If Northanger Abbey was a little confusing for me, Nachtstürm Castle was not. Author Emily C. A. Snyder describes this work as a Gothic novel in the style of Jane Austen, and it exhibits a visible Austen imprint in the style of prose and in the charming imitation of that author's habit of addressing the reader.

Having read only one novel by Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey, and having read it as a preparation for reviewing Nachtstürm Castle, I can see the resemblance in style and, of course, subject matter. However, the story takes us beyond Austen, where I perceive (rightly or wrongly) snatches of Dorothy Sayers, Mary Shelley, and even Edgar Allen Poe. Do my eyes deceive me?

Ms. Snyder’s style likewise goes past tribute to Jane Austen. Do I detect a gentle, charming, self-effacing parody? Ms. Snyder’s words, more than mine, characterize her as an infinitely talented author with a wicked sense of humor. Consider some of my favorite quotes:

And alas – if the authoress may be permitted more than one “alas” per chapter – that the next dawn brought our befuddled heroes no closer to understanding the mystery in question, than they had been the night before.

Through briars and bracken and steadily increasing rain, he thundered on his mount, landing at last on the road, not a few yards distant from his beloved. Another strike of lightening – now accompanied by the deep-bellied rumble, and the horse reared, incidentally setting Henry very picturesquely against the inconstant moon.

Warnings against the uses and abuses of imagination we have in other novels aplenty, including that far superior novel by that far superior author of which we are a poor continuation.

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Judith Collington lived in Hollywood and made excellent money as a personal shopper to the stars. For the casual observer, her life might be the stuff that dreams are made of, but Judith was itching to get herself and her pre-teen daughter away from all the glitz and phoniness of the entertainment trade. She longed for a job that would allow her time to connect personally with daughter, Shannon, before the latter’s souring attitude went permanently south.

Judith’s perfect escape route came in the form of a job managing a bed and breakfast in Bloomington, Illinois, close to where Judith herself grew up. To sweeten the deal, she had opened negotiations to buy the place from the current owner, whose Aunt Winnie managed the “Innstead” and was ready to retire after she trained the new manager.

Almost immediately Judith’s plans went awry. The suite she was to share with her daughter was not ready, forcing her to allow Shannon to take a private room, and removing the girl from Judith’s watchful eye. Her purchase negotiations were in suspended animation. The next-door neighbors were stranger than most of her Hollywood acquaintances, and Judith’s first customers consisted of a snooty high-maintenance couple (travel writers, no less) and a sleepwalking businessman. And that's not the worst of it.

Soon a big, black SUV arrived and disgorged a seedy, hung over character with a beefy bodyguard and rock star manners. The man, it turns out, is Ren Spencer, a nearly washed-up Hollywood A-lister and coincidentally the one whose pictures line the walls of Shannon’s room.

For the sake of Shannon’s innocence and the paparazzo’s ignorance Judith tries to keep Ren’s presence under wraps, but the latter’s rowdy, uncouth, drunken behavior works against her efforts and his own best interests.

Why is he here? Why on earth would he want to hole up in a B& B in Bloomington, hung over or not? When Ren sobered up enough to discuss his presence, Judith learned that he was her new boss. He won the B&B in a poker game with Winnie's gambling-addicted nephew. Thankfully, Judith did not try to evict Ren, although she thought of it several times when the other guests complained about the noise, the odd hours and the smoking. The smoking complaint led Judith to an even more startling revelation that had nothing to do with Ren. Clearly, this was not the quiet, contemplative life she had visualized for herself and Shannon. In short, it was chaos.

Judith breathed a sigh of relief when a sober, cleaned up Ren left for Colorado to patch things up with the girlfriend over whose departure he had turned to drink. When he returned a reformed man and engaged to his beloved, Judith begin to long for the "good old days" of noise and body odor, when she realized that Ren’s Bridezilla intended to turn the B&B into a quaint wedding chapel with Judith herself as wedding planner.

Consider this a very contemporary novel that turns a little Jane Austen about half way through. (OK, I just discovered Jane Austen, so maybe anything I read sounds like Jane Austen). Told in first person from three different points of view, the reader sees how each character perceives what the others feel, rendering the story at times poignant, at times hilarious, and always entertaining.

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Although I’m not nostalgic and seldom reread children’s books, I had astonishingly good taste as a child: I read Little Women, Linnets and Valerians, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Friday’s Tunnel, An Episode of Sparrows, and E. Nesbit’s The Enchanted Castle. E. Nesbit’s charming fantasy classics were my favorites, and I demanded them for several birthdays and Christmases. There was nothing better than lounging on a lawn chair after a birthday slumber party, sleepily reading my own copy of The Phoenix and the Carpet. Oddly, no other children read Nesbit’s stories. They seemed to be my personal discovery. What a fool I was to sell them in a moment of graduate school poverty!

I didn’t call these fantasies: I referred to them as “magic adventure books.” The adventure happens to witty, independent, intelligent children against the background of ordinary life at the turn of the twentieth century. And yet these witty classics were unpopular in America in the ’60s, as Gore Vidal observed in his enthusiastic New York Review of Books article on Nesbit: he blamed American librarians for preferring contemporary problem-solving realism to fantasy.

Nesbit’s The Enchanted Castle was J. B. Priestley’s favorite, according to Vidal–and it is mine. It has taken me two years to reread it, as I’ve finished a chapter every couple of months: although it’s a classic, I have savored the disparate episodes almost as though they are short stories. It’s beautifully written, whimsical, light, and entertaining, the interwoven tales of the “magic adventures” of Gerald, Jimmy, and Kathleen (siblings), and Mabel, the imaginative niece of the caretaker of a castle. They wander into the garden of a castle for a picnic (how I wish I had a castle garden nearby!) and meet Mabel dressed up like a princess and feigning an enchanted sleep in the garden. She convinces them she is a princess and says she has a magic ring–and then, to her consternation, it becomes true. She wishes she were invisible–and becomes invisible. She doesn’t believe they can’t see her–and shakes them. The sight of their being shaken by someone invisible is terrifying. They clutch her invisible arms and legs.

Every time the children wish on the ring, the magic always goes awry. But that, of course, is the charm: how will they get out of the fix? These are such terrific books. An NYRB edition of The House of Arden is in print. Perhaps her realistic novels–The Railway Children, the Bastables books–are more popular, but I’m a fan of the fantasies.

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First published in 1796, Burney's third novel revolves around the economic and matrimonial concerns of Camilla Tyrold and her close family. The story takes us through many hardships in the Tyrold family, most caused by misunderstandings, on the path to true love and solvency.

After a slow start, once all the characters are introduced and start to interact, Burney weaves a captivating story. Unlike her previous novels, Evelina and Cecilia, Camilla's titular character is far from perfect in both beauty and intelligence. She does not lay claim to much common sense either. Camilla is a nervous wreck throughout most of the novel, but her failings are so human that we can't help being enchanted by her. Her deformed sister, Eugenia, is a dear little thing. Her brother Lionel makes us laugh and cringe at his antics. Her sometime suitor, Edgar Mandlebert--perhaps one of the more infuriating characters of the novel--redeems himself by doing some good brooding in dark corners. And there are some well-rounded villains to keep us on our toes including the overbearing governess, Miss Margland, and the equally overbearing Mrs. Mittin who may mean well but leaves disaster in her wake.

While I'm not as fond of Camilla as Burney's other novels (Evelina was my particular favorite), there is some merit to this one. The resemblance to Jane Austen's writing style and plot construction is more apparent in Camilla than Burney's other novels. Sir Sedley Clarendel, who seems a most lethargic and unpromising young chap at the start, turns out a wonderfully complex character. I see hints of him in Henry Crawford from Austen's Mansfield Park.  Edgar Mandlebert reminds me of Mr Knightly from Emma in his many exhortations on propriety to Camilla, though Camilla deserves such exhortations much less than Emma did.

If you have enjoyed Evelina and Cecilia and are hungering for more Burney, Camilla will satisfy you. You also will be satisfied if you are a Jane Austen fan and are curious about her influences. For instance, Camilla was mentioned in Austen's Northanger Abbey by its heroine in the following effusion:

It is only Cecilia, or Camilla, or Belinda; or, in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are conveyed to the world in the best–chosen language.

Otherwise, I would recommend trying Burney's other novels first and then perhaps rereading some Jane Austen.

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First published in 1859, Adam Bede is set in the rural farming community of Hayslope in 1799. The plot centers around four characters and the entangling relationships amongst them. The titular character is a well-respected young carpenter who is in love with the pretty Hetty Sorrel. Hetty in turn is in love with the rich Arthur Donithorne who returns her feelings but has no honorable intentions. Dinah Morris, Hetty’s cousin and a Methodist preacher, is introduced early on and becomes a pivotal character near the end of the novel.

As usual, Eliot's perfect prose is matched with a good (but long) story.  Also as usual, Eliot expands on a multitude of characters in a small English farming community. Adam Bede, being Eliot's first novel, is not as well constructed as Middlemarch, nor as perfectly concise as my personal favorite, Silas Marner. It does have several things going for it though. One is Adam Bede himself. This charmingly flawed character holds the story together well. He is a hard worker who subjects himself and others to too high a standard. His quick temper sometimes has near-disastrous results, but he is aware of this and many times repents his rash behavior.

Now that I have read several Eliot novels, there is definitely a pattern in young, vibrant, minutely flawed but innately good male characters. Bede, Ladislaw from Middlemarch, Daniel Deronda to name a few. Could these characters be based on someone in Eliot's real life? No doubt she used people from the farm community where she grew up as the basis for many of her characters. They are too numerous and colorful to have come purely from imagination. My casting recommendation for Adam Bede is Rufus Sewell. Sewell was the perfect Ladislaw in the1994 adaptation of Middlemarch and would do just as well in the character of Adam Bede (though he is now too old for the part).

Of the other characters, a highlight of the novel is the outspoken Mrs Poyser. The scene where she puts her grouchy curmudgeon landlord in is place will leave you in stitches. The character you are supposed to love but hate is Dinah. Her supposed strong-will comes across as stubbornness and stupidity. And what happened to Seth Bede? Here is a character dying for some more screen time. Things don't go his way, but he's always smiling contentedly, happy with the lot given him. This is not believable.

Adam Bede, though flawed, hints of the masterpieces Eliot went on to create. True to her style it takes her until about halfway through before things get interesting, but if you stick with it, you are well rewarded.

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“The wish of a numerous acquaintance in Bath was still uppermost with Mrs Allen, and she repeated it after every fresh proof, which every morning brought, of her knowing nobody at all.”
--Jane Austen

Let me admit, that, until I read Northanger Abbey, I was a Jane Austen virgin. Although I lived for a while with one of Austen’s biggest fans, I was more likely to be curled up with a sci-fi or computer book. In short, I had to be re-programmed to appreciate the classics in general and Jane Austen in specific. Please consider this when reading my comments.

Twenty three years have elapsed since my last teaching assignment; forty since college, and yet I find myself thinking about Cliffs Notes. The booklet sized analyses, much sought after by students and almost universally disdained by English teachers intended to lead the student through the intricacies of great literature, such as A Tale of Two Cities or Anna Karenina. More often students sought them as an alternative to reading the book, thus the disdain they received from teachers, who might otherwise have used them as a teaching tool to be read alongside the novel. I suppose a purist might insist that one should form one’s own thoughts regarding the book. However, as a teacher, I was a pragmatist. Sometimes the intricacies of the author’s prose could turn opaque, leaving the reader, especially an inexperienced one, at a loss to understand the plot, much less any accompanying symbolism. If Cliffs Notes helped to clarify the plot and introduce the symbolism in understandable terms, who am I to disdain them?

A Northanger Abbey Cliff's Notes version might have helped me understand the intricacies of the ending, which came tumbling at me so fast I scarcely knew what hit me. No ending has taken me as much by surprise since I read Georgette Heyer’s The Black Moth. This is not to say that I didn’t enjoy my first venture into Jane Austen. However, it got me wondering how a laundry bill could become such a pivotal symbol in the progress of the story and wishing I had paid more attention at its discovery.

My real issue with the ending was that I understood on some level what happened, but the dénouement was not spelled out for me as I expected it to be. This is not so much a fault of Jane Austen as it is of my inexperience in reading Jane Austen. Should you read Northanger Abbey? Absolutely. But I admonish you to pay careful attention when you do. Do also enjoy Ms. Austen’s turn of phrase, an example of which appears above, because very few people can put together a sentence the way Austen does. Cliff’s Notes wouldn’t hurt, either.

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Jeanne Louise Genet Campan was incredibly accomplished for her age; her noted talents landed her the appointment of reader to the royal princesses, a job which entailed just that, yet so much more! It led to a position serving the Queen of France directly, placing the young lady in the middle of the cliques, the gossip and even the politics at Versailles.

A Royalist through and through, Jeanne grew up among the Bourbons.  She spent many years in the company of Marie Antoinette and her husband, and their friends as well.  The Memoirs are written so that you can feel her devotion and see her true attachment to the royal couple.  Her style is empathetic, descriptive and very lively; she brings the court to life.

"I will enjoy the comforts of private life, which exist not for us, unless we have the good sense to secure them for ourselves." [Marie Antoinette]

Once you begin this book, the intimate details of Marie Antoinette and the court of Versailles start to spill. Each page is filled with a story, a small gem of court intrigues. You will read about posh events held in private apartments, the pay scale, Madame du Barry's favorite servant and even unmentionable details of Louis XV's final days.

You will meet Louis XVI, as you may not have known him before. She describes the King as having handsome features, however marked with melancholy.  You will also learn more about Marie Antoinette, her disposition, the views others held of her, and her weakest moments.

The most powerful image I always recall is the evening Marie’s ladies pack her belongings in the moonlight, with a small hope of escape, her despaired majesty sitting detached, digesting it all. Madame, who stayed loyal to her friends until the end, although separated in the heat of the revolution, always kept up to date on the family’s situation. She even came into possession of a precious portfolio of theirs...

If ever there was a book to dive into at night (luxurious frothy beverage optional) this would be it.  I find it is like stepping out of 2010 for a while, and being whisked off to Versailles circa 1782. Do enjoy!

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Burnett's style is vigorous and confident, and the theme is the tragic reduction of Rosy Vanderpoel from confident golden girl to battered woman, and the attempts of her sister, Bettina, to rescue her. Rosy, a blossoming, lovely heiress in New York, marries Sir Nigel, who despises Americans but has entrapped her for her money. Back on his mouldering estate in England, he abuses her psychologically and physically until she turns over most of her money to him (which he squanders on frivolous trips). He also cuts off Rosy's communications with her family (though he himself writes occasional letters to placate them) and reduces her to a nervous wreck. When the Vanderpoels visit Europe, he tells them Rosy is away. She is utterly isolated and shattered.

But the heroine is her younger sister, Betty, a beautiful, brilliant young woman who, 12 years after the marriage, when she is grown up, sets out to rescue Rosy. She does not believe her sister dropped them, and her father, a businessman, also suspects she may be Sir Nigel's victim. There's something of the fairy tale about this, with one princess rescuing another. Burnett's description of Betty's impressions of Sir Nigel's estate is enchanting: it's a kind of Sleeping Beauty's castle in need of repairs. And Rosy's 12-year-old son, the crippled Ughtred, is reminiscent of heroes of her children's books.

The writing is superb, and Burnett knows so much about the psychology of the battered woman. She understands PTSD before its time. The battered woman is not a masochistic victim, but often a successful woman brought down by isolation and constant belittling and tantrums. The abuser often is charming and sympathetic in public: only his wife and children know his other side. How Burnett knew this I don't know: she also writes about this in The Making of a Marchioness.

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Hot flashes, a 25-year marriage, unfulfilled career ambitions, a restless retirement, a large stash of amber liquid hidden in the basement, and a husband whose life work involves garbage collection all set the scene for an unlikely romance. However, Eva Pasco has managed to weave all these elements into an amusing story line that wanders here and there at a steady clip—a story line as enticing and unpredictable as the heroine, Carla Matteo.

Married for 25 years to the still buff and attractive Joe Matteo, Carla harbors a secret that puts her husband into a tailspin once he accidentally discovers the evidence. Carla must then come to terms with an issue that she buried and put behind her way back in the ‘60s. Now fiftyish and menopausal, she begins to reflect on her own mortality, the quality of her marriage, and her addiction to the amber liquid in the basement, all while dealing with the all-too obvious symptoms of menopause—the hot flashes. Addressing these issues and the fact that she has done little to cultivate friendships in recent years, Carla focuses on the areas of her life that need attention now that her time is finally her own.

Ms. Pasco amuses from the first line, choosing to start her story with a poetic yet accurate description of a menopausal hot flash, awakening our heroine to a sleepless contemplation of the day to day troubles endured by her loved ones. Finally giving up on sleep, Carla makes her way to the basement where she has her “ladies”—the bottles of amber liquid, her “drug of choice”. Ms. Pasco again amuses with the revelation that these liquids are perfumes—ergo, the title, a reference to the hints of this and that present in the fragrance of the perfume.

“Evening in Paris”, “Tabu”, “Shalimar” and “Youth Dew” took Carla (and me) on a trip down memory lane. The smell of these fragrances evoked an era in her life, sometimes down to the moment. As she matured, Carla developed a hankering for “Paloma Picasso” although she was not beyond deserting Paloma for a romp with “China Rose.” The latter accompanied her on her Date with Destiny, and in true Pasco fashion, Destiny and “China Rose” found their rightful place in Carla’s life, yielding a touching and unique ending.

Below is a painting by Janice Tarver inspired by Underlying Notes.  It is for sale at Etsy.

The Perfume Stash by Janice Tarver

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Heather Carroll, who wrote the foreword to the paperback and also helped us edit the book text for publication, is having a group read of said novel on her website. Why don’t grab a copy and run on over to her blog to join in the fun?

Below is an excerpt of Heather's foreword.

Georgiana had an unusual upbringing for an aristocrat.  Her parents were in love, and she was raised in a household with strong family values.  At the age of sixteen she enthusiastically entered a marriage with the Duke of Devonshire, expecting their marriage to be just like that of her parents.  The Duke’s outlook on the marriage was entirely different from Georgiana’s.  For him, marriage was merely a necessary means of securing heirs.

The environment Georgiana entered was an entirely foreign one.  She automatically became a member of the elite society of the most powerful people known as the ton or the beau monde.  These were the people who decided who or what was in and what was out.  For a girl not yet eighteen, this must have been an intimidating situation.  Luckily for Georgiana she was blessed with a tenacity and a chameleon-like adaptability which allowed her to survive not only her marriage but also her social situation. She eventually became not only accepted but also celebrated.

But deep down inside Georgiana felt like a naïve girl who knew nothing of the world she now took part in.  It is that inner, scared child that becomes Julia, the heroine of The Sylph. While it is not an autobiography, The Sylph depicts many revealing, real-life situations from Georgiana’s social circle.  Published anonymously when she was twenty-one, the book shocked many due to its revelations.  Today the book is just as eye-opening as it was when it was published.

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The Return of the Soldier is the First World War I novel written by a woman. I suspect that it might also be the first novel that explores the psychological aspect of the casualties of war. The story is simple; the problems it deals with are not.

A British officer returns home from the front physically sound but suffering from amnesia brought on by shell shock. His memory loss wipes out the past 15 years of his life during which he married a society beauty, Kitty, and had a son who died in infancy. In Captain Baldry’s mind, he is still courting Margaret who has since become a drab suburban housewife. Reunited with Margaret, he still sees her in his mind's eye as the young maiden he loved then lost over a petty quarrel. Because of the unusual circumstances and her enduring love for Baldry, Margaret enters into this charade in hopes of helping him regain his memory.

Although Kitty and Baldry’s cousin (the story’s narrator) have consulted several specialists on the Captain’s behalf, none has been able to effect a change. Almost out of options, they hear of a specialist who has been effective in treating others with amnesia. Once she hears the possibility of a cure, our narrator--who has grown to know and appreciate Margaret--begins to wonder whether a “cure” is the best thing for Baldry at this time.

Is Baldry’s attachment to the selfless Margaret such a bad thing in view of their mutual happiness? Once cured, will the Captain return to the hell of war, which damaged his mind in the first place? Is Kitty aware that this cure will separate her and Baldry physically, this time perhaps permanently? The story asks more questions than it answers, but the reader can infer what happens and whether the ending is indeed the best possible scenario.

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Five years ago, I agreed to participate in a Tai Chi performance at a local martial arts academy. Since the academy was across town and I had a brand new van, I offered to drive anyone who would like a ride. Another student named Janice Tarver took me up on my offer. I had heard Janice was clairvoyant, but had not seen her demonstrate her skills, as our only interaction involved saying “hi” in Tai Chi class. On our way home from the performance, my curiosity got the best of me and I asked her if she could “read” me. What she said shocked and surprised me.

Without any prior knowledge of my past, she talked about the fact that my mother had passed away several years before and began to tell me names, all of which turned out to be my mother’s relatives, except one, whom I later recognized as a family benefactor. Even more astounding was her mention of my mother’s love for pink roses. This was not something I was consciously aware of. When until I got home, I looked closely at all the lovely things in my dining room, the items that I inherited from my mother. They were all decorated with pink roses. In my bedroom hung an inexpensive dime store planter my mother had kept in her kitchen for nearly fifty years. I saved it because it was her favorite gift from me as a child. Its primary decoration was a large pink rose. Janice had never been to my house.

After getting to know Janice better, I read The Happy Medium for the first time. Although the book was fascinating, Janice and I remained only casually acquainted because my work schedule prevented most extra curricular activities. I did, however, see her in Tai Chi class year after year. When I retired last year and had more time, Janice and I began having tea and practicing Tai Chi together.

When she showed me some of her paintings, I thought this talent might fit nicely with Girlebooks’ need for cover art. Janice agreed, and we began to do business together, starting with Girlebooks and expanding into Etsy and eBay. Working with Laura to implement the Girlebooks author program I began to think that Janice’s book might make a good candidate, and asked her to submit a copy. Her book was just as fascinating the second time around, perhaps more because I knew the person behind this flamboyant history.

The Happy Medium centers upon Janice’s interactions with clients, the clients themselves having submitted many of the experiences described in the book. Janice has a gift, albeit one she has not always been comfortable possessing, much less using. Her journey through acceptance and actualization of that gift comprises another facet of the story.

One can say many things about Janice Tarver. A busy person who paints, practices Tai Chi, runs a demanding business and maintains a stunningly beautiful home, Janice is willing to drop everything for someone who needs a helping hand. Her journey has not always been smooth, but her life has been colorful and she can bring a wonderful feeling peace and optimism to whoever seeks it.

Janice Tarver’s website is at www.janicetarver.com.
For readings, she can be reached at: 210.520.0332

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In order to do a proper review of Margaret’s Rematch I have to overcome a huge case of language envy. I’m accustomed to being jealous of writers who produce entire novels and demonstrate an easy facility for the language, but I acknowledge that a large percentage of English speakers have a better command of its written word than I. Farida Mestek, author of Margaret’s Rematch, raises my language envy to a new level, for her native language is not English but Russian. Farida is from the Ukraine. She has done a remarkable job of presenting an Austen-style novel that reflects not only a good understanding of plot development but also the ability to mimic a proper English lady’s writing style. This fact raises her accomplishment from excellent to outstanding. With that in mind, I present my review.

Some books offer the reader a roller coaster ride, with ups and down, twists and turns and not a few panics. Some books offer a game of hide-and-seek, constantly changing the rules just when you think you have figured out the plot’s trajectory. Some books, and indeed the most enjoyable, offer a comfortable predictability, where you can guess the ending, perhaps from the first sentence, but hold your interest by taking you on a n enjoyable journey from here to there. Margaret’s Rematch belongs to the third type of novel, serving up a healthy dose of conflict, but allowing the story to meander gently and pleasantly toward its goal.

Will Margaret gain any measure of respectability in James Westfield’s eyes? Will Catherine’s rumormongering destroy any inroads Margaret has made toward reconciling with her former brother-in-law? Will that unfortunate and all-too-public scandal involving Margaret, Mr. Linton and Linton’s fiancé sully Margaret’s reputation so badly that no one will have her? And who is Catharine’s mystery man, the man to whom she claims to be engaged?

The first chapter sets the stage as James Westfield, who was married to Margaret’s late sister Isabella, contemplates his complete antipathy toward Margaret even as he journeys to London to take her away from a life that has become too scandalous for his tastes. Returning to his home, Northbrook Hall, the two have little to say to each other, with past hurts and conflicts seething beneath the surface.

In spite of their awkward start, Margaret’s ability to enchant Westfield’s son, charm his mother and befriend his sister pave the road toward a more cordial relationship between Westfield and Margaret. Margaret grows to like the country and enjoy the serenity of her stay at Northbrook Hall. But her tranquility is shattered by the arrival first of her former suitor, Clifford Stockley, and then his conniving sister, Catharine.

If you are looking for a romance peppered with heaving bosoms and throbbing manhoods, Margaret’s Rematch is not for you. However if a mature, quiet romance with an interesting psychological angle is more your style, read and enjoy.

The following is an interview with author Farida:

Where are you from and what is your native language?

I'm from Ukraine, Odessa. My native language is Russian. It's Ukrainian as well, but as Odessa is situated in the south of Ukraine - pro-Russian part of the country - I grew up speaking Russian.

Where did you find your inspiration for writing Margaret’s Rematch?

I am a very big Jane Austen fan. Having read her books for the umpteenth time I wondered if there were similar books written by modern authors. What I found in their place was a Regency romance market overstuffed with titled rakes and their mistresses. I realized that unless I wanted to read a book to my liking I would just have to write it myself.

Is this your first novel? If not, what else have you written?

After Margaret’s Rematch, I have completed two more Regency-set stories one of which is going to be published this summer. The story, though set in Regency, is in quite a different key from Margaret’s Rematch as it has at its core the blossoming feelings of mutual affection between two men.

In your novel appear two characters, a woman named Catharine and a man named Linton. These names are reminiscent of Wuthering Heights. Coincidence or deliberate?

Oh, it was a pure coincidence! I had no idea, really. But now I would love to reread Wuthering Heights.

Did you have a real life location that was the inspiration for Northbrook Hall, or was it a figment of your imagination?

Well, part of it was a figment of my imagination, but Margaret’s favourite spot with the lake and willows is quite a real place. In fact, it was after I saw the place that I decided that Margaret would just love it.

Catharine is by far the most interesting character in the novel, in spite of Margaret’s antipathy toward her. Where did you find the inspiration for Catharine?

For Margaret’s antagonist I needed someone I personally would dislike greatly and I cast around for all the unpleasant girls and women that I ever had to come into contact with. But I am very lucky in that the characters themselves come and find me, telling me their stories and insisting that I should write them so I don’t have to look far for inspiration. I love to watch and study people around me and borrow their most pronounced qualities and traits for my characters.

Where do you think Catharine comes by her need for gossip and intrigue?

She is trying to make her way by the only means available to her: she is neither pretty nor wealthy, but she has enough cunning and lack of morals about her to use gossip and intrigue in order to get what she wants.

When you started Margaret’s Rematch did you have a clear picture of where it was headed, or did you let the novel write itself?

I always make an outline of the story I am about to write. Of course, while writing I deviated greatly from its original plan, but despite all the alterations that I’ve made whenever I looked into the outline (and it happened very rarely) it kept me on track.

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The Life of Charlotte Brontë is written as much by Charlotte as it is by Gaskell. Much of her life is told in her own words through her letters to friends. It's actually quite heavy on the letters. I had to take frequent breaks from the book since I found it was hard to read letter after letter. Still, reading her own words is a something I appreciate. It gave me a view of her I never had before, both the good and bad.

Gaskell had plenty of source material to work from for the biography. To Ellen Nussey alone, Charlotte wrote over 500 letters. Gaskell could pick and choose what or what not to include. While I found she covered much of her life, I couldn't help feeling that much was left out. Her marriage to Arthur Nicholls mystifies me. She turned down three marriage proposals and says many times that she is content to be single. Yet, in her late 30's she agrees to marry her father's curate. None of her letters about him are glowing with love. She's very quiet about the whole thing. Gaskell herself is the one who says they were happy. I felt there was much missing from this part of her life.

As a biographer, Gaskell has a few disadvantages. First, she was a friend of Charlotte. This may seem like an advantage since she knew the woman and have first hand account of her. But, in fact, Gaskell has a conflict of interest. She has a loyalty to her friend, even though she had died.

Gaskell is also a novelist and as May Sinclair says in the introduction of novelists writing factual accounts:

His imagination, that only knows itself as creative, has to become passive. There are moments when he must repress it entirely in the interests of truth. And yet there is the impossibility of keeping imagination altogether out of it.

She does get carried away at a few points and turns to down right editorializing when it comes to the fall of Branwell. He was Charlotte's brother, an opium addict, who nearly ruined the family with his debts before he died. Gaskell lays much of the blame at the feet of his married lover. She demonizes the woman when it's obvious that Branwell was no angel to begin with.

Still, Gaskell provides a vivid picture of Charlotte. She's fiercely loyal to her family and friends. After the deaths of her two elder sisters as children, she takes the place of eldest sister to her motherless siblings. She clucks over them all like a mother hen. She was never separated from them for long until their deaths. The hardest letters to read are the ones during and after the deaths of Emily and Anne. They are heartbreaking letters. Within a year, Charlotte lost all her remaining 3 siblings.

After their deaths, Charlotte felt the responsibility of caring for her father alone. He didn't seem like the easiest person to care for and his failing eyesight didn't help matters. He required a lot of care. Even success as a writer didn't free her from this task, as Gaskell points out:

a woman's principle work in life is hardly left to her own choice; nor can she drop the domestic charges devolving on her as an individual, for the exercise of the most splendid talents ever bestowed.

I'm sure many women today have similar feelings. No matter what career she has, there are always matters at home to take care of and it seems to always fall on the woman.

All through Charlotte's life, she suffered from nervous disorders. If she were alive today, she'd be on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications! I think much of this stems from her father's odd child rearing beliefs. The children were so lonely and isolated that by the time they went to school they were painfully awkward and shy. Charlotte was never comfortable in social situations and understandably this became worse after her last sisters' deaths. She letters are riddled with references to her headaches and declining health. Was this real or imagined sickness?

After her marriage, Charlotte became pregnant and what little good health she had quickly deteriorated. She became violently ill with morning sickness (which for many women is 'all day sickness') and died either from the effects of it or pneumonia.

It's clear that Gaskell admired Charlotte Brontë as a person and a writer. She gives her praise and often there is a defensive tone in her writing. You wouldn't want to cross her. Glimpses of her own personality show through even though this is about her friend. This is my first Elizabeth Gaskell and I'm not sure if it's the right place to start but if you are a Brontë fan, I highly recommend it.

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Anura Bufonida is a fairytale princess waiting for her prince to claim her. Anura is sure of her happy ending, being a descendant of the Frog Prince whose curse was broken long ago when he was kissed by his princess. Rana, who has not had so happy a family history, is her loyal cousin and best friend. One day, not long after Anura's sixteenth birthday, a wizard appears, set on rendering the beautiful princess to ashes. He fails.

What does this mean? Is Anura not to have her happy ending? Where is the prince who is supposed to save her? Is something is intrinsically wrong in the fairytale Domain? If the happy ending Imperative is broken, who will fix it?

It took a few chapters to understand the logic and terminology in this variation on the fairytale theme. It reminded me of that musical "Into the Woods" where all the fairytales collide into one big story. There's the Frog Prince of course, but also Little Red Cap, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin and Rapunzel. We all know these stories, and author Palmer seamlessly stitches them together into a surprisingly believable story.

Not only the story but also the characters draw you in. Despite being a princess, Anura is just a whiny side character to feisty Rana. The wizard, Jannin, makes a charismatic villain, even if you never know which side he's playing for. Step-mother Amarynths and loyal castle guard Mascon round out the core characters.

I'm not a regular fantasy fiction reader. Nonetheless, I was enchanted by Palmer's story. It seems a good introduction to the genre, or just a solid story for anyone looking for some action, suspense, romance, dragons, and princesses on a lazy weekend.

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I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, the characters are clearly drawn and reflect just about any situation where a group of women live and work together. On the other hand, some of it did not make sense. Why, for instance, did two of the characters so completely adore a third to the point where they wanted to marry each other largely based on their mutual appreciation for that third? It was an odd sort of basis for friendship and love.

Anyway, the book is about characters that live and work at or around the Midland Supply Depot, which is an army support institution. Charmian Vivian (Char), the charismatic Director, runs the Depot like an amateur dictator a la P.G. Wodehouse’s Roderick Spode. She uses tyranny and the cult of personality to overwork her employees and to take over other operations like a café that are not her concern. She is that typical Type A Superwoman who has to be the best at it all and do it without sleep or meals, and who makes us normal people rather irritated. However, by virtue of her charisma, looks, higher social position - the doctor in the book keeps saying the Vivians of Plessing have always stood for the highest in the land – and, frankly, sheer emotional blackmail – it is all about the war and the efforts made to support the troops, not about her control-freakishness – Char keeps a bevy of middle-class girls firmly under her thumb.

Enter Grace Jones, an archdeacon’s daughter, who has moved to the area to contribute to the war effort and who is also, upper-class. Char fails to impress Grace. Lady Joanna Vivian, Char’s mother, however, does manage to impress Grace, though it is not totally clear how, and John Trevellyan falls in love with Grace because he also adores Lady Vivian. Okay, perhaps that is not totally fair. John also falls in love with Grace because he helps her after she vomits at the sight of blood and because, blood aside, she is a cool-headed girl. Anyway, that’s pretty much enough about Grace. She’s there to be a foil for the super-intense Char and she does that well.

Lady Vivian is also supposed to be a foil of sorts for her daughter, but frankly, I mostly found her annoying in her way too. She just seemed to have sacrificed her whole life for her husband. Delafield implies that is a good thing, yet, I find it hard to believe that a successful working woman like the author could be convinced. Char, however, is vilified for being completely involved in her work to the exclusion of her family, especially when her father is ill with a stroke and she protests sitting around at home with nothing to do since she’s not even allowed to nurse him (Lady Vivian takes that job). Yes, Char got annoying, especially when she kept telling people how important she was, but I found I still respected her dedication. Grace and others in the book say Char’s dedication is based on others watching her and admiring her; well, when after some nasty backstabbing from the local GP, those others do not admire Char as much, she still continues as dedicated as ever. Frankly, that took some guts and gung-ho. Grace, on the other hand, keeps gliding through life, a feminine support to others, and Lady Vivian just keeps being lady of the manor, even when that manor is given up to convalescent soldiers.

So, even though I was supposed to admire Grace and Lady Vivian and dislike Char, I found I really did not like anyone much in the book, but did come away respecting Char Vivian.

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And if it is true, as the evidence suggests, that the detective story flourishes best in the most difficult of times, we may well be at the beginning of a new Golden Age.
--P. D. James, Talking About Detective Fiction

You will perhaps notice that I attributed this book to “Lady P. D. James”. James, like Emmuzka Orczy, is a baroness. But what surprised me is that she wrote this book when she was nearly 90 years old. James has authored several venerable mysteries in her lifetime, including The Children of Men, Devices and Desires, The Lighthouse, The Murder Room, Original Sin, The Private Patient and A Taste for Death.

Many of my “Cat Who…” constituents here at Girlebooks have been speculating on whether a nonagenarian can still write lucid prose, Lilian Jackson Braun being one of Lady James’ contemporaries. One has only to read Talking about Detective Fiction to find an answer. Ms. James obviously knows what she is talking about and explains her views and concepts in clear and concise paragraphs.

Lady James wrote this thoughtful and informative book at the request of the librarian of Oxford’s Bodelian Library. Talking about Detective Fiction introduces us to the works of Conan Doyle and Wilkie Collins along with Agatha Christie, Marjorie Allingham, Ngaio Marsh and, my favorite, Dorothy Sayers. She offers in detail some of the major contributions each writer has made to the genre of detective fiction. Moving on, she covers the contributions of some of Detective fiction’s seminal American writers, such as Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammet who gave us the hardboiled detectives Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade.

Except for Doyle and Collins, most of the writers mentioned in the book published their works during Detective Fiction’s “Golden Age,” meaning the years between the two world wars. I was disappointed to see, however, that in talking about the founders of the Detective novel genre, she made no mention of Anna Katharine Green, whom even Conan Doyle consulted before launching his legendary career. Having read several novels by Doyle, Christie and Sayers, as well as Chandler, I can think of very few detective novels that are as thoughtful, inventive and well-explained as That Affair Next Door, The Mystery of the Hasty Arrow, The Leavenworth Case and A Strange Disappearance. Granted, Mr. Gryce is rather more introspective than Peter Wimsey or Philip Marlowe, and far less flamboyant than Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes. The fact that he stays in the shadows, however, gives a chance for the other characters, such as “Q” to be developed.

Perhaps we can forgive Lady James this one slip because her book is well worth reading. Perhaps as an Englishwoman, she was unfamiliar with A. K. Green, having admittedly cut her literary teeth on Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie, authors who published many years after Green was popular.

Lady James brought to light several interesting concepts which explain why detective fiction is so popular. It allows the reader to participate in the solution to the crime by guessing “whodunit”. It follows a formula: the murderer must be someone introduced previously in the novel; the killer must be discovered by logical deduction from a closed group of characters; very often it introduces a “Watson.”

A “Watson” is a character, like Dr. Watson in Conan Doyle’s “Sherlock Holmes” series, whose purpose is to be a sounding board to explain the detective’s deductive reasoning. James describes the “Watson” as being less intelligent than the detective. Perhaps this is so in general, but in this concept she overlooks the “Watson” character Dorothy Sayers’ novels. The Bunter character does evidently play Watson to Peter Wimsey’s “Sherlock”, however, Bunter appears to have the intellectual edge over his lord, although he is smart enough not to flaunt it.

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When Elizabeth von Arnim (AKA Alice Cholomondeley) published Christine in 1917, an outcry ensued, complainants claiming that the book was loaded with anti-German propaganda. The book, which I reviewed, was certainly not sympathetic to the Germans, although I found her description of the events and political sentiments surrounding the outbreak of World War I to be in line with those described by historians, and rather prescient considering German frame of mind that led to World War II.

If, however, Von Arnim felt chastened by the perceived slight, she apparently set out to make amends when she wrote Christopher and Columbus. This book was published in 1919, two years after the publication of Christine. The story may also exhibit the yearning the author felt for her daughter, born of English mother and German father, who died in Germany as a teenager. Could she have been salving her grief by recreating that daughter times two?

Christopher and Columbus became the nicknames the twins, Anna Rose and Anna Felicitas von Twinkle, assigned to each other as they embarked on their own journey of discovery, across the ocean from England to America. Born of an English mother and a German father, the twins resided in their ancestral home of Pomerania with their mother until the war broke out. Since their father had died, their mother took the twins to England where they would be safer. However, in England their mother died, leaving the 17-year-olds in the care of their Aunt Alice. Alice’s husband, Arthur, disliked the arrangement, especially in view of the girls’ half-German parentage, and soon dispatched them to America in hopes that relatives in that country would take them in.

On the steamer and later in America, the twins endured slights both from Germans and Englishmen, neither of whom wanted to be associated with “the enemy.” These slights, however, did not put a dent in either their ingenuousness or their optimism, and except for their seasickness, they relished their adventures and looked forward to life in a new world. During their journey, they befriended an American, a Mr. Twist, who perceived their need for a guardian and who assumed those duties, unofficially, until they took up residence in their designated guardians’ home. Although he believed that his duties would end when they arrived in America, he did not anticipate that the twins’ official guardians, one then another, were not prepared to assume said duties, leaving the twins to fend for themselves. Thus they called upon Twist to help them get settled in America.

In spite of Twists efforts, the gossip mill, even in sunny California, made the twins and their companion the target of suspicion and not a little disdain. Some of the most amusing scenes in the novel described the twin’s complete obliviousness to those sentiments. Although the ending gives the impression of being hastily written and somewhat contrived, Von Arnim’s humorous prose and amusing characterizations never cease to amuse and delight, and the ending was satisfying and as optimistic as the twins.

Cover art by Janice Tarver, for sale at Etsy.

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Originally published in 1849, Shirley is the only of Charlotte Brontë’s novels to be set in a historical period before the novel was written. It takes place in Yorkshire, England during 1811–1812 in the midst of an industrial depression resulting from the Napoleonic wars. The story revolves around two heroines, Caroline Helstone and Shirley Keeldar, and their relationships with the Moore brothers.

For those who enjoy novels with a bit of social history thrown in, such as works by George Eliot and Elizabeth Gaskell, then Shirley will definitely satisfy. Along with the history, Brontë also develops some interesting characters. The titular character isn't introduced until halfway through the novel, but she steals the show with her appearance. She's lovely but not beautiful, strong-willed but not overbearing. She loves animals (especially large dogs), is abrupt, direct, and develops intense and lasting relationships. The character is supposedly based on Emily Brontë but in the circumstance of a rich heiress. The other heroine, Caroline Helstone, is a pretty, quiet thing who starts out with promise until moroseness takes over her character. Knowing some of Charlotte Brontë's history--that three of her siblings died during the writing of this novel--it is no wonder that her resulting depression found an outlet, and that outlet was Caroline Helstone.

In another similarity to George Eliot's novels, minor characters abound. Drunk Irish curate, Malone, is a fun creation. As is Mr Yorke who is the only character to have two chapters named after him alone and whose entrance is the most memorable of the book. And let's not forget the half-Belgian mill owner, Robert Moore, whose repressed passion for Caroline and growing regard for Shirley (and her purse) form one of the novel's central plot lines.

Shirley was the last of Brontë opus I read, excluding Charlotte's unfinished manuscript Emma and their juvenilia. I had heard Shirley was long and some said boring, so I was prepared for some tough reading going into it. Perhaps because of this mental preparation, I enjoyed it immensely. I hope you will too.

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Every cat person appreciates a good book that tells of the joys of owning a cat. But what if an entire town owns the cat? I should phrase that differently, because nobody ever truly owns a cat. So what are the joys involved when a cat owns an entire town?

The town in question is Spencer, Iowa. The date is January 18, 1988. The local librarian, Vicki Myron, opens the book drop on this bitterly cold day to find something besides books: a tiny, filthy, half-frozen kitten. In spite of his rough beginnings, and the obvious pain in his frost bitten paws, this long-haired marmalade is surprisingly willing to accept any aid the library staff can offer, including a bath.

In true cat fashion, Dewey became king of the hill at Spencer Library. With a whole staff to cater to his needs and whims and a whole town to admire him, Dewey presided over the library with grace and dignity for 19 years. Librarian Vicki became his best pal, and together they became famous, appearing in Cats, Cat Fancy, Cats and Kittens and Your Cat magazines and even some documentaries: one American and one Japanese.

As with all cat stories, Dewey’s tale needs must end in tragedy. After 19 years of faithful service together, Vicki and Dewey find themselves on that fateful trip to the vet that would become their final parting. Such is the pain one must endure when reading a truly satisfying cat book. I gladly accept the price for an enchanting story of a lovable cat.

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