The Maiden's Court

Game Review - 7 Wonders

noreply@blogger.com (Nick @ Lions and Men) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

My boyfriend and I love playing board games and one that we have loved recently is 7 Wonders - and it is history related too! Today Nick is going to share a guest review of the game with us today! Take it away...
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Title: 7 Wonders
# of players: 2-7
Play time: 30 minutes
Age range: 10+

Board games have come a long way from Scrabble and Trouble. There are games based on so many different themes that someone with any kind of taste can find something they enjoy. I have recently started to enjoy ancient cultures and ancient history, and 7 Wonders fits perfectly!

7 Wonders is a card game for two to seven players. No matter how many players you chose to play with, the game usually only lasts about 30 minutes. This makes it a great option for both small and large groups of people.

In 7 Wonders, each player takes on the role of a leader of an ancient civilization. As such, they strive to build up their cities, make bold advances in science and technology, bolster military might against their neighbors, and construct their magnificent wonder.

Just a few of the available civilizations that players can rule - Olympia, Babylon,
Halicarnassus and Ephesus

The first thing that you will notice about 7 Wonders is the beautiful artwork on the cards. Each card represents a structure and each structure is vibrantly detailed and colored. As more and more cards get played, the table that you are playing on starts to bloom with color. The game is just beautiful to look at, and although that doesn't say anything about the game play, it definitely goes a long way to making you want to play the game.

Speaking of game play, at the heart of 7 Wonders is a mechanic called "card drafting". Each player is dealt a hand of seven cards, and they each choose one to play. This card is laid in front of the player and the structure it depicts is considered to be built in their civilization. Each player then passes the remainder of the hand to the player on their left, and everyone chooses another card from their smaller hands.

An example of a hand in 7 Wonders

The fact that you can only choose one card from each hand means that you need to make some very tough decisions. Do you take that blood-red military card that will help you defend your city, or do you take that science card to become more technologically advanced? The cards that you don't choose will be passed to your neighbor, and you may not get another chance to play them.

This mechanic is quite enjoyable, and gives you the feeling that you really need to weigh the pro's and con's of each card. Each type of card (red military cards, green science cards, blue civilian structures, and purple guild cards) give their own type of benefit, and victory can be attained by using any combination of them.

As the game progresses, players put structures they have built in front of them,
growing their empires

In terms of theme, 7 Wonders is great in some aspects and O.K. in other aspects. As noted earlier, the artwork on all of the components is beautiful, and this makes playing cards really feel like building the structures that they are meant to represent. The player boards that represent the civilizations are especially detailed and are a joy to look at. The one thing that distracts from the theme of the game is the drafting mechanic itself. Selecting buildings and passing the remains of the hands along may be a great strategic element, but does not necessarily capture the essence of managing an ancient civilization.

All things considered, 7 Wonders is a very enjoyable experience. The rules are easily understood and the game plays quickly enough to be accessible to all, regardless of your gaming experience. The components are of excellent quality and the game feels very tight and balanced.

Movie Review: The Princess of Montpensier

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

The Princess of Montpensier

Paradis Films

139 mins.

May 16, 2010

Rated: PG-13

This is a beautiful French foreign film that was originally screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010. It is based on a short story by Madame de La Fayette published in 1662. It is believed that the events in the story are based on real events of people the author knew, but was changed to a different time period from that when it was written.

This is a romantic drama. The general plotline is that Marie, the Princess of Montpensier, is in love with the Duke de Guise, not her husband the Prince of Montpensier. There is also the Prince’s close friend, the Count of Chabannes who is in love with Marie as well. What will she do? Choose to learn to love her husband as everyone says she must or abandon him for the arms of the man she has loved since childhood? All of this is set within the reign of Catherine de’ Medici as the Queen Mother and encapsulates the Huguenot/Catholic drama and the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.

The scenery is absolutely gorgeous. None of it is computer generated and it was all filmed on location. One of the things that I loved was getting to see how difficult riding long distances was – whether on horseback or in a carriage – it didn’t look fun. The costumes were GORGEOUS! I loved the colors and the styles and especially her hats! Her green riding outfit toward the very end of the film was my favorite.

The war/fight scenes were very well done. You could feel the emotions of the characters – although I really think that the Prince could have been a lot more than whiny. I thought that Melanie Thierry (Marie), Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet (Montpensier) and Gaspard Ulliel (Guise) were wonderful. I didn’t really love Raphael Personnaz as the Duke de Anjou – the character seemed a little creepy to me. I loved listening to the French dialogue – although I had no idea what it meant unless I read the subtitles.

A beautiful film and full of drama and intrigue.

Check out this trailer:

Spotlight on the Massachusetts Historical Society

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Today I wanted to take the chance to highlight the Massachusetts Historical Society. I have been doing research on the First Ladies as part of a class for my Masters program and I have used their website a lot. They have so much wonderful information on their website and I hope to get to their actual facility someday.

The Massachusetts Historical Society is located in Boston, Massachusetts. It has been around since 1791 and holds many great works of national significance, including all of the Adams’ family papers. They are not only a research library where you can go to access their many documents but they host many historical events there as well. This past week they hosted an event that I so wish I could have attended, Fifty Years and Two Continents: The Diaries and Memoirs of Louisa Catherine Adams. You can check out their schedule of events here. They have Stacy Schiff, author of Cleopatra: A Life coming in to speak on May 3rd if you are in the area and can attend – make sure you reserve online! They have prominent historians and speakers attend their lecture series. They also host changing exhibitions.

May of their resources are available online – those are the sources I have been using the most. Among their online collections there are: The Adams Digital Collection (letters between John and Abigail Adams, John Adams diaries, and autobiography of John Adams), Diaries of John Quincy Adams (all 14,000 pages!), The Thomas Jefferson Digital Collection (hundreds of pages of documents), Coming of the American Revolution (primary sources and essays), Antislavery Images (documenting Massachusetts role in the slavery issue), African Americans and the End of Slavery in Massachusetts (manuscripts and printed works about the lives of African Americans in Massachusetts), Massachusetts Maps, Maps of the French and Indian War, Siege of Boston (manuscripts/firsthand accounts of the experience of the Siege of Boston at the start of the Revolution), Abraham Lincoln: Selections from the MHS Collections, Battle of Bunker Hill exhibit, Photographs of Native Americans, and much, much more. I encourage you to check out some of these online sources, and you may see some of them pop up again on this website because they are just so cool!

MHS also publishes books, the most recent being Thomas Jefferson’s Granddaughter in Queen Victoria’s England. One of the editors will be having a book talk and signing at MHS on February 2.

They also have an official blog: The Beehive, if you wanted to check it out and have a Twitter account @JQAdams_MHS where they post a line a day from John Quincy Adams’ diaries.

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Mailbox Monday #96

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

This week was the most awesome mailbox for me!!!

I finally received Tatiana's Table by Paullina Simons! I'm sure that many of you are aware that this book can be very hard to find. I actually spent all day on a Saturday in December trying to find this book. I found it on UK Amazon for $60 (with shipping and US conversion) which I didn't want to pay because that was ridiculous. In the US it was being listed for around $212 which I certainly wasn't going to pay! Then I found Abbey's Bookshop located in Sydney, Australia. They had the book and with shipping and US conversion it was $36 - which I found to be completely reasonable! So if you are looking for this book, check them out and also for any hard to find needs. Great customer service and fast shipping! Also, my Weekend Cooking next Saturday will be from this book! Stay tuned.

I also received another book I was excited to get - Look to the East by Maureen Lang. This is the first book in a trilogy (of which I had books 2 and 3) about The Great War (WWI). It is also Christian Fiction, but have yet had the chance to determine how much Christian Fiction it is. I have heard good things about this series. Thank you Holly @ Bippity, Boppity, Book! This was my prize from winning the Chivalrous Deeds Challenge.

That's it for me, what about you?!

Mailbox Monday is on a monthly blog tour and for the month of January it is being hosted by At Home With Books.

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Weekend Cooking: The Chicken Curry Event

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

I didn't do a Weekend Cooking post last week, so this dish we made almost 2 weeks ago now. We chose a chicken curry dish from the Provisions and Politics cookbook. Similar to a couple weeks ago when we made a French dish, we have never made a curry dish before either, so it was interesting. I have a few adjustments I would make to the recipe for a second go around!

I have to admit, I have NO IDEA how to relate this recipe to Sarah Polk or anything historical. I have stretched my mind every way to try to come up with some connection, but to no avail, we just wanted to make the chicken curry.

The Chicken Curry Event
6 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unbleached flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 Chicken breasts, boned and split
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Onion, minced
2 Green bell peppers, chopped
3 Garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp curry powder
1 (15 oz) can stewed tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can Cream of Coconut
Tabasco to taste
Worcestershire sauce to taste
1 cup raisins or currants

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2) Mix the flour with salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Coat the chicken with the flour mixture. Brown the chicken lightly on both sides in 3 Tbsp of the butter. Remove chicken to a baking dish, reserving the pan drippings.
3) Heat the remaining 2 Tbsp butter with the pan drippings. Saute the onion, peppers and garlic until onion is tender. Stir in the curry powder. Cook for 1 minute stirring frequently. Stir in the undrained tomatoes and cream of coconut.
4) Bring mixture to a simmer, stirring frequently. Season with Tabasco and Worcestershire sauces. Stir in currants or raisins. Spoon the curry mixture over the chicken. Bake covered for 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
5) Serve over hot cooked rice, cashews, banana chips, chopped apples, mango chutney, toasted coconut, chopped scallions, or other condiment of choice.

OK, first of all I want to share an important lesson learned from this cooking experience about Cream of Coconut. I had never worked with this ingredient before so I had no idea what to do with it and the can offered no directions. I bought the Goya brand, you can find it in the International Foods section of your grocery store. When you open the can it looks like there is a 1 inch thick layer of wax that looks un-edible and then a liquid portion making up most of the can. Apparently that waxy substance is the cream part. After spending time online, I think you are supposed to use this part as well - I just threw it out because I thought it was wax to protect the liquid inside. Those of you that have used this are probably laughing at me, but neither of us had any idea what to do with this ingredient.

Also, I would probably use only 1 bell pepper next time, unless you love green peppers. We used 1 1/2 and it felt like all I was eating was peppers, and I don't like them THAT much. We also substituted dried cranberries instead of raisins, as we already had them at home and they worked great. Overall, it was a great dish. We used the 3 Tbsp of curry it indicated and it was just a little spicy, but if you like more spice feel free to add more.

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and and food or cooking related post can participate.

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

TV Show Review: The Royal Diaries Elizabeth I

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

The Royal Diaries: Elizabeth I – Red Rose of the House of Tudor

Scholastic Productions

30 Mins

November 4, 2000

HBO and Scholastic (an odd partnership if there ever was one) partnered up to create three ½ hour episodes based on the popular Royal Diaries series. This was the second episode in the series. This episode is based on the book Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor.

If you have read the books, you know they are written as diaries – the episodes are set up the same way. Elizabeth is narrating the story and there are segments where she is shown writing in her diary. I thought this was one good way of tying the book to the episode. I did read the original book the episode is based on but it was so long ago I don’t know how closely they stayed to it. I do intend to reread the series at some point.

We get to see how Elizabeth deals with trying to live outside of the shadow of Anne Boleyn. We also get to see her opinion on the many wives of Henry VIII. She goes through the age old, “divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived” song, but it was so funny. The relationship between her and Princess Mary is super antagonistic. The episode certainly makes it out that Mary = bad and Elizabeth = good. And of course there is a young Robin Dudley following Elizabeth around like a lost puppy.

This would be a fun show for kids to watch. This episode features the youngest cast, the characters are right around 10 years old. The history is not at too high of a level for young adults to grasp and there are funny, kid focused events too – like searching for the ghost of Katherine Howard.

As this is only a half hour episode, a very limited story is shown – primarily the events right before the death of Henry and the attempt to have Katherine Parr done in. There is a voiceover at the end that tells what happened to Mary, Elizabeth, Edward and Katherine Parr. I thought the acting was good, the scenery was well done and would certainly pass for a child – hard core history enthusiasts might find many faults but as an introductory tool I think it was well done.

You can watch the entire episode on Youtube, which I have linked below for your viewing pleasure.

Virtual Field Trip: American Museum of Natural History

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you all a resource that might be interesting if you are a teacher or have school aged children or have enjoyed the books by Brian Selznick.

Scholastic has created a website that is a virtual field trip the to American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Your tour guide for the trip his Brian Selznick. There is a pertinent connection between the two, in case you thought this was just a random association. Selznick has written two young adult books, The Invention of Hugo Cabret and his newest release Wonderstruck. His novel Wonderstruck is set in the museum and prominently features the exhibits that he shows you in the virtual tour. The exhibits featured are: the Wolf Diorama, the Ahnighito Meteorite, and the Giant Anopheles Mosquito.

For teachers, there are wonderful resources, teaching aids, and classroom activities to teach these books. Scholastic describes these books as great ways to bring social studies, science and art to life. For those who live far from the museum and may not have the chance to get there, this is an introductory tour. It's interesting to watch whether you are a student or an adult.

Below is the complete tour of the museum.

Hope you enjoy the tour and have possibly found two new books for yourself or your children.

More about Brian Selznick's books:

The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

Wonderstruck
Ben and Rose secretly wish their lives were different. Ben longs for the father he has never known. Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his mother's room and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are missing.

Set fifty years apart, these two independent stories--Ben's told in words, Rose's in pictures--weave back and forth with mesmerizing symmetry. How they unfold and ultimately intertwine will surprise you, challenge you, and leave you breathless with wonder. Rich, complex, affecting, and beautiful--with over 460 pages of original artwork--Wonderstruck is a stunning achievement from a uniquely gifted artist and visionary.

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Audiobook Review: Mr. President Vol 1

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Mr. President Vol 1

Unabridged, 10 hr.

Radio Archives

November 2011

Genre: Radio Show, History, Drama

Source: Received from Radio Archives as part of Solid Gold Reviewer Program at Audiobook Jukebox

"Mr. President" , a dramatic series that premiered over ABC Radio on June 26, 1947 and was heard until September 23, 1953, established its novel premise pretty much from the first broadcast: it dramatized weekly events in the lives of the various men who at one time held the highest office in the land, the Presidency of the United States of America. Created by Robert G. Jennings, "Mr. President's" 'hook' was that during each episode, the name of the President was withheld until a brief epilogue at the program's end. It became a challenge, then, for listeners to identify the subject of that week's drama...though students and scholars of American history probably had an advantage over the average listener by sifting through the clues frequently inserted in the scripts.

While this is an audiobook, it’s not at the same time. It isn’t an audio version of any book you will find in print. It is an audio production of a radio series that aired from 1947-1953. The 20 episodes on this production were aired from 1949 to 1950. I have always enjoyed listening to old time radio shows and this one was just wonderful as well.

One of the things that I loved about this production was the concept. Each episode is 30 minutes and presents an event in one of our President’s lives. Some of these events are very well known and some are a little more obscure, but all happened while they were President. It was very challenging and fun to not know who the President was throughout the episode and to try and guess by clues given – the name of his wife or children, other politicians, events that were taking place, etc. Some were easy, I knew John Adams within the first 5 words of the episode, but never could figure out Chester A. Arthur. Of the 20 presented, I didn’t eventually guess 5. It is sort of like a scavenger hunt.

Just like a radio show it is a full production. You have a different actor for each character within the show and all kinds of sound effects. It certainly kept your attention.

One of the added interesting pieces was that the commercials were still included in the production and I found that I loved them! There are just two very short commercials within each episode and they are nothing like the commercials today. There were segments for giving blood to the Red Cross, sending C.A.R.E. packages to the troops and refugees of the war, being welcoming to neighbors of all races/religions, etc. I think they were better than many commercials today.

There was one thing that I didn’t like about the collection. One of the episodes, the first episode, is included twice. I think this was included this way because they were showcasing the entire season of the show, but it wasn’t interesting to me to listen to an episode again. The allure of “who is the President” was gone and I found I just skipped past it.

Overall this was a wonderful production and I hope that they release more of these collections.

5 out of 5 stars.

Here is a preview of the audio.

You can purchase the Mr. President Vol 1 collection as a CD set or digital download at the Radio Archives website. I don't think it is available on other sites.

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: Hood by Stephen R. Lawhead

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Hood by Stephen R. Lawhead

Book 1 in The King Raven trilogy

Paperback, 512 pages

Thomas Nelson

April 8, 2008

Genre: Historical/Fantasy Fiction

Source: Personal Collection

“For centuries, the legend of Robin Hood and his band of thieves has captivated the imagination. Now the familiar tale takes on new life, fresh meaning, and an unexpected setting.

Hunted like an animal by Norman invaders, Bran ap Brychan, heir to the throne Elfael, has abandoned his father's kingdom and fled to the greenwood. There, in the primeval forest of the Welsh borders, danger surrounds him—for this woodland is a living, breathing entity with mysterious powers and secrets, and Bran must find a way to make it his own if he is to survive.

Like the forest itself, Hood is deep, dark, and at times savagely brutal—yet full of enchantment and hope. Internationally-acclaimed author Stephen R. Lawhead has created a lyrical rendering of a time-honored story that will lead you down strange pathways into another time and place.”

I cannot get enough of various tales of Robin Hood and his faithful gang. Every author puts their own spin on the story and Lawhead is no different. Lawhead takes the gang from the forests of Sherwood to Wales in the end of the 11th century and puts us in the middle of the tensions between the Welsh and the Franks.

As much as I have always loved Hood tales sent during the reign of Richard II this setting felt more organic and I grew to love it. In taking advantage of this unique setting, the names of our heroes and villains have changed. While you have to think a little more to figure out who is who their attributes and actions will make the connections for you. All of Lawhead’s characters are well developed and he adds his own personality traits to those of our favorite characters.

One thing that was added into this book that I was extremely grateful for was a pronunciation guide for the Welsh words. I found myself referring to this reference time and time again. He also provides a great historical/author note explaining why he made the choice of setting that he did. His reasoning made a lot of sense to me and has led me to think maybe the story of Robin Hood evolved from a much earlier culture.

This story was not without its problems though, despite the interesting setting. The beginning and the end of the story moved quickly and I found myself engrossed in the story and the pages flying by. However, the middle was much more of a quagmire for me. There is very little action in this section compared to both the beginning and end – this is due to a lot of character growth and development in Bran. While this development was extremely important to the decisions Bran makes in the last 150 pages, I found myself having to put the book down after only a few pages because it was so boring. Once you get through this section the story take back off again.

I really enjoyed the time period the story was set in as well as the history that goes along with it. I have not had too much exposure to this time period. The characters were great and overall a good story with the feel of traditional Robin Hood tales. I am looking forward to reading more by this author and finishing the trilogy.

Stephen R. Lawhead also has written books 2 and 3 in The King Raven trilogy Scarlet and Tuck as well as many other historical/fantasy fiction books. You can visit Lawhead’s website for additional information about the book. If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Fashion of the First Ladies

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

One of the things that people think of when the topic of First Ladies is broached is the inaugural gowns. And who can blame them, some of them are quite beautiful? I have found some wonderful resources online regarding First Lady Fashion, so if you can’t make it to the museums you can check it out on the web.

Inaugural Gowns - Carter [L] and E. Roosevelt [R]

The Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington D.C. has had an exhibit on First Lady inaugural gowns for quite some time, but in recent years has added more substance to the exhibit beyond the beautiful fashions. Since 1912 they have been asking each First Lady to donate a dress that represents her, with Helen Taft being the first in that tradition. It is now a popular media event. 1964 was the first year that the Smithsonian held their public event where the First Lady attended the presentation – Mamie Eisenhower began this tradition. The short video below is one of the many documenting current First Lady, Michelle Obama, donating her Inaugural Gown to the Smithsonian.

To be sure, they have gowns and other fashion accessories from earlier First Ladies, all the way back to Martha Washington. There is some fashion accessory to represent each administration. Not every item represents a First Lady, but a person who acted as hostess (sometimes if there was not a living wife, a daughter or niece would take over the role). There are 24 gowns on display and 11 are inaugural gowns. You can see all of the gowns and accessories here.

Accessories - Monroe [L], E. Wilson [B], Cleveland [T]

As a general rule, the Smithsonian only displays one gown per First Lady, and it has tended to be the dress from the first inaugural ball if the President was in for 2 terms. The second dress is typically displayed at the individual President’s library. You can read more about the Tradition of the Gowns at the Smithsonian here.

Evening Gowns - Washington [L], Madison [C], Lincoln [R]

Another great place to check out First Lady fashion is at the National First Ladies’ Library in Canton, OH. There will be another post in the future about taking a tour of the museum so keep an eye out for that. The National First Ladies’ Library recently acquired miniatures of the First Ladies inaugural gowns. These were originally created as a promotional piece for the perfume White Shoulders and they were donated to the Museum. Here is a slideshow of the pieces.

The below video takes us behind the scenes at the Smithsonian as they prepared to put the dresses back out on display in 2010. There are some historical tidbits about the different dresses provided as well.

Hope you have enjoyed learning about the fashions of the First Ladies.

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Mailbox Monday #95

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

I know this is a day late, but I still wanted to share what I received this week as I had a pretty good mailbox. I received 4 books.

The first was a book I had originally borrowed from the library for my research project but decided it would be a good reference book to use to better understand the Siena Research Institute's First Lady poll results - Rating the First Ladies by John B Roberts II - purchased from Amazon.

For the Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour for Christine Blevins I received The Turning of Anne Merrick from the publisher. I'm excited to read this one! Keep an eye out for the tour, my dates are at the end of February.

Using part of the gift card I got for Christmas for Barnes and Noble I picked up a copy of Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler. I have loved all of her books so far so I can't wait for the chance to dig into this one!

The final book I received finishes off my Little House on the Prairie Series - Old Town in the Green Grove by Cynthia Rylant.

What did you receive this week?

Mailbox Monday is on a monthly blog tour and is being hosted by At Home With Books for the month of January.

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Interview with Anne Clinard Barnhill

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Today I have the opportunity to host a tour stop on the Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour for Anne Clinard Barnhill's freshman release At the Mercy of the Queen. I had the chance to ask her a few questions and have the opportunity to share them with you today.

You have written a memoir, poetry, and a book of short stories among other things. How was writing this novel, your first, different from writing those other types of literature?

It was quite different--I had no idea what I was doing in many ways. The short story collection was the culmination of twenty year's work; the memoir was a story I had wanted to tell for a very long time and I knew what happened, of course; the poetry is also comprised of writing that sort of poured out of me over time. The novel was something I'd been thinking about for a very long time, but I had never written historical fiction before, so that was a challenge. And for me, just maintaining tension for 400 pages was different and, frankly, hard. The shorter forms of the story/poem come more easily in lots of ways. But, the novel allows you more time and space for development--I guess there are pluses and minuses to each form. I love reading novels and really like delving into writing them. I love being alive, but I have only this one life--by writing novels, I get more than one life--and also get the same by reading them.

Many people say that there has been an oversaturation of the market in the past few years with Tudor books. What sets your book apart from the sea of others on a bookstore shelf?

I think my story is different because of the family connection to Madge Shelton. Because of that, I've been doing research on the Sheltons for many years. I hope my own love for the people and the time will be transferred into the book and others will pick up on my enthusiasm--I hope that gives the book a life of its own.

I haven’t read any books featuring Madge Shelton as the main character. What was it about her that made you want to tell her story?

Several things. First, the fact that my grandmother told me about our kinship to the Sheltons started my whole obsession with the Tudors. And, I had read several historians speculate that Anne Boleyn put her cousin, Madge, up to seducing Henry so he wouldn't become interested in Jane Seymour. That idea sort of made me think about why someone would want to set up a husband with a person of their own choosing--kind of like Yoko Ono setting John Lennon up with May Pang--I can't seem to get my mind around that sort of thing. Nor can I understand why someone would go along with it--that was the question I had when I started the book. I think writers write to make sense of the world and each book begins with a question...That was my question--why would people behave like this?

What other time periods/places intrigue you as a writer? Whose story would you just love to tell?

Oh, I've got tons of stories I'd love to tell! I am interested in the Arthurian legend (which has been done to pieces!) and the American Civil War and post-Civil War period in the South. One of my students found a letter written in the 1880's from a woman in a mental institute in West Virginia, where I grew up. I've been wanted to tell that story for a very long time. I'm interested in women's stories because history has erased many of their stories--we have few facts but can piece together what might have been. I'm also interested in stories that have a spiritual element or an element of mystery. I'm working on a Tudor ghost story for my own amusement right now. I'm also interested in historical characters that were what we might consider minor characters on the grand stage of history. I'd love to do a book about Moll Cutpurse, who was quite renowned in Shakespeare's day for dressing as a man, smoking cigars and even appearing onstage.

Did you have any contribution to the cover artwork? I love that her whole head is showing even if she is looking away from the viewer and the cover is beautiful.

Oh, thank you! I had absolutely nothing to do with it--I thank the wonderful art department at St. Martin's. I, too, am glad she has a head--so many do not. I don't quite get that trend, but it would have been just awful to show Anne Boleyn without a head!

It says on your website that you are working on your second novel set in Tudor England. Can you tell us anything about this upcoming work?

Yes! It's set at Elizabeth I's court and involves another Shelton ancestor, Mary Shelton, who has the dubious honor of being remembered because Elizabeth broke her finger when Mary married a Catholic without the queen's permission. I started wondering why a person would get so angry, furious enough to break a bone! And, the story just evolved from there. It's still a work-in-progress but I hope to finish it up this spring. I love writing about Elizabeth--she is such a magnificent character! Thank you so much for having me on your blog. It's been a pleasure to be able to talk about writing!

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer these questions for me. I love the sound of the story of the woman from the mental hospital - certainly not the kind of story you hear every day! You can visit Anne at her website for additional information about her book.

If you would like to follow along with the tour you can follow on Twitter #MercyOfTheQueenVirtualTour or stop by the HFVBT website for the rest of the schedule!

Cover Blurb:

A sweeping tale of sexual seduction and intrigue at the court of Henry VIII, At the Mercy of the Queen is a rich and dramatic debut historical about Madge Shelton, cousin and lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn.

At the innocent age of fifteen, Lady Margaret Shelton arrives at the court of Henry VIII and quickly becomes the confidante of her cousin, Queen Anne Boleyn. But she soon finds herself drawn into the perilous web of Anne’s ambition.

Desperate to hold onto the king’s waning affection, Anne schemes to have him take her guileless young cousin as mistress, ensuring her husband’s new paramour will owe her loyalty to the queen. But Margaret has fallen deeply in love with a handsome young courtier. She is faced with a terrible dilemma: give herself to the king and betray the love of her life or refuse to become his mistress and jeopardize the life of her cousin, Queen Anne.

Weekend Cooking: Potatoes Dauphinois

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:09:00 +0000

For this week’s Weekend Cooking segment we made a French side dish from the Entertaining Newport Style cookbook. I should point out that we have never made anything French inspired before because they tend to be more difficult recipes, this one however was fairly easy.

Dining Room at Marble House

The recipe we chose was Potatoes Dauphinois from the French-Inspired Formal Dinner Party menu at Marble House. William and Alva Vanderbilt summered at Marble House in Newport, Rhode Island. To give you a little information about Marble House and how the French theme ties in – the dining room of Marble House was inspired by the Salon of Hercules at Versailles. In 1897, a formal ball was held at Marble House and the theme was a French dinner party. French inspired touches included footmen dressed in the style of Louis XIV and the food courses prepared by 9 French chefs.

Potatoes Dauphinois
6 servings

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon butter, melted
2 Pounds baking potatoes (such as Russet or Yukon Gold), peeled and thinly sliced
Salt to taste
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1 cup (or more) heavy cream or half and half
Freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush the inside of a 9 inch baking dish with the melted butter.
2) Place ½ of the potatoes in the prepared dish and season with salt. Sprinkle with ½ of the cheese. Add ½ cup of cream.
3) Repeat step 2 using the remaining potatoes, cheese and enough cream to cover. Sprinkle with nutmeg.
4) Place the dish on a baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour or until the top is golden brown and the potatoes are tender. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

I love au gratin potatoes and this was a very similar style dish. I think I would have added a little bit more salt than my boyfriend did, it was a tiny bit on the bland side, or maybe sprinkled a little nutmeg throughout rather than just on top. I also felt like I wanted a little bit more cheese, but that would be a personal preference choice. Overall the potatoes came out very good and would be a great addition to a steak or as the book recommends, lamb.

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth F at Beth Fish Reads. Any post remotely related to cooking qualifies!

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Caught on Tape: Nell Gwyn

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

I have always considered Nell as one of the most interesting of all of the mistresses of Charles II. She came from rags to riches and her story would be the one to lend itself more to a movie than some of his other favorites. So I went out in search of Nell. I found several films, but many of them were either bit parts or do not have movie clips. So I included a few still photographs where I could when I felt the film couldn’t be skipped over.

Sweet Nell of Old Drury (1911)

This film is an Australian silent film starring Nellie Stewart as Nell Gwyn and Augustus Neville as King Charles II. This film focused on the relationship between Nell and King Charles. The film is based on a play by the same name performed in 1900. While this film was shown in cinemas for 6 years, it is now considered a lost film and there are no copies believed to be in existence any more. I found this image, however it appears to be from possibly a performance of the play as its stars are not the same as the film.

Mistress Nell (1915)

This is another silent film this time starring Mary Pickford as Nell. Again, this was a play performed on Broadway first under the same name in 1900. Owen Moore co-stars are King Charles II (Pickford’s real life husband). An interesting note for me is that this was film in Connecticut – the state I grew up in! Again, I could not find footage of this film, but I do have and image of a theatre marquee announcing the film.

Nell Gwyn (1926)

This was the first of two movies based on the book Mistress Nell Gwynne by Joseph Shearing. This was a British romance film starring Dorothy Gish as Nell Gwyn and Randle Ayrton as Charles II. It traces the life of Nell through her relationship with Charles. Another silent film and yet another I do not have a video clip of. I have an image of Dorothy Gish as Nell – I think she is the person on the right during one of the various stage performances while Nell was an actress.

Nell Gwyn (1934)

This is the second film based on the book mentioned in the previous listing. This one however, was not a silent film. This film starred Anna Neagle as Nell (her first big success) and Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Charles II. The same plot line as the 1926 version, however the USA wanted to censor aspects of the film and add a moralistic element where Charles and Nell marry. I was able to find this clip of the film, however it appears to not have sound, which is disappointing.

The Last King: Charles II: The Power and the Passion (2003)

There is really quite a jump between the 1930s and 2000s. The Last King is a British miniseries about Charles II and of course Nell is featured. Emma Pierson is Nell and Rufus Sewell is Charles II. While the focus of the film is about Charles, you really can’t explore his life without involving his many mistresses. This miniseries won BAFTA awards for Best Costume Design, Best Drama Serial, and Best Photography and Lighting. The clip below is from Episode 3 and features Nell on stage and meeting Charles II. The actress seems very “Nell” to me. I have added this to my watch list.

Stage Beauty (2004)

She was the first of her kind, He was the last of his.

The last film I have for you today is Stage Beauty. This film is not about Nell, but she has a small part in it. This film is based on the play Compleat Female Stage Beauty. This film takes place right about the time that all male plays were being phased out in favor for female actress playing the female roles. The main character, Ned, is one of those male actors who played female roles and is not in favor of this change. Nell has a small but critical role in this film – and Nell is portrayed by Zoe Trapper. This is a film I might watch. I included the trailer for the film below because the part of the film featuring Nell is not available on Youtube. The film also stars Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, and Rupert Everett.

I have not seen any of these films in their entirety. Have you? Have any of you seen any of the silent films? I read that the 1926 and 1934 films are shown occasionally at certain artsy theatres.

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Challenges in Review 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

I love signing up for reading challenges – it is a little bit of an obsession when the New Year starts coming around. This year I only signed up for 12 while last year I did 14 – so I reeled myself in a tiny bit. My philosophy regarding challenges is a little different that many people’s. I try to sign up for challenges that I know I will have a decent chance completing. I also don’t tailor my reading to meet the challenges – I just read and then try to see where it fits afterward!

So here is how I did in 2011-

Four Month Challenge Part 5 hosted by Martina at The Book Drunkard. I managed to complete 15 of the 20 challenges for a total of 190 out of 250 points. So this wasn’t that bad of an attempt. Certainly an improvement over Part 4 which was a real bust for me.

2011 Support Your Local Library Challenge hosted by The Book Junkie’s Bookshelf. I knew this one was going to be a stretch. I committed to the lowest level I could – The Mini (30 books). I came close. I read 25 audiobooks borrowed or downloaded from my library. I think one of them was a physical copy of a book. I’m still satisfied with my results on this one.

Historical Tour De Genre Reading Challenge hosted by Bitsy Bling Books. I figured that this was a shoe in for me – it’s historical fiction of all things! Well, it was a little more challenging – I probably could have done better if I was picking my own reading selections rather than reviewing. I completed 5 of the 6 subgenres of historical fiction – which made me recognize that there are more genres out there than I thought.

What’s in a Name 4 Challenge hosted by Beth Fish Reads. The challenges in this one are similar in style to those in the Four Month Challenges. I managed to finish 5 out of the 6 challenges.

Strong Heroine Reading Challenge hosted by The Book Junkie. Finally, one I have managed to complete! I read 12 novels featuring strong female leads. This is one category where historical fiction has really helped!

2011 ARC Reading Challenge hosted by So Many Precious Books, So Little Time. I read 33 ARCs which allowed me to complete the Platinum Level (30 books) the highest level – one of which I finished reviewing this week. I would call this a success!

Whisper Stories in My Ear Audiobook Challenge hosted by Bewitched Bookworms. I completed this one in no time. I only had to read 12 audiobooks and accomplished that with ease.

Chivalrous Deeds: Historical Fiction Challenge hosted by Bippity Boppity Book. Well there were not any specific levels to reach in this one, but I came out on top in this challenge in both numbers of deeds done (17) and number of courts visited (16), so I will call this a win.

Shakespeare Reading Challenge hosted by Shakespeare Reading Challenge 2011. I am trying to ease into Shakespeare and chose the lowest level of 4 plays. I only made it halfway through this one with 2 completed. My interest started waning after I didn’t enjoy the Tempest, but I’m sure I will read more in the future.

Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge hosted by Socrates Book Review. When this challenge started I hadn’t read any, so I knew I wasn’t going to finish all the books this year. I managed to complete 1 book. It’s at least a start.

Four Month Challenge Part 6 hosted by the Book Drunkard. I managed to finish 10 out of 20 challenges or 135 points out of 250. Not as good as the last go around.

Four Month Challenge Part 7 hosted by the Book Drunkard. I completed 11 out of 20 for 125 out of 250 points, so slightly better than the last round.

I managed to completely finish 4 out of 12, but I did pretty well on an additional 2. Well, for better luck in 2012 on challenges.

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: The Darling Strumpet by Gillian Bagwell

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

The Darling Strumpet by Gillian Bagwell

ARC, Paperback, 384 pages

Berkley Trade

January 4, 2011

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received for review from publisher

“The Darling Strumpet transports the reader to the tumultuous world of seventeenth-century England, charting the meteoric rise of the dazzling Nell Gwynn from London's slums to its bawdy playhouses, where her saucy humor and sensuous charm earned her the affection of legions of fans-and the heart of the most powerful man in all of England, the King himself.”

I kept putting off reading this book for awhile because I had heard some mixed reviews about it and I wanted to make sure I was in the right mindset to read this one as I knew it had some scandalous scenes. Let me say, if you are one easily turned off by sex scenes in novels, you may not want to read this one – as they are aplenty.

The sex scenes are basically the first thing that you encounter in this book – from about page 4 right through the first half of the book – and they can be pretty descriptive. While there is a lot of sex in the novel – it did make sense as Bagwell takes us through Nell’s life from her childhood through her death. She was a prostitute and eventually a king’s mistress – those details alone make it required somewhere in the text.

Bagwell creates a world that feels so real to a reader. Even for someone who is unfamiliar with this time and place they would easily find themselves at home in this vivid world. The descriptions of the people and the places are absolutely gorgeous. The characters are well constructed. No one is purely one thing or another but very three dimensional. Nowhere was that seen more so than in the lead character of Nell. You can feel all of her emotions and really empathize with her plights. I even shed a few tears for her at the end of the novel which really surprised me as I did not realize how much I enjoyed her.

My favorite scenes were those that took place in the theatres or on stage. You could tell how absolutely in love with acting and the stage Nell was. Even when she eventually leaves it she frequently thinks about going back. We get a lot of information about plays that were performed and how they were performed and the atmosphere of the playhouse. Bagwell certainly did her research.

Gillian Bagwell creates a world that literally jumps off the page and envelops you as a reader. No stone is left unturned and no detail is too small to be included. A truly wonderful atmospheric read. I am interested in getting into her second book, The September Queen, soon.

Author Gillian Bagwell also has written The September Queen about Jane Lane. You can visit her website or her Nell Gwyn blog for additional information about the books.

You can also check out a series of videos featuring the author as she talks about Nell, takes you around London and hear a dramatic reading of a section from The Darling Strumpet performed by Bagwell, C.C. Humphreys and Diana Gabaldon at the Historical Novel Society Conference in June 2011 (I saw this in person!).

4 out of 5 stars.

2011 Reading Statistics

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Well, another year down. In terms of reading it was very similar to last year and that surprises me after all of the lows I have had this year in my personal life. I would say if I was at my full potential this year I would have accomplished so much more reading. But that being said, it wasn't a bad reading year.

Here are some statistics:

I read 68 books this year - the same exact number as in 2010! I was a little surprised because I thought I had read more than 2010. But alas...

Out of those 68, I reviewed (or will be finishing up reviewing in January) 55 of those. The others are mostly audiobooks from the contemporary genre that I don't really review. So overall that is 10 more reviews than 2010. I credit this to my desire to review more of the books I read as well as listening to some historicals on audio. I read 15,053 pages and listened to 294.81 hours of audio.

To look at the book formats, genres, and settings I created a couple of charts (much more interesting than lists of numbers!). Some of these statistics overlap.

My book formats were pretty evenly split between audiobooks, paperback, and ARCs.

I did spread my horizons a little this year and read from a wider variety of genres, even if it was only a book or two in some of them, but clearly historical fiction reigns supreme. I was pretty impressed with my non-fiction stats!

I actually read across a wide number of settings - noticeably missing is Asia - I still haven't really explore that setting yet. Maybe that will change in 2012.

Male to female author ratio - 16:44. This is an improvement in male authors over last year, and I contribute that to the emergence of more male authors in historical fiction who I am willing to take a chance on.

In my own personal reading quest of reading First Lady and President books I manged 2 of each - quite an accomplishment seeing as I only stated in the last quarter of this year.

The authors that I read the most this year include: Janet Evanovich (3), Christy English (2), William Shakespeare (2), James Patterson (2), Kate Quinn (2), Elizabeth Chadwick (2), and C.S. Lewis (2).

Alright, time for my favorite reads of 2011 - just a note, not all of these were published in 2011, just read in 2011. All of these I reviewed and you can click on the links to read them. These are in no particular order.

The Tudor Secret by C. W. Gortner
India Black by Carol Carr
The Circus Fire by Stewart O'Nan
Prima Donna by Megan Chance
Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn
New York by Edward Rutherfurd
The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin
1906 by James Dalessandro
A Race to Splendor by Ciji Ware
The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel.

Honorable Mentions that didn't make the Top 10

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
First Family by Joseph Ellis

There are 5 books that I really didn't love this year - and they were significant enough to continue to stand out in my mind throughout this year.

Blood and Silk by Carol McKay
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
The Tempest by William Shakespeare
Broken Promises by Elizabeth Hoffman
The King's Daughter by Christie Dickason

In 2012 I hope to meet my goal of reading 75 books - a manageable number if I don't get down with a really bad cold or other disasters. I'm also hoping to increase my number of non-fiction reads and maybe journey into Asia a little. Hope you will continue to stick with me in 2012!

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Winner of Queen Hereafter

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:51:00 +0000

I wanted to take just a minute to announce the winner of Queen Hereafter by Susan Fraser King. Thank you to everyone that entered!

The winner is...Maureen! Congrats!

I will be sending out an email requesting mailing information. Please respond within 7 days or I may have to pick an alternate winner.

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Mailbox Monday #94

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

I received 1 book this week and this one is for review from Amazon Vine-

Iago by David Snodin. I have always loved Othello by Shakespeare and I thought that this could be an interesting read.

An unforgettable adventure beginning where Shakespeare's Othello leaves off.

Wounded in love, tormented by his past, Shakespeare's most complex villain is brought magnificently to life in this tale of two adversaries—one an accused killer; the other, one of the most powerful men in Venice. Having escaped from Cyprus, accused of the murders of the governor, known as the Moor, and his lovely young wife, Iago is now locked in battle with Annibale Malipiero, known as Il Terribile, the chief inquisitor of Italy's greatest city.

Malipiero is repelled by the more brutal tasks of the interrogante. His obsession is with the very nature of evil. What makes a man into a murderer, he longs to know? Is Iago a lone psychopath, or does he lie at the heart of a more widespread Ottoman conspiracy? Malipiero knows that torture will not provide him with the answers he seeks. But there is, perhaps, a more audacious and unusual route to the truth . . .

Exuberantly inventive, thrillingly complex, and richly entertaining, Iago will captivate fans already familiar with Shakespeare and appeal to anyone who loves a rich historical novel. Iago marks the emergence of a remarkable new literary voice.

That's all for me! Did you get anything in your mailbox this week?

Mailbox Monday is on a monthly blog tour and it is hosted for the month of January by Alyce at At Home with Books.

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

Weekend Cooking: Texas-Style Lasagna

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:35:00 +0000

For my second venture into historical weekend cooking I took on a recipe from my newly acquired Provisions & Politics: Recipes Honoring First Lady Sarah Childress Polk. To give you an idea what this cookbook is like – there are recipes from all different categories of cooking: appetizers, pastries, sides etc. At the beginning of the book they break their recipes into different menus you could use – some of the menus relate to the Polks – such as Polk Spring Pilgrimage Luncheon.

The recipe that I chose was Texas-Style Lasagna. During the election of James K. Polk, he ran on a platform of annexing Texas and Oregon. After it was determined that Polk was President Elect, sitting President Tyler urged Congress to pass Texas Annexation (as he was not a fan of Polk and probably didn’t want him to succeed at promises). One of the things Polk is known for is Texas Annexation and I am assuming that is where this recipe fits in.

Texas-Style Lasagna
5-6 hearty servings

Ingredients:
1 ½ pounds ground beef
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies
1 teaspoon (t) seasoned salt
1 packet taco seasoning
2 cups (c) small curd cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
12 (6 inch) torn tortillas
3 ½ - 4 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F.
2) Brown the ground beef in a large skillet, stirring until crumbly and drain. Stir in tomato sauce, undrained tomatoes, green chilies, salt and taco seasoning. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3) Combine the cottage cheese and eggs in a bowl and mix well.
4) Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer the ground beef mixture, tortillas, cottage cheese mixture, and Monterey Jack cheese ½ at a time.
5) Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

I had my doubts about this recipe before I made it because of the tortillas within the layers. I have not had good luck with tortillas when they are within a recipe because they get mushy and ruin the dish, and that is sort of what happened here as well. I put a layer or tortillas and shredded cheese on the top and those came out fine – crispy and cheesy – but the layer between cottage cheese and the meat came out mushy and floppy.

But not all is lost - the flavors of the cottage cheese mixture and the meat mixture were very good and an interesting spin on a traditional Italian lasagna. I would recommend a few changes here that would vastly improve on some of the issues. Instead of layering with tortillas, I would use lasagna noodles – if you still want it in lasagna form. When I scooped out the tortilla lasagna it didn’t really stay in a form, sort of mushed out. If you want, you could top the lasagna with a layer of torn tortillas and cheese, as that will still remain crispy and a nod to the original recipe.

Not a total bust and I would certainly try it again in my redux form.

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth F at Beth Fish Reads. Any post remotely related to cooking qualifies!

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

The 4 Month Challenge Part 8

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:36:00 +0000

The Four Month Challenge Part 8

January 1, 2012 - April 30, 2012

Hosted by Book Drunkard

I have been a fan of this challenge since Martina started hosting this 2 years ago now! I love how there are so many different categories. I have only completed the challenge once, the first one, but I still have fun doing it anyway.

The goal is to read one book for each category.

The categories are:

5 Point Challenges
Read a book by an author who’s first or last name starts with J
Read a book set in ancient Rome
Read a book that is a retelling of a fairy tale - Complete - Half Upon a Time by James Riley
Read a book by an author writing under another name
Read a book you’ve been meaning to read for ages

10 Point Challenges
Read a book by an author who’s first or last name starts with F
Read a book with the word ‘love’ in the title
Read a book with a flower in the title or on the cover
Read a book with a book on the cover
Read a book set in the wild west

15 Point Challenges
Read a book by an author who’s first or last name starts with M - Complete - To Serve a King by Donna Russo Morin
Read a book set in ancient Egypt
Read a book about pirates or that is set on a boat
Read the 100th book on your shelf
Read a book you’ve read before

20 Point Challenges
Read a book by an author who’s first or last name starts with A
Read a Dystopian novel
Read a book by an author with 12 letters in their name (Combined)
Read a book about a royal (fiction or non-fiction)
Read a book with an animal in the title or on the cover

20 / 250 points total

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court

2012 Audio Book Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

2012 Audio Book Challenge

January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012

Hosted by Teresa’s Reading Corner

Audio books and me are like best friends (except when my Ipod refuses to cooperate!). So it was a given that I would be participating in an audiobook challenge. This challenge had previously been hosted by Alaine – Queen of Happy Endings.

The general goal is to read audio books – and the more the better.

I’m going to go for the Married – Read +++ Audiobooks. I’m guessing this level is anything more than 25 since the level just below it says to read 25 audiobooks.

I will show my progress below:

1. John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life by Paul C. Nagel
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.

Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court

Non Fiction (Non Memoir) 2012 Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Non Fiction (Non Memoir) 2012 Reading Challenge

January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012

Hosted by My Book Retreat

I thought this would be the perfect challenge for me this year as I recently set my own goal to read more non-fiction focusing on Presidents and First Ladies.

The general goal is to read books that are non-fiction and they cannot be memoirs. They can be from any genre and in print, audio, ebook etc.

I’m going to go for the Diploma – 10 Non Fiction Books. I think this should be do-able as I read 9 in 2011.

I will show my progress below:

1. John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life by Paul C. Nagel
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court

2012 Mammoth Book Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

2012 Mammoth Book Challenge

January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012

Hosted by Darlene’s Book Nook

I am not the sort of person who loves to read long books – I typically avoid them! I do have a few on my shelf though to read and I loved that this challenge also includes a way to participate with audiobooks (which is how I read many of my mammoth reads).

The general goal is to read books that are longer than 450 pages. If you read audiobooks or large print books these can still count as long as the standard print version is more than 450 pages.

I’m going to go small on this one (since you can go up in level but not down and like I said I’m not a long book reader) and go with Level 1 – Read 2 Mammoth Sized Books. Maybe I will increase my goal as the year progresses.

I will show my progress below:

1.
2.

Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court

Truth in Fiction Challenge 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Heather R) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Truth in Fiction Challenge 2012

January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012

Hosted by Fig and Thistle

Fig and Thistle is a new blog to me but I like the sound of this challenge – it will be truly challenging and that’s the fun of it! I encourage you to try this one too.

The general goal is to read book pairs – one fiction and one non-fiction about a related topic. An idea could be Dear Companion: The Inner Life of Martha Jefferson by Kelly Joyce Neff (Fiction) and The Women Jefferson Loved by Virginia Scharff (Non-Fiction). The challenge says to think outside the box. You should then create a post connecting the two books in some way.

I’m going to shoot for the Sophmore (2 Pairs). This could get interesting...

I will show my progress below:

Pair 1
a.
b.

Pair 2
a.
b.

Copyright © 2011 by The Maiden’s Court