conscious society undergoing hyperbolic spiritual, industrial, psychic, Empiric, scientific, artistic changes.  A preened exterior and a seething underbelly.  The revered and loathed creature that was Woman.  The kiss of a hand as erotic.  Burgeoning civil liberties and social causes amidst raging poverty, intolerance and inhuman working conditions. Sensationalism; the birthpangs of popular culture, the friction between evangelism and hedonism. The drama, the art, the architecture, the music, the literature and their love of spiritualism and classical themes. And the clothes. Really love the clothes.
 
Your books are cross-genre; how has this affected how they have been viewed by publishers and the public? And do you have a favourite genre of books when it comes to reading yourself?
Cross-genre has its beautiful perks and it has its drawbacks.  What was most difficult was selling the book in the first place, because publishers weren’t sure where to shelve it. It’s a Gothic Victorian Fantasy Paranormal Romance with Suspense, light Horror and YA elements. (But if I could use only one word to describe this book? Gothic). On my 9 year publishing journey it was finally Dorchester (no stranger to cross-genre initiatives) who bit and it was worth the wait, it’s a great home for the series and I’ve got an awesome editor in Chris Keeslar. 
            As for the readership: The most beautiful perk has been reviewers and readers finding the Strangely Beautiful blend of genres refreshing and original. Yet the blend may not be everyone’s cup of tea.  While a cross-genre book has wider appeal and can connect with many readers on different levels, more genre-specific fans may not like the choices made outside of their favourite genre’s conventions- Fantasy fans might not be used to the dramatic lyricism of a Historical Gothic, Historical fans might not embrace the paranormal/mythic foundations. But my hope remains that a lot of readers are like me; blend all my favourite genres together and I’ll love the book all the more for it.
            As for my personal reading, I love the confluence of genre forces and so I find myself drawn to cross-genre books myself, especially historical paranormal.  But while I’m in the thick of writing, I try and avoid my exact sub-genres, hence my reading a lot of Victorian-set mysteries like the Amelia Peabody series and Anne Perry’s novels.
 
There is a second book coming out in April this year (The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker). Is that it for the Strangely Beautiful series or is there more to come?
The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker is indeed Strangely Beautiful #2, picking up exactly where the first book leaves off – and I’m so excited about it.  The series continues in October of this year with a novella (Strangely Beautiful #2.5) – which again picks up exactly where the sequel leaves off.  And then I envision two more books in the series, the next a prequel and a fourth book that would follow the Rychman familial legacy up to World War I.

 
And finally, the quick fire round:

Favourite colour:  Black
Favourite item of clothing: My myriad corsets
Favourite animal: Birds
Favourite flavour crisps (chips):  Anything cheese flavoured
Favourite holiday destination:  London (it’s my #1 destination, holiday or otherwise)
Favourite childhood memory:  Terrifying my girl scout troupe by telling ghost stories I made up as I went along.  Once I even got so worked up I electrocuted myself upon a lamp.  Not my favourite part of the memory, but my levitating hair made for advantageous effect.
Favourite song:  A tie between “The Lark Ascending” by Ralph Vaughan Williams (Classical) and “Beloved” by VNV Nation (Goth)

Thank you Leanna, and good luck with your forthcoming books.

Here are the first two books in the series and some info about them and don’t forget to check out the website for those giveaways!

The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Percy Parker (out now)

“What fortune awaited sweet, timid Percy Parker at Athens Academy? Hidden in the dark heart of Victorian London, the Romanesque school was dreadfully imposing, a veritable fortress, and little could Percy guess what lay inside. She had never met its powerful and mysterious Professor Alexi Rychman, knew nothing of the growing shadows, of the Ripper and other supernatural terrors against which his coterie stood guard. She saw simply that she was different, haunted, with her snow white hair, pearlescent skin and uncanny gift. This arched stone doorway was a portal to a new life, to an education far from what could be had at a convent-and it was an invitation to an intimate yet dangerous dance at the threshold of life and death…”

The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker (out in May 2010)

“With radiant, snow white skin and hair, Percy Parker was a beacon for Fate. True love had found her, in the tempestuous form of Professor Alexi Rychman. But her mythic destiny was not complete. Accompanying the ghosts with which she alone could converse, new and terrifying omens loomed. A war was coming, a desperate ploy of a spectral host. Victorian London would be overrun. Yet, Percy kept faith. Within the mighty bastion of Athens Academy, alongside The Guard whose magic shielded mortals from the agents of the Underworld, she counted herself among friends. Wreathed in hallowed fire, they would stand together, no matter what dreams or nightmares—may come.” (Both synopsys courtesy of Goodreads).

I will be posting a review of the first book in the next few weeks (when the snow clears up and Amazon can actually deliver my order!) so watch this space.

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Author Interview: Gail Carriger January 7, 2010

Filed under: Gail Carriger,Historical,Paranormal,The Victorians — The Book Whisperer @ 11:39 am

Firstly, thank you to Gail for taking part in this interview.  Here is the “obligatory bio” from Gail’s website for a quick overview of the lady herself:

“Ms. Carriger began writing in order to cope with being raised in obscurity by an expatriate Brit and an incurable curmudgeon. She escaped small town life and inadvertently acquired several degrees in Higher Learning. Ms. Carriger then traveled the historic cities of Europe, subsisting entirely on biscuits secreted in her handbag. She now resides in the Colonies, surrounded by a harem of Armenian lovers, where she insists on tea imported directly from London and cats that pee into toilets. She is fond of teeny tiny hats and tropical fruit. Soulless is her first book, Changeless is her second.”

Now on to the questions:

Have you made any new years resolutions and if so can you share any with us?
I have decided to do more yoga and drink less tea. So far this year, tea = 12 and yoga = 3. Not so good really.
 
Which book have you read in the last year that made you think “Damn, I wish I’d written that?”
That isn’t normally my first thought upon finishing a really good book, unless it’s a New York Times best seller. However, I really, really loved Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George. It obviously stemmed from a place of love and academic familiarity with Nordic fairy stories. The prose was beautifully lyrical and it was a genuine pleasure to read.
 
You’re about to be stranded on a desert island and you are only allowed to take 3 books with you: which do you take and why?
The Forgotten Beast of Eld by Patricia McKillip, By the Sword by Mercedes Lackey, and Taming the Forest King by Claudia J. Edwards. All for exactly the same reason: I can read them over and over again and never get tired of them.
 
Now onto the first book in the Parasol Protectorate series – Soulless. Where did you come up with the idea of vampires and werewolves prowling the streets of Victorian London?   It’s a ruthless vehicle to explain history’s greatest mystery: How did one tiny island manage to conquer an empire upon which the sun never set? I decided that the only possible answer was that England openly accepted supernatural creatures, and put them to good use, while other countries continued persecution. This gave Great Britain a leg up dealing with messy little situations like winning major foreign battles or establishing an efficient bureaucracy or convincing the world cricket is a good idea. It so very Victorian to take a stance the equivalent of, “Ah yes, vampires, jolly good chaps, excellent fashion sense, always polite, terribly charming at cards, we just won’t mention that little neck biting habit.”
 
What research did you do on London under the rule of Queen Victoria?
I had a fair bit of expertise in certain aspects of the era (fashion, food, manners, literature, theatre, upper class courting rituals, antiquities collecting) when I started but great gaps in other areas that I quickly realized needed to be filled. I spent a lot of time researching the gadgetry and technology of the day, travel and communications techniques, medical and hard science advances, not to mention other things like major wars and military strategies, configuration of army regiments, geographical lay out of London in the 1870s (shops and streets names), newspapers, and government policies. That’s the thing, you never know what information you are going to need until you need it, and inevitably the internet doesn’t have it. Since I’m writing alt history I can always disregard the facts, but I like to get it right first, before I mess with it. Most people won’t care to look up the details (or get it wrong by confusing my setting with Austen or mid-Victorian, I’m specifically 1773) but it will bother me if I don’t know the truth of the matter.
 
Which are your favourite books and authors from that era and did any of them inspire you while writing Soulless? 
I love Elisabeth Gaskell, so anything by her. I like Jane Eyre but can do without the other Bronte sisters. Of course, I lived and breathed Dickens for a very long time, still do once a year, so I have to mention him. I’m an aberrant in this, but David Copperfield is my favorite. Amelia B. Edwards’ A Thousand Miles Up the Nile was certainly an influence on Alexia’s character. As to inspirations, I’d say P.G. Wodehouse had more of an influence on my writing style than anyone from the actual Victorian era. 
 
Can you explain steampunk to us and what is it about it that fascinates you so much? 
There are two main kinds of steampunk. The first, and most common, envisions a future as the Victorians imagined it. Steampower dominates (usually at the expense of electricity) and Victorian science, morals, and manners reign supreme. The writings of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne are good examples. The alternative option, depicts a far future world that harkens back to Victorian culture, for example a bustle dress made of kevlar. There are also other temporal “punks” like clockpunk (c. 1500s) and dieselpunk (WWII). I’m fascinated by steampunk because it allows me to play with all the intriguing and appealing bits of Victorian era, while ignoring the rotten underbelly (bigotry, slavery, destitution).
 
There are second and third books coming out this year (Changeless and Blameless). Is that it for the Parasol Protectorate or is there more to come? 
The usual rules of publishing apply. All I can say is, I’m open to more from Alexia and Lord Maccon. I’m currently under contract for only the three books. I don’t leave you hanging at the end of Blameless, so please don’t worry.
 
Do you plan on writing any more series after this one? Can you give us any juicy tidbits about your plans? 
I have a Sci-fi YA I’m playing about with. Who knows if that will ever see the ink of publication? I’m enjoying Alexia’s world so much I’ve become interested in exploring both the past (specifically Alexia’s father) and the future, perhaps overseas in the Americas. I’d like to do a Turn of the Century Old West steampunk setting, polluted with my general irreverence, of course. The first is probably a stand-alone book, the second could be a series. Who knows? All are mere twinkles in the eye at the moment.
 
And finally, the quick fire round: 
Favourite colour: red
Favourite item of clothing: A vintage 1950s black Dior suit (dress with jacket) that fits like a dream (thank goodness you didn’t ask about shoes, that’d take me hours to figure out)
Favourite animal: octopus (naturally)
Favourite flavour crisps (chips): Walkers roast chicken (I liked the pork & pickle too)
Favourite holiday destination: Italy, specifically Lake Como
Favourite childhood memory: sand ball wars on the beach (kind of like the California version snow ball wars, only harder and during the summer)
Always treacle tart or do other puddings get a look in? Oh, other puddings, by all means. Particularly custard. I am a sucker of custard in all its many forms.

These are the first two books in the Parasol Protectorate series. Here is a synopsys for both:

Souless: “Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she’s a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette. Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire – and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate. With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London’s high society? Or will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart? SOULLESS is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.

Changeless: “Alexia Tarabotti, now Lady Maccon, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears – leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria. But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions and an arsenal of biting civility. Even when her investigations take her into the backwaters of ugly waistcoats, Scotland, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only A soulless can. She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.”

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Book Review: The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain January 7, 2010

Filed under: Comfort Reading,Globe Trotting,Historical,Mark Twain,The Victorians — The Book Whisperer @ 10:44 am

What a lovely little book. Twain explores what it could have been like for two very different people to discover the odd world around them and he does it with much humour. Watching both Adam and Eve play their sterotypical roles to perfection is redemed by Twain’s humour; Adam wanting to do nothing but build things and Eve wanting to do nothing but talk (much to Adam’s dismay) is both funny and lovable. Eve wants to discover everything; she names all the animal and mothers them all, she delights in every new thing she discovers.

Entry from Adam’s diary: “Perhaps I ought to remember that she is very young, a mere girl, and make allowances. She is all interest, eagerness, vivacity. The world to her is a charm, a wonder, a mystery, a joy. She can’t speak for delight when she finds a new flower; she must pet it and caress it and smell it and talk to it and pour out endearing names upon it.  And she is colour mad: brown rocks, yellow sand, gray moss, green foliage, blue sky – the pearl of the dawn, the purple shadows on the mountains, the golden islands floating in crimson seas at sunset, the palid moon moon sailing through the shredded cloud-rack, the star-jewels glittering in the wastes of space.”

How wonderful to be able to look at the world through those fresh eyes and see so much beauty in it. That part was as beautiful as it was amusing to see Adam’s confusion to why she is so in awe of everything.

When Adam comes home from a few days trip away he finds Eve with something can he is convinced is a fish until he put it in the water to see and it sank. He then decides that it must be both kangaroo and bear before finally settling on the fact that it may be one of them. As well as Cain and Abel, the couple go on to  have 7 more children (two of them named Gladys and Edwina!). Their long life togehter inc ludes their first experience of death and not understanding it, and their unconditional partnership until Eve finally goes to her grave.

Definitely recommended.

 

Victorian Corner January 4, 2010

Filed under: Charlotte Bronte,The Victorians — The Book Whisperer @ 10:45 am
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I am a huge fan of Victorian lit. My favourite author is Charlotte Bronte (if you haven’t read Jane Eyre or Villette you missing a real treat). So when I came across this meme on Laura’s Reviews I just had to join in the challenge.

Challenge Details
 
1. The All About the Brontes challenge will run from January 1st to June 30, 2010.
 
2. You can read a book, watch a movie, listen to an audiobook, anything Bronte related that you would like. Reading, watching, or listening to a favorite Bronte related item again for the second, third, or more time is also allowed.
 
3. The goal will be to read, watch, listen, to 3 to 6 (or beyond) anything Bronte items.

There are a whole pile of suggestions on Laura’s blog: as well as the original works by the sisters there are a huge range o biographies as well as spin-off books like Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca that were influenced by the Bronte’s.

My list for this challenge is:

Shirley – Charlotte Bronte

“Written at a time of social unrest, it is set during the period of the Napoleonic Wars, when economic hardship led to riots in the woollen district of Yorkshire. A mill-owner, Robert Moore, is determined to introduce new machinery despite fierce opposition from his workers; he ignores their suffering, and puts his own life at risk .Robert sees marriage to the wealthy Shirley Keeldar as the solution to his difficulties, but he loves his cousin Caroline. She suffers misery and frustration, and Shirley has her own ideas about the man she will choose to marry.”

Charlotte Bronte: A Passionate Life by Lyndall Gordon

“In this groundbreaking and unconventional biography, Lyndall Gordon dismantles the insistent image of Charlotte Bronte as a modest Victorian lady, the slave to duty in the shadow of tombstones, revealing instead a strong and fiery woman who shaped her own life and transformed it into art. “

The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte by Daphne Du Maurier

“As a bold and gifted child, Branwell Brontë’s promise seemed boundless to the three adoring sisters over whom his rule was complete. But as an adult, the precocious flame of genius flickered and burned low. With neither the strength nor the resources to counter rejection, unable to sell his paintings or publish his books, Branwell became a specter in the Brontë story, in pathetic contrast with the remarkable achievements of Charlotte, Anne, and Emily. Daphne du Maurier concentrates all her biographer’s skill on the shadowy figure of Branwell Brontë, and no reader could fail to be intensely moved by Branwell’s final retreat into laudanum, alcohol, and death.”

I have also set myself a challenge of reading a total of 10 Victorian novels for 2010 for my Victorians  group  on Goodreads. I keep changing my mind about what I want to read but some of the favourite contenders are:

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

 

My Secret Santa Gift December 28, 2009

Filed under: Larry McMurty,The Victorians — The Book Whisperer @ 10:55 pm

I am so excited to read this book. I belong to a little group of 15 on Goodreads and each year we do a Secret Santa where our names get put in a hat and we are secretly informed who we are to send a book to. My Secret Santa this year was the lovley Jesse from New Mexico and he got me Larry McMurty’s Lonesome Dove. A wonderful pressie from a wonderful person! I can’t wait to read it.

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Walking in Pimlico by Ann Featherstone December 27, 2009

Filed under: Ann Featherstone,Crime/Mystery/Thriller,The Victorians — The Book Whisperer @ 11:10 pm

 Walking in Pimlico  - A comic clog dancer witnesses a brutal killing in a dark and dingy London backstreet in Victorian Britain as his show closes for the night. When he finds out that he is not the only one who witnessed the murder, they soon realise that the killer knows who they are and here begins an escape to pastures (well, stage shows) new with the killer always one step behind. Even though this is a murder mystery book, there isn’t actually much mystery to it at all as we find out who the killer is within the first 50 pages and they go on to narrate parts of the book themselves. That said, it does have it’s share of intrigue and it’s a whole load of fun to follow them the lenghth and bredth od the the country as they get more and more paranoid, constantly looking over their shoulders.

Dark, dingy, funny, recommended.

 

Borders R.I.P. December 22, 2009

Filed under: Crime/Mystery/Thriller,Historical,SciFi / Fantasy,The Victorians,Young Adult — The Book Whisperer @ 4:46 pm

Today is the last day that Borders in the UK is open (waaaaahhhhhh!). It’s so sad as I love that shop – there was a massive one on the side of the motorway near where I live and it used to shine like a beacon of light, calling to me and welcoming me into its bookish fold as I drove past after many a stressful days work. My mecca is no more.

But every cloud……..today there was 90% off everything in store! It was absolute bedlam in there but I did manage to pick up some books from my Mt. TBR so that has put a big smile on my face. Here is what I managed to grab:

The Battle of the Sun - Jeanette Winterson

Girl, Missing - Sophie McKenzie

The Sight - David Clement-Davies

Out Stealing Horses - Per Petterson

Arthur Phillips

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kept: A Victorian Mystery - D J Taylor

Babel Tower - A S Byatt

 

 

 

 

 

I’m back from NYC! December 21, 2009

Filed under: Alyson Noel,Cassandra Clare,Connie Willis,Gail Carriger,Joe Hill,Maggie Stiefvater,Paranormal,SciFi / Fantasy,The Victorians,Young Adult — The Book Whisperer @ 3:53 pm

I’m back in good ole Blighty, armed with brand spanking new  books (bliss!) and although I had the greatest time, it’s good to be home.

As I am a good law-abiding citizen I didn’t want to be arrested for committing the crime of not obeying the law of “YOU MUST BUY BOOKS - AND PLENTY OF THEM – ON HOLIDAY!”, and dutifully managed to pick up plenty of lovely new shiny things. I spent lots of time in Borders (I had to pay hommage now that my beloved Borders is closing in the UK – waaaaahhhhh!) and also Barnes and Noble ‘cos we don’t get that over here so it’s like being let loose in a new playground. I love looking at books in the States as they have different covers to us in the UK so it’s like there’s a million new books that I have never seen before to make me run wild like a kid in a sweet shop.

As well as shop for books we walked in Central Park (love that place) and walked over Brooklyn Bridge for some amazing view of Manhattan. We also did the Christmas markets Bryant Park which had some gorgeous things. Our hotel was a suite in the Doubletree Hotel right in the middle of Times Square so we had the absolute best view!

I also met up with Lori, my lovely friend from Goodreads (who runs the TNBBC group and also has her own blog on www.thenextbestbookblog.blogsptot.com). Lori lives a couple of hours from NYC and came over with her family and we met at the Rockerfeller Centre christmas tree. We went ice-skating which was such good fun and Lori gave me a pressie of Joe Hill’s new book Horns that is due out in March 2010 (thank you Lori!). It was so cool to meet up after we have been chatting on GR for the last few years.

Anyway, so this is what I got in NYC:

 

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

 

 

 

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

 

 

 

Soulless by Gail Carriger

 

 

 

 

Lone Wolf by Kathryn Lasky

 

 

 

 

Blue Moon by Alyson Noel

 

 

 

Ballad by Maggie Steifvater

 

 

 

 

The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain

 

 

 

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

 

 

 

Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeta Naslund

 

 

 

 

The Animal Dialogues by Craig Childs

 

 

 

The Ghost Huntress by Marley Gibson

 

 

 

Secret Lives (Darke Academy #1) by Gabriella Poole

 

 

 

 

Horns by Joe Hill (my gift from Lori)

 

 

 

So, a pretty successful trip there I think. I keep looking at my new toys and admiring them. I can’t wait to dive in and get started on them. I think I will be buried in books over the Christmas holidays!

 

Book Review: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys December 21, 2009

Filed under: The Victorians — The Book Whisperer @ 11:27 am

 

     How disappointing. After completely falling in love with Jane Eyre I was really looking forward to reading this. Perhaps, though, the reason I didn’t like this book is because of my love for Jane Eyre .

I didn’t like anything about this book: the style, the subject, the plot, nothing. I started it a few months ago, put it down and then decided to try it again – still didn’t like it. Sorry, but cannot recommend this one at all.
 

 

 

Book Review: The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale December 12, 2009

Filed under: Crime/Mystery/Thriller,Historical,Kate Summerscale,Non-Fiction,The Victorians — The Book Whisperer @ 12:53 pm

What a fascinating book this was. I expected to read about the true story of one of the most shocking crimes in 19th century England but I hadn’t bargained for also getting a fantastically written and hugely interesting social commentary of Victorian times and attitudes and behaviours with regards to the emergence of Police Detectives in this country.

Mr Whicher, the Detective called in to this particular case, was one of the first ever Scotland Yard Detectives which came with its own share of suspicion and mistrust. The case in question was of the murder of a 3 year old boy, one of several children of a well-to-do family in a country house in Wiltshire. In June 1860, the young boy was found to be missing from his cot in the morning and later that day his body was discovered (with his throat slit and a stab wound to his chest) down the servants toilet outside in the grounds. It soon became apparant that the purportrator was one of the people inside the house on that night (which consisted of the boys family, the nursemaid and housemaid). Whicher was called in to find out which one of the family murdered the three year old while the whole of England became obsessed with the drama, writing into the newspapers in their thousands offering their opinion on who committed the crime.

While I found the unravelling of this story fascinating in itself, I was also delighted to see so many references to some great Victorian authors inclduing Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins and Mary Elizabeth Braddon. 1860 was also the year that the first victorian “sensational” novel was published and this appeared to feed the frenzy of the public. This particular case has also been reported to have been the basis for subsequent rather famous novels such as Dickens’ The Mystery of Edwin Drood , Collins’ The Moonstone and Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret all of which contain themes from this particular story. Dickens (who was also an aquaintance of Mr Whicher) even wrote letters to Collins offering his theory on what took place that night.

This book is completely non-ficiton to point that only recorded conversations and facts are included (which seems to be the reason there are alot of negative reviews about it – perhaps it seemed too dry for some). And while this is more of a why-dunnit than a who-dunnit , there are still a few surprises along the way that caught me off-guard.

I thoroughtly enjoyed this book; infact I could barely put it down. Summerscale stuck to the facts without trying to sensationalise the story any more than it already was by putting words in peoples mouths and the result was a hugely enjoyable novel about a shocking crime and its repercussions in Victorian society. Highly recommended

 

Book Review: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte December 12, 2009

Filed under: Charlotte Bronte,Comfort Reading,The Victorians — The Book Whisperer @ 12:49 pm
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Wow! Just wow!

I was a latecomer to Jane Eyre and I often wonder what the hell took me so long. This book is amazing from start to finish and I found myself thinking about it whenever I couldn’t get to it to carry on reading.

Jane Eyre is a fantastic character and I had more than a few laugh-out-loud moments with her. My favourite being when the school governer tell her she is naughty and asks how she can stop being burned in the pits of hell to which she replies “I must keep in good health, and not die.” Genius!

The story of Jane Eyre spans over a decade and we follow her from her first home as an orphan in her rich relatives home where they treat her as an outcast, through boarding school for orphan girls and on to work as a governess where she meets Mr Rochester.

The whole books is beautifully written and engaging and I never once found a dull moment.

This is one book that I will be going back to again and again, I’m sure, and it is in my top 5 of all time.

 

Book Review: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins December 12, 2009

Filed under: Comfort Reading,Crime/Mystery/Thriller,The Victorians,Wilkie Collins — The Book Whisperer @ 12:31 pm

Chilling, thrilling, mysterious and very dramatic! A mysterious figure, a woman in white, appears out of nowhere on a London street at midnight – she is running away from someone or something. The only person she meets on that lonely road is Walter Hartright, an Art teacher, and little does he know it but he is about to have his life tured upside down. Mysterious letters, ghostly figures by gravesides, kidnapping and poison all follow through the next 700 pages and not a word is wasted! Narrated by several different characters, all portraying their their own experiences, the reader sees the story unfolding before them.

Written as a serialised stroy in a weekly newspaper in 1860, you can almost hear the curtain falling and the audience gasping at the end of each chapter. I could just imagie myself waiting excitedly for each installment to come out to find out what happens next just as they would have when it was published. For a victorian novel, The Woman in White is incredibly fast paced with some of the best characters I have ever come across.

I just loved this book from start to finish. This is what a book should be – something that makes you think about it when you can’t get to it and excited to pick it up again. Bravo Mr Collins!! I can’t wait to read more of your work.

 

Book Review: Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton December 12, 2009

Filed under: Edith Wharton,The Victorians — The Book Whisperer @ 12:27 pm
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

I am completely and utterly in love with Edith Wharton! Looking back through some of the reviews of Ethan Frome there appears to be a love/hate divide going on. I LOVED it! Wharton has the most amazing talent to pull me right into her stories as though I am there right with the characters. Starkfield – brilliant name for such a place; it was just that – freezing, barron, snow-covered, lonely. But this is quite possibly one of the most romantic love-stories I have ever read: it’s so real you can almost touch it. It’s tangible and it’s tragic.

This book, despite the fact that it’s only 100 pages long, took me a couple of days to read. I just had to savour every word and re-read passages over again. It’s so rare that this happens but I just know it’s going to be one I think about often and will re-read again (and again.)

 

Book Review: Villette by Charlotte Bronte December 11, 2009

Filed under: Charlotte Bronte,The Victorians — The Book Whisperer @ 9:41 pm
Villette by Charlotte Bronte

Reader, I heart Ms. Bronte! Reading Villette was like reading a huge epic that I was so emmersed in that I walked in Lucy Snowe’s shoes, I felt what she felt. How many authors can do that to you?

Lucy Snowe is difficult to get to know at first. In fact, she is difficult to like. This is deliberate; she tells you about other people, what they think, what they feel, but precious little about herself, of whom she appears fiercely private. Only as the story unfolds does she start to let you in – I remember being surprised when she showed such tender, gentle thoughts and actions towards the sick daughter of her employer; that, I believe, was the first glimpse of emotion from Lucy and it really endeared me to her. Lucy Snowe’s name was not an accident – Bronte toyed with Lucy Frost for a while before settling on Snowe. She also allows us to see her as others do: “Crabbed and crusty” said Ginevra, a pupil at the school, and “unfeeling thing that I was” written to her in a letter. The point is, she isn’t unfeeling at all. She is lonely and trying to make her way in an unfamiliar world. Lucy’s past is only hinted at but it appears to have been an unhappy one.

Brontes prose is gorgeous, Villette is such a richly embroidered account of a young woman trying to make a life for herself in a foreign country and fighting for independence and friendship. This book isn’t a romance in the same way that Jane Eyre is. I wasn’t sure for a long time who the leading man would be (in fact he doesn’t even appear until the second half of the book). And it isn’t love at first sight, we watch it grow.

I absolutely adored this book and it is now a firm favourtie of mine.  I finally closed the book in a daze. I don’t want to give anything away, but I was not expecting what happended at the end at all. That came completely out of the blue for me.

Go ahead, indluge and enjoy!

 

 
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