A Work in Progress

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

Court Lady and Country Wife is a historical romp through Stuart England.  Sisters, Dorothy and Lucy Percy were by turns rich, famous, beautiful and movers and shakers in the Royal Court.  Dorothy was the country wife.  She married a diplomat and gave birth to twelve children.  As her husband spent much time away from home she managed their  huge estates at a time when women were not even allowed to own property.  Lucy was the court lady-- the beautiful, witty sister.  She married a courtier and was involved in many a court intrigue--landing herself in the Tower of London later in her life.  She was the confidente of Kings and Queens. 

This book gives an interesting perspective on the lives of women (albeit aristocrats) of this period.  The sisters had an unusual upbringing (their father spent many years in the Tower of London), so they became particularly strong willed women.  The author is a scholar on Tudor and Stuart history, and she fills in much of the history of the time.  They were born in the reign of Elizabeth and lived through the reign and later downfall of James I, and two civil wars! 

I would recommend this not only to general history buffs, but in particular readers who are interested in women's history.  My only criticism--you would do well to have a flow chart with names and ranks--there are lots of lords, earls and counts.  I am not very familiar with this period of English history, but this makes me want to read more books on this period.

  Do you remember I mentioned this book, The Highest Tide last week?  For some reason the publisher sent a second copy to me.  I won one through The Bookreporter.com.  There must have been some sort of a mix-up, and they sent me another one.  As I don't need a second copy, I would be happy to pass this along (hopefully this is not a no-no) to another reader.  I have just started it, but so far I think it is very good.  Whoever leaves me a note in the comment box first--I will be happy to send it to you. 

Finally, I decided on a new nonfiction book to read!  I chose A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire.  I can't wait to really get into it.  I am just now reading the prologue.  I have mentioned before--I am very interested in "color"--it's history, how it is made, etc, so I have been really looking forward to reading this book.

Mr and Mrs Andrews

   

I love this Thomas Gainsborough painting!  A friend sent this card to me.  My scan is a bit on the yellow side.  This was painted around 1750.  Even though this is about 100 years later it reminds me a bit of the book I am reading at the moment--"Court Lady and Country Wife."  Even though I think it might be cool to travel back in time and see what life was like...can you imagine no daily baths, no deodorant or toothpaste. Ick.  But this pair looks pretty stylish and wealthy!

What to Read Next...

I am nearly finished with Court Lady and Country Wife by Lita-Rose Betcherman, so it is time to start thinking of what I will read next.  Am I the only person who starts contemplating the next book before I even finish my current one?  I try to always have one nonfiction book going, though I am terribly slow at reading them generally.  But I love nonfiction and I am always buying something new.  There are so many interesting things and people and places to read about. 

Here are the contenders: A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire by Amy Butler Greenfield, A History of the Wife by Marilyn Yalom, and May and Amy: A True Story of Family, Forbidden Love, and the Secret Lives of May Gaskell... by Josceline Dimbleby.  To be honest I am leaning towards "May and Amy", but I might be swayed towards either of the other two.  Usually I will read the first few pages and see which one captures my interest right away.  I have been wanting to read "A Perfect Red" for a long time though, and "A History of the Wife" was mentioned as a book that might interest readers of my current read, "Court Lady...". Has anyone read any of these, or seen any reviews?  I have a couple of days to think it over.  Starting a new book is always so exciting!

Get Your 10,000 Steps a Day...Or Not...

Ahhh.  Yes, my idea of a good workout on the treadmill!

A Movie Weekend

I am really in the mood to be a bit of a couch potato and watch movies this weekend.  It has been ages since I have rented any, but I have so many at home I have yet to watch, I suppose I should pop them in first.  As my library doesn't have the Inspector Lynley Mysteries 3, I was bad and ordered them.  After not wanting to watch them at all, I seem to have gotten a bit addicted.  It doesn't look as though they are going to introduce the character of Nkata into the series, and I really like his character in the book.  I suppose there may be too many storylines already.  I am not sure if there is a series 4 yet even to order.  I did notice one thing, however, and it appears that the last episode is not based on a book.  I wonder if they are planning on taking the BBC series in a different direction than the books?  It might get confusing if you also read the books.  Hmm.

I bought The River by Jean Renoir a while back, but have never watched it.  I don't know a lot about it, but the description sounded interesting: "Director Jean Renoir's first color feature-shot entirely on location in India-is a visual tour de force.  Based on the novel by Rumer Godden, the film eloquently contrasts the growing pains of three young women with the immutability of the holy Bengal River, around which their daily lives unfold.  Enriched by Renoir's subtle understanding and appreciation for India and its people, The River gracefully explores the fragile connections between transitory emotions and everlasting creation."  The film is part of the Criterion Collection, which is a series of important films--both classics and contemporary.  I have always thought it would be fun to take a film theory class.  There are so many film classics that I have never seen!  So much to know and so little time to learn it all!

The Highest Tide

Isn't the cover of this book cool?  Today The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch came for me in the mail.  I love getting mail like this!  I was very lucky as my name was chosen in a drawing for this book over at The Bookreporter.  They seem to be always having some sort of contest or drawing, and I put my name in for this title.  It sounds really good--per the back cover "In this mesmerizing, beautifully wrought first novel, we witness one boy's wonder with the sea during the summer that will change his life forever."  Okay, I am not generally drawn to books told from the guys point of view, but this one sounded too good to pass up.  I see that Publisher's Weekly gave it a starred review, too.  If the first chapter is anything to judge by, this is going to be really good.  Lynch's writing style is very lyrical.  I'll let you know how it goes!!

The Stranger House

The Stranger House by Reginald Hill is a somewhat unconventional mystery.  Two complete strangers are drawn to the tiny town of Illthwaite in Cumbria to search for answers to questions concerning their families.  Hill combines an interesting mixture of history, mythology, and even religion that makes for a suspenseful read.  Sam and Mig's stories are a bit like an onion, you keep finding another layer underneath--you may find some answers, but with each layer there seem to be more questions as well.  And the residents of Illthwaite are none too forthcoming with any information.  What happened in Illthwaite so long ago that connects these two people?  And how far will they go to find out?

This is the sort of book you can easily get lost in.  It is an interesting cast of characters that make up the folks of Illthwaite.  They reminded me a bit of the towns people in the movie An American Werewolf in London when David Naughton and Griffin Dunne go out walking on the Moors and make a stop in a local bar.  There is something a little creepy going on, but you don't quite know what.   This is a page turner, right up until the very end.  I believe Hill writes a mystery series, which I will now have to check out. 

A Bit of a Windfall at the Library

I went to the library after work today to drop off books and expected to have three on hold for me as well.  As it turned out there were six!  What shall I read next??  Actually I think I will read the Lisa See book first as I am sure there is a waiting list and I won't be able to renew it.  I am almost finished with the Reginald Hill book, so this is good timing!  Last week the library was closed all week as they were rearranging things.  I only hit the first floor and it was the same.  Apparently due to budget cuts in the recent past they are low on staff and have had to make changes in order to spread out what employees they have.  I will have to check out the changes next time around.  There are three floors plus a basement, and I think they managed to fit everything onto the first three floors.  It is sad when a city fails to allow sufficient budget for their public libraries! 

Do you remember I mentioned Hunger's Brides just a couple of weeks ago?  I received a very nice email from the author.  You can check out his website here.  There was also a short article in the New York Times about it.  I was wrong.  I said it felt like it must weigh about ten pounds.  In reality it only weighs a mere 4 pounds, 9 ounces!  I must say it is really designed quite nicely despite the weight!

Finally I noticed that author Kate Atkinson is going to be at The Litblog Co-Op next Monday.  After all the controvery over their first Read This selection (Case Histories), it will be interesting to see what questions come up.  I am curious about there next selection personally!

More Monarch of the Glen...

This weekend I just finished watching the third season of Monarch of the Glen.  That is all that is available here in the US.  I checked on Amazon.co.uk and they have all the way through the sixth season available.  So what is taking so long here??  I do have to say, that this season took a bit of a turn.  This series is pretty lighthearted and fun, but the last two episodes (there were 11 in total on this DVD set) were very much on the sad side!  I don't want to give anything away in case anyone might be watching these programs, but I wasn't too happy with how things completely wrapped up.  Of course they leave plenty of loose threads to keep you coming back.  Unfortunately I am not sure how long the wait will be for the next season.  I was a bit bad and looked ahead a little on the Monarch website.  Sometimes, I admit, I do the same with books...very naughty, I know. 

The Peacock Room

The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery is one of my very favorite museums!  It is part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC and anytime I am there I have to visit it.  The Peacock Room is one of my favorite exhibits.  If you click on the "online exhibition" link and then "The Peacock Room" you can read more abot this gorgeous room and its history.  You can also "see the Peacock Room in virtual reality", but I wasn't able to--Quicktime doesn't seem to want to download for me today.  Can you imagine living in such opulence?  At least we can all now enjoy it.