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The Mapmaker’s Daughter–love and the sea
The Mapmaker’s Daughter
by Clare Marchant
In The Mapmaker’s Daughter, the reader will find:
- A successfully handled dual timeline
- Two women who love their men
- Two men who love the sea and adventure
- Some history concerning the control of England
- Settings of time: 1569, 1580, and 2022
- Settings of place: Amsterdam, Low Countries; Hay-on-Wye, Wales; London, England
- Filth and dangers of the cities
- Persecution of Protestant Huguenots by Spanish Catholics
- Cartography, engraving, map shops
- Queen Elizabeth’s court and appropriate dress and protocol
- The place and function of women
- Sea battles
- The knighting of Francis Drake
This work of historical fiction focuses on Freida, a woman from a family of cartographers. She survives a massacre as a child, but finds herself in similar circumstances as a mother. She becomes uncomfortably entangled with Queen Elizabeth’s court where her husband, a dashing privateer, is not welcome. Moving forward to our century, the protagonist is Robyn who has been studiously avoiding the declaration of her husband’s death for seven years. The Mapmaker’s Daughter will reveal how their stories intertwine.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: General Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Notes: 1. I was interested in reading information in general on what was fact and what was fiction. There was nothing that addressed this in my Advanced Reader Copy.
2. I find the many references to clothing quite interesting and scurried to the Internet on multiple occasions to look up words like “kirtle” to more fully understand the garb of the time.
Publication: September 1, 2022—Avon Book, UK
Memorable Lines:
The queen may be the bee at the centre of the hive, but she was still harbouring enemies within.
What filled her inside, always there, twisting her guts and suffocating her, was the anger that Nate had chosen such a dangerous career, that he had opted to race a yacht sometimes in perilous, risky waters, which had ultimately taken him from her.
The temporary confidence she’d arrived with drained through her body to her feet and disappeared into a puddle on the floor. Other guests pushed around her until she felt like a piece of flotsam being dragged back and forth on the dark waves of the sea she’d recently sailed upon.
The Little Books of the Little Brontës–creativity in childhood
The Little Books of the Little Brontës
by Sara O’Leary
illustrated by Briony May Smith
This little book of historical fiction introduces children to the famous Brontë family. The girls, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, and their brother Branwell are raised by their father who is a vicar, their aunt, and a housekeeper. They grow up in relative poverty, but have a fun life with much time to exercise their creativity as they are homeschooled and spend a lot of time exploring the moors. Almost anywhere they go would be by foot.
The Little Books of the Little Brontës tells how they loved to read and as children they made tiny books for each other and for their toy soldiers. As they grew older, their reading passion was turned to writing. The sisters died young, but their books are still eagerly read today.
I enjoyed this fictional view of the Brontës’ childhood. It is easy for children to follow. I particularly liked the illustrations; they are delicate, detailed, and whimsical. After explaining that the sisters had short lives, the author takes the reader back to their happy early years which is a sweet ending and very appropriate to a children’s book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Children’s Fiction, Historical Fiction
Notes: 1. Includes directions on how to make a little book.
2. There are Author’s Notes containing information about the family for adults.
3. The book ends with an extensive Bibliography.
4. Ages 5-9, Grades K-4
5. Print length: 40 pages.
Publication: October 17, 2023—Tundra (Penguin, Random House Canada)
Memorable Lines: (which is also the first sentence)
Many years before you were born,
sometime in the long ago,
a child named Charlotte Brontë
made a little book for her little sister Anne.
A Certain Darkness–could WWI have ended sooner?
A Certain Darkness
by Anna Lee Huber
Lord Ardmore—a good name for an evil person. Although he is not physically present in A Certain Darkness, his influence and machinations pervade the events of this spy novel. Verity Kent and her husband Sidney are a rich and glamorous couple who are both well known in the intelligence circle for undercover work for the British during WWI. Sidney is also a war hero. In this book, they are once more called into service by their country to discover potentially damaging evidence.
In this action packed drama, Verity and Sidney don’t know whom to trust as they try to uncover how a murder occurred on a train and in a jail cell without anyone seeing either crime. Verity is a polyglot, a helpful skill as the couple interacts with French, German, Dutch, and Flemish speakers. One of my favorite scenes involves Verity speaking in their language to someone who is previously unaware that she can understand their conversations with others—rather embarrassing for the speaker.
The plot is complicated because the events that occurred during and after the war are quite complex. Just when I thought I wasn’t enjoying the book because of the intricate historical references, the action and intrigue picked up and I couldn’t wait to read what would happen next.
Both characters suffer from the horrors and stresses of the war, but there are some mental and emotional breakthroughs for both of them in this book. Whereas in the first book I read in the series (#2) I found the couple rather frivolous, I have come to like and respect both of them as I have gotten to know them better. There has also been more character development with each book. If you are interested in history or like spy mysteries, you will enjoy this series including A Certain Darkness. It closes out with a very important hook that will keep me and other readers anxious to read the next book in the series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery, Historical Fiction
Notes: 1. #6 in the Verity Kent Mystery Series. I do not recommend this book as a standalone. There is just too much necessary background provided in the previous books.
2. Clean.
3. One of the themes of this book concerns the ending of WWI. I did an Internet search on this topic and found this is a concern for some historians. In her introduction, Huber lists a recently published nonfiction book on this subject that she used as a resource for her fiction book.
Publication: August 30, 2022—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
Much of intelligence gathering in general was accepting that there were few total victories, few clear choices of right and wrong. Everything was shaded in gray. One had to make judgment calls, constantly wagering possible sacrifices versus gains. Sometimes you got it right and sometimes you got it wrong. But whatever the outcome, you had to swallow the guilt and disgust such decisions and compromises at times wrought.
I recognized what game he was playing, for he’d learned it from the best. After all, Lord Ardmore didn’t simply aim to outwit his opponents, but to corrupt and demoralize them. To turn them against themselves, against their very morals.
“I’d accepted long ago that the war was utterly senseless.” His voice rasped as if being dragged from the depths of his lungs. “That I was simply stuck. Just a little cog in a great monstrous machine that couldn’t be stopped and would one day consume me as well.”
Three Sisters–survival in the midst of death
Three Sisters
by Heather Morris
I present to you a review for a book that will transport you unwillingly from Slovakia into the death camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau. The horrors are especially difficult to read about because this novel was so well researched including interviews with primary sources, two of the three sisters who are protagonists in Heather Morris’ Three Sisters. The third sister had passed away before the author began this project. Unlike some survivors of the concentration camps, these sisters talked about their experiences to people who wanted to hear, especially their family members. These relatives were a treasure trove of information about the camps, the Nazi selections of individuals, hiding from the SS, and the kindness and treachery of nonJews.
Family, of course, is very important to Cibi, Magda, and Livi, the three sisters. Their father makes them promise to always stay together and support each other. Their grandfather gives them the mantra of “hope and strength” which they carry with them through the worst of times. Later they can joke about bad conditions by comparing them to the deprivation they experienced in the camps.
Three Sisters is a hard book to read, but another worthwhile reminder to not allow this history to repeat itself. Ironically, the last part of the book which was about happier times brought the strongest emotional response from me. This reaction is a tribute to Heather Morris as a storyteller who, despite the tragic subject matter, brings her characters to life in such a way that you feel like you really know them and you understand them as much as is possible as an outside observer.
I recommend this book. I know these characters will stay with me for a long time.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Notes: by the author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Publication: October 5, 2021—St. Martin’s Press
Memorable Lines:
As the plaintive cries of their families fade, new voices—angry, hate-filled voices—greet them as they make their passage through the town. Their former friends and neighbors are hurling rotten fruit and stale bread at their heads, yelling their joy that the Jews are finally leaving. Cibi and Livi are stunned by the taunts, the full-throated bile being dispensed from snarling mouths.
…they will never forget their desperation to put something, anything, in their stomachs. These days they savor every mouthful, but, more than that, they cherish the freedom to move around the city as they choose, no longer under the watchful and penetrating gaze of a kapo or worse, an SS officer.
Cibi thinks about the space in her heart where God used to live and wonders, for a second, if the peace she feels in her sisters’ arms is a sign that maybe He never really left.
The Healing of Natalie Curtis–destroying a culture by forbidding its music
The Healing of Natalie Curtis
by Jane Kirkpatrick
The Healing of Natalie Curtis is historical fiction based on a period in the life of Natalie Curtis, a classically trained singer and pianist during a time when women in music had few lifetime choices—remain single achieving success as a performer or marry and teach. After suffering psychological trauma which also affected her physically, her brother George, who had been cowboying in the Southwest, invited her to accompany him because living there had done wonders for his health.
Natalie embarked on a developing, many year journey to record the music and dances of many American Indian tribes. She was afraid their voices would be forever lost as the U.S. government had imposed a Code of Offenses forbidding native singing, dancing, and other customs in its desire to assimilate the “savages” into a white culture. If they broke the Code, their food rations were cut and penitentiary was a possibility. Horrified by the treatment of the Indians, she set about to respectfully learn their stories and compile them along with their music in a book. To do this meant she had to gain legal access which she obtained by letters petitioning President Theodore Roosevelt and finally getting personal appointments with him.
Political change was slow and Natalie had roadblocks along the way. Her family wanted her at home, and she needed benefactors to fund her project. She made many friends, both Anglo and Indian along the way. She and her brother spent many nights camping, and she had to learn to ride horses western style. Her wardrobe changed from that of a proper lady in the early 1900’s to outrageous split skirts for riding and plain dresses adorned with native jewelry.
Initially I was puzzled by Natalie’s illness and her abrupt abandonment of the music world for five years, but the causes were revealed as the story progressed. This book is as much about Natalie’s struggle to change attitudes toward the Indians and consequently treatment of them as about the music itself. She threw herself into this project with the same enthusiasm and drive that she had exerted in developing her music career. The book is very factually based except for conversations which had to be imagined but were based on the context of her known travels and meetings. By the time I finished reading The Healing of Natalie Curtis, I had ordered a copy of the book Natalie put together from her research, The Indians’ Book, which was a major resource for author Jane Kirkpatrick. My desire was to see the finished product of almost 600 pages. Wanting to make it clear that the book truly belonged to the Indians, she called herself the editor rather than the author.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Historical Fiction
Notes: 1. In keeping with the times, Natalie Curtis, Jane Kirkpatrick, and I have used the designation “Indians” for the indigenous people living in the U.S. The various tribes all had names for themselves in their own languages which often translated as “The People.”
2. The end of the book contains: Suggested Additional Reading, Book Group Questions, and Author’s Notes that address cultural issues and the factual basis for the book.
Publication: September 7, 2021—Revell (Baker Publishing)
Memorable Lines:
This dismissiveness had happened before, mostly with professional men who saw any independent unmarried woman as lacking brains and capable of nothing more than sitting at Daddy’s table and taking nourishment from others.
“What I don’t understand,” Natalie said, “is how the Hopi are punished for practicing their religious customs, and those same songs and dances are advertised to bring people to see them. Burton approves because the railroad wants the business?”
This was what she was called to do, to save these songs and more, to give these good people hope that their way of life would not be lost to distant winds.
PHOTOGRAPHS FROM
THE INDIANS’ BOOK:
Pride and Prejudice–courtship in the early 1800’s
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
In preparation for reading Pride, a modern day version of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, with my book club, I decided to reread the original. I knew I could watch a video of the story, but I decided to aim for authenticity and read the actual book. I was glad I did as there is so much to be appreciated in Austen’s words, style, and depiction of characters. In retrospect, I believe my younger self had seen one of the several videos, but had never actually read the novel. I would still like to view one of the movies for an opportunity to better envision the costumes and settings of this period piece, but there is much value to be gained from the reading experience.
Pride and Prejudice is a romance particularly focusing on Jane and Elizabeth Bennet as they navigate the difficult waters of courtship in the early 1800’s in England. Their courses are made more murky by the family’s financial and social status. They are not part of the old monied class that is full of prejudice, but they have standards and they and their suitors are driven at least in part by pride. From a twenty-first century viewpoint, the courtship and rules of engagement seem stilted, but the reader can see in a younger sister’s impetuous disregard for the rules and assumptions of the time, that there are real societal and personal consequences for ignoring the standards of any time period.
I enjoyed the book which is as much about social issues as it is a romance. Pride and prejudice are, of course, themes throughout the book. Most of the characters of the novel grow and develop through the events of the story. Some remain stuck in their ways of thinking, and those continue to be persons the reader won’t like. You may find yourself rereading Pride and Prejudice for love of the characters, the joy of the language, or the journey towards a known ending—happy for some, less so for others.
Rating: 5/5
Notes: Edited by R. W. Chapman. Distributed by Gutenberg Press
Category: General Fiction, Romance
Publication: 1813—T. Egerton Military Library, Whitehall
Memorable Lines:
“Affectation of candor is common enough;—one meets it every where. But to be candid without ostentation or design—to take the good of every body’s character and make it still better, and say nothing of the bad—belongs to you alone.”
Without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honorable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want. This preservative she had now obtained; and at the age of twenty-seven, without having ever been handsome, she felt all the good luck of it.
“You mean to frighten me, Mr. Darcy, by coming in all this state to hear me? But I will not be alarmed though your sister does play so well. There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me.”
The Teacher of Warsaw–hope in the middle of despair
The Teacher of Warsaw
by Mario Escobar
When a book leaves an impact on your soul after the covers are closed, you know you have read a treasure. I was a few chapters into The Teacher of Warsaw before I was captivated by Mario Escobar’s work of historical fiction. After I understood what this author with a master’s degree in Modern History had set out to share, I was repeatedly drawn back from my world into the sad and inspiring world of Janusz Korczak, a pediatrician and teacher with many talents who dedicated his life to the children in his orphanage. They suffered together as the Nazis made their lives and the lives of all Polish Jews a nightmare of starvation and deprivation. Thanks to Dr. Korczak and the dedicated group of tutors who worked alongside him, the children were given hope and taught to love even their enemies. Korczak was Jewish by heritage but had not been raised in a religious family. He admired and appreciated many things about the Jew Jesus and likened Him to the anticipated Messiah, but did not accept Him as the fulfillment of prophecies. Dr. Korczak described himself at various times as an atheist, an agnostic, and a seeker, but those around him would have been hard pressed to find a stronger, more sacrificial, more ethical, and more loving leader. In return the children loved him, and he was regarded with respect by all but the most evil of Nazis.
Dr. Korczak was encouraged by many, including Polish social worker Irena Sendler, to escape the Warsaw Ghetto and the extermination which was surely coming, but his answer was always the same: the children of the orphanage needed him and he would not abandon them. The Teacher of Warsaw is both horrifying and inspiring as it depicts the worst and the best of mankind and demonstrates the power of love.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Historical Fiction
Notes: 1. Translated from Spanish by Gretchen Abernathy.
2. Includes two sections that discuss the historical basis of the story, a timeline of the Warsaw Ghetto, and discussion questions for the reader.
Publication: June 7, 2022—Harper Muse
Memorable Lines:
“Can you think what would’ve happened to the boy had we not been passing by? Everything happens for a reason. Even the greatest misfortunes can become the sweetest blessings.”
“We labor to give them back their hope: but we cannot give what we do not possess. Therefore, be full of hope this morning. May your joy overflow because you do what you do out of love and service for the weakest ones. And when negative thoughts come to steal your peace and joy, don’t let them make a nest in your minds. We can’t avoid those kinds of thoughts, but we can keep them from controlling us.”
I had two hundred children whom I loved and who loved me. I was undoubtedly the richest man in the Warsaw ghetto.
Murder Most Fair–grief
Murder Most Fair
by Anna Lee Huber
What is the best way to grieve? Murder Most Fair weaves that theme throughout a captivating mystery by Anna Lee Huber. This novel has its basis in the spy and undercover operations of the Great War (WWI). The espionage secrets of that period are held close by those involved because of the Official Secrets Act which binds them through honor and legalities. It is in this atmosphere that Verity Kent, a spy, and her husband Sidney Kent, a war hero also engaged in undercover work, pursue what appears to be the frivolous, carefree lifestyle of the young rich.
In reality, like so many of that period, Verity and Sidney are working through grief—for Verity, the personal loss of her beloved brother Rob and for both of them, the witnessing of many soldiers and civilians killed or maimed in the conflicts. The couple is also struggling to avoid the clutches of the evil Lord Ardmore in a different type of war fallout. Meanwhile, we get a first hand view of the hatred many in England felt for all Germans. Verity’s great-aunt Ilse manages to obtain legal entry to Great Britain along with her German maid. Ilse is but a shell of her former self after surviving the war in a country where even if you had money, there was nothing to buy. Malnutrition and starvation were rampant.
The mystery becomes deadly as it progresses. Sidney and Verity are asked to investigate on the side as the local law officer has never handled a murder case. Verity’s relationship with her family is highly stressed as she has not been home in five years, including for her brother’s funeral. Her absence was quite painful for her mother.
Huber’s descriptions are outstanding, evoking a visual and emotional picture. She places the reader in the middle of the setting along with the characters. Her plot is intricately crafted with threads that seem to go nowhere…until they do. This is a good historical novel with suspense to keep you turning pages.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Notes: #5 in the Verity Kent Mystery Series. I haven’t read all the books in this series, but Huber provides needed background information, so this book could be read as a standalone.
Publication: August 3, 2021—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
I wrapped my juniper-green woolen jumper tighter around me and breathed deeply of the air tinted with the smoke from the hearths burning inside, the earthy aroma of autumn decay, and a faint tinge of saltiness from the sea a short distance away. The breeze sawed gently through the trees overhead, rustling the leaves like castanets…
“Well, the Jerries weren’t happy to sit in their mudholes and cesspits any more than we were. We were both just cogs caught up in the higher-ups’ wheels of madness.”
Most of the war dead, of course, had not been repatriated, instead being buried in France, Belgium, Gallipoli, Palestine, and other far-flung places on the globe. But nonetheless I could feel their absence like the missing notes of a song or the lost verse of a poem.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society–comeback from World War II
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
I approach epistolary fiction with a bit of trepidation. Can a story really be told effectively through a series of letters? In the case of the unusually named The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, that is probably the best way to relate the events of the Nazi occupation of Guernsey and to present the characters and how the war affected them.
Juliet Ashton is a budding author with one successful book based on a column she wrote. Her publisher, Sidney, and his younger sister, Sophie, are friends of Juliet; their letters are part of the correspondence that moves the story along. The heart of this tale begins when a letter finds its way to Juliet in London from Guernsey where Dawsey Adams has bought a book by Charles Lamb with her name and address. Dawsey seeks more books by Lamb as well as information about him. Their correspondence leads to a discussion of the local book club which began during the Nazi Occupation.
Most of the book club characters are quite likable and work together because of, or in spite of, their idiosyncrasies and the hardships they have endured. They welcome the opportunity to share their stories with Juliet for potential publication. They are quite open to her personally as well. Juliet grows as a writer, her maternal instincts emerge, and she shows strength of character as she discovers what is important to her.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is well-written with detailed settings and empathy for the characters. It is both a gentle and a strong book and gives a fair depiction of Nazi soldiers, most of whom suffer deprivation in Guernsey along with the locals. Some Nazis are depicted as brutal and a few as humane. Some citizens are supportive of each other and a few are treacherous. The accounts also included Todt slaves, brought in by the Germans. They suffer the most in this book. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society has deservedly caused a lot of buzz among readers and has been made into a movie.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Historical Fiction
Publication: July 29, 2008—Dial Press
Memorable Lines:
I turned to a man sitting against a fence nearby and called out “We’re saved! It’s the British!” Then I saw he was dead. He had only missed it by minutes. I sat down in the mud and sobbed as though he’d been my best friend.
All those people I’ve come to know and even love a little, waiting to see—me. And I, without any paper to hide behind….I have become better at writing than living…On the page, I’m perfectly charming, but that’s just a trick I learned. It has nothing to do with me.
Dawsey was seeing to my bags and making sure that Kit didn’t fall off the pier and generally making himself useful. I began to see that this is what he does—and that everyone depends upon him to do it.
I Capture the Castle–class structure in mid-20th century England
I Capture the Castle
by Dodie Smith
To label I Capture the Castle as a “coming of age” story is true, but the novel is so much more. It is related in her journal by Cassandra who lives in poverty under the leaky roof of a crumbling castle. Her father Mortmain is a writer with one successful book to his credit before he hit a writing desert. He secured a forty-year lease on the castle on a whim. The other residents are his son, another daughter, a boy taken in when his servant mother passed, and Topaz, the children’s stepmother. All in the family realize that the only way out of their financial straits is for at least one of the girls to marry into a rich family.
Author Dodie Smith has gifted us with a book full of nonconventional characters, a beautiful romantic background, and moral dilemmas. The plot begins with touches reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice but deviates fairly quickly. There is a similar theme of class differences, but without Austen’s use of satire. Two of the potential romantic interests grew up in America, one in the East and one in the West. Their backgrounds add another layer of social and cultural differences. Cassandra’s family is caught in the middle. They clearly had money in the past, but they have sold off most of their belongings and are reduced to very meager meals and one or two threadbare outfits per person. They have to be very creative to be acceptable in the social milieu to which they aspire.
I Capture the Castle has the depth necessary for a book to stand the test of time and appeal to a wide audience. It includes topics like women’s roles, art and sexuality, depression, literary criticism, and the laws of inheritance in Great Britain. While it addresses these issues, it remains an interesting and well-told tale with an ending that does not tie everything up neatly. Instead, it gives the reader the opportunity to speculate on the characters’ future decisions and actions which is a good way for this novel to conclude.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Romance, General Fiction
Notes: 1. There are discussion questions at the end.
2. The book has been made into a movie.
Publication: 1948—St. Martin’s Press
Memorable Lines:
I am writing this journal partly to practice my newly acquired speed-writing and partly to teach myself how to write a novel—I intend to capture all our characters and put in conversations. It ought to be good for my style to dash along without much thought, as up to now my stories have been very stiff and self-conscious.
The taxi drew up at a wonderful shop—the sort of shop I would never dare to walk through without a reason. We went in by way of the glove and stocking department, but there were things from other departments just dotted about; bottles of scent and a little glass tree with cherries on it and a piece of white branched coral on a sea-green chiffon scarf. Oh, it was an artful place—it must make people who have money want to spend it madly!
In the end, Topaz got Stephen to take the hen-house door off its hinges and make some rough trestles to put it on, and we pushed it close to the window-seat, which saved us three chairs. We used the grey brocade curtains from the hall as a table-cloth—they looked magnificent though the join showed a bit and they got in the way of our feet. All our silver and good china and glass went long ago, but the Vicar lent us his, including his silver candelabra.
education pathways 