Word Wenches

Return to Downton Abbey

Nicola here! Today, in honour of the recent release of the Downton Abbey film, I’m reposting a blog from a few years ago when I took Guide Dog Puppy Rochester on a visit to Highclere Castle. I haven’t seen the film yet but I’m looking forward to it. So here, to celebrate, is my updated post from 2012:

"Last week I had the pleasure of a visit to Highclere Castle in Hampshire, which is the location where much of the hit TV series Downton Abbey is filmed. I was pretty excited about this trip as not only do I enjoy the TV programme very much I also love visiting historic houses so this was combining two of my favourite things.

With Downton Abbey the house is far more than just a setting; it feels like a character in itself. As we drove towards it the house was immediately recognisable. It’s enormous (fifty bedrooms!) and grand in a way that only a Victorian mansion can be (it was built in 1838). It’s not the first building on the site. There was a medieval hall at Highclere, a manor house and a classical Georgian mansion before the transformation that created the current castle. It is said that the grand central tower of the house cost a fortune and Lord Caernarvon’s land agent warned his employer that the plans were “pregnant with the most alarming danger to your Lordship’s pocket.” Despite this, the 3^rd Earl was determined on a grand plan and when the house was finished it dominated its surroundings in the most dramatic way.

Before we went on our tour of the house we strolled across the parkland and admired the cedar trees that were part of the landscaped grounds created in the 18^th century. We had Rochester the Guide Dog Puppy with us and as he is a Yellow Labrador we thought we would do our own version of the Downton Abbey opening credits, filmed on my mobile phone with my husband standing in for Lord Grantham. Alas Rochester was not as majestic as Lord Grantham’s Labrador Isis, who had her own storyline in the second series, but he did love wandering through the park. Although NBC was also filming that day at Highclere I think I can claim that Rochester was the star of our particular show. He was made very welcome by staff and visitors alike and the sight of this small guide dog puppy descending Highclere’s fabulously grand central staircase as though he was to the manor born was very funny. On his way out he even met Lord Caernarvon, who commended him for being a very good dog!

The interior of the house was also instantly recognisable from the TV programme. I loved the dining room, where so many of those splendid dinners in Downton Abbey take place, and the magnificent oak staircase that ascends from the Saloon up to the Gallery and the Gallery Bedrooms. It is around this landing that some of the bedrooms are situated that are used in the filming. We saw “Lady Grantham’s room”, “Lady Edith’s room” and “Lady Sybil’s room” and also the room given to the cad and bounder Kamal Pamuk in the first series. This is decorated with bright red flock wallpaper and is known as the Stanhope Room. It was refurbished in 1895 for the visit of the then Prince of Wales. It was also great to meet some of the room stewards who had their own anecdotes to tell of the Downton Abbey cast and the filming. Mrs Patmore the cook, Mr Carson the butler and the Thomas the footman were their favourites!

Highclere wears its Downton Abbey connections lightly with only a few signboards in the rooms to tell visitors of a specific link to the TV series. This leaves plenty of room for the “real” history of the house. I loved the Library, which resembled a gentleman’s club and was furnished with Georgian and Regency desks and tables. My favourite room though was the lovely south facing drawing room, which felt warm and intimate because it was comparatively small. I could quite imagine the ladies withdrawing there for tea and a chat!

The Castle became a centre of political life during the late Victorian era and in the 20^th century it saw different uses during the two World Wars. During the First World War it was a hospital for wounded officers. In this the storyline in the TV series mirrored the real history of the house. 

My favourite part of the visit was discovering about the life of a servant at Highclere during the Edwardian era. Once again, Downton Abbey mirrored reality perfectly. Guests at Highclere ranged from Royalty to politicians, Egyptologists to aviators. Behind the green baize door (there really was one, and a stone flight of steps leading down to the servants’ hall) the butler reigned supreme with Lord Caernarvon’s valet and the housekeeper also at the top of the pecking order. The butler ran the castle, looked after the wine cellar and waited on the family at dinner. He was also expected to announce visitors, take calling cards, escort departing visitors from the premises, organise the post and oversee the secure closing of the house each night. The valet managed the Earl's personal accounts as well as his wardrobe and travelled with him. The Highclere footmen had navy coloured livery and buttons sporting the family crest. They were all required to be clean-shaven and the more handsome and presentable the better it reflected on the family! 

After lunch in a marquee on the lawn – with Rochester being offered a drink of water out of special Highclere china! – we took a tour of the gardens. The Monks’ Garden has surviving Georgian walls and arches and is a beautiful and tranquil place to walk. The grounds are dotted with "follies;" decorative ruins in classical style designed to enhance the view.

We finished the day climbing Beacon Hill to the grave of the 5^th Earl of Caernarvon, the Egyptologist who with Howard Carter, discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun. Highclere Castle was framed in the distance, the perfect view to end a wonderful day."

An update on Rochester - He qualified as a guide dog and went to work in London. He retired from active service this year!

You may have read that Lord and Lady Caernarvon are offering visitor the chance to stay at the castle via AirB&B and there is a private tour of the house and grounds and special afternoon tea thrown in as well. I imagine they will be inundated with applications!

Did you enjoy the Downton Abbey series and have you seen the film yet or isn’t it your cup of (Earl Grey) tea? How would you like to stay at Highclere?

 

Pterotype Anyone?

Pat here:

I’m really digging into this Victorian research. I had the Regency era down, all the books and websites bookmarked, so I only had to hunt weird little things. But the Victorians. . . they were a busy lot. While society itself became very conservative, following the path set by Queen Victoria, science and industry proceeded full speed ahead. The Great Exhibition in 1851 was just a sample of what was to lie ahead. Since my Malcolm characters have always been non-traditional females (all the way back to their Celtic origins and to being called witches in every century), I don’t worry too much about the staid position of most Victorian females. Note that “most.” More progressive women demanded the vote, better education, and set up nursing and charitable organizations that were models for the changes to come—not all were imitations of the queen.

Cats and Writers, with examples

My writer cat, Singi

Joanna here: Just a small blog today, about writers and cats.

Writers and cats are rather ham and eggs, Laurel and Hardy, beans and franks partners. Obvious buddies.

There must be a reason for it. Some cats are obviously born with printers' ink under their claws.

I think it’s because writers sit for long periods of time not doing anything exciting like pounding in nails or cutting hair or making fine adjustment to the sniper scopes on precision rifles. They go typetypetypetype typetypetypetype typetypetypetype typetypetypetype and then sit for several minutes staring into the middle distance.

This is pretty much what cats do, allowing for an absence of tapetty tap tap.

 

“If animals could speak, the dog would be a blundering, outspoken fellow, but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much.”
     Mark Twain

 

That's a high compliment from Twain there. A good writer never says a word too much.

“The cat is the best anarchist.”
     Ernest Hemingway

My cat is a very good anarchist, except she’s a lazy anarchist.
We can learn a lot from cats, I have always said.

 

 

“I believe that cats, descended from semi-social or asocial wild cats and having lived domestically with humans for probably less than 3,000 years, have no concept whatever of a rightful hierarchy of social or moral authority. It does not occur to a cat that any other being has any right, other than might, to its obedience, which is offered only out of immediate self-interest or personal affection. Cats are intensely opportunistic, practical anarchists.”

Ursula Le Guin

Not Giles (from Buffy) though it looks like him

Some authors keep (and are kept by) cats. Some also write books about them.
That's best of all.

 

Come around sometime when your face is clean and we shall discuss the state of the world, the foolishness of humans, the prevalence of horsemeat, although we prefer the tenderloin side of a porterhouse, and our common difficulty in getting doors opened at the right time and meals served at more frequent intervals. I have got my staff up to five a day, but there is still room for improvement.    
     Raymond Chandler, in a letter, writing as his cat to another cat

Who among us has not assumed the identity of a cat in our correspondence?

 

"They call them stupid. They understand what we say better than we understand them. She understands all she wants to. Vindictive too. Cruel. Her nature.”
     James Joyce

As with the rest of James Joyce, I have no idea what this means.
But he liked cats, so that is in his favor

“Then, bidding farewell to The Knick-Knack, I went to collect the few personal belongings which, at that time, I held to be invaluable: my cat, my resolve to travel, and my solitude.”
   Colette

We just finished a post on travel and not one of us discussed how to pack your cat. This was an oversight on our part.  

 

Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity, there never was a cat of such deceitfulness and sauvity.
     T.S. Eliot

I have had a cat like that, (jo says darkly.)

 

 

 

So. In whatever path you take in life, do your pets make you more creative or do they just sit on your face at sunrise and demand to be fed?

Travel Tips and Pitfalls to Avoid

Pat here: As writers, the wenches travel. We travel for research. We travel for conferences. We travel for fun. So we thought we'd exchange a few of our favorite travel tips and see what happened--and apparently, it's all about the luggage! (Personally, I've always craved Terry Pratchett's suitcase with legs!)

Mary Jo:

 I could write a whole column about this myself!  But I'll stick to saying that it's best to never have more luggage than you can control with your own two hands.  I've seen inexperienced travelers juggling half a dozen different bags of different sizes, which is a recipe for disaster.

A Wedding Gallery

Susan here ...

Lately in our house, we're thinking about all things wedding - one of our sons is getting married in a couple of weeks. The Wenches have written scores of historical novels and described a variety of weddings (or at least we've nudged scores of heroines and heroes in that direction), so historical brides and grooms are of keen interest around here. Today I'm bringing you weddings, brides, and grooms throughout history (art history) ...

As I put this together, I began to notice the shared details of clasped hands and tender gestures from early depictions to later examples too. Love is a universal thing, and couples united in marriage -- and the artists who portray them -- can convey their deep love, affection, and commitment to each other in the smallest, subtlest, most meaningful expressions and gestures.  Enjoy this wedding gallery!  

 

Tutankhamun and his queen and half-sister, Ankhesenamun, are shown here and elsewhere in tender poses that indicate genuine affection. While marriage in ancient Egypt did not require ceremony - in lower status households, a man could set up a home and bring a woman into it, and she would become his wife by virtue of moving in with her property, often with a simple contract agreement regarding property. Royal marriages were sealed with ceremony and ritual as well as contracts, though pharoahs could have several wives and consorts, with usually one Great Royal Wife, or queen. 

 An ancient Greek wedding ceremony done in high relief - note the gorgeous drapery and the bride's veil, and the clasping of right hands. The veil and hand clasp is seen in many wedding traditions throughout time -- though a ritual bath, a haircut for the bride, and an animal sacrifice, often part of ancient Greek wedding ceremonies, did not carry far into other cultures! 

Here, King Henry III marries Eleanor of Provence in 1236 -- note the precious little ruby ring he slips on her finger! I love the charming size difference here - it may mean that the English king was considered more significant than his French consort, or it may be the artist's attempt to show the physical characteristics of a tall man of about 30 beside a young bride who was perhaps 13 that year. They were married for nearly forty years and had five children -- and Eleanor was said by her own contemporaries to be far tougher to deal with than her husband. 

OK, so it's not a medieval painting, but it is a medieval subject -- and such a beautiful example of Victorian romanticized illustration that I had to include it! Here, in a mural by William Hole, Margaret of England, later Queen Margaret of Scotland, arrives in Scotland for the first time, welcomed by King Malcolm Canmore, in the 11th century. They married soon after they met, and had a long, happy, supportive marriage that produced eight children, six of them later kings and queens. My novel, Queen Hereafter, is about Margaret -- one of the most fascinating of medieval queens. (And we've just discovered through genealogy work that my little granddaughter, through her mom, is a 27th generation direct descendant of Margaret and Malcolm - so now I'm especially thrilled about Margaret and Malcolm's marriage!)   

 

A Shocking Discovery!

Andrea here, musing today on a very “shocking” topic! Ha—now that I have your attention, I shall explain! I have a new release coming out on the 24th. Murder at Kensington Palace is the third book in my Wrexford & Sloane Regency mystery series, and the plot involves electricity!

The voltaic pile (basically the first electrical battery) was invented by Alessandro Volta in 1800. As often happens in the world of invention, the discovery was sparked by a disagreement he had with Luigi Galvani, another man of science who had discovered he could make the legs of a dead frog “jump “ when they were used to form a circuit between two different type of metal. Galvani claimed he had discovered animal electricity—an electrical fluid inherent in the frog itself.

Volta believed the reaction had a more rational explanation than that, and set about creating a chemical electrolyte (the fluid that creates the circuit between two different metals and thus an electrical current.) He soaked cloth or cardboard in brine and spaced them between disks of zinc and metal—and lo and behold created an electrical current! By adding more disks and electrolyte pads, he discovered he could make a voltaic pile more powerful.

This awesome new discovery was hugely exciting to the scientific world during the Regency. In London, people flocked to the Royal Institution, one of the leading scientific organizations of the time, to hear lectures and see demonstrations of voltaic batteries.

 

Austen —romances or not?

Anne here.
Yesterday I was on several panels at the Melbourne Writers Festival, and for one of them, the topic we were given to discuss was Unpicking Classic Romances — with particular references to historical classics, rather than those 20th century novels regarded in genre romance as "classics".

I don't intend to write a full report on it, but I thought wenchly readers might be interested in the topic, and could offer their own thoughts on some of the questions and discussion points. Here are the three writers who were on the panel — from left Clare Connelly, Toni Jordan and me. Calla Wahlquist, a journalist from the Guardian (Australia) and also a budding academic, chaired the panel and asked some thought-provoking questions. Sadly by the time we remembered to take a photo of us all, she'd left.

Jane Austen's novels came up for quite a bit of discussion, as did those of Elizabeth Gaskell and the Brontes. Thomas Hardy got a mention, and we even did a brief  drive-by of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. And someone in the audience raised Gone with the Wind. But for this blog, I'll just stick to Austen.

So, on to Austen.
Clare and I felt strongly that Austen's novels were romances, but Toni argued that while the books were definitely courtship novels, they were not romances. She argued that Austen spent much more time in her books, describing and dwelling on the parts in the story where things fell apart than when love was declared and celebrated. And she supported her case with quotes, one of which was the very last paragraph of Emma, which sums up the wedding of Mr. Knightley and Emma Woodhouse thus:

Stranded!

Nicola here, talking about the unexpected delights of being stranded in a remote community. It’s a familiar and popular trope in books, whether it’s being marooned in the snow with a handsome hero or, in crime novels, stuck in an eerie house with a bunch of suspects, but I’ve always wondered what it would really be like to be stranded somewhere. When I was a small child, we went on a family trip to the Lake District at Christmas time and did get stuck in the snow. We all ended up rattling around in an empty hotel – they opened it up specially for us – and it felt like a great adventure to me but then I didn’t have to work out the logistics of how we were going to get home! I suspect that Wench readers in countries with more extreme weather than the UK are used to that sort of thing!

Last month, on our holiday in Alaska, we got stranded again. Our trip was heavily dependent on
the Alaska Marine Highway, the ferry system that takes you all the way along the coast. We started out in Juneau on the MV Columbia and travelled up to Skagway, Sitka and various other intriguing ports along the coast. It was fabulous – along with admiring the stunning scenery we met and chatted to some very interesting people; locals who used the ferry system for their work, holiday-makers like us, a big family on their way to a wedding, lots of other very interesting people doing very interesting things. We disembarked on Wrangell Island to stay for 5 days with the plan of hopping back on another ferry after that to take us down to Prince Rupert in BC.

However, we’d been only a day in Wrangell when we heard that the ferries were on strike. There was no way we were going to be able to get the ferry out of Wrangell, which, of course, had implications for all of the rest of our trip. We weren’t the only ones by any means. There were stories of towns along the coast where they were putting stranded travellers up in school and church halls because there wasn’t enough accommodation for everyone. Alaska Airways put on a special flight to help a stranded school party get home. We hoped that the wedding guests we’d met along the way had all made it in time for the ceremony even if they couldn’t get home afterwards! For all these villages and towns along the coast, especially those with no road access, the ferry is literally a lifeline, and necessary for food supplies to be delivered and businesses to run and all sorts of other communications.

We were very lucky. We were staying in a lovely float house on the harbour and the owner very kindly told us we could stay as long as we needed. Our neighbours, living on the other boats, generously shared their freshly-caught prawns with us so there was no danger of us starving! The shops and museum in Wrangell provided plenty of things to do and we got to know people far better than we would have done if we’d just been passing through. Meanwhile we tried to find some options that would enable us to stick to our itinerary as best we could. The scheduled flights were all fully booked as there was only one a day and they went in the wrong direction; we realised it would take us four more flights to get back to where we were supposed to be! We couldn’t drive since we were on an island… There weren’t any other boats going south to Prince Rupert. Then one of our new friends came up with a suggestion: The local air charter company could squeeze us in to their schedule as a favour if we were prepared to be flexible in terms of when we could go.

As the ferry company had very kindly refunded us our costs, chartering a light aircraft was possible but then we hit the next problem. The weather was awful and a small plane couldn’t fly in it. We’d have to wait, which didn’t help my “nervous flyer” stress! Finally a clear day arrived. We chartered our very own aeroplane complete with standard-issue hero-style pilot to take us to Prince Rupert. Once I’d got over my nerves I almost enjoyed it. The views were amazing and there was a lot less queuing than on a scheduled flight but for lots of reasons I can’t see it becoming a regular thing!

I guess the lessons we learned from a real-life stranded situation was how friendly, helpful and kind people were and also how interesting it was to have time to get to know a place better than we might have done on a shorter visit. These days, with improved communication links it’s a lot more unlikely people are going to be castaway on an island for years, or stranded in a remote wilderness for months at a time although it is still possible.

In the past it was often poor weather that would maroon our ancestors somewhere isolated. Fog as well as snow was a particular hazard. As early as the 13^th century, the government records show concerns over air pollution in London from the burning of sea coal and by the mid 17^th century the combination of natural mist and fog in the Thames Valley plus the industrial smoke had given rise to the term “London Particular.” In the Regency the term “pea soup” was coined to describe “a fog as thick and as yellow as the pea-soup of the eating house.” In December 1813 the Prince Regent set out from Hatfield House to visit the Marquis of Salisbury but the fog was too thick for him to proceed. One of his outriders fell in a ditch and he was obliged to turn back. Meanwhile, the Maidenhead coach overturned in the fog and various other carriages drove off the road, ending up down alleyways and in gardens. Coachmen ended up leading their horses.

I used the pea soup fog idea to inspire a short story set in Bath, and the idea of being stranded by snow in another Regency short story. It’s definitely a trope that I enjoy reading and writing!

Have you ever been stranded anywhere, and if so how did you cope? Is it a theme you enjoy reading about in a book?

Come From Away

by Mary Jo

One of the great pleasures of going to a conference in NYC is the opportunity to go to a Broadway show, by which I mean something generally fun and upbeat, with music.  (Past choices have included HAIRSPRAY, BILLY ELLIOTT, and SOMETHING ROTTEN, all wonderful in different ways.)

Since Pat Rice and I were rooming together, we looked at what was currently available and she suggested the Canadian musical, Come From Away which she'd seen in California and was willing to see again, which was high praise.  I wasn't familiar with the show, but she said it was about the Newfoundlanders who took in the passengers and crews of 38 airplanes that were diverted to Gander airport after 9/11. 

I'd heard in general how amazingly hospitable the Newfoundlanders were, so I watched clip of the show's opening number, and immediately said YES! 

This was one of my better decisions. <G>  Come From Away is moving, entertaining, and sometimes wildly funny.  It was also brilliant showmanship, with only twelve actors, six men, six women, very diverse in age and race.  The set was a plain stage with tables and chairs which could be swiftly moved around and magically transform into a plane full of passengers, a bus carrying people through the night to unknown destinations, to legion halls filled with plane people and the Newfoundlanders working to provide food, accommodations, and comfort. 

 

 

What We Are Reading-August

This month's What We Are Reading feature takes us on our usual delightful peregrinations through different worlds and different eras. So get pencil and paper ready to start making notes for your TBR pile!

Anne here: The latest in Ilona Andrews' "Innkeeper Chronicles" series, Sweep of the Blade, came out this month, and the minute I started it, I realized I wanted to go back to the beginning and read all four books in order. Which I did. I really enjoy these books and the world of the Innkeeper -- they're fantasy/paranormal, with magic, werewolves, vampires and aliens -- and a few years back that would have been enough to put me off. Not any more. 

Innkeepers are people who have a special magical bond with their inn -- they can configure it any way they want, even to breaking rules of physics -- and their purpose is to provide a safe haven for their guests, who come from all over the galaxy. The guests must be sworn to keep the knowledge of aliens etc from  ordinary humans. So we're dealing with small town Texas and a galaxy of other-wordly visitors. The books are action-packed and entertaining, and the slowly developing romance very satisfying. If you haven't tried urban fantasy before, give this one a try and start with book 1, Clean Sweep. 

The second recommendation I have is for a Regency—The Work of Art, by Mimi Matthews—which was recommended by wenchly reader Karin last month. With a starred review from Publisher's Weekly and a host of other excellent reviews, it's a classic regency, with an appealing heroine, a wounded hero and a villainous "other man", as well as a small pack of dogs — which the heroine has rescued. A delightful read.

Nicola here: This month I’ve read something old and something borrowed! The “old” was Maya Banks’ McCabe Trilogy, which I first fell in love with years ago.  When I’m in the mood for some hot Scottish historical action these three books are so much fun and I love the way that she gives the characters really powerful emotional conflicts and makes them feel very real. I have a soft spot for romances set in a time of conflict because it adds another layer of tension with divided loyalties as well as personal struggles to contend with. These romances are very satisfying!
 
I also caught up with the only Emily Larkin book I haven’t read, Lady Isabella’s Ogre, a lovely re-telling of the Beauty and the Beast theme.  Emily Larkin is one of my go-to Regency authors and this story was as fun as all her others – Lady Isabella Knox is one of London’s most eligible heiresses although she prefers her independence to any ideas of marriage. When she accidentally ruins the marriage prospects of Major Nicholas Reynolds, a war hero, she sets out to undo the harm she has done by persuading him into a make-believe flirtation. It’s lovely!

I also borrowed a copy of Closed Casket by Sophie Hannah whilst I was on holiday. I read it on a 4 day train journey across Canada from Vancouver to Toronto and this felt totally appropriate as it is a Hercule Poirot mystery and I felt as though I was living in Agatha Christie World! Sophie really does capture the essence of the old Poirot books and the character perfectly. I loved all the old stories and I am enjoying her new take on these! Closed Casket is classic crime fare with a family gathered together in a Gothic mansion, a controversial will and a dastardly murder.

Mary Jo here: The most memorable book I've read lately is Barbara O'Neal's When We Believed in Mermaids.  It's women's fiction, more specifically sister fiction, told alternately in first person by Kit Bianci, an ER doctor, and her two year older sister, Josie. The story begins when Kit sees her sister in a news video from New Zealand--except that her sister died fifteen years earlier in Europe.  Driven by a need to know, Kit flies off to Auckland--and changes not only her own life, but the lives around her.

Josie, now known as Mari, had compelling reasons for walking away from the disaster her life had become, and in the years since, she's found peace and happiness with a new family.  But she misses Kit desperately, and when they meet again, the past erupts into the present.

Barbara is a wonderful writer, and she builds her story as a mosaic as she moves back and forth between the sisters.  In some ways, their childhood was idyllic as they grew up on the California coast in their father's famous restaurant, learning food and surfing and loving the broken runaway boy who becomes part of the family and looked after the two little girls.  But in other ways, their childhood was laced with neglect and abuse, and only as the past is fully revealed can Kit and Mari become wholly healed.

As always with Barbara O'Neal books, the characterizations are wonderful, as are the descriptions of food <G>, and there's a lovely romance as well.  It made me want to visit New Zealand again!

Pat here: This is what caught my fancy this month—Some Die Eloquent (the Calleshire Chronicles) by Catherine Aird. This British cop mystery was copyrighted in 1979 but reads to me almost as if it were written much earlier. Still, we have recognizable modernisms like plastics and conservation and a husband with his wife as she gives birth—in the few minutes he gets away from the case. There is lots of dialogue and not as much setting as I’d like. Mostly, this is a character study and social commentary, which was different enough to appeal to me.

The case involves a science teacher who dies of diabetes with an unexpected quarter million pounds deposited in her bank account. It’s real small town stuff when word of the bank account gets out and is enough to bring in the coroner’s office after the death certificate is already issued. One of the suspects works at the hospital where the Inspector’s wife is about to give birth, which makes for a nice cozy. It’s an entertaining insight into a time before cell phones, when everyone knows the drunk who wrecks the bollards every night. Read if you’re in the mood for something different.

Andrea here: I’ve had a strange reading month, jumping around to various genres. Because it was getting such raves from the Wenches and Wenchly readers, I read The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMasters Bujold, which I very much enjoyed, even though I’m not a huge fantasy reader. Then I picked up a new British mystery set in the 1930s, which was fun and well-written, but the plot was SO predictable, I was disappointed that it didn’t offer any fun twist, so I can’t recommend it here.

The real “meaty” read of the month is The Guest Book by Sarah Blake. It’s a sweeping family saga of three generations of a wealthy WASP family, spanning the 1930s to present day. The modern protagonist is a historian who teaches at a university—there is a marvelous classroom scene where she challenges her students on what IS history. The touchstone of the family is an idyllic island off the coast of Maine they have owned since the late 30s where the generations have gathered every summer. The fact that family money is running out, and the professor and her cousins are facing the prospect of having to sell the island, challenges her to explore her own history—with the requisite buried secrets coming to life.

It’s beautifully written, though in places it drags a bit. I also felt the author perhaps tackled one too many elemental themes in family relationships . . . and there are some structural problems—she head-hops sometimes, and also never gives the date of a section, so sometimes I got a little lost for a page or two. But I overlooked the flaws because the story is very well done, with interesting, vulnerable characters. It's a poignant look at a traditional, orderly world—where all the rules are comfortable and known by heart—giving way to the frightening chaos of modern life.

So, what have you been reading lately?  Please share!