Word Wenches

The Many Delights of What We're Reading --June

Joanna here with our monthly round up. What have the Word Wenches been reading in June? What wonderful books have we discovered?

We have particularly exciting books this month.

First up, Anne.
[Warning: cookbook ahead]

Anne here. As usual, I've read a lot of books in the last month. I've always been a prolific reader and it doesn't matter how busy my life gets, reading is a necessary part of my life. 

 

I caught up on my Louise Penny reading, with GLASS HOUSES, a book I bought a year ago and discovered I hadn't read. Absorbing and entertaining, as always, this is #13  in her Chief Inspector Gamache crime series. 

 

Sharon Shinn -- Mary Jo put me onto Sharon Shinn's fantasies first, and after her recent post I discovered that some more of Shinn's books were now available to me on kindle. I read and enjoyed the first two in the series -- TROUBLED WATERS and ROYAL AIRS then discovered that book 3 and 4 are not available to me on kindle. Sigh. So frustrating to know that they are on kindle but not if you live where I do. I really HATE geographical restrictions.

rump grump grump.

 

Finally I read a biography, which I don't often do. It was Writing at the Kitchen Table: The Authorized Biography of Elizabeth David. She was a food writer,  famous before I was born, but who taught me a lot about cooking when I was a student living in a share house, and using an old penguin paperback of hers, FRENCH PROVINCIAL COOKING. I think it was as much the quality of her lyrical, evocative  prose and the little stories and anecdotes that prefaced some of the recipes that enticed me most. I bought all her books I could find, some from used book stores, and am happy to say they're all back in print.

 

I blogged about Elizabeth David some time back -- you can read it here -- and I found her biography fascinating, not least for the portrait of the difficult and unconventional woman behind the elegant and evocative writing, but also because of the difficulties she had with her various publishers. 

 

Pat brings us magic and what I'd call a "comfort read."

 

Pat here--I'm desperately seeking escape of any sort and a good getaway is hard to find. But here's a couple I've read in recent months that fit the bill.

THE LIBRARY, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDER,  Mindy Klasky

Mindy writes fun paranormal chicklit, and one of her best characters is Jane Madison, a librarian who discovers she’s a witch. In Jane’s books, she has a magical warder assigned to keep her from creating magical disasters. David Montrose, that powerful DC warder, has his own series now, and we get to see all the problems he’s facing behind the scenes. Not only are his personal problems mounting, but magical DC is on the brink of warfare because of his best friend’s actions, while Jane’s talent is blossoming. He’s juggling more than fire balls to solve everything at once, without being demoted again. It’s a fun fantasy ride!

THE SEVEN YEAR SWITCH, Claire Cook

Lovely women’s fiction with a protagonist who was deserted by her adventure-seeking husband and left to survive on her own. She buried herself in raising their child, giving up the travel and hope of family she’d always wanted—until her husband comes home and wants back in her life again. She has to learn to live and trust and develop new relationships. There’s a lot of fun travel tidbits since she acts as a home-bound travel agent. I would have liked to see her learn enough to actually achieve some of her goals instead of just a potential new love, but it was a pleasant journey worth taking for the fun.

Mary Jo with what sounds like a fun read.

Mary Jo here. I had a delightful time reading the latest Trisha Ashley book, The House of Hopes and Dreams.  Her books are usually about creative heroines in their thirties who are rebuilding their lives (probably in Lancashire), and in the process they find a great eccentric guy who is just right for them.  In HHD, the heroine, Angelique Arrowsmith, known as Angel, is a passionate and talented stained glass artist whose life has just fallen apart. 

Angel's lifelong best friend is Carey Revells, whose enthusiasm and skills as a home renovator have made him a reality TV star on a cottage makeover show, but he and Angel haven't met much in person since they left art school and she went north to work with her older lover, a famous stained glass artist.  The book begins with Carey recovering from an accident that left him bedridden for months and cost him his TV show and his girlfriend.  Then a solicitor informs him he has inherited a large, historic, and rundown house from an uncle he never knew he had. 

The house needs lots of work, and it happens to have a stained glass workshop created by Carey's great-grandmother, a noted glass artist.  So very shortly, Angel is living in the house, helping Carey, fixing up the glass shop, and coping with an alien looking black Chihuahua mix that likes biting male ankles.  Soon the house is flowing with friends, workmen, a film crew--and plenty of hopes and dreams fulfilled as well as an old mystery unraveled.  If you like friends-to-lovers stories, this is for you! 

The House of Hopes and Dreams is right up there with my very favorite Trisha Ashley, The Twelve Days of Christmas.  Which, by happy chance, is only $2.99 in the US Kindle store.  So if you haven't read it, here's your chance for a Christmas in July.  It will make you happy and hungry. <G>

 

Andrea brings us some frank words about a favorite author,
and dives into Sharpe's Rifles.

Andrea says:  I’ve been a fan of Elizabeth George’s long-running Thomas Lynley detective series for ages. But after she shook up her readers by killing off a major character, I , like many, had a hard time getting back into it, feeling some of the books that followed lost the the sort of subtle psychological insights and interplay that made the books so interesting. I decided to give the last one a try and was heartened to feel George was getting back her mojo. I recently read her latest one, The Punishment She Deserves, and was happy to feel that George is back in top form. 

The plot begins with the apparent suicide of a well-respected churchman in a sleepy English college town. He ’s been picked on an anonymous tip accusing him of abusing children. Lynley’s sidekick, Barbara Havers is part of the two-person police team from Scotland Yard sent to do a routine investigation as the suspect supposedly hanged himself while in local police custody. Her superior is anxious to do a drive-by check up, but feisty Barbara can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t quite right . . .

 

And so begins a probing to college binge drinking, protective parents and an intricate weaving together of mother-daughter relationships from a variety of backgrounds, probing into parental expectations/yearning for their children’s future, and what a parent will do to protect a child. I found it a complex, nuanced and sensitive story that deal with many modern day issues. Watching Lynley and Havers work through some of their own personal issues was also interesting to, as I like them both very much. It’s good to see them back in fine fettle and moving on with their lives! 

 

This month I also re-read Bernard Cornwell’s Waterloo, one of the swashbuckling Richard Sharpe books set in the Napoleonic Wars. My current Lady Arianna WIP is set in Brussels and the battle, and I had read that the book is used in many military colleges because it’s such an accurate description of the battle. Cornell is a masterful storyteller, and the non-stop action is riveting—and heartbreaking because of the carnage. I’ve made some notes for my own story about battle locations and timing (don’t worry—there won’t be so much blood and gore!) and reminded me of how much I enjoyed the entire series. If you haven’t read it yet, get Sharpe’s Tiger, the first book, which is set in India . . . you’ll be in for a rollicking ride!

 

As for me, I was reading S.A.Chakraborty's The City of Brass. This is the first in a fantasy trilogy based on a Middle Eastern mythos. It's a road trip through magical lands -- unfriendly lands full of demons. Much adventure. If I say Djinns and flying carpets it doesn't come close to describing the intricate worldbuilding.

 

There's Revolution and palace intrigue among the magical. So satisfying.

 

City of Brass is Book One of Three so the ending is problematic It's not quite a cliffhanger, but close. And it's good enough to have me looking forward to Book Two.

 

So that June in the Wench Reading Year.  A good 30 days. How's it been with you?

A Georgette Heyer Soiree

Nicola here. Last week I spent a most enjoyable evening in London at a Georgette Heyer soiree. It was part of a two-day event organised jointly by London University and the London Book Fair; earlier in the day there had been a conference on Georgette Heyer and her writing which my writing friend and colleague Sophie Weston had attended. You can read her report on the conference here  and it’s both fun and thought-provoking, like Georgette Heyer herself.

The evening soiree was, appropriately enough, in an 18^th century townhouse, The House of St Barnabas, 1 Greek Street, Soho, London. It has been a homeless charity since 1862 and is now also a private members’ club dedicated to charity work. The first house on the site was built during The Restoration period, a grand mansion with coach house and stables. This original house was demolished for a new one to be built between 1744 and 1747. It is in glorious Georgian style with beautiful rococo plasterwork. When we visited it was also decorated with football memorabilia to celebrate the World Cup; a case of the old meeting the new! According to research, the rooms and gardens of the House of St Barnabas were the blueprint for the imagined lodgings of Dr. Manette and Lucy in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. The alleyway on one side of the house was later re-named Manette Street.

We were met at the entrance to the reception rooms by a lady and gentleman in period costume who greeted us with appropriate formality, thereby making me realise that although I wrote and read Regency fiction a great deal, I was on uncertain ground when it came to putting the manners into practise!

The first part of the evening was a discussion around the theme of “Two hundred years of social mores: From dance cards to online dating.” I’d been invited to lead this debate with Alison Flood, a journalist and Georgette Heyer fan. As there had recently been some discussion in the press comparing the TV programme Love Island to a Jane Austen novel we decided to take this as our starting point and having checked how many of the fifty or so people present had watched Love Island (three) asked whether people felt there were any similarities between the two. Some lively discussion followed! We agreed that there were some superficial similarities, for example people have always tended to judge on first impressions whether on Tinder, Love Island or at the Pemberley Ball.  In a relatively closed society, whether it be artificially so (Love Island) or a Regency village, newcomers often spell trouble and gossip abounds.

A lot of people felt that they would have preferred a Regency-style courtship to modern-day dating. However an examination of this
idea showed various pros and cons. It feels as though both time and subtlety are often missing from today’s dating. Everything happens fast because life happens fast. But of course in the Regency period matches were often made on quite a short acquaintance without having the chance to get to know one another very well, particularly if there was family pressure. People were also appreciative of the fact that these days there is a great deal more opportunity to meet a potential partner than there was in the past – although it might not always feel like it. Everyone agreed though that the courtesy, respect and “rules” of 19^th century society could be helpful in comparison to what sometimes feels like chaos in the social interactions of today. And then there were the dress codes. Maybe we were old-fashioned (although there was a good age range in the audience) but we all agreed that Regency dress for both men and women was more attractive than tiny bikinis and endless six packs, even on Poldark! There was a sense of “put it away; public nudity is becoming boring.”

Other threads we discussed included the influence of Georgette Heyer’s own era on her writing, which is something Sophie also mentions in her blog, and the fact that we were in effect comparing our modern day reality with historical fiction, or in the case of Jane Austen’s writing, contemporary fiction. All in all it was a stimulating discussion that ran over time until we were all desperate for supper! We concluded by sharing our favourite Heyer books and why we liked them. There was an audible gasp in the room, and some disapproval, when I said that for many years my favourite Georgette Heyer book had been Beauvallet although these days I would probably choose Devil’s Cub or her short stories. We could all agree, though on the perennial appeal and talent of Georgette Heyer as an author and thought that perhaps one of the reasons we enjoy her books is that her characters do to some extent thwart convention whilst operating within that society.

After a delicious supper of modern canapes when we discussed everything from the popularity of Regency dancing to historical accuracy in books and costume dramas, we had some pianoforte music and tackled the fiendishly difficult Heyer quiz, which made me realise I needed to brush up on my knowledge of her books to have a hope of matching the experts. No doubt a Regency lady would have described the evening approvingly as “a crush” and for me and the other guests, I hope, it was wonderful fun to talk to so many Regency aficionados. I left to get the train home, rather wishing I had a carriage waiting!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topics we discussed at the Heyer soiree or on her books or any aspect of the discussion.  What is it about the social behaviours of Regency society that we find attractive? What are the similarities and differences, and the pros and cons of dating now and then? Which would you prefer? And which one element of Regency manners would you re-introduce or encourage in modern society if you could?

Princes in Disguise

Susanna here, just back from a whirlwind weekend down at the American Library Association Annual Conference and Exhibition down in New Orleans, so I’m still a bit jetlagged, lightly dusted with beignet sugar, and unlikely to write anything particularly clever...but a recent Twitter conversation with a writer friend about the latest television version of Little Women—and more particularly whether the actor they chose to play Professor Bhaer was well cast (he was)—started me thinking about this old post I wrote back in September 2010 for The Heroine Addicts, which I thought I might share with you here:

Napoleon Loses a Hat . . and a Battle

Andrea here, musing today on how I always enjoy it when a snippet of history unexpectedly comes to life when I least expect it. I was perusing the digital front page of the New York Times the other day (a rather depressing exercise of late, I must confess) when a small article caught me eye that actually make me smile. Now, I knew, of course, that this past Monday was the 203rd anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. But what I didn’t realize what that at some point in the raging conflict, Napoleon lost his hat . . .

Cozy Criminal Ladies

by Mary Jo

I'm not a major mystery reader. I'm not especially interested in puzzle solving, I want interesting, likable characters, and wit is always good. I absolutely do NOT want gory stories and high body counts. In short, I tend to like cozy mysteries if they're well written and have good characters.

So every now and then I go on a cozy mystery binge with some of my favorite authors, so I thought I'd chat a bit about what I've been reading.

Mrs. Pollifax

The oldest series is Dorothy Gilman's Mrs. Pollifax books, which started in the '70s and went up to 2000, I think.  (Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled)  Emily Pollifax is a sweet white-haired widow who raises prize geraniums and was really bored with her life. So naturally she went to the CIA and volunteered to work for them. <G>

 

A Dinner Party

Susan here, arriving a little late with today's blog and bringing a question for you all – we’ve all heard this one before, but it’s a classic question well worth repeating. The answers constantly change. Time for the Dinner Party!

What five historical people would you invite to have dinner together? Or change the number of guests depending on how many seats you want to fill at the dinner table. We can handle twelve to fourteen at our table, but that’s too many and I’ve no desire to cook on that scale. Over the years, every time I think about this, my list changes. This was a game my family used to play when I was growing up, after a Thanksgiving or Easter dinner, when we all sat around the table with dessert. It got pretty lively—one year my very Catholic dad, who could be adorably funny, said “I’d invite Jesus! He was a helluva guy!” and we all laughed ‘til we cried.

What would your invitation list be? Has it changed since the last time you considered it? My choices change depending on what historical research mode I’m in. Here goes:

Joan of Arc – Always on my special list, she has been important to me since I was a little girl listening to the stories my great-grandmother told of growing up in a little village in Lorraine just a few miles from the village famous as the home of Jehanne d’Arc – and like her, my grandmother worked in the fields and fell to her knees as the bells rang out for prayers. I heard many stories of life in that area of France, and I would love to talk to Joan about it. I’d also show her the many books I’ve collected about her. I was able to include her as a background character in my novel, The Sword Maiden (now on sale in e-book for .99!), set in 15th century Scotland, the story of a soldier returned from the war in France . . .

Sir Walter Scott – I’d love to have dinner or a long leisurely tea with this lovely man, in hopes of discussing Scottish history and the origins of historical fiction. And we could talk about Abbotsford, his beautiful home, which I’ve visited more than once (and my friends nearly had to drag me out of there).

Mary, Queen of Scots – She has always had my sympathy, a beautiful young woman who was raised in a royal bubble in France and sent back to Scotland, little more than a teenager, to rule over some rough, ruthless, conniving men who did their best to bring her down, destroying her idealism. She was spoiled, naïve, too easily influenced, and by the time she gained the maturity of a wiser woman, it was too late. I’d like to ask her the truth about Bothwell and Darnley, who was blown up in the garden. I think she would get on gangbusters with Joan of Arc.

Mark Twain – He would liven up the conversation with his wit and insights, and I know he would particularly want to meet Joan of Arc, who was something of an obsession for him and the subject of one of his novels. Years ago I was lucky enough to see Hal Holbrook’s onstage performance as Mark Twain, entertaining and unforgettable, and I would love to meet the real guy.

I’d also invite Robert Burns, the lusty, rowdy poet of 18th century Scotland, perhaps seated beside Caravaggio, the lusty, rowdy painter and rascal of the Italian Baroque. Caravaggio was arrested a few times with an ancestor of mine for drunken carousing -- and I've done a few Burns Night addresses -- so we’d have something to talk about. They'd have a lively conversation, if the language barrier could be bridged. We’d have to move the whisky far away from those two, though!

As to the menu, I could go with a typical Scottish dinner, though I’m not too fond of haggis (it's quite tasty, I hear – I just don’t eat red meat). But I’d offer a cock-a-leekie soup to start (chicken and leeks), then fresh salmon, neeps ‘n tatties (potatoes and turnips), a veggie or two, and a nice fresh fruit, custard and whipped cream trifle for dessert, followed by tea, coffee, and a finish of a good whisky to keep the mood warm and happy at the table.

And at this point, I should mention that Drunk History has become one of our favorite shows in this house – it’s hilariously funny, surprisingly endearing, and very creative. I’m a bit sorry some of them get so wasted, but they know what they’re in for, and the result is a fascinating, wacky turn on history.

How about you?  Who would you invite to your table?

~Susan

Ask A Wench — childhood reading

Anne here, introducing the topic for this month's AAW (Ask A Wench): In your childhood reading was there a place you fell in love with?

Pat:  England, hands down. I read tons of Brit lit in elementary school. They used to sell Austen and Bronte in the Scholastic Library book fairs, the only time my parents gave me money for books. So I went for the great big fat books, and they were all about the white cliffs of Dover and the misty fog over the Thames and the thatched cottages in the Cotswolds. I had no idea where any of those places were, but I wanted to see them all. 

And then there were all the books about the kings and queens in the library that I had to research to figure out their relationships, because they were obviously all related, right? So then I wanted to see all their grand castles, the Tower of London, the towns and. . . I suspect I expected to see horses and carriages as well, but the cottage gardens would have sufficed! 

Crystal Power

Pat here!

I know many readers love hearing about our historical explorations, but lately, I’ve mostly been researching contemporaries. If you receive my newsletters, you know I’ve been to Santa Cruz (above image is sun rising over the Pacific at Santa Cruz's Half Moon Bay--think about it) to research the setting for the Crystal Magic books. I’m currently digging into geology tomes, studying the fascinating science behind the Santa Cruz mountains. I’m not sure any of you want to read about the ancient volcanoes and earthquake faults that make up the California coastline, but rocks fascinate me!

Exploring The Real Wolfhall

Nicola here, talking about a recent visit to a place steeped in history. “At the edge of Wiltshire’s ancient Savernake forest lies a house steeped in Royal history.  Shrouded in mystery and lost to the mists of time, Wolfhall stands, a testimony to the rise and fall of the Seymour family, so crucial to the heart of the Tudor monarchy and the history of England itself…” So reads the enticing introduction on The Real Wolfhall website, drawing in all of us who have a fascination with Tudor history.

Long before Hilary Mantel made the name “Wolf Hall” famous all over again in her Booker prize winning novel, many readers like myself had lapped up stories of the Seymour family in the writing of authors such as Jean Plaidy and any number of books about the wives of Henry VIII. Wolfhall is an iconic name that has been in my imagination for as long as I’ve been reading historical fiction and romance. When I wrote The Phantom Tree, about Mary Seymour, the daughter of Thomas Seymour and Catherine Parr, it felt appropriate to set part of it at Wolfhall and draw on that rich history.

A Word Wench Winner

Anne here.
The winner of Lucy Parker's giveaway of her book, MAKING UP, is Tara G. I've notified Tara via email.

Thanks to all who read and enjoyed the interview, and who left a comment. As always, the comment stream is a delightful part of our blog. We wenches love our readers.

If you missed the interview, it's here.

If you'd like to read a bonus free short story by Lucy Parker, click this link.

An Exercise In Optimism

Last week, when I woke up in my hotel in New York City, I discovered much to my delight that, on the rooftop of the residential building just across the street—and this was 43^rd and 8^th, mind you, a stone’s throw from Times Square—there was a terrace with bits of a garden.

The photo above doesn’t do it justice—there was a section out of sight to the right with more properly gardeny tangley greenery, but of course I didn’t think to take photos of that. I was too busy standing there happily looking out, drinking my coffee, and watching the gardener at work in the mornings.

Guest Tracy Grant Dishes on Scandal and Historical Novels

Andrea/Cara here, Today I'm welcoming back mt dear friend and fellow author Tracy Grant to tell us a little about the some of the real-life history behind her latest book. Many of you are familiar with Tracy's Malcolm and Suzanne Rannoch historical series (and if you aren't, you're in for a treat!) and know that she has a passion for history, and her books always have such fascinating backstories to the inspiration behind each book. So, without further ado, I shall pass the pen to Tracy!

The threat of being cast off by society hangs over many stories written or set in the Regency. Think of the Bennets, devastated by Lydia’s elopement, not just because she has run off with an unscrupulous man but because of the effect the scandal will have on her sisters’ marriage prospects. Or of the gossip that arises simply from Marianne Dashwood’s very public obsession with Willoughby - writing to him, confronting him at a party.

Botswana: A United Kingdom

by Mary Jo

Apart from a vague recollection of the British protectorate called Bechuanaland becoming the independent nation of Botswana, the country never registered with me until I read the first #1 Ladies Detective Agency book by Alexander McCall Smith. The protagonist, Precious Ramotse, is a mature, "traditionally built" woman with a lot of common sense who solves small mysteries through her understanding of human nature. The series is now up to 18 books.

 

Meet Lucy Parker

Anne here, introducing Lucy Parker, the author of the very funny and charming ACT LIKE IT and PRETTY FACE — contemporary romances set in the London celebrity/theatre world.
The WordWenches are already big fans, and most of us have preordered Lucy's new book, MAKING UP. I was lucky enough to read an advance copy and I loved it.

Lucy's first book, ACT LIKE IT, received glowing reviews, including a Desert Island Keeper review from All About Romance, and A- from Smart Bitch Sarah. PRETTY FACE also wowed critics and readers alike. I met Lucy in NZ last year when I was at the RWNZ conference and fan-girled all over her.  Lucy, welcome to the Word Wenches.

Anne: Lucy, welcome to the Word Wenches. My first question came via Mary Jo Putney, who wanted to know: How did a young New Zealand woman get such an excellent knowledge of the West End theater world?

Lucy: Hello! Thank you so much for having me. And it was a huge thrill to meet you at the conference last year. Your earlier books are among the first romances I bought. 

I adore theatre; I studied classical drama at university, and later worked as an arts critic. And I have family ties in England on my dad’s side of the family, and was brought up with a lot of British pop culture. A huge help with this series, though, has been a good friend of mine, who is a professional performer at quite a high level. She lets me pick her brain whenever I want, and tells me all sorts of interesting backstage gossip that I obviously don’t use, but which makes me feel better about the believability of the more dramatic parts of the books — apparently in the world of theatre, fictional drama has nothing on the real deal!